The documentary last night featured interviews with those involved in the 1993 trial, including James dad Ralph Bulger, Jon Venables solicitor Laurence Lee and detective sergeant Phil Roberts, who interviewed Robert Thompson. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. To do that he put on the witness stand all those people who had seen the three boys on the route from the shopping centre to the railway line. James Bulgers mother Denise claims that she managed to track down Thompson six years ago, planning to confront him but instead stared at him from the opposite side of the street, full of rage but unable to act. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. 'I even went up to the railway line because I knew the other boy had a den up there and was on the railway nearly all the time.'. Real bottom of the gut stuff, like an animal. The beginnings of the friendship were inauspicious enough. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. . They were drawn to one another quickly. The sunrises through the sea mist over the sculpture The Couple by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast. release. Financially, the couple appeared to be functioning, but meanwhile, Susan was at the end of her rope with her eldest son, who, having become increasingly frustrated at his inability to communicate, had grown terribly unhappy and was having temper tantrums regularly. In March 2010, Venables was recalled to prison for downloading and distributing more than 100 images of child abuse. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. The petition, that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. 'America is the land of shopping malls. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. 'When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the day - that's just the way they are. Click here to find personal data about Susan Venables including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. Denise Fergus is the same age as me, a fact I only registered when I met her for the first time two weeks ago. Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. He says 'I know, Mum'. See that cell. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. Bird Pictures. What doing well means is anybodys guess. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. What upsets me is I've no way of bringing him up for the rest of his young years so he's going to lose all his childhood. When he played truant he was scared she would come and find him. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. What happened to James Bulger? Then they had carried, dragged and kicked him along a two and a half mile journey, at times swinging him violently in the air or dropping him against the road, until they reached the railway where they stoned him with bricks, bashed his head with a 22lb iron bar, and left him dead across the tracks to be cut in half by a passing goods train. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. The teacher had a different perspective, saying that Susan was in fact aware of the issue, and had expressed deep concern. I said no. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. 'When the fisticuffs ended, they made friends.' I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . Hyperactive children can't sit still all day,' Mrs Venables said. When Jon left home on the morning of Friday, February 12 he was happy because it was the last day of school before a week's holiday and he was going to take some pet gerbils home. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. Lady Penelope was his favourite character because she was rich, followed by Brains with the glasses. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. I would say he was provoked. Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . Striking members of the National Education Union (NEU) South East Region at a rally in Chichester, West Sussex, in a long-running dispute over pay, Members of the Welsh Guards replace their bearskin headress after giving three cheers during a St David's Day visit to the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards at Combermere Barracks in Windsor, Berkshire, Princess of Wales and Prince William take part in a spin class uring a visit to Aberavon Leisure and Fitness Center to meet local communities and hear about how sport and exercise can support mental health and wellbeing, in Port Talbot, Wales, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen during a press conference at the Guildhall in Windsor, Berkshire, following the announcement that they have struck a deal over the Northern Ireland Protocol, Homes sit close to the cliff edge at Hemsby in Norfolk, where the beach has been closed off because of significant erosion and the risk that homes could fall into the sea, Members of the Russian Democratic Society, a group of Russian citizens living in the UK, stage a protest outside the Russian embassy in London, to mark the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces enter 10 Downing Street, in London, after the National one minutes silence to mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer delivers a speech at the head office of the Co-Operative Group in Manchester, unveiling plans for a mission-led Labour government, with five national missions setting out his objectives for a Labour government if the party gains power at the next general election, Ukrainian soldiers pose with a Ukrainian flag next to a military vehicle at Bovington Camp in Dorset, Stunning colours before sunrise as people walk their dogs on Tynemouth Longsands beach in Tynemouth on the North east coast, Visitors observe Dippy the Diplodocus at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry, where the museum will be hosting the 26-metre long replica skeleton for the next three years, Flowers, and ribbons on a bridge over the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, where police recovered a body on Sunday, which was found by members of the public close to where Nicola Bulley disappeared on January 27, Protesters clash at a refugees welcome rally in Liverpool city centre, A Porsche 911 car is damaged by a fallen tree in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, as a result of storm Otto. CCTV images revealed how James had been lured away by Thompson and Venables, who was also aged 10. Then there were the separated parents, the poverty, the truanting, the videos. It was their sons picked up by detectives. She acknowledged her son had committed a terrible crime but claimed that her innocent younger children were being denied a proper education because of having to abandon their homes to escape attacks. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. In 2010, Meggie Atkinson, then children's commissioner for England, called for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 12 in light of the trial. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. From a distance Robert looked a sweet child. Shame? has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. The haunting words of Jon Venables' parents only interview have resurfaced, twenty five years after he killed tot Jamie Bulger. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. Egypt. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. In all, they played truant four times. Forlorn hope, though. Robert's feelings towards his half-brother also appear to have been ambivalent - he told police he would not have murdered James Bulger because 'if I wanted to kill a baby, I'd kill my own, wouldn't I?'. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. Only two people can answer the question, and even their ability is doubtful. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. Truanting, or 'sagging off', had become a way of life for Robert. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. He was in great distress' And what about the little, innocent boy he killed??! Weeping, she said: 'I wasn't actually on the railway track because there is a fence, but I went up the side. Neil Venables regarded himself as the Barry Norman of Merseyside - a film buff with a penchant for horror. Reporters from around the world ended up in the drab streets of Walton, cadging interviews off any 10-year-old boys hanging around in the streets. According to the teacher, Jon would rock back and forth in his desk, making strange noises (this behavior was later speculated to be Jons jealous attempt to emulate his elder brother, in order to receive the same special attention), bang his head on the desk or walls repeatedly, glue bits of paper all over his face, wedge himself in between desks, throw himself on the ground, throw chairs across the corridor, rip projects off the classroom walls, cut holes in his socks, and intentionally cut himself with scissors. A maudlin ballad about Liverpool was playing in the back- ground and she was cooking the dish known as Scouse. Mr Venables said it had never crossed their minds that the video pictures from the security cameras in the shopping centre from which James went missing showed their own son. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Englands Ollie Chessum dives in to score his sides second try during the Guinness Six Nations match at Twickenham Stadium, London, Sam Smith arrives for the Brit Awards ceremony, A robin redbreast takes flight in Dublins botanic gardens. Last week the author Angela Phillips spoke of how the gentle son of the female friend of hers turned into a fascist skinhead: 'The boy his mother wanted him to become was not man enough for the world he was forced to inhabit. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. But however hollow a gesture it might have seemed, those who are in touch with the Thompson and Venables families insist that they have sought to make some sort of amends with their sons after the horrific events of 17 years ago that will rightly stay with them for the rest of their lives. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. The Radio Merseyside newsroom, where I was working at the time, was full and everyone was on this story one way or another. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Occasionally, when the children would be left sitting on the red wall outside the house too long, one of the neighbours would call the police to go and get her out of the Top House. Recently, I dug out my old notebooks of the trial and my handwriting during the verdicts says it all. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. The pattern of bullying among the brothers, which had been noted by the Head mistress of the boys school, appeared to descend down the line, with the eldest Thompson brother beating the one just below him in age, and that brother beating the brother below him, in turn. I would get him something like a cartoon.". . Look at mine. It was their sons picked up by detectives. God knows how they must be feeling now.. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. Both boys had been held back a year, and they were put in the same class. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. She remained very frightened and felt that she and her son were the most hated people in the country. Sandra Gotheridge.
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