sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. The toddler's mum Denise Bulger was at the counter of a butchers in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, on February 12, 1993, when she briefly let go of her son's hand to get some change from her purse. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. He didn't want to hurt James. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. This would have made little Robert the target of the fourth Thompson brother, who, in less than a years time, had confessed to arson, tried to stab his elder brother in a fit of rage, and had allegedly committed a lewd act against two small children (this incident was overlooked due to lack of evidence; however, because it was always considered a likely possibility that little Robert had been the victim of sexual abuse himself, and since Robert reportedly confirmed this years later, this occurrence involving his elder brother might be thought particularly revealing). He believes these were evil boys. Few had the patience to be friends with him, only his younger brother and a couple of lads who lived nearby. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. After they became friends he initiated Jon into the delights of climbing into people's back gardens and the consequent thrill of being chased out by the owners. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. Jon Venables is demonstrably no such thing. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. He has never really been what you would call a sagger off school (a truant). It is here, of course, that Jon met and made friends with fellow eccentric, Robert Thompson. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. He has had more love and attention than a lot of children I know. Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . Some neighbours claim they saw the boy snaring birds into traps in the back yard of his home, while one local youth claimed he saw the boy pull the heads off live baby pigeons. It is not known whether the boy watched any of his father's adult movies. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. Jon continued to attend Broad Square, where children of the neighborhood openly mocked and poked fun at his siblings, calling them backward. Jon was also an easy target due to a squint in his eye. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. The pair was tried for the abduction and murder of James as adults owing to the fact they were over 10, which is legally deemed to be the age of criminal responsibility. Susan Venable - we found 141 people search records: 55 CVs and social profiles with photos, 50 addresses & phone numbers, 1 real estate objects, 6 Susan Venable's cars, 2 companies. I do believe that she feels guilty deep down for her own part in what happened., Despite the risks of discovery, the relationship is said to have contin- ued to thrive following Thompsons. 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Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. There, he is terrorising a girl. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. It was high- lighted by the trial judge Mr Justice Morland who said they must take moral responsibility for the terrible actions of the young killers. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging in the air as he sat in the custody office. Egypt. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". the street. gk. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. He had left her to bring up six children alone. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. What doing well means is anybodys guess. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. Who were their parents? They occasionally exchanged furtive glances. They were intent on killing. Ms Truss has written a 4,000-word essay in todays Sunday Telegraph in which she stood by her plans to boost economic growth during her short tenure in No 10, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker fails to stop team-mate Joel Matip (not pictured) from scoring an own goal during the Premier League match at Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton, A member of the public lines the road into St Michaels on Wyre, Lancashire, with missing posters of Nicola Bulley, 45, as police continue their search for the missing woman who was last seen on the morning of Friday January 27, when she was spotted walking her dog on a footpath by the nearby River Wyre, Not your usual prisoner! Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. . What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. however, as the incident in the playground shows, the ever-present threat of discovery cast a constant shadow over anyone related to the two murderers. On November 24, 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest persons to be convicted of murder in Britain in almost 250 years, when the pair, both eleven, was found guilty of the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Patrick Bulger. The other boy, Robert Thompson, we are told is now abiding by the conditions of his life license since he was released 17 years ago, and is doing well. His parents say he is 'broken-hearted'. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Neil explained to him that the school they attended was special, and that Jon wouldnt be accepted. Channel 5 is set to air a new two-part documentary that tells the definitive story of . The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. He started with Liverpool, but by the time of the murder he had switched to Blackburn Rovers. "What he's done is wrong so he needs to be punished. It has already been reported that Jon Venables real identity has been exposed in prison, where he is said to be receiving 24-hour protection. . "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. WALTON, where they both lived, is, in the jargon of planning, an inner-city urban priority area; neither the best nor the worst the city has to offer. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. His mother cared about him. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. He always had plenty of friends. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. God knows how they must be feeling now.. Neighbors later reported that it wasnt uncommon for Robert to be seen wandering the streets of Walton after midnight, since he was always running off at night. Take him home, the officer would say to her. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. The bird was taken to the vets where they are nursing it back to health. But just as he was entering the school gates he met Jon and they decided to sag off together for the fourth - and final - time. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. . Most people would regard such sentiments as having come rather late in the day and certainly too late to save poor James. I just heard an almighty screech. Apart from Jon's incident with the ruler, there had been no record of previous violence. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . Although Susan couldnt recall any dramatic change in Jons behavior, his teachers there expressed some concern that Jon had become upset and difficult following the separation. His former wife would send their boys up the street to give their father the fingers through the bay windows of his mother's house. Not their punishmentand exclusion from society for the rest of their childhood. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. Police respond to reporters of a swan being removed from the harbour by a drunk male before it being involved in a collision on Mutley Plain. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. They rejected suggestions that he could have watched Child's Play Three, a film that his father had rented three weeks before James's death, which, it has been claimed, included scenes similar to those of the attack on the two-year-old. Liked by susan venables. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. As a grim portrait of abuse, drunkenness and neglect emerged, the hatred and loathing for Robert Thompson and Jon Venables was also turned on their parents. For his parents, the fact they were children was actually a cause for hope at that point. In Crosbies corner shop Ian, the next oldest to Robert, was able to tot up the shopping in his mind before the cash register rang up the total. In quest of companionship, he occasionally bullied his younger brother into truanting with him, and, in an effort to impress his peers, frequently boasted of his late-night exploits on the railway line, but failed to attract much attention. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. yet, as Venables is back behind bars. They saw it with their eyes. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Witness after witness who had seen them, or stopped and asked them what was going on, took the stand. The boys at Dyson Hall were the object of some envy among their mates because they were given tracksuits and trainers upon arrival and went on trips to Alton Towers. Meanwhile, Thompson has not re-offended since his release, and is believed to be in a long-term relationship with a man who knows who he really is. Both had a need to attract attention, which they achieved through a host of petty rebellions. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. Venables was caught with 1,170 indecent photos of children on his laptop, the Old Bailey was told. I dont think she saw a very happy future., The author says there was no contact with the Venables family after the trial as Mrs Thompson focused, her energy on supporting her son, refusing to accept he was a monster. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. Why Alex Murdaugh was spared the death penalty, Why Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry, The shocking legacy of the Dutch 'Hunger Winter', Why half of India's urban women stay at home. At his first primary school the headmistress referred him to a psychologist, noting how he used to bang his head against the classroom wall to gain attention. He had that odd combination of obsession with and disdain for possessions that is characteristic of children who have never enjoyed any of their own. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. They passed 36 people, with one recalling how they urged the boys to take their 'little brother' home because he was 'crying for his mummy'. She was a woman as large in personality and physique as the burdens she carried. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Mr Venables said that the two boys had played truant together four times before, adding that he caught them twice. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. Although not officially entered into a witness protection programme they were given help by the authorities in finding new homes and taking on new identities. Meanwhile Robert Thompson always regarded as the ringleader and the most likely of the murderous duo to fall by the wayside is said to be doing well. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. Venables parents were divorced but still lived within a stones throw of one another and were both involved in their sons upbringing. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. 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. "The age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10 that's too low. They and Ann Thompson, who has six other. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. Hyperactive children can't sit still all day,' Mrs Venables said. From the moment Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were convicted of the murder of James Bulger, their, families have been condemned to lives spent looking over their shoulders. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. The questioning was calm, steady, even playful at the beginning to try to get a sense the two boys really did know the difference between right and wrong. In return, Jon would let Robert ride his bicycle, and from time to time he would suggest naughty deeds himself. They have never come out of hiding. qu fy. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. His father, Neil, an unemployed panel-beater, was separated from his mother but they lived only a mile apart, saw each other every other day, and took equal care of the children. Heck, we don't even have murderers that young in New York.'. . Walton Village Financial Services would lend you pounds 300 for Christmas and demand a total of pounds 460 in repayment. Spidery and messy. The reaction prompted James' mum Denise Fergus to let supporters know she had nothing to do with the programme. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. Drivers have been warned to leave extra time for their Monday morning commute due to icy roads during rush hour, following a weekend of wintry weather. Not really?. It was not until much later, when questioned as to his involvement in the death of James Bulger, that Roberts resentment towards the new baby became suddenly and painfully apparent. "The report of the Prison Service into an incident at Red Bank secure unit has not been published. . Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. When a police officer asked him why he didn't rescue James bleeding on the railway lines he replied: ' 'Cos blood stains, doesn't it, and then me mother would have to pay more money. With Neil seldom in contact with Susan or the children during this time, Susan was forced to contend with Jons escalating troubles alone, sometimes taking her own frustrations out on the children. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. JON Venables's family was far from affluent, but it was not as close to the breadline as Robert's. We are proud to endorse the COP27 Leather Manifesto. IN A letter to her son written soon after he was sentenced, Ann Thompson wrote: no matter what you did or didnt do, Im your mother and I will stay with you no matter what happens.. One of Anns sons claimed that Ann, too, had beaten them with sticks, and had struck one of the boys with a cane. However, given that the tension in the household was persistent throughout the most crucial of Jons formative years, the belief that he had moved through the ordeal entirely unaffected is questionable. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. This would have been at about 5.30pm - just the time the boys were about to begin killing Jamie. Not for long though. Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. The living versions on the floor of the court looked equally wrinkled and austere. The couple, who also have a 13- year-old son, who has learning difficulties, and a 9-year-old daughter, denied that Jon was bullied by his brother or that he watched violent horror films at home. She was paranoid about being discovered. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. I know how I feel as a mother. 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. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. This would have put Jon in a particularly arduous position, as the couples only excelling child, and as author Gitta Sereny observed from her time spent with the Venables in 1994, forcing this middle child, Jon, for a long time, perhaps unconsciously, to compensate his mother for her two problem children, put an enormous weight of responsibility on this child virtually from the time he was born., As Susan struggled to manage her two disadvantaged children day to day, Neil was the familys breadwinner, working as a forklift driver. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. Could they have planned to do it in advance? 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. Ann, desperate to escape the physical and emotional torment of living with her drunken father, was married to Robert, Sr. in December 1971, on the day of her eighteenth birthday. MOST of the boys were bright. Those who knew him well said he was a very emotional child, prone to mood swings. ", Her husband, Neil, said: "If you had a league table of children, you would put him at the bottom of the list for anything like this.". I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. I used to get them for myself at night time. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . In the first press conference she gave the day after her son was taken, this 25-year-old woman struck me as a girl, a desperate, grief stricken girl whose tired swollen eyes told their own story. The boys, by now lacking any sense of guidance within the home, took to the streets, robbing, truanting, and some of them experimenting with drugs. He took a jar of paracetamol. 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. Jon lived in terror of losing his mother's love, yet he was also terrified of her. But he is not a murderer. Few will ever forget the chilling footage of two 10-year-old boys holding a toddler's hand as they led him to his death. They pair was ordered to be detained at her majesty's pleasure - meaning indefinitely - but in 2001, a six-month review by the parole board found they were no longer a threat to public safety and they were released on life licence after serving just eight years. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' I suspect she still feels that., In 2001 there was a renewed uproar over the case when it emerged that the killers were to be freed, despite a. recommendation by the trial judge that they should remain behind bars for a very long time. He has had his holidays like everyone else. Susan and neil venables. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. 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. I have lost my son as well. . While both boys may have felt helpless and inferior in their own settings, together they were fearless, a portrait of machismo, each playing on the others strong points. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. Neil Venables regarded himself as the Barry Norman of Merseyside - a film buff with a penchant for horror. On many occasions, Susan was observed physically and verbally assaulting Jon. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Whatever problems she had in her own life, she was always there. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. 'His mum was more strict. In the last few years she stopped drinking in the Top House and tried to keep things together. But then, the whole of Robert's family was a bit like that - shunned, outcast, the butt of local criticism, and very well known to police. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. 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. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. . He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. what is the bite force of a baboon. How can people defend their actions .#TheBulgerKillers.". [3] [4] Thompson and Venables led Bulger away . 'America is the land of shopping malls. Their parents entered the courtroom; The Venables arrived together, Ann Thompson came with supporters but no sign of Robert's father. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . He would throw things at other children, cut himself deliberately with scissors and stick paper all over his face. Absence of a male role model is increasingly being explored - by both left and right - as one of the main reasons why today's boys and young men are going wrong; why 90 per cent of indictable offences are committed by men. Thompson admitted nothing. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. They fled the city, never to return. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. His grip was so strong that it took two people to pry Jon off of the boy. The detective explained how, before she left, she soothed him, told him his parents would love him whatever he told the police, reminding him that Denise neededto know what had happened to her baby. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. "I don't think we went wrong as parents at all. His mother, Anne Marie Thompson, who is 39, got the house from the local housing trust after her husband, Robert, ran off with a woman from Stockport five years ago. But after a year they let Ian out again. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. Usually, they were slung out. Their age was hard to gauge from the CCTV images, so just when you imagined you couldnt be more shocked by this story, it emerged the two accused were just 10-years-old. The haunting words of Jon Venables' parents only interview have resurfaced, twenty five years after he killed tot Jamie Bulger. While, on the face of it, there doesnt appear to be as much external devastation present in Jons family history as in Roberts, his outlandish behavior suggested that internally, Jon was in a state of extreme emotional upset. James Bulger was weeks away from his third birthday, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson behaved very differently in court, Mother who killed her five children euthanised, AOC under investigation for Met Gala dress, The children left behind in Cuba's exodus, Alex Murdaugh jailed for life for double murder, US sues Exxon over nooses found at Louisiana plant, Zoom boss Greg Tomb fired without cause. She was prone to hysteria and hailed from a 'strict and disciplined' background. More press conferences, terrible details beginning to emerge about the state James was found in, and the chilling prospect, soon confirmed, that indeed it was children who had done this. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court.
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