The end of the court case was not the end of course. It was when Jon turned seven that Susan and the children had relocated to Norris Green, one of Liverpools larger, more reputable areas. "In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.". When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. His body, defiled and broken in two by a train, two miles from where hed been taken, was foundtwo days later. 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. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. At Radio City in Liverpool the calls were coming through from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Venables parents were divorced but still lived within a stones throw of one another and were both involved in their sons upbringing. But. God knows how they must be feeling now.. Click here to find personal data about Susan Venables including phone numbers, addresses, directorships, electoral roll information, related property prices and other useful information. 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. They did. Once the jury retired, so did the journalists - but we didnt go far. The only sign he was discomforted by hearing it was a near constant pulling of his tongue in his hands. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. It is not known whether the boy watched any of his father's adult movies. She was paranoid about being discovered. It set the tone for the years ahead in which there was to be no respite from the hatred. I would say he was provoked. Neil had been laid off in the months prior, so the couple sold their home, and Neil moved back in with his father, before finally relocating to an apartment in Kirkdale. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. 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. According to a legal source we spoke to this week, Jon Venables parents have sought to be a support for their son, despite the enormity of his crime. his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". They had to report him missing at the security office before he was found, and Jon's mother was very angry. . "Just to let you know that even though footage was used of me on the CH4 programme, I had no part in it," she tweeted. Nine months later, I was one of 30 or so journalists inside Preston Crown Court when the trial began. Nature. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. Mrs Thompson claimed she had been the victim of revenge attacks after her identity became known. I remember watching her then on TV, her sobbing plea for information and thinking how much guts it must have taken to get up that day and face a roomful of journalists and photographers. Venables and Thompson abducted, tortured and killed two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged just 10. Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. 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. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. It was their sons picked up by detectives. Both parents hope was that he would make something of his life and eventually find some peace. For weeks, she stayed in bed, not bothering to tend to the children, and when she finally did reemerge, she readily admitted she drank from morning to night, but had stopped taking the pills. It's high time they were investigated. yet, as Venables is back behind bars. 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. 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. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. When shop keepers asked what they were doing they would pretend they were waiting for their mum. Could they have planned to do it in advance? 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). "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. 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. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. I wonder how many parents looked at their sons of a similar age that week, sure in the knowledge their own children could never be so wicked, but asked themselves anyway "what would I do if?". '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. It emerged that the Venables family had suffered the same fate in another area. Forlorn hope, though. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . Fiction Writing. Counsel for the prosecution, Richard Henriques QC, made it clear all three elements needed to be proved for a murder conviction. In the last few years she stopped drinking in the Top House and tried to keep things together. Susan Venables agreed but on condition that she saw her son first. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. Both had a need to attract attention, which they achieved through a host of petty rebellions. At the time Ann Thompson pleaded for her son to be left alone and revealed that she and her other children had been forced to move house nine times in eight years. Their. Jon was afraid of her. Read about our approach to external linking. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. Not for long though. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. 'His mum was more strict. Egypt. We still think the same of him as we always have. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Thompson admitted nothing. what is the bite force of a baboon. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. These are the words of an officer who was in the police station when DCI Geoff MacDonald of Merseyside Police broke the news to Denise that James was dead. The bird was taken to the vets where they are nursing it back to health. 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. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. I wish we could turn the clocks back," Mrs Venablessaid. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. Robert was number five of seven. It worked. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' She would arrive at the secure unit with food parcels and is said to be proud of his achievements since the crime. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. When he played truant he was scared she would come and find him. 'You'd better tell the truth. What a horror it all was. It is just heartbreaking.". I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Dudson was given a minimum term of 18 years. They sat just feet from me, perched on the edge of their wooden seat, smartly dressed and hunched in shame just below their son, Jon. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . Birds. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. The couples first child, a son, had been born with a cleft pallet, and when Jon was born, much of the Venables focus was on getting their eldest son into speech therapy. The phone-in programme, as ever, was a place to turn to try to find reasons - evil, poverty, neglect, possessed anything to explain what felt inexplicable. has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. Hope. It should certainly be moved up to 12; in some European countries it is 14," she said. Half way through the 1992-1993 school year, Robert had already racked up nearly 50 unauthorized absences, and was falling significantly behind in his schoolwork. Their parents entered the courtroom; The Venables arrived together, Ann Thompson came with supporters but no sign of Robert's father. Lady Penelope was his favourite character because she was rich, followed by Brains with the glasses. He had left her to bring up six children alone. He would throw things at other children, cut himself deliberately with scissors and stick paper all over his face. 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. release. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. 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. I am not sure if in fact he was seen by the school psychologist, but I did complete a form for him.. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. TWO BOYS. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. That seems the very least they could face for what they did. football, snooker, things like that. 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 is easily led. They saw it with their eyes. Another time they were saucy and asked a sales girl if she stocked 'fishy nickers'. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. A day later she would face much worse. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. Ann was a heavy drinker, separated from her husband, also called Robert, who had deserted the family several years earlier and did not attend court. "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" From their point of view it makes perfect sense. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. A police officer remembered Venables being so small that his legs didn't touch the floor as he sat in the custody office after his arrest. It was during this time that Susan, having suffered from clinical depression for many years, had experienced what were later described as two traumatic incidences, both of which Jon would have witnessed. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. At the end of the street a mesh wire frame coverered the window of the money lenders. "'It wasnt fair to interview him. Sandra Gotheridge. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. The boys lived off chips. The most startling moment of the trial came when, in lieu of giving evidence in person, the boys' taped interviews with police - recorded just after their arrest - were played in court. Facebook gives people the power. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. A parole board ruled that Thompson and Venables were no longer a threat. But they shouldn't have been tried in an adult court because they were still children. 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. A newsroom reporter who was not working on the case fended off transatlantic interview demands, saying that it was not enough that he had a Liverpool accent. She was a woman as large in personality and physique as the burdens she carried. Her husband came back to Walton now and again to see his mother, but he never came to see the boys. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. They were drawn to one another quickly. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. 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