Thompson admitted nothing. After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. Lock him in it.'. He gets upset. 'Provided you have no court orders for debts already,' the man on the phone would add helpfully. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. She couldn't. They had much in common. Truanting, or 'sagging off', had become a way of life for Robert. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. Both Ann and the children knew well the sting of palm against flesh, and Bobby often used these beatings to ensure that his wife and children conformed. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. Her warnings arent being heeded, but 25 years on, I think she is probably right. Seeing at first hand the pain of a family who have lost a toddler to an act of brutal violence is almost unbearably moving. "'It wasnt fair to interview him. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. Jon Venables is demonstrably no such thing. He has had Christmas presents. 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. The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you dont survive, she said. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. Their faces affected me deeply. One could draw some parallels between the film's plot and James Bulger's death. Naturaleza. In a 1993 interview, published in the Guardian newspaper just one day after Robert was convicted of the murder of James Bulger, Ann Thompson was quick to place fault on the neighborhood and the surrounding authorities, who she felt had failed both her and her sons. ', Mrs Thompson had no illusions about her son: 'He's a little liar, he's devious, he's a scally, he robs, he plays truant.' The mayor of Preston accused them of being sick ghouls, but still they came, queuing up for tickets two hours before proceedings began. A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. The abduction and brutal murder of this two-year-old by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who were just 10 at the time, prompted a conversation in Britain that we are still having today. 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. My young body must have been tense with the deep anxiety that permeated every inch of that courtroom. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. Mr Venables said: "He wouldn't watch horror. His parents, Susan and Neil, accompanied him during the interview process. It was the kind of family neighbours compare themselves against and then feel better. Robert passed this down the line bullying his eight-year-old brother into playing truant. rk ye. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". "I don't think we went wrong as parents at all. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. Just having a bit of shade!! "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. Just something to do.'. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. 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. The officer who questioned Venables took the stand and explained how he had asked Susan Venables to absent herself from the next session as her presence was now inhibiting her son from telling the truth. She visited regularly and they would hold family anniversaries in the, place where he was held. The statement said: "The man formerly known as Jon Venables has been charged with offences relating to indecent images of children and will appear in the Crown Court. It was to be an adult trial, both boys appearing every day in the full gaze of whoever was in that room, but neither giving evidence directly to the court. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. Verdict day came. Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . 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. 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. Just as Venables's confession convicted him, a shoe print belonging to Robert Thompson, found on James cheekbone, confirmed his guilt, too. After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. 'His mum was more strict. She claimed, however, that she was completely unaware of Jons erratic behaviors at school, had never seen any evidence to support them (such as cuts on his arms or holes in his socks), and dismissed the possibility that many of the occurrences cited by the teacher had ever taken place. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court. Thompson did what he often did, looked around, grabbing clumsily at his tongue. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. Express. I would get him something like a cartoon.". It was a sign of such restlessness that he was unable to hang on to a football team for long - he kept shifting his allegiance like a floating voter. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. 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. They said their son met Robert Thompson in September 1991, when Jon was transferred from another school. .". ql zo. 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. The only sign he was discomforted by hearing it was a near constant pulling of his tongue in his hands. MOST of the boys were bright. Jon Venables said the class teacher tried to entice Robert by offering him a prize for a week's continual attendance - he did, but the prize never came. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013. Given the Venables family history, it was later suggested that Jon could arguably have been affected by an undiagnosed disorder at the time, and was clearly emotionally underdeveloped. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. Both had parents who had separated. 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. They were drawn to one another quickly. Or they would mess around in shops, playing on computer games if Robert had his way, sliding on the polished floors if Jon had his. Trauma? Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. His mother, Susan, attributed this behavior with peer pressure and hyperactivity, and put him on a special diet, though it did nothing to quell his frequent emotional outbursts. But curiosity drew him towards Robert in equal measure. She would arrive at the secure unit with food parcels and is said to be proud of his achievements since the crime. It seems likely that he was bullied. But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. everyone blamed Thompson and. Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. 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. I would say he was provoked. They probably weren't out to kill someone, but they were probably out to ruin someone else's happiness. Shame? As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". The press were gobbling it up. He was repulsed because he found Robert's disdain for authority scary. Neil Venables regarded himself as the Barry Norman of Merseyside - a film buff with a penchant for horror. 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. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. Kids fantasise about such things. Keep them apart or he'll get into trouble, they said. The petition, that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. What a horror it all was. 'When the fisticuffs ended, they made friends.' 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. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. 'The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you don't survive,' she said. The four who drove Suzanne to Romiley - Jean Powell (now Jean Gillespie), Bernadette McNeilly, Glyn Powell, and Anthony Dudson - were all found guilty of murder. 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. Venables, who was released on licence in 2001 after serving eight years for the murder of two-year-old James, was returned to prison last November after he was caught with the pictures. Celestial. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. release. The couple fought frequently as to their eldest sons troubles, which they later learned included mild learning difficulties, and Susan, at times becoming so exasperated by the situation, began to resent her sons presence. . '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. They occasionally exchanged furtive glances. Who were their parents? . '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.'. football, snooker, things like that. 'In my opinion he was victimised. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Any anxiety or animosity he might have felt was manifested largely through his school-aged thumb-sucking, a habit which elicited titters and taunts from the neighborhood children. He says 'I know, Mum'. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. That seems the very least they could face for what they did. Mrs Venables walked around the area for hours, searching for him. For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. Not really?. 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. The days James was abducted, February 12 1993, I was a young reporter in my home city of Liverpool. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. I said no. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. Such a childish voice. Although he appeared to have the more stable upbringing of the two boys, there was a history of family problems. what is the bite force of a baboon. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. 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. At night, for instance, the two boys would lie in bed together and suck each others thumbs. Asked later if he could recall a time when his brother had exhibited any unusually aggressive tendencies, Roberts brother said no: Hes frightened of his own shadow. Nonetheless, in hindsight, its safe to assume that by 1993, ten-year-old Robert was swiftly approaching crisis point., Alarmingly, some of the neighboring children later claimed to have seen Robert behave cruelly towards animals, and pull the heads off of baby pigeons, although this was never unequivocally confirmed. Jon was also mad on computers. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. 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. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. His mother especially has been a tower of strength, says the source. Forlorn hope, though. The Royal Mint of a 50p coin featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore as part of a Harry Potter-themed collection. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked," she said. The boys lived off chips. In court, he hid his face again. Counsel for the prosecution, Richard Henriques QC, made it clear all three elements needed to be proved for a murder conviction. Jon breaks into hysteria whenever the subject is mentioned. Last November he was arrested and recalled to jail on suspicion of possession of images of child sex abuse. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. Im bringing them up on my own, but if I went round and screwed every warehouse, my kids would have everything, too. Even so, while Roberts community was rough, his home life was perhaps worse, and could hardly be considered a refuge for the boy. He would throw things at other children, cut himself deliberately with scissors and stick paper all over his face. Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. We still think the same of him as we always have. . What happened to James Bulger? The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, and said he was going through torment. 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. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. Whatever problems she had in her own life, she was always there. Constantly fighting and battering one another, and possibly, too, being hit by their emotionally drained mother, the Thompson brothers often looked scruffy, and, on more than one occasion, were seen bearing bruises and bite marks. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. They saw it with their eyes. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. So much happened whilst I was there involving Jon. Just seeing the size of them that first time, the childish figures they naturally were, caught my breath. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. Some of the red brick houses were well-kept, others had torn net curtains and grubby windows. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. 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'. He had been quiet that weekend, they said, but they had thought that was because his mother had taken him to the police station on the Friday evening for playing truant. 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 is broken- hearted over it. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. Now we waited. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. His grip was so strong that it took two people to pry Jon off of the boy. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. . James' mother Denise believes they should have remained in jail for life and has tirelessly campaigned against their rights to anonymity. She spent much of her time at the pub after that, and rarely stayed in for a meal. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' One of the new works by Banksy, appears to show a 1950s housewife, wearing a classic blue pinny and yellow washing up gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a chest freezer, the piece is set on a white wall backdrop in Kent. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. I couldnt make any sense of it, Robert later recalled, desolately, when asked about his fathers unexpected departure. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. Ann and Bobby fought regularly in front of the children, with virtually all of the fights leading to physical violence. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Susan Venables has blamed "weakness" for her son's role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he "got involved with the wrong person". Superintendent Albert Kirby, who headed the investigation, doesn't believe in the under-belly of Liverpool nonsense or stuff about the disintegration of modern society, the collapse of the nineties cities. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. Venables was caught with 1,170 indecent photos of children on his laptop, the Old Bailey was told. Robert always wanted to stay out late and encouraged Jon to join him. Nature. At Radio City in Liverpool the calls were coming through from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. One neighbour said she always let him into her home whenever his mother was out. xf fy. In the last few years she stopped drinking in the Top House and tried to keep things together. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. The hardliners in the police have a simpler explanation. Look at mine. Tweet. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. Money, or his family's lack of it, preyed on his mind. The fathers of both Robert and Jon were without work. While Robert was described as a wily child, known to tell lies, most of the St. Marys school staff agreed that the boy posed little trouble, and, if and when he attended, was generally well-mannered during class. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Venables and Thompson abducted, tortured and killed two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged just 10. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends. Little Bobby went to visit his brothers every so often, eager to show them the latest playthings he had robbed from the assorted shops nearby. ", 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.". 'They were just your average scruff - like the rest of us.'. 'America is the land of shopping malls. 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. From their point of view it makes perfect sense. Once they went into a home decoration shop and hid under a pile of carpets. It is here, of course, that Jon met and made friends with fellow eccentric, Robert Thompson. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. There was a pattern of bullying, with the older boys picking on their younger brothers down the line. 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. this weekend for breaching the terms of his early release, the parents of both the Bulger killers continue to stand by them. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. 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. 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. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. He was fearful of the other boy. He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister.