For a start, there were only three children, of whom Jon was the middle. 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. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. He didn't want to hurt James. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. 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. I know how I feel as a mother. wo. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. Three days later his body was found, and three days after that a tip-off came from a shopkeeper who had seen two boys playing truant on the day James went missing and gave police two names - Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. The details of Jamess death were sickening. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" Southern. Shortly after the breakup, an accidental fire destroyed the Thompsons home, leaving Ann homeless, jobless, and with little money to support her kids. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. Aged 10, he was barely literate. 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. 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. and things like that is that he was frightened. He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. It was their sons picked up by detectives. 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. The reaction prompted James' mum Denise Fergus to let supporters know she had nothing to do with the programme. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. 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. 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. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it.
James Bulger: Jon Venables' identity leaked online - news There was a pattern of bullying, with the older boys picking on their younger brothers down the line. 'If, in their own lives, they have had it extremely tough and been bullied and neglected and abused then they end up rapidly having to prove themselves to be extremely tough and invulnerable - a bit like Arnold Shwarzenegger in The Terminator. Jon was afraid of her. Sorry, we are unable to accept comments about this article at the moment. One of the focal points of the local community was QD Videos at the bottom of Robert's street, where the kids would browse through the horror stacks, discussing their favourites knowledgeably. 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. Channel 5 is set to air a new two-part documentary that tells the definitive story of . Just having a bit of shade!! Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. Their faces affected me deeply. his mother was told that it was important that she stayed in his life and stood by him. Real bottom of the gut stuff, like an animal. The petition, that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. There is, like, a little paint factory. 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. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. .". The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . She found it hard bringing the kids up in the neighbourhood. Then between 1990 and 1991, Jons teachers recognized a dramatic change in the boys behavior, which was alarming enough for one of his teachers to begin keeping a daily log. He disliked Thunderbirds because of the puppets' 'stringy thingies'. "My heart really goes out to them. I used to get them for myself at night time. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. 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 Liverpool Echo boasted that their man had one of 'just 34 seats' allocated to the international press. 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. He had left her to bring up six children alone. 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. They were drawn to one another quickly. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. 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. CCTV images revealed how James had been lured away by Thompson and Venables, who was also aged 10. Not surprisingly, Ann had also attempted suicide in the same manner, some months before. They were intent on killing. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court. 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. A day later she would face much worse. At the end of the street a mesh wire frame coverered the window of the money lenders. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. Apart from Jon's incident with the ruler, there had been no record of previous violence. Between January and the day of the murder Robert had absconded 37 half days out of a possible 60 . On countless occasions, Bobby battered his wife, once causing her to miscarry, and his temper didnt stop at his wife. ', 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.' Money was always a struggle, and she got through the first years drinking in Higson's Top House off St Mary's Lane. 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 just heartbreaking.". He would often have to stay in class at break times to catch up. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. 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. 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. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. Online Marketing For Your Business At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. 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. I feel so sorry for them. There was almost total silence there apart from the sound of shoes on the ground. Everton was his team. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. 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. The distress of one woman who had come agonisingly close to taking James by the hand herself to a police station, only to be hoodwinked by Thompson and Venables that they were doing just that. But. He was also given 'respite care' - six weekly weekend breaks to relieve the family of the burden of looking after him. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. "On the other hand, you are looking at him and you are saying 'Well, I know why - because he is so weak'. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' . He has had more love and attention than a lot of children I know. Facebook gives people the power. 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. I cant believe people find excuses for these murderers. Ann tried to discourage this by hiding his shoes, or by taking him down to the Walton Lane police station and having the officer on duty frighten him into compliance, but to no avail.
Profile: Jon Venables - BBC News This happened, more often than not, at night, when they refused to go to bed when told. I don't think they understood he was hyperactive. He didn't want to hurt James. Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. I would say he was provoked. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. Shame? 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. JON Venables's family was far from affluent, but it was not as close to the breadline as Robert's. Birds. His body, defiled and broken in two by a train, two miles from where hed been taken, was foundtwo days later. A pathologist later said that there were so many injuries - 42 in total - that not one could be isolated as causing the little boy's fatal wound. They would hang around the video shop in Walton Village where the shop girl was pleased to have their company. Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone.
What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. There, he is terrorising a girl. Money, or his family's lack of it, preyed on his mind. Bird Pictures. During that time, Susan felt as if she was trapped and overburdened, often taking her frustrations out on her husband, who believed it was her responsibility to take care of the children, and offered her little support in the way of childrearing. 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. fn ye vw la. Spidery and messy. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy.
Bulger killer had 'better life' after toddler murder - BBC News I don't think so. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. 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. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. Robert's mother agreed with her son's assessment: 'Name one family in the area who would have a good word for us.'. It is time to examine all this.". Jon lived in terror of losing his mother's love, yet he was also terrified of her. 'You'd better tell the truth. His mother cared about him. James smith (16 March 1990 [2] - 12 February 1993) was a two-year-old boy from Kirkby, Merseyside, England, who was abducted, tortured, and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson (born 23 August 1982) and Jon Venables (born 13 August 1982), on 12 February 1993.