I have cried for JamesBulgermany times, so God only knows the tears his parents and family have shed. Heck, we don't even have murderers that young in New York.'. and things like that is that he was frightened. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. 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. Now we waited. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. Susan seemed happy with the arrangement, although, for the children, this type of relationship would have been just one more confusing anomaly to cope with in the wake of an already confusing time in their young lives. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Are they mad? For a start, there were only three children, of whom Jon was the middle. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. Most people would regard such sentiments as having come rather late in the day and certainly too late to save poor James. Who knows. 'Provided you have no court orders for debts already,' the man on the phone would add helpfully. They were drawn to one another quickly. Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. For me, though, it is Susan and Neil Venables who stay most in my memory of that day. Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. See that cell. "I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. "On the other hand, you are looking at him and you are saying 'Well, I know why - because he is so weak'. Who were their parents? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. DAVID James Smith, who visited Mrs Thompson at one of her secret homes, reveals that it was a sad existence. Not their punishmentand exclusion from society for the rest of their childhood. Susan Venable: 141 records - CVs, addresses, photos, cars - uFind.name It is time to examine all this.". Kids fantasise about such things. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. "What he's done is wrong so he needs to be punished. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. The case of James, a two-year-old who was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, in 1993, before being tortured and left to die, shocked the nation. They knew what they were doing," another wrote. Haunting words of killer Jon Venables' parents resurface on 25th Were they to blame? But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. Thompson & Venebales. Venables, who was said to have been subjected to regular beatings by his mother Susan, titled the drawing 'My Dads house'. 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. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. At night, for instance, the two boys would lie in bed together and suck each others thumbs. The bleached houses were peppered with burglar alarms, the shabby ones did not look worth the trouble. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". xf fy. James Bulger would now be weeks away from his 23rd birthday. 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?'. '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. The prosecution, led by Richard Henriques QC, made its case quite simply really, using the journey they took James on to tell the story. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. . The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. When you have got people in the area threatening to blow your kneecaps off every moment of the daythats just the way they are. Sometimes Robert would sag off on his own, but it was more fun with a friend. His mother cared about him. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10, murdered him in cold blood. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. Both had parents who had separated. 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And there were rewards for breaking rules. There was almost total silence there apart from the sound of shoes on the ground. Online Marketing For Your Business "One mystery surrounding the murder of James Bulger case is why the 'experts' insisted that Jon Venables was rehabilitated. 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. At the end of the street a mesh wire frame coverered the window of the money lenders. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. The most agonising thing about the whole case was that so many people had stopped them and questioned them. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. cl gz. His mind was too restless to take up other hobbies for long. The appearance in court this week of Venables, now a 35-year-old man, on charges of possessing indecent images of children, was a jarring reminder that, still a quarter of a century on, his rehabilitation is more an ambition than a reality. 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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. Just four years earlier, we had all covered the Hillsborough disaster and come together in grief. For his parents, the fact they were children was actually a cause for hope at that point. I know how I feel as a mother. Verdict day came. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. Their seats were just below the raised dock where their sons would sit for the next three weeks, listening to a prosecution which aimed to prove not only that they killed James Bulger, but that they planned to, and that when they did they knew it to be wrong. They have never come out of hiding. Robert was number five of seven. Jon was afraid of her. '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. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. As their sweet voices rang around the courtroom, Venables hid his face in his oversized blazer and cried. Their. 'It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. Susan Venables Facebook: susan.venables.9 Lives in Mellor, Blackburn With Darwen, . Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. In court, he hid his face again. 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. gk. "My heart really goes out to them. Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . Liked by susan venables. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. Hope. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. When shop keepers asked what they were doing they would pretend they were waiting for their mum. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. His mother was not so keen on the idea - they cost pounds 35 each. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. 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. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. Unemployment levels were more than twice the national average in Walton. '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.'. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. 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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. Hes your son., Unhappily, it was during this critical time that Ann became pregnant with her seventh child, the product of another failed relationship. 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. He appears to be a normal human, but inside the soft flesh there is indestructable metal. They did. The sunrises through the sea mist over the sculpture The Couple by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . . everyone blamed Thompson and. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. The end of the court case was not the end of course. CCTV images revealed how James had been lured away by Thompson and Venables, who was also aged 10. Nature. His parents, Susan and Neil, accompanied him during the interview process. James' mother Denise believes they should have remained in jail for life and has tirelessly campaigned against their rights to anonymity. Some people thought they were as old as 12 or 13, but when they met they were both only 10 years old. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. The parents of James Bulgers killers have also come to learn that the consequences of that terrible day will stay with them for ever too. The reaction prompted James' mum Denise Fergus to let supporters know she had nothing to do with the programme. From a distance Robert looked a sweet child. It is claimed that taxpayers could have to fork out another 250,000 to provide a new life when he is eventually released. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. I barely need to refer to my notes to remember in great detail the events that would dominate British news for years. . He had a Game Boy console and hankered after a Sega machine, and when they played truant he would head straight for the computer game corner of Tandy's or Dixons. Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy. I'm warning yer,' she would say. Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. ", Children accused of a crime are usually granted anonymity, but at the end of the trial the judge allowed both to be named, "because the public interest overrode the interest of the defendants.". Recently, I dug out my old notebooks of the trial and my handwriting during the verdicts says it all. 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. Spidery and messy. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. I didnt connect the dots until much later on. 'It was good. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . The family was already exhaustingly overextended, and Robert, being the fifth edition, was quick to pick up on the coping mechanisms needed to survive in a life of unremitting chaos and enmity. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. 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. 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). Fiction Writing. I would say he was provoked. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. 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. 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. as he was known in court - Jon Venables. 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. I feel so sorry for them. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. So he came home. Find out more, The latest offers and discount codes from popular brands on Telegraph Voucher Codes, As James Bulger killer Jon Venables is sent back to prison, Shelagh Fogarty writes about her experiences as a young reporter on the case at the time, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the New Strand shopping centre in the Bootle area of Liverpool, Denise Bulger arrives at Preston Crown Couty on November 24 1993, Shelagh Fogarty was a young reporter at the time of the murder, The police van carrying Venables and Thompson arrives at Preston Crown Court, Sarah Ferguson exclusive: Meghan has made Harry very happy, 32 best gifts for her: top present ideas to buy for mother's day in 2023, Midlife women are being told to sit down and shut up and not just by men, Imogen Stubbs: Its become less and less acceptable to age, Cost of HRT set to be slashed in new prescription scheme, Magic Mike and the naked truth about male strippers, Inside the James Bulger files 25 years on. Parents who stand by James's killers - Express.co.uk At 2:30 they went to the two-story shopping centre. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. Yet, even while Susan admitted to being under huge emotional strain on a daily basis, the couple later denied that her constant hysterics would have encroached on Jon in any way, considering he was still in infancy at the time. 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. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Parents of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson talk about their sons, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . It was their sons picked up by detectives. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. 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!