Jon only revealed his part in the tot's murder after they reassured him they'd still love him if he confessed. Monday, 1st May 2023See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. Venables was 18 when he was freed from Red Bank secure unit in St Helens, Merseyside, in 2001, and 27 when he was recalled to prison early last year after being caught with child pornography on his computer. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James' injuries. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. 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. Mum sent home from GP after reporting headaches learns she has rare brain tumour. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. 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. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. At Preston Crown Court a few months later, I was one of a handful of journalists given full access to the small courtroom for the trial of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both now 11-years-old. - Volume 113 Issue 502. Convicted Scots conman died owing 5,000 in withheld wages. (modern). portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. Then they had carried, dragged and kicked him along a two and a half mile journey, at times swinging him violently in the air or dropping him against the road, until they reached the railway where they stoned him with bricks, bashed his head with a 22lb iron bar, and left him dead across the tracks to be cut in half by a passing goods train. Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. Who were their parents? But curiosity drew him towards Robert in equal measure. His mother cared about him. 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. A maudlin ballad about Liverpool was playing in the back- ground and she was cooking the dish known as Scouse. 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. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. A day later she would face much worse. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. Historical Person Search Search Search Results Results Susan Venables (1959 - Unknown) Try FREE for 14 days Try FREE for 14 days. Wishaw woman's move to dream home turns into nightmare. Her warnings arent being heeded, but 25 years on, I think she is probably right. Like Ann Thompson, however, both parents of Jon Venables rallied round their son and in preparationfor his release Mr Venables accom-panied him on trips to football matches. The obituary notice of Ken VENABLES Liverpool, Published in: Liverpool Echo. It emerged that the Venables family had suffered the same fate in another area. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. 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. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. One woman asked how James had injured his forehead. But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, MasterChef Australia host Jock Zonfrillo dies, NFL player's daughter, aged two, drowns in pool, Banana artwork in Seoul museum eaten by visitor, Trevelyan relative 'would consider' famine payment, Indian 'killer' elephant relocated to tiger reserve, Ding becomes China's first male world chess champion, Four dead after suspected pigeon racer dispute, US principal visits David sculpture after nudity row. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. David Sharrock, Maggie O'Kane, and Edward Pilkington look at the lives of the rebels who turned to killing, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. The 47-year-old, from Arbroath, was travelling in a grey Porsche 911 Carrera when the smash occurred at roughly 5pm on the B954 between Alyth and Meigle. There, he is terrorising a girl. Grainy CCTV footage later showed the innocent toddler being led away by Venables and Thompson, who marched the little boy through the streets of Bootle for two miles - a walk that would have taken hours given his size. Their. "My heart really goes out to them. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. Mr Bulger called for Venables secret new identity to be revealed for the safety of the public. 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. Who are Jon Venables and Robert Thompsons parents and what have they said about James Bulgers murder? 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. Just four years earlier, we had all covered the Hillsborough disaster and come together in grief. Here is who their parents are and how they reacted Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were only 10 years old when they became the countrys youngest murderers in 250 years. Real bottom of the gut stuff, like an animal. They hid his body under bricks so that the first train to come along cut his body in two, but he was already dead before this happened. The documentary last night featured interviews with those involved in the 1993 trial, including James dad Ralph Bulger, Jon Venables solicitor Laurence Lee and detective sergeant Phil Roberts, who interviewed Robert Thompson. Scot fears her cancer has spread during five month wait for NHS chemotherapy. Directly in front of the bench was the raised dock in which Thompson, Venables, and two social workers would sit for the next four weeks. bellevue school district salary schedule classified. the street. Meghan Markle's former pal warns her 'do the right thing' as dad's health declines. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court. Liverpool transfer news as Naby Keita's full transfer fee after . On the 20 year anniversary of the murder of James Bulger, BBC Radio 5 Live's Shelagh Fogarty recalls the trial of his young killers. 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. Apart from Jon's incident with the ruler, there had been no record of previous violence. Born 10 days apart in August 1982 in Liverpool. Money was always a struggle, and she got through the first years drinking in Higson's Top House off St Mary's Lane. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. 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. The fathers of both Robert and Jon were without work. One could draw some parallels between the film's plot and James Bulger's death. 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. His body, defiled and broken in two by a train, two miles from where hed been taken, was foundtwo days later. At Radio City in Liverpool the calls were coming through from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Good people asked the boys if they were lost or urged them to take "their baby brother" home as he cried for his mummy. Only two people can answer the question, and even their ability is doubtful. 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. The hardliners in the police have a simpler explanation. He was a loyal fan, though he did not go often to Goodison Park. Among the list were several horror films, including one video in which the police took special interest: Child's Play 3, a film which carries the line 'Children are consumer trainees'. View the profiles of people named Susan Venable. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. Ironically, Jon was the child who caused his parents least anxiety. He was pale in complexion and had watery brown, listless eyes. Both had a need to attract attention, which they achieved through a host of petty rebellions. 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. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. 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. Add a free photo. See that cell. He was fearful of the other boy. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. Mrs Thompson said she was so often called to Walton Lane police station to retrieve her truanting son that they should have given her a job there. Venables was a different creature. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. Last November he was arrested and recalled to jail on suspicion of possession of images of child sex abuse. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. Were they to blame? James mother Denise Fergus has been saying this for a long time, but still we hoped that the boy who savaged a tiny child to death could become a man safe to be in our midst. It is just heartbreaking.". "What he's done is wrong so he needs to be punished. 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. Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. 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. 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. I have just completed a course at Imperial College Business School in "AI Startups and Innovation". The beginnings of the friendship were inauspicious enough. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. Susan Venables' son, Jon, is currently awaiting release from the secure unit where he has been held for the past eight years. In the years between Venabless first return to prison and this latest conviction he was deemed to be living successfully in the community, when in fact he was working out ways to dodge his internet ban and hiding a computer in his headboard in order to download abusive images of children, including what the judge described this week as serious crimes inflicted on male toddlers. Robert had eaten too many and felt sick. 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. Scores more watched proceedings from a neighbouring office block which, for the duration of the trial, came under court jurisdiction. Such a childish voice. login . After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. He stayed away from school so often the local police called him a professional truant. Dr Lauren Juyia discovered her own stage 4 colon cancer at age 37 despite only experiencing two mild symptoms. They did. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. I feel so sorry for them. Not for long though. 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. The case is doomed to be picked over by every faction within the caring professionals and politics. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. Venables was banned from any internet access after his last release in 2013, but the judge was told he started searching for child abuse images last July. best all you can eat sushi orange county; national holiday calendar 2022 Kids fantasise about such things. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. The team look When Jon's parents gave a recent press interview, it was Mrs Venables who did most of the talking; the father just sat and cried. Many of us had dined together most nights throughout the trial, mulling it all over but distracting ourselves, too. Both had parents who had separated. After killing the tot Robert and Jon left his body near the tracks where it was discovered two days later. Chris Davies worked alongside Rodgers at Parkhead before following him to Leicester City. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. He also pleaded guilty to having more than 1,000 indecent images of children for the second time - these pictures included kids aged 6-13. Striking train drivers earning 60,000 accused of 'cultural vandalism' by 'targeting' Eurovision and FA Cup, One man dead and seven men and women injured as knifeman goes on bloody rampage near nightclub in Bodmin, Girl, 4, 'assaulted by drunk man' in Tesco as cops appeal to find hero who stepped in to help, Explosion rocks London street as flat above chicken shop blows up in suspected gas blast leaving three injured, Keir Starmer faces awkward questions in Commons over secret talks to poach Sue Gray, ISIS terror leader Abu Hussein al-Qurashi killed by Turkish 'intelligence operation' in Syria, Erdogan says, WHSmith shoppers stunned at eye-watering 15 price tag for a bag of Cadbury Mini Eggs - three weeks after Easter, has admittedhaving a sick paedophile manual which told him how to "have sex with little girls", child abuse images sentence as an insult, Venables is to keep his anonymity after a judge ruled it would protect him from "serious violence", Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. The final scene takes place among the tracks of a fun-fair ghost train where the doll, which resembles an infant with spiky hair has his face slashed before he is cut to pieces by a ventilator fan. I honestly do believe him. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' Ben Griffiths. I made notes of the pathologists evidence. The government will be required to respond within 14 days if as the petition achieves more than 100,000 signatures. A picture taken from CCTV footage shows the tot being taken by the hand in what would become one of the defining images of the shocking case. Celtic fans are 'hyenas' as Brendan Rodgers' confidant reveals all about the rules of Fortress Paradise. His response couldn't have been more different as he sank into the oversized blazer he was wearing. But both had been treated for depression and were . Between January and the day of the murder Robert had absconded 37 half days out of a possible 60 . A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. Doctor discovered her own stage four cancer after experiencing two 'mild' symptoms. Christopher Ireland, who was found dead in his flat in Dundee, "unlawfully" withheld 4,890 from an employee in the months before his death. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously where I was standing poor little James must have been not. 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. Speaking in February 2018, he said: 40 months is a joke. JON VENABLES: 'The more innocent one' MAnY commentators regarded Venables's parents, neil and susan, a working-class couple from Liverpool, respectable compared with the Thompsons. For his parents, the fact they were children was actually a cause for hope at that point. Donald Trump to visit Scottish golf courses in first UK trip since 2019. The SNP said ordinary families were "being forced to pay extortionate fuel bills while Westminster reaps the financial benefits". . Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. Few had the patience to be friends with him, only his younger brother and a couple of lads who lived nearby. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. . I cant believe people find excuses for these murderers. All rights reserved. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. 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. Child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, are the others. The reaction prompted James' mum Denise Fergus to let supporters know she had nothing to do with the programme. Andrew Fisher, who murdered his wife in 1990, died on Friday following a battle with dementia. has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. Paul Russell claimed to be terrified of murderer Thomas Cashman at Liverpool Crown Court. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? There was a pattern of bullying, with the older boys picking on their younger brothers down the line. Lady Penelope was his favourite character because she was rich, followed by Brains with the glasses. He was in great distress' And what about the little, innocent boy he killed??! Although he appeared to have the more stable upbringing of the two boys, there was a history of family problems. "It is hard to take in really. 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. During the trial she said: "Yes, he did tell some lies, but he also told the truth about one thing from beginning to end - he did not kill that baby. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Celtic trump Rangers aftermath LIVE as Ange nears Treble and Beale begins mammoth Ibrox rebuild. At 6.31pm she text-messaged him to ask him not . At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. More often, he would pinch them from local shops. They would hang around the video shop in Walton Village where the shop girl was pleased to have their company. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. Tara Hussain had been experiencing the pain for a year, but believed it to just be a bad pressure headache. Read about our approach to external linking. In return, Jon would let Robert ride his bicycle, and from time to time he would suggest naughty deeds himself. James' mother Denise believes they should have remained in jail for life and has tirelessly campaigned against their rights to anonymity. I didnt connect the dots until much later on. His mind was too restless to take up other hobbies for long. DAVID James Smith, who visited Mrs Thompson at one of her secret homes, reveals that it was a sad existence. Edinburgh named UK top spot for close UFO encounters. Marcus Rashford saves 'world's sexiest footballer' Alisha Lehmann from nightclub mob. Venables has been convicted twice since being set free - Robert is not believed to have reoffended. 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. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? After the trial, Robert Thompson's mum Ann told how she was "effectively in hiding, unable to live anything like a normal life because of the constant and real fear of revenge attacks". I'm bringing up on my own but if I went round and screwed every warehouse my children would have everything too.'. The days James was abducted, February 12 1993, I was a young reporter in my home city of Liverpool. He is an old-fashioned crime and punishment man. Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. Another time they were saucy and asked a sales girl if she stocked 'fishy nickers'. Barry Robson gets Aberdeen manager job for keeps as he signs two-year deal to delight Dons fans. 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. But he liked collecting trolls, little doll-like creatures with ugly faces and spiky fluorescent hair. ", Neil added: "I feel for that family. Since his 14-year-old brother, Phillip , had already tried to stab him, the social services agreed. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. 557. In between they abducted and killed a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. Thompson has avoided difficulty, but Venables has committed four more offences and has been incarcerated twice more After being discovered in possession of a cache of child sex photographs on his computer for the second time in 2018, he was sentenced to 40 months in prison. byu professor excommunicated, sali hughes guerlain foundation, catholic mass 30 days after death,
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