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One neighbour said she always let him into her home whenever his mother was out. He disliked Thunderbirds because of the puppets' 'stringy thingies'. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. Take him home, the officer would say to her. Ultimately, wanting to escape the havoc, most of the boys opted to leave home, and some were placed into voluntary care at Dysons Hall, a childrens home just outside of Liverpool. She was paranoid about being discovered. But however hollow a gesture it might have seemed, those who are in touch with the Thompson and Venables families insist that they have sought to make some sort of amends with their sons after the horrific events of 17 years ago that will rightly stay with them for the rest of their lives. It set the tone for the years ahead in which there was to be no respite from the hatred. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. Without anyone in the family to turn to for support, he had to look outside for people whose swaggering aggression he could emulate. In the first press conference she gave the day after her son was taken, this 25-year-old woman struck me as a girl, a desperate, grief stricken girl whose tired swollen eyes told their own story. Facebook gives people the power. Another added: "An awful mistake??!! The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. Can Nigeria's election result be overturned? 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. Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. ROBERT had a reputation in the neighbourhood for being a troublemaker. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. Many of us had dined together most nights throughout the trial, mulling it all over but distracting ourselves, too. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. They were drawn to one another quickly. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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 is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. Nature. His former wife would send their boys up the street to give their father the fingers through the bay windows of his mother's house. Hes your son., Unhappily, it was during this critical time that Ann became pregnant with her seventh child, the product of another failed relationship. Both had a need to attract attention, which they achieved through a host of petty rebellions. A torrent of questions erupted from the moment the grim news came out that James Bulger's body had been found on a railway line in Liverpool and the last people seen with him were two ten-year-olds, captured on grainy CCTV footage. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. The Liverpool Echo boasted that their man had one of 'just 34 seats' allocated to the international press. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. Thompson, who gained five GCSEs and A-levels in design and technology, is said to have developed an interest in theatre. Some neighbours claim they saw the boy snaring birds into traps in the back yard of his home, while one local youth claimed he saw the boy pull the heads off live baby pigeons. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. Neil explained to him that the school they attended was special, and that Jon wouldnt be accepted. From a distance Robert looked a sweet child. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. He's quite bright and clever. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. WALTON, where they both lived, is, in the jargon of planning, an inner-city urban priority area; neither the best nor the worst the city has to offer. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Not surprisingly, Ann had also attempted suicide in the same manner, some months before. fn ye vw la. I just burst into tears because you just knew what that meanther heart was broken. "My heart really goes out to them. however, as the incident in the playground shows, the ever-present threat of discovery cast a constant shadow over anyone related to the two murderers. I have lost my son as well. One woman asked how James had injured his forehead. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. 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. One of Anns sons claimed that Ann, too, had beaten them with sticks, and had struck one of the boys with a cane. They played a double act towards the children: his mother, Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman with a hawkish look, was the hard one. I said no. Big Bobby, like Anns father, was a violent alcoholic, who was easily crossed. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. He didn't want to hurt James. Neither gave evidence to the court, but were found guilty after an officer told how Venables admitted the murder, saying, "We did it. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. See that cell. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. 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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. They didnt kill him in an accident it was premeditated and they tortured that poor baby. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. "My heart really goes out to them. The couple, who also have a 13- year-old son, who has learning difficulties, and a 9-year-old daughter, denied that Jon was bullied by his brother or that he watched violent horror films at home. Murder of James Bulger. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. 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. We still dont know why. 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. They and Ann Thompson, who has six other. 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. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. 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. 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. Between January and the day of the murder Robert had absconded 37 half days out of a possible 60 . Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. 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. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. 'They would say 'take your son home'. Seeing at first hand the pain of a family who have lost a toddler to an act of brutal violence is almost unbearably moving. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. Jon was afraid of her. 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. When the fisticuffs ended, impressed by each other's performance, they made friends. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. S. Susan venables. 'We have never really been apart,' Mrs Venables said. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. Money, or his family's lack of it, preyed on his mind. "He is easily led. He has been educated. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. Facebook gives people the power. On November 24, 1993, the two boys, by then aged 11, became the youngest defendants to be sentenced for murder in a British court. Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. 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. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. 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. Venables was caught with 1,170 indecent photos of children on his laptop, the Old Bailey was told. Walton Village Financial Services would lend you pounds 300 for Christmas and demand a total of pounds 460 in repayment. Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. Are they mad? Self pity? 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. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. The living versions on the floor of the court looked equally wrinkled and austere. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. But now and again. James Bulgers mother Denise claims that she managed to track down Thompson six years ago, planning to confront him but instead stared at him from the opposite side of the street, full of rage but unable to act. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. Susan Venables Facebook: susan.venables.9 Lives in Mellor, Blackburn With Darwen, . His mind was too restless to take up other hobbies for long. 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.