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gl. susan venables pictures 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. sons, were settled in council houses within easy reach of the institutions where their sons were being held. eb. In Jon's case, 'hyperactivity' went beyond mere fidgeting into outbursts of sudden anger and violence. Hope. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. 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. Mrs Venables described how she searched for Jon. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. Such a childish voice. His body was found two days later on a railway line. 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. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. Thousands of members of Unison, Unite and the GMB unions are set to walk out across England and Wales on Monday as part of continued industrial action in the health service, Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in London, Everton fans hold up banners protesting against the board of directors during their Premier League match against West Ham at the London Stadium, A pair of swans fly over a frozen pond in Bushy Park in London, People take part in a demonstration in support of trans rights outside the UK Government Office in Edinburgh, A member of the Royal College of Nursing holds their dog whilst on the picket line outside Kings College Hospital in London, as nurses take industrial action over pay, The scene on the A39 Quantock Road in Bridgwater after a double-decker bus overturned in a crash involving a motorcycle, A man walks dogs in snowy conditions in a park in Hexham. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. Jon had to be pulled off the boy, who had gone red in the face, by a teacher who described the incident as the worst case of school violence she had witnessed. The guilty verdicts came quickly - within five hours. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. She was living in secrecy but always felt that she was walking around with a huge sign: mother of Bulger killer, above her head. portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. But apart from his brother, Robert struggled to build friendships. James Bulger murder: Shelagh Fogarty remembers the trial Once Robert shared with him a tin of Roses chocolates which he had poured surreptitiously into his coat pocket. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. He began telling his father that he believed his parents loved his brother and sister more than they did him, and, at one point, implored his father to send him to school with his siblings. While, on the face of it, there doesnt appear to be as much external devastation present in Jons family history as in Roberts, his outlandish behavior suggested that internally, Jon was in a state of extreme emotional upset. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. Shortly after the breakup, an accidental fire destroyed the Thompsons home, leaving Ann homeless, jobless, and with little money to support her kids. This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. They sat just feet from me, perched on the edge of their wooden seat, smartly dressed and hunched in shame just below their son, Jon. Not that he had any need to borrow his dad's. "It is hard to take in really. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. In the mean time, Susan, finding her new living conditions insufferable, soon decided to move back in with Neil until she could find another place of her own. Susan Venables Profiles | Facebook On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. Susan Venables, mother of Jon, blamed her son's "weakness" for the killing and said he was "fearful" and "provoked" by his accomplice Robert Thompson. Nicola had to exchange some clothes at TJ Hughes, Denise waited nearby, watching the children. But talking in 1993, his mother tried to explain how her child turned into a murderer. He was too scared to be naughty on his own. Ann, desperate to escape the physical and emotional torment of living with her drunken father, was married to Robert, Sr. in December 1971, on the day of her eighteenth birthday. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. Scores more watched proceedings from a neighbouring office block which, for the duration of the trial, came under court jurisdiction. For weeks, she stayed in bed, not bothering to tend to the children, and when she finally did reemerge, she readily admitted she drank from morning to night, but had stopped taking the pills. 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. "My heart really goes out to them. Robert is not believed to have reoffended - Venables has been convicted twice since being set free. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. ', 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 fathers of both Robert and Jon were without work. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. I didnt, did I? she said to Neil during their interview with Gitta Sereny. 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'. Their. Robert passed this down the line bullying his eight-year-old brother into playing truant. 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. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. 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. 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. She would arrive at the secure unit with food parcels and is said to be proud of his achievements since the crime. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. Jon continued to attend Broad Square, where children of the neighborhood openly mocked and poked fun at his siblings, calling them backward. Jon was also an easy target due to a squint in his eye. Neil explained to him that the school they attended was special, and that Jon wouldnt be accepted. Venables was a different creature. She was prone to hysteria and hailed from a 'strict and disciplined' background. Put bluntly, Jon Venables still gets a kick out of seeing small children suffer. In return, Jon would let Robert ride his bicycle, and from time to time he would suggest naughty deeds himself. The Killing of James Bulger: Where are Robert Thompson and Jon Venables Something went wrong, please try again later. He was pale in complexion and had watery brown, listless eyes. Trauma? yet, as Venables is back behind bars. He says 'I know, Mum'. But his progress took a nose dive in September 1991 when he was transferred into another class. 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. Although Susan couldnt recall any dramatic change in Jons behavior, his teachers there expressed some concern that Jon had become upset and difficult following the separation. 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. . We still dont know why. Her family were dignified throughout, but on that day one of theBulgerfamily supporters allowed themselvesa loud 'YES' as the verdicts came in. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. He gets upset. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. I would say he was provoked. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. He would call people names and get them to chase him. They were drawn to one another quickly. And there were rewards for breaking rules. Who were their parents? 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Susan Venables - People Directory - 192.com Both of them struggled at school and had been lumped into the year below their age. 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. After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. 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 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. But he is not a murderer. Resentful of her husbands lack of involvement with the children, Susan conceded that the couple fought constantly, especially throughout 1983, but maintained that Neil had never been aggressive towards her, nor had she hit him. But now and again. So much happened whilst I was there involving Jon. The boys lived off chips. By chance, the rest of Jon's family was driving past and spotted them. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. 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'. The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. 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. Nature. Two boys who forged a friendship out of breaking the rules. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. He stayed away from school so often the local police called him a professional truant. Both had parents who had separated. Robert had asked once before but Jon, who had rarely truanted in his previous school, was scared and said no. 'In my opinion he was victimised. 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. Please review our, You need to be a subscriber to join the conversation. He also liked to scare old ladies by jumping out in front of their noses. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. I would say he was provoked. Shame? 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. Profile: Jon Venables - BBC News For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". 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. his mother was told that it was important that she stayed in his life and stood by him. At his first primary school the headmistress referred him to a psychologist, noting how he used to bang his head against the classroom wall to gain attention. That seems the very least they could face for what they did. 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?'. release. We still think the same of him as we always have. 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. The government will be required to respond within 14 days if as the petition achieves more than 100,000 signatures. Now we waited. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. This would have put Jon in a particularly arduous position, as the couples only excelling child, and as author Gitta Sereny observed from her time spent with the Venables in 1994, forcing this middle child, Jon, for a long time, perhaps unconsciously, to compensate his mother for her two problem children, put an enormous weight of responsibility on this child virtually from the time he was born., As Susan struggled to manage her two disadvantaged children day to day, Neil was the familys breadwinner, working as a forklift driver. gk. King Charles III shakes hands with Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky as he welcomes at Buckingham Palace, in London, ahead of an audience during his first visit to the UK since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. 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. this weekend for breaching the terms of his early release, the parents of both the Bulger killers continue to stand by them. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. 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. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. 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. Those who knew him well said he was a very emotional child, prone to mood swings. 'They would say 'take your son home'. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. It is just heartbreaking.". "He fell over," was the response. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. But after a year they let Ian out again. and things like that is that he was frightened. . 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. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. 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. The Liverpool Echo boasted that their man had one of 'just 34 seats' allocated to the international press. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. The end of the court case was not the end of course. Sitting in the new class was a chubby boy with a cherub's face - Robert Thompson. He is broken- hearted over it. Will you tell his mum I'm sorry?". ", 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.". 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. his killers were just 10 years old and attention focused on their upbringing and dysfunctional home life. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. so they were put in a lower year. The Crown Prosecution Service released a statement in January confirming Venables had been charged. Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . Both boys had been held back a year, and they were put in the same class. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. Sandra Gotheridge. 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle | Killers Without Conscience Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. Grey Heron. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. His father, thin and balding, had a much gentler edge. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. 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. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. At Preston Crown Court Thompsons mother Ann and Venables parents Neil and Sue sat side by side. Fiction Writing. 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. Not surprisingly, Ann had also attempted suicide in the same manner, some months before. I made notes of the pathologists evidence. qu fy. Thompson & Venebales. They were in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle when the brother wandered off. He's a good reader if he's interested in it. 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. Weeping, she said: 'I wasn't actually on the railway track because there is a fence, but I went up the side. Hes your son., Unhappily, it was during this critical time that Ann became pregnant with her seventh child, the product of another failed relationship. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. fun to be with". Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. Just as Venables's confession convicted him, a shoe print belonging to Robert Thompson, found on James cheekbone, confirmed his guilt, too. Read about our approach to external linking. The bleached houses were peppered with burglar alarms, the shabby ones did not look worth the trouble. Online Marketing For Your Business '25 years after the James Bulger trial, I still shed hot tears at the Spidery and messy. On November 24, 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest persons to be convicted of murder in Britain in almost 250 years, when the pair, both eleven, was found guilty of the abduction and murder of two-year-old James Patrick Bulger. INSIDE the court sat the two boys, dwarfed by the weight and majesty of the place. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. Verdict day came. I have cried for JamesBulgermany times, so God only knows the tears his parents and family have shed. Last week the author Angela Phillips spoke of how the gentle son of the female friend of hers turned into a fascist skinhead: 'The boy his mother wanted him to become was not man enough for the world he was forced to inhabit. The family was put up in a hostel temporarily and later relocated by the social services. 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. Aged 10, he was barely literate. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. 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. fn ye vw la. But he liked collecting trolls, little doll-like creatures with ugly faces and spiky fluorescent hair. ROBERT THOMPSON - angelfire.com Anne Thompson could hold her drink and no one ever saw her staggering home. For his parents, the fact they were children was actually a cause for hope at that point. Revealed: The horror drawing by Jon Venables weeks before he killed 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. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. In some families this was the third generation to be unemployed. 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. 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. Between January and the day of the murder Robert had absconded 37 half days out of a possible 60 . Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. He had that odd combination of obsession with and disdain for possessions that is characteristic of children who have never enjoyed any of their own. A newsroom reporter who was not working on the case fended off transatlantic interview demands, saying that it was not enough that he had a Liverpool accent. They knew what they were doing," another wrote. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. When shop keepers asked what they were doing they would pretend they were waiting for their mum. "In order that justice can be done, no further details are being released at this stage and the proceedings are subject to reporting restrictions.". Words with the drawing, full of spelling mistakes and grammatical. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. 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. The couple, who are living together again after a partial separation, said their feelings towards Jon had not changed despite the terrible crime. 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. The toddler's mum Denise Bulger was at the counter of a butchers in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, on February 12, 1993, when she briefly let go of her son's hand to get some change from her purse.