He has had his holidays like everyone else. Social Learning Theory: The Murder of James Bulger "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" Neil Venables, 40, said he felt "just devastated, thinking of that little boy'. The pathologist's report, which was read out in court, found that Bulger's foreskin had been forcibly pulled back. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. He has been educated. "[85][86] On 26 April, two men received suspended jail sentences of nine months after admitting to contempt of court, by publishing photographs that they claimed to be of Venables and Thompson on Facebook and Twitter. Neighbours told of pigeons having their heads shot off with an airgun, of rabbits being tied to railway lines, of dawn rollerbooting sessions. Jon Venables He has been educated. The moment was caught on CCTV and became the defining image of a horrific case. I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs The first involved downloading 57 indecent pictures of children on to his computer between February 2009 and February 2010. A woman walks past the Beatles statue in the snow at Pier Head in Liverpool as the Met Office has issued an amber warning for strong winds bringing blizzard conditions and up to 40cm of snow in some areas. How many years did Jon Venables and Robert Thompson get? The Old Bailey also heard that in 2008 Venables had posed as a mother offering to sell her daughter for sex during three online chats. Some seven years later, the Court of Human Rights would rule that they should never have been tried in an adult court. Vizard replied, "If the issue is on the balance of probabilities, I think I can answer with certainty." and things like that is that he was frightened. And Ann Thompson turning to alcohol. she said. In September 2020, he was denied parole. It was difficult not to note Ann's sparse attendance in Preston crown court, as her son barely comprehended what was going on around him. The killer was 10-years-old when he and Robert Thompson murdered two-year-old The Venables were by no means wealthy, but they were more financially comfortable than the Thompsons. Both Venables and Robert Thompson An undated photo ", 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.". Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . Was their upbringing responsible? [98][99][100] In a statement to the House of Commons on 8 March 2010, Straw reiterated that it was "not in the interest of justice" to reveal the reason why Venables had been returned to custody. Upon seeing him, she was "paralysed with hatred", and was unable to confront him. Could the pair of them have sought out a younger boy in order to gain dominion over him? "In my judgement," he averred, "the home background, upbringing, family circumstances, parental behaviour and relationships were needed in the public domain so that informed and worthwhile debate can take place for the public good in the case of grave crimes by young children.". Justice Secretary Jack Straw stated that Venables had been returned to prison because of "extremely serious allegations", and stated that he was "unable to give further details of the reasons for Jon Venables's return to custody, because it was not in the public interest to do so". [126], On 23 November 2017, it was reported that Venables had again been recalled to prison for possession of child sexual abuse imagery. According to BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman, the purpose of the prosecution was to ensure that the public was aware that Internet users were also subject to the law of contempt. Both boys were said to have had difficult home lives and both had been playing truant from school on the day of the killing. [47][118] Venables was eligible for parole in July 2011. There is, like, a little paint factory. The image in question is the CCTV frame of Bulger being led away by Thompson and Venables. Home Secretary David Blunkett approved the decision, and they were released a few weeks later on lifelong licence after serving eight years. Ann Thompson had been deserted by her husband five years before the killing of Jamie Bulger, and in the week after he left the family home burned down in an accidental fire. Two days later, after a huge police search, James's battered body was found on a railway line more than two miles away. Jon did take the separation poorly, though. [122], In November 2011, it was reported that officials had decided that Venables would stay in prison for the foreseeable future, as he would be likely to reveal his true identity if released. document.write(new Date().getFullYear()) Jon Venables is not dead: Officials quash rumours about James The Venables household was also fraught but contrastingly so. VideoOn board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, I didnt think make-up was made for black girls, Why there is serious money in kitchen fumes. In January 1987, the police were called to Susan Venables' home because the children (then seven, five and three) had been left alone for three hours. James Bulger Case "[67], In the months after the trial, and following the birth of their second son, the marriage of Bulger's parents, Ralph and Denise, broke down; they divorced in 1995. Thompson and Venables moved away from Liverpool after their sons' convictions eight years ago. Little James was led away by [4] The officer's suspicions were aroused, and the computer was taken away for examination leading to the discovery of the child sexual abuse material, which included children as young as two being raped by adults,[113][114] and penetrative rape of seven- or eight-year-olds. In court, Venables was the more emotional of the two defendants, crying openly and leaning against the shoulder of his social worker. The ban relating to Venables was partially lifted on Friday at the Old Bailey after he was jailed for the offences under the 1978 Protection of Children Act. However, it is perfectly possible for one of the boys to be afflicted with the disorder and to have manipulated the other. [43], The boys, by then aged 11, were found guilty of Bulger's murder at the Preston court on 24 November 1993, becoming the youngest convicted murderers of the 20th century. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". Read about our approach to external linking. The play generated controversy due to the similarities between the character and James' killers. Were environmental factors solely behind this disturbance? [7], On 2 March 2010, the Ministry of Justice revealed that Venables had been returned to prison for an unspecified violation of the terms of his licence of release. [94], Shortly before his 2001 release, when aged 17, Venables was alleged to have had sex with a woman who worked at the Red Bank secure unit where he was held. He pleaded guilty to these charges. Venables fell into drug addiction and alcohol abuse following his release from prison in 2001, James was killed a month before his third birthday, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. In court, Venables was the more emotional of the two defendants, crying openly and leaning against the shoulder of his social worker. At What Age Should A Child be Held Accountable? He had so many injuries it was hard to determine which had been fatal. The 10-year-old killers crimes shocked the United Kingdom. The Bulger case has prompted widespread debate about how to handle young offenders when they are sentenced or released from custody. The naive words of the paedo's parents have come to light once again as a new documentary is set to air on ITV 25 years after the horrific murder. Sorry, the video player failed to load. (Error Code: 100013) The chilling words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced 25 years after he killed Jamie Bulger . The suspicion was that it must have been their lack of care, love, or firm parental control that led to James Bulger's torture and death on a railway line. Then in 2007, he started drinking heavily and taking drugs, including cocaine and the recently-banned substance mephedrone. Once again, her absent husband was curiously left alone by the press. . Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. [51], Some British tabloid newspapers claimed that the attack on Bulger was inspired by the film Child's Play 3, and campaigned for the rules on "video nasties" to be tightened. He is far from it. 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. A narrative emerged of two childhoods influenced not merely by the flaws of parents or the absence of a father, but by the environment in which these boys lived, a world of social and economic deprivation, of trashy television and cultural poverty, inadequate social services, failed schooling and general confusion. Born evil: What drove James Bulger's underage killers? 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. "[35], The boys were each charged with the murder of James Bulger on 20 February 1993,[9] and appeared at South Sefton Youth Court on 22 February 1993, where they were remanded in custody to await trial. In 2005, when Venables was 23, his probation officer met another girlfriend of his, who was aged 17. AI chatbots 'may soon be more intelligent than us', Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in five months - US, The 17 most eye-catching looks at the Met Gala, Cat-and-mouse chase with China in hotly contested sea, The burden of being cricket legend Tendulkar's son, 'My wife and six children joined Kenya starvation cult', Indian officials wife distraught as his killer is freed, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Venables worked full-time in a job with anti-social hours, earning close to the minimum wage, the court heard. [4][12] Thompson and Venables had approached James Bulger, took him by the hand, and led him out of the shopping centre. All rights reserved. He pleaded guilty via video link to three charges of making indecent images of children, and one of possessing a "paedophile manual", that included advice for would-be child molesters, including instructions on child grooming and evading detection. [9] The increased minimum term was overturned in 1997 by the House of Lords that ruled it "unlawful" for the Home Secretary to decide on minimum sentences for young offenders. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. The court dismissed their claim that the trial was inhuman and degrading treatment but upheld their claim they were denied a fair trial by the nature of the court proceedings. [139], In June 2007, a computer game based on the television series Law & Order, titled Law & Order: Double or Nothing (made in 2003), was withdrawn from stores in the UK following reports that it contained an image of Bulger. [4] Finally, the boys dropped a 10kg (22lb) railway fishplate on Bulger. Both men were charged with a public order offence, but this was later dropped. Alex Davies-Jones Family: Children, Parents, Siblings, Husband. I would say he was provoked. Abused as a child, Robert Maudsley killed abusers as an adult, 'She was the brightest thing': The murder of Alesha MacPhail, The link between serial killers and head trauma. I feel so sorry for them. 'James would be 18 now the pain of losing him will never go away', Michael Jackson's Heal The World released to support new Liverpool James Bulger centre for bullied children, James Bulger's father on surviving 20 years of grief, Jon Venables: how attitudes towards criminality have changed and hardened, Legal dilemma of granting child killers anonymity, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_James_Bulger&oldid=1151980385, February 1993 events in the United Kingdom, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 27 April 2023, at 12:23. On 23 July 2010, Venables, aged 27, is jailed after admitting downloading and distributing indecent images of children. he lived a very terrible childhood. Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered toddler James Bulger. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security and give him an "ordinary" life. Wed Feb 7 2018 - 12:23. [34] Thompson is said to have asked police whether Bulger had been taken to hospital to "get him alive again. [141][142] In August 2009, Australia's Seven Network used real footage of the abduction to promote its crime drama City Homicide. After a number of "young girlfriends", it was presumed that Venables was having a delayed adolescence. The editors of The Sun handed a petition bearing nearly 280,000 signatures to Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, in a bid to increase the time spent by both boys in custody. [88] On 14 July 2016, a woman from Margate in Kent was jailed for three years after sending Twitter messages to Bulger's mother, in which she posed as one of his killers, and as Bulger's ghost. They were convicted after a 17-day trial and only then were their names and faces revealed. [9] The railway embankment upon which his body had been discovered was soon adorned with hundreds of bunches of flowers. Venables' parents regularly visited their son at Red Bank, just as Thompson's mother did, every three days, at Barton Moss. Did bad parenting turn Thompson and Venables into killers? He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. "[107][108], On 21 June 2010, Venables was charged with possession and distribution of indecent images of children. Summing up, the judge, Mr Justice Morland, told them they had committed a crime of "unparalleled evil and barbarity". 2023 BBC. April 13, 2023. [151], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}532633.6N 025735.5W / 53.442667N 2.959861W / 53.442667; -2.959861. That being the case, the chances of both boys suffering from it is minimal. He has had Christmas presents. Venables's identity uncovered before news of breach A spokesman commented: "There are many different images circulating online claiming to be of Venables or Thompson; potentially innocent individuals may be wrongly identified as being one of the two men and placed in danger. They answered the question the next day, relaying the Australian government's denial that the killers had been settled in the country. The report was ultimately dismissed; however, his lack of remorse at the time, in stark contrast to Venables, led to considerable scrutiny from the parole panel. Jon Venables so they were put in a lower year. Faced with the near-inconceivability of the crime itself, and two suspects below the age at which the law judges young people as morally capable, the media and the public needed surrogate criminals to bear the blame, to be the object of their sense of outrage and desire for retribution. But was it the parents' fault? He called for a public debate about the wider ramifications of the crime and trial, saying that: 'The home background, upbringing, family circumstances, parental behaviour and relationships were needed in the public domain so that informed and worthwhile debate can take place for the public good in the case of grave crimes by young children.'. He didn't want to hurt James. Exaggeration and gossip aside, a picture of neglect slowly emerged, a picture that focused on the pair's "bad parents", with the Daily Mail pronouncing: "Jon Venables, perhaps inevitably, is the classic product of a broken home." [149] Bulger's mother circulated a petition to have the film removed from the nominations. There were tales of charity collection boxes being stolen and of children being assaulted in the classroom. For domestic violence to be the only or prime driver would require a narrative whereby Thompson was the ringleader who commanded Venables to obey him. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. The boys, it's said, grew up 'afraid of each other'. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. [101] Baroness Butler-Sloss, the judge who made the decision to grant Venables anonymity in 2001, warned that Venables could be killed if his identity was revealed. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' James Bulger killer Robert Thompson vanished without The paper also stated that Bulger family's lawyers had consulted psychiatric experts in order to present the parole panel with a report which suggested that Thompson is an undiagnosed psychopath, citing his lack of remorse during his trial and arrest. [115][116] The High Court also heard that Venables had been arrested on suspicion of affray in September 2008, following a drunken street fight with another man. [18][19] Two people challenged Thompson and Venables, but they either claimed that Bulger was their brother, or that he was lost, and that they were taking him to a police station. [14], Each boy sat in view of the court on raised chairs so they could see out of the dock designed for adults, and were accompanied by two social workers and guards. A Merseyside detective said, "We went through something like 200 titles rented by the Venables family. Venables had contacted his probation officer in February 2010, fearing that his new identity had been compromised at his place of work. The posts were seen by 24,000 people. They should instill values and principles in a child but they cannot be there all the time - as Denise Bulger (now Fergus) learned at a terrible cost. [106] Chief Inspector Tracie O'Gara of Lancashire Constabulary stated: "An individual who was targeted four-and-a-half years ago was not Jon Venables, and now he has left the area. [135][136], In August 2001, a stage play titled The Age of Consent by Peter Morris was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 3 stories that demonstrate why Trial by Social It was Jon Venables, not Robert Thompson, who had a record of violence, having attempted to throttle another boy at school. Seating being erected on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, central London, ahead of King Charles IIIs Coronation. He was fearful of the other boy. [112] At the court hearing, it emerged that Venables had posed in online chat rooms as 35-year-old Dawn "Dawnie" Smith, a married woman from Liverpool who boasted about abusing her 8-year-old daughter, in the hope of obtaining further child sexual abuse material. Venables suffered no violence at home, though. What was their family background like? Who are Jon Venables and Robert Thompson's parents? [42] After his appearances in court, Venables would strip off his clothes, saying: "I can smell James like a baby smell. On 12th February 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables kidnapped, tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool. "[121] The incident occurred after a man from Exeter posted photographs on a website devoted to identifying paedophiles, allegedly showing Venables as an adult, and revealing his name. Read about our approach to external linking. They placed batteries in Bulger's mouth[23] and may have inserted some into his anus, although none were found there. Mr Venables said: "He wouldn't watch horror. [140], In 2008, Swedish playwright Niklas Rdstrm used the interview transcripts from interrogations with the murderers and their families to recreate the story. Sign up to our newsletter to receive email updates on new series, features, and more from your favourite Crime+Investigation shows: "[35] The prosecution admitted a number of exhibits during the trial, including a box of 27 bricks, a blood-stained stone, Bulger's underpants, and the rusty iron bar described as a railway fishplate. [10][23] In the aftermath of their arrest, and throughout the media accounts of their trial, the boys were referred to as "Child A" (Thompson) and "Child B" (Venables). Was nurture (or more accurately a lack of nurturing) a more dominant force here than nature? [4] After a period of apparently reduced supervision, Venables began excessively drinking, taking drugs, and downloading child abuse images, as well as visiting Merseyside, which was a breach of his licence. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. In 2018, the tranquillity of the Isle of Bute was rocked by an extremely barbaric murder, the after-effects of which still reverberate today. Ones well likely never fully understand or appreciate. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. [144], A storyline in Hollyoaks, set to begin in December 2009, was cancelled after the makers gave Bulger's mother Denise Fergus a special screening. Late that year, he was cautioned for possession of cocaine. [128] On 7 February, Venables pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children for a second time. It was on 12 February 1993 that two-year-old James Bulger was snatched from the New Strand Centre in Bootle, on Merseyside, while his mother Denise was shopping. Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered toddler James Bulger. [CDATA[// >