Regrettably, yet perhaps not entirely unforeseen, the cycle of abuse continued. The documentary on the James Bulger murder case sparked anger after viewers criticised the Channel 4 show for "sympathising" with the toddler's killers. The pattern of bullying among the brothers, which had been noted by the Head mistress of the boys school, appeared to descend down the line, with the eldest Thompson brother beating the one just below him in age, and that brother beating the brother below him, in turn. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. Teachers later reported that whereas the boys were manageable when separated, together their behavior worsened dramatically. and things like that is that he was frightened. Mr Venables ran out of the car and grabbed him, while Robert ran off down the street laughing and shouting: 'You can't catch me.'. 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. It was this empowering chemistry between them that some argued set into motion the life-altering events that would devastate a family, challenge a community, and rock a nations core in the disquieting months that followed. Who were their parents? 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. 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 far from it. He gets upset. Asked later if he could recall a time when his brother had exhibited any unusually aggressive tendencies, Roberts brother said no: Hes frightened of his own shadow. Nonetheless, in hindsight, its safe to assume that by 1993, ten-year-old Robert was swiftly approaching crisis point., Alarmingly, some of the neighboring children later claimed to have seen Robert behave cruelly towards animals, and pull the heads off of baby pigeons, although this was never unequivocally confirmed. Just seeing the size of them that first time, the childish figures they naturally were, caught my breath. 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. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. There is, like, a little paint factory. Members of the Up Helly Aa 'Jarl Squad' parade through the streets in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon using a camera during her visit to BBC Studioworks in Glasgow, Passersby chat with the police as they arrive to see King Charles III and the Princess Royal attend a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, Norfolk, People at a vigil at Lurgan Park in Lurgan, Co Armagh in memory of murder victim Natalie McNally and opposing violence against women, Firefighters use hoses to dampen down at the scene of a fire at St Marks Church in Hamilton Terrace, St Johns Wood, London, which has been destroyed by the blaze which began in the early hours of the morning, Huskies pull their musher during a training run before this weekends annual Aviemore Sled Dog Rally, in Feshiebridge, A knitted topper celebrating Burns Night placed on a post box in Alloway, Ayrshire, Deer graze during sunrise at Ashton Court Estate, Bristol, where clear misty skies and a cold morning brings frost across parts of the south west UK, Ambulance workers on the picket line outside the Donnington Ambulance Hub, at Donnington, near Telford, Shropshire. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. See that cell. Big Bobby, like Anns father, was a violent alcoholic, who was easily crossed. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. 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. 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. It would be a week before we heard their voices, in hours of taped police interviews, They stopped us all in our tracks. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. But his progress took a nose dive in September 1991 when he was transferred into another class. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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. In court, he hid his face again. However, you will find some great articles which you can comment on right now in our Comment section. How can people defend their actions .#TheBulgerKillers.". He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. Financially, the couple appeared to be functioning, but meanwhile, Susan was at the end of her rope with her eldest son, who, having become increasingly frustrated at his inability to communicate, had grown terribly unhappy and was having temper tantrums regularly. They were intent on killing. When a police officer asked him why he didn't rescue James bleeding on the railway lines he replied: ' 'Cos blood stains, doesn't it, and then me mother would have to pay more money. He was a loyal fan, though he did not go often to Goodison Park. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". JON Venables's family was far from affluent, but it was not as close to the breadline as Robert's. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. 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. 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. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. Other parents came in to complain about attention seeking. "Just TV programmes and little things remind me of the good times we had together . So much happened whilst I was there involving Jon. 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When they finally came to a disused railway track near the police station, the murderous duo tortured James, throwing stones and bricks at the baby, and kicking and stamping on him before finally dropping a heavy iron bar on to the defenceless tot. He was fearful of the other boy. But he is not a murderer. It worked. 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. His mother, Susan, attributed this behavior with peer pressure and hyperactivity, and put him on a special diet, though it did nothing to quell his frequent emotional outbursts. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. I didnt connect the dots until much later on. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. Following the arrest of their sons it was reported that the mothers of the boys had been attacked and vilified in. Those who knew him well said he was a very emotional child, prone to mood swings. 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'. That's the thing that upsets me because obviously, where I was standing poor little James must have been not far . Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Denise was in court that day. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. Thompson did what he often did, looked around, grabbing clumsily at his tongue. cl gz. ', 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.' 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. this weekend for breaching the terms of his early release, the parents of both the Bulger killers continue to stand by them. Could they have planned to do it in advance? She found it hard bringing the kids up in the neighbourhood. He had been stripped from the waist down,. Although he appeared to have the more stable upbringing of the two boys, there was a history of family problems. 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. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. Read about our approach to external linking. Last November he was arrested and recalled to jail on suspicion of possession of images of child sex abuse. I remember watching her then on TV, her sobbing plea for information and thinking how much guts it must have taken to get up that day and face a roomful of journalists and photographers. Jon lived in terror of losing his mother's love, yet he was also terrified of her. But then, the whole of Robert's family was a bit like that - shunned, outcast, the butt of local criticism, and very well known to police. I wish we could turn the clocks back," Mrs Venablessaid. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. A smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. .". . But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. 'America is the land of shopping malls. "We are committed to driving sustainability in the leather industry, through the commitment of. He would often have to stay in class at break times to catch up. kl. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. she said. 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. 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. As a result of the incident, Jon's mother decided to move him to another school. 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 the last few years she stopped drinking in the Top House and tried to keep things together. Something went wrong, please try again later. The Radio Merseyside newsroom, where I was working at the time, was full and everyone was on this story one way or another. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". Most of the fun revolved around shoplifting - sweets, trolls, pepperami, tins of modelling paint, drinks, candles; anything, really. 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. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. The first Susan Venables knew they had stayed away from school was when she saw one of Jon's classmates on her way home with the gerbils. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. After a while the 10-year-olds began to charge - a tenner an interview. 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 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. It was their sons picked up by detectives. I wonder how many parents looked at their sons of a similar age that week, sure in the knowledge their own children could never be so wicked, but asked themselves anyway "what would I do if?". I have lost my son as well. as he was known in court - Jon Venables. 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. At 2:30 they went to the two-story shopping centre. The days James was abducted, February 12 1993, I was a young reporter in my home city of Liverpool. Every day the public gallery was packed with students, pensioners, mothers, teenagers, all drawn to the courtroom spectacle as to a TV soap. 'They were just your average scruff - like the rest of us.'. By chance, the rest of Jon's family was driving past and spotted them. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. IN their interviews with the two boys, psychiatrists could find no clues to why the boys acted so violently. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. All information on this page is true to my knowledge, and is not intended to diminish or justify either boys actions in any way whatsoever. A sudden pause in the tapes and one of the officers appeared in person to describe how he asked Neil and Susan Venables to leave the room because he thought Jon wanted to tell him something. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. 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. So he came home. There, he is terrorising a girl. 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. On one occasion, he said, Robert ran off down the street laughing, "You can't catch me". football, snooker, things like that. 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. NEIL Venables was warned by friends not to let his son play with the other boy. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. He has never really been what you would call a sagger off school (a truant). Join Facebook to connect with Susan Venables and others you may know. Sandra Gotheridge. portrayed him as the leader and evil one, says James Smith. Hope. I couldnt make any sense of it, Robert later recalled, desolately, when asked about his fathers unexpected departure. Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. The phone-in programme, as ever, was a place to turn to try to find reasons - evil, poverty, neglect, possessed anything to explain what felt inexplicable. '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.'. I wasnt on duty that day, so the very beginnings of the story washed over me. Their kids have got everything. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, and said he was going through torment. ql zo. What doing well means is anybodys guess. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb.
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