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. 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. I feel so sorry for them. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. Parents who stand by James's killers - Express.co.uk Express. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. Heck, we don't even have murderers that young in New York.'. 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. Such a childish voice. Three years ago, after his mother walloped him, he went to social services and asked them to put him in care. 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. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. A day later she would face much worse. Another time they were saucy and asked a sales girl if she stocked 'fishy nickers'. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. "It is hard to take in really. He was too scared to be naughty on his own. According to a legal source we spoke to this week, Jon Venables parents have sought to be a support for their son, despite the enormity of his crime. He has had security with loving parents and a loving brother and sister.". I didnt connect the dots until much later on. Tweet. They have never come out of hiding. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. I cant believe people find excuses for these murderers. 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. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' EXCLUSIVE: 20 Years On, The Suzanne Capper Case - Confidentials IN A letter to her son written soon after he was sentenced, Ann Thompson wrote: no matter what you did or didnt do, Im your mother and I will stay with you no matter what happens.. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. How can people defend their actions .#TheBulgerKillers.". It set the tone for the years ahead in which there was to be no respite from the hatred. 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. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. Whatever problems she had in her own life, she was always there. Anne Thompson could hold her drink and no one ever saw her staggering home. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . Then between 1990 and 1991, Jons teachers recognized a dramatic change in the boys behavior, which was alarming enough for one of his teachers to begin keeping a daily log. Who knows. On the walls hung oil paintings of local judges and magistrates, their surfaces crinkled with age. 'When the fisticuffs ended, they made friends.' Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. Keep them apart or he'll get into trouble, they said. While Robert was described as a wily child, known to tell lies, most of the St. Marys school staff agreed that the boy posed little trouble, and, if and when he attended, was generally well-mannered during class. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends. James' mother Denise believes they should have remained in jail for life and has tirelessly campaigned against their rights to anonymity. 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. They saw it with their eyes. Jon's parents said they talked to their son about James after he was arrested, but had to stop. I just think of James and his Dad and about all that fun with his little boy, like I had with Jon.". Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Egypt. "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. It is just heartbreaking.". One neighbour said she always let him into her home whenever his mother was out. Facebook gives people the power. Meanwhile, A petition demanding a public inquiry into James Bulger's murder case has got nearly 15,000 signatures in one day. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. Susan Venables Profiles | Facebook Both Ann and the children knew well the sting of palm against flesh, and Bobby often used these beatings to ensure that his wife and children conformed. susan and neil venables A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. While both boys may have felt helpless and inferior in their own settings, together they were fearless, a portrait of machismo, each playing on the others strong points. 'I walked round for a couple of hours trying to find them. He says 'I know, Mum'. Ian was clever enough to know that to survive he had to get out. . On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. The week after he walked out the family's home burned down in an accidental fire. 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. The prosecution, led by Richard Henriques QC, made its case quite simply really, using the journey they took James on to tell the story. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. "My heart really goes out to them. In any case, the couple drifted together, and in 1983, just fifteen months succeeding Jons birth, Susan gave birth to their third child, a daughter. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Online Marketing For Your Business Left to his own devices Jon liked to spend his playtime in fairly sedentary ways. The two had an aberrant relationship with one another, in the sense that it was almost as though they had never divorced. At first, Robert seemed to respond well to this, taking the initiative to help feed and clothe the baby, and doing what he could to please his mother. His body, defiled and broken in two by a train, two miles from where hed been taken, was foundtwo days later. 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Once they went into a home decoration shop and hid under a pile of carpets. The family was put up in a hostel temporarily and later relocated by the social services. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. He liked to spend the weekend on the streets. 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. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. 'It was good. At the trialnine months laterI would learn that Robert Thompson had been among those people. 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. He had been stripped from the waist down,. I would say he was provoked. The parents of James Bulgers killers have also come to learn that the consequences of that terrible day will stay with them for ever too. On many occasions, Susan was observed physically and verbally assaulting Jon. 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. Sandra Gotheridge. has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. and things like that is that he was frightened. 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 bleached houses were peppered with burglar alarms, the shabby ones did not look worth the trouble. 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. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. God knows how they must be feeling now.. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. She spent much of her time at the pub after that, and rarely stayed in for a meal. Facebook gives people the power. He has had Christmas presents. They pair was ordered to be detained at her majesty's pleasure - meaning indefinitely - but in 2001, a six-month review by the parole board found they were no longer a threat to public safety and they were released on life licence after serving just eight years. . "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. The other shops in the area were also armoured with mesh, including the Red Garden chipper where Robert used to pop in with his brothers most nights for a 25p bag of chips. . Denise Fergus remains convinced both will always be a danger to children. She was a happy baby, much happier than her eldest brother had been, but as she grew older, Susan began noticing that she, too, appeared lazy, and was not as advanced as Jon. 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. He would go to bed. 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'. Susan Venables's bent body shrank deeper into itself. That seems the very least they could face for what they did. 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.
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