Another added: "An awful mistake??!! INSIDE the court sat the two boys, dwarfed by the weight and majesty of the place. As the paedophile killer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to possessing more than 1,000 indecent images of children and a "paedo manual" - his parents words on their son's involvement make disturbing reading. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 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. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. I feel so sorry for them. Why would I want to kill him? he said, referring to the slain toddler. Ultimately, however, the couples indifferences led to separation, and they were eventually divorced in 1986. It was so stressful trying to contain him. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (second left) and Scottish Secretary Alister Jack (second right) during a visit to the Port of Cromarty Firth, Invergordon, during a two day visit to Scotland to highlight the benefits of remaining in the United Kingdom as he seeks to counter Nicola Sturgeon's push for independence, King Charles reacts as he visits the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed in Scotland, There are only a handful of images of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, 'Jon was weak and was provoked': Parents of Jamie Bulger killers speak, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. See today's front and back pages, download the newspaper, order back issues and use the historic Daily Express newspaper archive. 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. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. They had much in common. By now, Robert had also stepped comfortably into the role of the aggressor, and, following in the footsteps of his elder brothers, began tormenting his eight-year-old brother on a daily basis. . Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Will you tell his Mum Im sorry?. I wish we could turn the clocks back," Mrs Venablessaid. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. 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. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. 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. Express. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. It was their sons picked up by detectives. He believes these were evil boys. Look at mine. Now we waited. They would sneak out during the morning break, hiding behind a wall before the coast was clear. From their point of view it makes perfect sense. Not for long though. Mrs Venables described how she searched for Jon. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. After a while he tried to commit suicide to get back in. It was high- lighted by the trial judge Mr Justice Morland who said they must take moral responsibility for the terrible actions of the young killers. Then there were the separated parents, the poverty, the truanting, the videos. One woman asked how James had injured his forehead. By chance, the rest of Jon's family was driving past and spotted them. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. ", 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.". Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. Robert was number five of seven. One of Anns sons claimed that Ann, too, had beaten them with sticks, and had struck one of the boys with a cane. His body was found two days later on a railway line. The Venables decided to place her with their eldest son, in a school for children with special needs. 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. The hardliners in the police have a simpler explanation. Robert's mother agreed with her son's assessment: 'Name one family in the area who would have a good word for us.'. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Trauma? Susan Venables Profiles | Facebook 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. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. 2023 BBC. In court, he hid his face again. 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. 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. THE first time the boys set eyes on each other after they were arrested was in Preston crown court 3 1/2 weeks ago. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. gk. ", 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.". Susan Venables, now 53, suffered from severe depres-sion and struggled with her two other children, an older son and younger daughter, who suffered learning difficulties. TWO BOYS. Shortly after the breakup, an accidental fire destroyed the Thompsons home, leaving Ann homeless, jobless, and with little money to support her kids. 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. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. His mother gave him pocket money to buy them. The Liverpool Echo boasted that their man had one of 'just 34 seats' allocated to the international press. But after a year they let Ian out again. It is time to examine all this.". Child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, are the others. Venables was a different creature. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. 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. One investigating police officer said: 'You could look into the eyes of Robert and knew you were looking at evil.' The distress of one woman who had come agonisingly close to taking James by the hand herself to a police station, only to be hoodwinked by Thompson and Venables that they were doing just that. 'I think it has something to do with a hatred of vulnerability and babyness in themselves which they projected on to this toddler.'. Teachers hold placards as they shout slogans while taking part in a protest organised in Manchester as part of a national strike day. "He is easily led. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. Not really?. They were in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle when the brother wandered off. I don't think so. Although not officially entered into a witness protection programme they were given help by the authorities in finding new homes and taking on new identities. At Radio City in Liverpool the calls were coming through from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. 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. Liked by susan venables. The street in which Robert lived was not untypical: a row of terraced bay windowed houses that stretched from the railway line back towards the city. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. In March 2010, Venables was recalled to prison for downloading and distributing more than 100 images of child abuse. I would say he was provoked. He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. Something went wrong, please try again later. When the court was played Jon's taped descriptions of how they had truanted they simultaneously smiled. He once came to me crying saying the other boys were picking on him, trying to steal his bike.'. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. She was living in secrecy but always felt that she was walking around with a huge sign: mother of Bulger killer, above her head. There is, like, a little paint factory. Celestial. Mrs Thompson worked as an office cleaner until two years ago, when she got pregnant again by another man, who also left her. Venables, who was released on licence in 2001 after serving eight years for the murder of two-year-old James, was returned to prison last November after he was caught with the pictures. In Crosbies corner shop Ian, the next oldest to Robert, was able to tot up the shopping in his mind before the cash register rang up the total. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James injuries. James Bulger: Jon Venables' identity leaked online - news 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. 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. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. With Neil seldom in contact with Susan or the children during this time, Susan was forced to contend with Jons escalating troubles alone, sometimes taking her own frustrations out on the children. ql zo. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. This would have made little Robert the target of the fourth Thompson brother, who, in less than a years time, had confessed to arson, tried to stab his elder brother in a fit of rage, and had allegedly committed a lewd act against two small children (this incident was overlooked due to lack of evidence; however, because it was always considered a likely possibility that little Robert had been the victim of sexual abuse himself, and since Robert reportedly confirmed this years later, this occurrence involving his elder brother might be thought particularly revealing). They fled the city, never to return. Gillespie, McNeilly, and Powell were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years. 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. 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. Susan and the children moved in with her mother for a short time, and then settled in a small cluster of derelict apartments in Old Swan, where Jon attended the nearby Broad Green Preschool. UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. Haunting words of killer Jon Venables' parents resurface on 25th He had a Game Boy console and hankered after a Sega machine, and when they played truant he would head straight for the computer game corner of Tandy's or Dixons. 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. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. 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. Get the biggest TV headlines, recaps and insider knowledge straight to your inbox. 'If, in their own lives, they have had it extremely tough and been bullied and neglected and abused then they end up rapidly having to prove themselves to be extremely tough and invulnerable - a bit like Arnold Shwarzenegger in The Terminator. The first time he asked Jon to play truant with him was last September, only weeks after they had become friends.