View our online Press Pack. James Bulgers father Ralph Bulger thinks that if Venables were to be released now, he would be at risk of killing again. Addressing a potential future release, the report described how his chances of reoffending were he to be released from jail could be cut by certain "protective factors". Though Bulgers mother Denise Fergus had been holding his hand, she had briefly let go to pay for groceries, only to look down with horror and realize that her child had vanished. She was also bothered by the fact that Thompson would cry, but there wouldn't be any tears. "The reality is that the case for varying the injunction has simply not been made.". New Zealands Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, stated that the UK shouldnt bother applying for Jons residency in her country. The stolen tin of blue paint was found nearby. Speaking at the time, he said: "(Venables) is 'uniquely notorious' and there is a strong possibility, if not a probability, that if his identity were known he would be pursued resulting in grave and possibly fatal consequences. Venables has now been caged for 40 months foradmitting having a paedo manual explaining "how to have sex with little girls" as well as over 1,000 vile child abuse images. Jon Venables was just 10-years-old when he and Robert Thompson abducted and murdered James Bulger alongside - and now he is back behind bars after being caught with horrific child abuse images. Official figures showed that Venables' attempt to keep his identity secret cost taxpayers more than 65,000. They went out that day to kill I truly believe that. During the murder trial in November 1993, Thompson was depicted as the leader, and Venables the follower. Witnesses would later testify in court that they saw a crying Bulger being dragged along the two-and-a-half-mile route between the Strand and the railroad tracks where he would be eventually found. Hes with two young kids hes gonna be all right.'. BWP Media via Getty ImagesJames Bulger at age two. Motive aside, both Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were convicted, making them the youngest to be convicted of that crime in Britain in 250 years. Jon Venables pictured using a mobile phone, a questionable activity given his inability to maintain anonymity. But on that fateful day, the two boys would take their crimes to a horrific new level by kidnapping and killing a child. The Parole Board refused to recommend Venables for release for at least another two years, according to The Sun newspaper. Once free, Venables spent most of his leisure time playing video games and his probation office met a number of girlfriends over the years. On March 4, 2019, it was announced Venables is to keep his anonymity after a judge ruled it would protect him from "serious violence". "The reality is that the case for varying the injunction has simply not been made.". Shockingly, James Bulger wasnt the first child they targeted that day. In October last year, a parole report warned that Venables has an "attraction to sexual violence" and "thinks about sex a lot". Thus it was widely assumed that Thompson was the instigator even though psychiatrists and authorities have never been able to reach a conclusion on the boys motives. Though Thompson was believed to have been the leader of the James Bulger murder plot, he has never reoffended since hes been released. In November 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest convicted murderers in British history. Peter Byrne/PA Images via Getty ImagesJames Bulgers father, Ralph, stands outside Liverpool Crown Court after making a statement to the parole board in hopes of keeping Jon Venables behind bars. Venables has now been caged for 40 months foradmitting having a paedo manual explaining "how to have sex with little girls" as well as over 1,000 vile child abuse images. The Netline reports that Thompson has fully integrated into society and has "built a healthy relationship" inside the community in which he lives. When officers arrived at his flat, Venables was attempting to remove or destroy the hard drive of his computer with a knife and tin opener. The child killer was released from a. With Bulgers mother, Denise, momentarily distracted, they got the toddler to come with them. James Bulger killers Jon Venables (holding the boys hand) and Robert Thompson (walking directly in front of the boy) abduct their victim just before killing him, as captured by a surveillance camera. "I have had urges, inquisitive. One person even saw Thompson kick Bulger in the ribs for resisting. At first, Thompson denied everything. Though authorities initially thought Bulger had been abducted by an adult, CCTV footage revealed the shocking truth that he had been taken by two kids. But the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane rejected the bid, saying it was in place to protect Venables from being "put to death". 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. One of the investigators who talked to Thompson described him as street smart and clever.I dont know how he was doing at school, but he was switched on and he was trying to con me, trying very hard,the investigator said on Channel 5sLost Boy: The Killing of James Bulger. His identity is protected by a worldwide injunction - meaning that even trying to find out where he lives could land you in jail. Though they were unsuccessful, Thompson and Venables didnt give up. Jon Venables was responsible for a sickening crime that horrified the nation. Not long after the bar fight, he was found to be in possession of cocaine. It was the second time she had attempted to post information purportedly about Venables, the . This led to a police investigation of the drive, which yielded dozens of images of abused children. Venables and Thompson were then sentenced to serve at Her Majestys pleasure, as is standard protocol for juvenile offenders convicted of murder or manslaughter. In 2013, the parole approved his release from prison. Feb 11 2021 On February 12th, 1993, two ten year old's, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, kidnapped, tortured, and killed two-year-old James Patrick Bulger in Liverpool England. "This is, therefore, a wholly exceptional case and the evidence in 2019 is more than sufficient to sustain the conclusion that there continues to be a real risk of very substantial harm to (Venables).". The images included category A photos, the most serious type, and he also admitted having a paedophile manual. Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368 . A court order that is in place to prevent a person from being identified as Jon Venables or Robert Thompson has been amended, following an application from the Attorney General, Rt Hon. In November 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest convicted murderers in British history. Robert is now openly gay and is in a long-term relationship. 2 Due to the national furor surrounding their case, they were both given new identities. Though they were known to be rule-breakers, they mostly dabbled in low-level criminal activity, like stealing small items from stores and throwing them down mall escalators. Malcolm Croft/PA Images/Getty ImagesJames Bulgers parents, pictured one day before their child was found dead. Over the course of interviews lasting several days, Venables eventually confessed. Menu. Sentencing him to 40 months jail in 2018, Mr Justice Edis said: The children depicted were often very young and vulnerable, there is discernible pain and distress suffered.. However, Venables was recalled to prison in November 2017 when he was caught with the sickening child abuse images once again. Robert and Jon would sexually abuse, assault, and murder Bulger before dumping his body. He said: "I don't know how he was doing at school, but he was switched on and he was trying to con me, trying very hard". Rumours had spread widely on social media that Jon Venables, who murdered James Bulger in 1993 along with Robert Thompson, had had his eyes ripped out in prison . His father had abandoned the family early on, causing his depressed mother to turn to alcohol and even attempt suicide. What about his mum, will you tell her Im sorry?. In Channel 5's two-part documentary Lost Boy: The Killing of James Bulger, one of the investigators who questioned Thompson said the young boy was "street smart" and "clever," and said the ten-year-old was "trying very, very hard to con me.". Several shoppers later remembered noticing the trio as they walked through the mall. Once those CCTV images were released to the media, the story went nationwide and the search for Bulger intensified. We pay for videos too. By the time Thompson and Venables skipped school together on February 12, 1993, the two boys were good friends. Venables was first imprisoned for possessing images of child abuse in 2010, but he was released in 2013. Retired detective Laurie Dalton recalled her feeling that Thompson was "pure evil" (via The Sun) and would try to manipulate the police during questioning. From 1993 to 2001, Venables served time in the Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Merseyside. A move abroad would cost, of course, but the thinking is it would be cheaper in the long run.. But she pulled her curtains and blocked out the scene. "Don't bother," was Jacinda Ardern's message to the child murderer when a local news conference touched on the reports British officials were looking to potentially relocate him to New Zealand. Venables was given a new identity with a fabricated passport, qualification certificates and medical records. He was then told that hed have to wait two more years before hed be eligible for parole again. In 2006, reports claimed Thompson was in a stable gay relationship at age 23 and had settled well into his local community in the North West. He added: "As Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss held, (Venables) is 'uniquely notorious' and there is a strong possibility, if not a probability, that if his identity were known he would be pursued resulting in grave and possibly fatal consequences. The parole experts cited there would need to be several very strict limitations on Venables and his contacts, movements and activities would need to be limited. Following his eight-year sentence for the horrific crime, Robert Thompson was freed and given a new identity. Who was Wu Lien-teh and who was his wife Ruth? In Channel 5's two-part documentary Lost Boy: The Killing of James Bulger, one of the investigators who questioned Thompson said the young boy was "street smart" and "clever," and said the ten-year-old was "trying very, very hard to con me.". A life for a life.. Updated: 20:25, 29 Sep 2021 ROBERT Thompson abducted and tortured to death two-year-old James Bulger alongside his partner in crime Jon Venables when they were just ten years old. On February 12, 1993, he was tragically murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. James Bulgers parents, pictured one day before their child was found dead. So the authorities secretly visited Robert Thompson who lived in Walton, not far from the murder scene with his mother and 2 younger brothers. He was 10 years old. Venables himself begged not to be released as he fears he will reoffend, a report in November last year stated. The older boys Jon Venables and Robert Thompson seem like they could be the brothers of the toddler as some bystanders thought in the mall that day. "My decision is in no way a reflection on the applicants themselves, for whom there is a profoundest sympathy," he said. We pay for your stories! In the wake of removing the baby from a mall in Bootle, Merseyside, two 10-year-old young men grabbed and killed him in 1993. tvguidetime.com The paint was showered in his eyes, blocks were flung at him, he was kicked, and batteries were embedded in his mouth. Eventually, Venables and Thompson placed Bulgers dead body (a forensic pathologist later concluded that he was dead at this point) across the train tracks, in hopes of making the whole thing look like an accident, and abandoned the scene before a train came along and severed the toddler in two. And if they hadnt been caught I fear they would have struck again.. The ex-convict has kept his bargain of the clause of his release. Meanwhile, court-appointed psychiatrists said that both Thompson and Venables knew the difference between right and wrong. He and his second wife Natalie McDermott, welcomed a baby girl in 2014. At the mall, James Bulger killers wandered from shop to shop, stealing anything they could get their hands on, then tossing their stolen booty down escalators just for the fun of it. A 2015 interview with James Bulgers mother. But in 1993, these two British boys became cold-blooded killers and murdered a toddler. In 2006, reports claimed Thompson was in a stable gay relationship at age 23 and had settled well into his local community in the North West. Everything we know, Mr. Justice Edis sentenced Venables to 40 months in prison, saying, Shed objected to Ralphs petition, saying, Who are Miles Pfeffers parents? Despite positive behaviour and landing a job in jail, Parole officials ruled Venables was still not safe to be released. AT just ten years old, Jon Venables callously abducted and murdered James Bulger, 2, in 1993 in a case that sent shockwaves through the UK and the rest of the world. While serving his sentence, Thompson showed remarkable improvement. I shouldnt have let go of his hand, Fergus later said. By 4:15 PM, however, there was no sign of James Bulger and he was reported missing to the local police station. Venables claimed he was acting in self-defence and the charges were dropped after he agreed to go on an alcohol-awareness course. After momentarily becoming distracted, Bulger's mother noticed that he was nowhere to be seen. February 13, 1993. In one of the most chilling photos in recent times, Venables was captured holding the 2-year-old James Bulger as Robert walked ahead of the pair. Later that night, one of the women saw the news that Bulger was missing. Sometimes you feel like youre having a heart attack, he said at the time. These boys asked who the toddler was and Venables replied that he was Thompsons brother and that they were taking him home. BWP Media/Getty Images Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, pictured after their arrest for the murder of James Bulger. "This is, therefore, a wholly exceptional case and the evidence in 2019 is more than sufficient to sustain the conclusion that there continues to be a real risk of very substantial harm to (Venables).". By this time, Denise was panicking. Venables and Thompson abducted James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside before brutally torturing and murdering the tot and left his body by a railway line. He said: "I don't know how he was doing at school, but he was switched on and he was trying to con me, trying very hard". He claimed that information about him already existed online. Most recently, Venables was denied parole in September 2020. But during separate police interviews, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson turned on each other. In their bid to have Venables' identity disclosed, lawyers for Ralph and Jimmy Bulger argued certain details about the killer and his life are "common knowledge" and easily accessible online. Then they arrived at the railway. This caused various children to be identified as potential killers, with some parents even reporting their own kids. The report noted he had displayed "positive behaviour" since being locked up, but felt a "lack of fulfilment in life" and had a "need for excitement". Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty ImagesJames Bulgers father Ralph Bulger (pictured) is fighting to keep Jon Venables in prison for life. Within hours of that surveillance image being captured on the afternoon of February 12, 1993, 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had tortured two-year-old James Bulger to death. "The reality is that the case for varying the injunction has simply not been made.". It added that Jon had stated that hed benefited from psychological work in prison and didnt ask the panel for release. He was sent back to prison with a new identity as hed divulged who he was to staff and inmates. He could now be kept in prison for the rest of his life ifthe board decides he poses too much of a risk to ever be freed again. Inside a TJ Hughes department store, a woman noticed that two boys were trying to get her kids attention. Clickhereto upload yours. Outside the courthouse, people called for the blood of the James Bulger killers. Both boys were soon arrested, and it didnt take long for them to turn on each other. I did kill him, Venables said. Robert and Jon would sexually abuse, assault, and murder Bulger before dumping his body. To date, no significant attempts at vengeance have been made. Three months later, he got off with a warning after police caught him in possession of a small amount of cocaine. After questioning Thompson and Venables, Detective Phil Roberts said, As far as Im concerned that day I stared evil in the face., Roberts continued, They were a match made in hell. But sometimes the unthinkable happens - children kill. The boys hesitated, perhaps reconsidering what they were about to do, and did briefly turn away from the embankment. On 24 November 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were found guilty of the murder of James Bulger, becoming the youngest convicted murderers in the 20th century. The youngster had no record of violence before he was found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger. He became eligible for parole in 2013, at which time Ralph Bulger told the parole board that he couldnt forgive his sons killers and that Venables should not be released. Closed-circuit camera footage revealed that a child fitting Bulger's description was led away from the shopping center by two young boys. All in all, Bulger sustained 42 injuries to his face, head, and body. Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368 . They added: "Venables told the board he did not seek release because hes worried that hell re-offend. They then led him to an area called Walton in Liverpool, where they tortured him, beat him to death, and abandoned his body on a railway track in an effort to make his murder look like an accident. Meanwhile, after Venables, Thompson, and Bulger had left the mall, the toddler began crying out for his mother. 3 At the canal, they dropped Bulger on his head and left him on the ground crying. After intensive rehabilitation, the pair were handed new identities. But Blake Morrison, the author of As If: A Crime, a Trial, a Question of Childhood, a book on the trial, points out that Venables had a temper and had been known to lose control and had done some pretty weird things[and it was] just as likely that he was the instigator.. Venables and Thompson had brought blue paint stolen from the shopping mall and splashed it in Bulgers left eye. He was not allowed to contact Thompson, who was also released at the same time with a new identity, or the Bulger family and he could not visit the Merseyside region. But one bystander provided a glimmer of hope however fleeting for James Bulger. Instead, they were the toddlers abductors and, soon, his killers. After a three-week trial, the jury took only five hours to render a guilty verdict for the boys. James Bulger being kidnapped by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, as seen on CCTV footage. Officials wrote: "The panel listed as risk factors those influences that made it more likely that Mr Venables would reoffend in the future.
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