As a grim portrait of abuse, drunkenness and neglect emerged, the hatred and loathing for Robert Thompson and Jon Venables was also turned on their parents. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. 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. Robert had eaten too many and felt sick. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. 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. I wasnt on duty that day, so the very beginnings of the story washed over me. Southern. They didnt kill him in an accident it was premeditated and they tortured that poor baby. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. However, given that the tension in the household was persistent throughout the most crucial of Jons formative years, the belief that he had moved through the ordeal entirely unaffected is questionable. Both boys had been held back a year, and they were put in the same class. The Rt Reverend Glyn Webster lights a candle in front of the newly restored Lady Chapel East Window at All Saints North Street in York, one of thirteen stained glass windows from the church undergoing conservation work at Barley Studio, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) general secretary Pat Cullen on the picket line outside Great Ormond Street Hospital in London during a strike by nurses and ambulance staff, Britains former prime minister Liz Truss leaves her home on February 5, 2023 in London, England. Finally, in 1988, while on a family vacation, the breaking point came, when Big Bobby, then thirty-four, began an adulterous relationship with a friend and neighbor in her fifties. Susan seemed happy with the arrangement, although, for the children, this type of relationship would have been just one more confusing anomaly to cope with in the wake of an already confusing time in their young lives. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. They looked, moved, fidgeted, scratched, cried - even sucked their thumbs - just like any 11-year-olds. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. 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. ', A psychoanalyst and child psychotherapist comes up with yet another possible explanation. I know how I feel as a mother. And now The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done? He didn't want to hurt James. I thought he was all right, Jon said of Robert during his police interviews. 'His mum was more strict. 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. At Preston Crown Court Thompsons mother Ann and Venables parents Neil and Sue sat side by side. 'I was the softie,' Neil Venables said. 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. He used to be bullied by other children for being so behind, and would return home at night visibly upset. There, he is terrorising a girl. The shocking murder that shook the nation, Both Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years-old when they tortured and killed 2 year-old James Bulger, Thompson and Venables were tried as adults, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in a shopping centre in Liverpool, Denise Fergus denied having anything to do with the Channel 4 documentary about her son, James Bulger's murder case could now be investigated, The petition is on nearly 15,000 signatures, James Bulger was just two when he was brutally murdered, He had been out shopping with his mum Denise, James was made to walk two miles before being left for dead on a disused rail line, Denise tirelessly campaigned to have their sentence increased, Denise once admitted she's lived 'in fear' since the trial. The detective explained how, before she left, she soothed him, told him his parents would love him whatever he told the police, reminding him that Denise neededto know what had happened to her baby. School had no hold on him - there was no corporal punishment or other form of penalty that touched him. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. . Nicola had to exchange some clothes at TJ Hughes, Denise waited nearby, watching the children. 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. si fs. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. Another added: "An awful mistake??!! has prompted a public outcry for an investigation into issues surrounding the case. . Mrs Venables walked around the area for hours, searching for him. One of the new works by Banksy, appears to show a 1950s housewife, wearing a classic blue pinny and yellow washing up gloves, with a swollen eye and a missing tooth seemingly shoving her male partner into a chest freezer, the piece is set on a white wall backdrop in Kent. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. Thompson did what he often did, looked around, grabbing clumsily at his tongue. His mother, Anne Marie Thompson, who is 39, got the house from the local housing trust after her husband, Robert, ran off with a woman from Stockport five years ago. . He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security . He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. In court, he hid his face again. fun to be with". She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . Thompson got better opportunities there than if hed been walking the streets in Walton, says the author. Half way through the 1992-1993 school year, Robert had already racked up nearly 50 unauthorized absences, and was falling significantly behind in his schoolwork. "Just to let you know that even though footage was used of me on the CH4 programme, I had no part in it," she tweeted. They had much in common. He is far from it. He says 'I know, Mum'. A video still of James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in the 'New Strand' shopping centre. . Grey Heron. He is an old-fashioned crime and punishment man. I am providing this page for those who are interested in learning more about the lives of these boys prior to their offense. Child killer Mary Bell and Maxine Carr, the former girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley, are the others. This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. The haunting words of Jon Venables' parents only interview have resurfaced, twenty five years after he killed tot Jamie Bulger. Her warnings arent being heeded, but 25 years on, I think she is probably right. 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. 'He always seemed perfectly well behaved and I think he looked on me as some kind of grandma. In the business world, too many people think it's all about being hard, tough, ambitious, or having grit. 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. The bird was taken to the vets where they are nursing it back to health. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. Their kids have got everything, she added, bitterly. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 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 smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. as he was known in court - Jon Venables. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. But. this weekend for breaching the terms of his early release, the parents of both the Bulger killers continue to stand by them. The old wood panelled courtroom is small. 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. Forlorn hope, though. She couldn't. Three days later his body was found, and three days after that a tip-off came from a shopkeeper who had seen two boys playing truant on the day James went missing and gave police two names - Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. Sandra Gotheridge. David James Smith, who wrote a book about the Bulger case, The Sleep Of Reason, and stayed in touch with Ann Thompson afterwards. Not surprisingly, Ann had also attempted suicide in the same manner, some months before. It's high time they were investigated. After they became friends he initiated Jon into the delights of climbing into people's back gardens and the consequent thrill of being chased out by the owners. Truanting, or 'sagging off', had become a way of life for Robert. '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. He was also given 'respite care' - six weekly weekend breaks to relieve the family of the burden of looking after him. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. gk. 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. They passed 36 people, with one recalling how they urged the boys to take their 'little brother' home because he was 'crying for his mummy'. 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. 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. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. I feel so sorry for them. 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. 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. Denise, James Bugler's mother, went with her brother's girlfriend Nicola to the Bootle Strand Shopping Centre and took James with her. Venables parents were divorced but still lived within a stones throw of one another and were both involved in their sons upbringing. Kids fantasise about such things. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. They were in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle when the brother wandered off. He caused me such anxiety, the teacher later recalled of Jon in a statement given to the Merseyside police. How could two small boys savage and leave a toddler for dead? The atmosphere in the courtroom was oppressive as the tension of a month was about to break. 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. On Sundays he used to watch Thunderbirds. Neil Venables, 40, said he felt "just devastated, thinking of that little boy'. 'I couldn't be arsed talking about them,' said one. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. Could they have planned to do it in advance? Birds. For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. Denise was in court that day. cl gz. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. On one occasion one of Anns sons let his real name slip at school and they had to move almost at once, says. Meanwhile Robert Thompson always regarded as the ringleader and the most likely of the murderous duo to fall by the wayside is said to be doing well. 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. Jon Venables arrived at Walton St. Marys Church of England School a disrupted and attention-seeking boy, whose behavior was so bizarre at times that one of his teachers considered him to be emotionally unstable. He wanted a Rovers strip for his birthday present. As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. Susan Venables's bent body shrank deeper into itself. 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. This time, curiosity took the upper hand: 'I wanted to see what it was like,' he said. 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.