[11], That same afternoon, James Bulger, from Kirkby, went with his mother, Denise, to the New Strand Shopping Centre. Some of the images involved children as young as two years old and some showed the rape of young girls. The storyline was to feature Loretta Jones and her friend Chrissy, who had been given new identities before arriving in the village, after being convicted of murdering a child at the age of 12. Home Secretary David Blunkett approved the decision, and they were released a few weeks later on lifelong licence after serving eight years. After the trial, Mr Justice Morland laid the moral responsibility squarely with the parents. We still think the same of him as we always have. [109][110] On 23 July, Venables appeared at a court hearing at the Old Bailey via a video link, visible only to the judge hearing the case. In April 2011, in the aftermath of his 2010 imprisonment, these allegations were outlined in a Sunday Times Magazine article written by David James Smith, who had been following the Bulger case since the 1993 trial, and again later in a BBC documentary titled Jon Venables: What Went Wrong? [146], In January 2019, the short film Detainment was nominated for Best Live Action Short Film at the 91st Academy Awards. They were found guilty on 24 November, making them the youngest convicted murderers in modern British history. [94], Shortly before his 2001 release, when aged 17, Venables was alleged to have had sex with a woman who worked at the Red Bank secure unit where he was held. For two children to do what they did, both Jon Venables and Robert Thompson must have been quite seriously disturbed. ", 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.". AETNUK All Rights Reserved. A term first coined in the 1980s when a swathe of violent horror films made their way into peoples homes via the exciting new medium of VHS, video nasties made for a convenient scapegoat. "[132], In late June 2019, it was reported that British officials had considered resettling Venables in Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, due to the high costs behind protecting his anonymity. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were only 10 years old when they became the countrys youngest murderers in 250 years. It is just heartbreaking.". In September that year, Venables was arrested on suspicion of affray, following a fight outside a nightclub; he claimed he was acting in self-defence, and the charges were later dropped after he agreed to go on an alcohol-awareness course. When Children Kill Children . But he also laid blame with their parents, calling for a public debate about the home background, upbringing, family circumstances, parental behaviour and relationships of children who Three months later, police cautioned him for possessing cocaine, and a requirement was added to his licence ordering him to address his alcohol and drug problems, the court was told. The suspicion was that it must have been their lack of care, love, or firm parental control that led to James Bulger's torture and death on a railway line. Media descriptions of him as "quivering" and "vulnerable" compared with the "impassive" Thompson at Preston crown court in 1993 served to define him as the more impressionable of the two. Yet prior to the murder of the two-year-old, there were signs Venables, then 10, did not just follow. Sometimes, he led. [47], Shortly after the trial, and after the judge had recommended a minimum sentence of eight years, Lord Taylor of Gosforth, the Lord Chief Justice, recommended that the two boys should serve a minimum of ten years,[9] which would have made them eligible for release in February 2003 at the age of 20. During the trial, the full horror of James' death emerged. There were some you or I wouldn't want to see, but nothingno scene, or plot, or dialoguewhere you could put your finger on the freeze button and say that influenced a boy to go out and commit murder. [9] At the trial, the lead prosecution counsel Richard Henriques successfully rebutted the principle of doli incapax, which presumes that young children cannot be held legally responsible for their actions. On 12th February 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables kidnapped, tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger in Liverpool. The report is full of violent instances, with details of such incidents as Ann taking her third son Philip to the police station after he had threatened his older brother Ian with a knife. He's quite bright and clever. 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. James Bulger killer Jon Venables Both boys were said to have had difficult home lives and both had been playing truant from school on the day of the killing. [28] Bulger's severed body was discovered by a group of children two days later. Venables later described how Bulger seemed to like him, holding his hand and allowing him to pick him up on the meandering journey to the scene of his murder. Once again, her absent husband was curiously left alone by the press. But he also laid blame with their parents, calling for a public debate about "the home background, upbringing, family circumstances, parental behaviour and relationships" of children who commit "grave crimes". Or could, perhaps, other factors have been at play? Jon's brother and sister both had learning difficulties and were being taught in separate special schools, while Jon himself was hyperactive and always playing up. The editors of The Sun handed a petition bearing nearly 280,000 signatures to Michael Howard, the Home Secretary, in a bid to increase the time spent by both boys in custody. [70] Denise married Stuart Fergus, with whom she had two sons. On social media, there was a frenzy of speculation concerning who they were That assessment concluded that Venables would face the highest possible risk of being attacked if his name was either published in the media or known elsewhere in society. [82], In April 2010, a 19-year-old man from the Isle of Man was given a three-month suspended prison sentence for falsely claiming in a Facebook message that one of his former colleagues was Thompson. Thompson and Venables were charged on 20 February 1993 with abduction and murder. [40] Susan Bailey, the Home Office's forensic psychiatrist who interviewed Venables, said unequivocally that he knew the difference between right and wrong. In 2018, the tranquillity of the Isle of Bute was rocked by an extremely barbaric murder, the after-effects of which still reverberate today. Both Venables and Robert Thompson An undated photo He said he was frightened of Robert's older brother. And Ann Thompson turning to alcohol. Jon Venables' psychiatrist, Dr. Susan Bailey, later reported that 'on visiting and revisiting the issue with Jon as a child, and now as an adolescent, he gives no account of any sexual element to the offence. Does watching simulated violence, or playing violent video games, actually cause violence, though? Vizard replied, "If the issue is on the balance of probabilities, I think I can answer with certainty." [28], Police suspected that the boys had sexually assaulted Bulger, as his shoes, socks, trousers, and underpants had been removed. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. [5] Venables was sent to prison in 2010 for breaching the terms of his licence, was released on parole again in 2013, and in November 2017 was again sent to prison for possessing child sexual abuse images on his computer. Jon Venables in 1993. [122], In November 2011, it was reported that officials had decided that Venables would stay in prison for the foreseeable future, as he would be likely to reveal his true identity if released. When the officer arrived at his flat, Venables was attempting to remove or destroy the hard drive of his computer with a knife and a tin opener. [101] Baroness Butler-Sloss, the judge who made the decision to grant Venables anonymity in 2001, warned that Venables could be killed if his identity was revealed. Most people can differentiate between fictional and real savagery, with some experts arguing that fantasy violence can actually relieve real-life urges. He is broken- hearted over it. [119], On 4 May 2011, it was reported that Venables would once again be given a new identity, following what was described as a "serious security breach", which revealed an identity that he had been using before his imprisonment in 2010; details of the breach could not be reported for legal reasons. He pleaded guilty via video link to three charges of making indecent images of children, and one of possessing a "paedophile manual", that included advice for would-be child molesters, including instructions on child grooming and evading detection. [41], Thompson and Venables did not speak during the trial, and the case against them was based to a large extent on the more than 20 hours of tape-recorded police interviews with the boys, which were played back in court. The Old Bailey also heard that in 2008 Venables had posed as a mother offering to sell her daughter for sex during three online chats. [124][125] On 3 September 2013, it was reported that Venables had been released from prison. "My heart really goes out to them. He commented that the work "is emphatically not a comedy" but instead "intended as a serious moral examination of what contemporary society is doing to children". It was on 12 February 1993 that two-year-old James Bulger was snatched from the New Strand Centre in Bootle, on Merseyside, while his mother Denise was shopping. The judge revealed that Venables had been living in Cheshire at the time of the offences, and that the case was dealt with by Cheshire police and Cheshire probation service. Profile: Jon Venables - BBC News [30] Forensic tests confirmed that both boys had the same blue paint on their clothing as found on Bulger's body. On 20 September 2008, he was held on suspicion of affray over a street fight with a man who claimed Venables had attacked his girlfriend. [141][142] In August 2009, Australia's Seven Network used real footage of the abduction to promote its crime drama City Homicide. [111] He pleaded guilty to charges of downloading and distributing child pornography, and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. [151], Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}532633.6N 025735.5W / 53.442667N 2.959861W / 53.442667; -2.959861. [144], A storyline in Hollyoaks, set to begin in December 2009, was cancelled after the makers gave Bulger's mother Denise Fergus a special screening. [34] The attempted abduction charge related to an incident at the New Strand Shopping Centre earlier on 12 February 1993, the day of Bulger's death. In October 2000, he recommended the tariff be reduced from ten to eight years,[9] adding that Her Majesty's Young Offender Institution was a "corrosive atmosphere" for the juveniles. WebA few days after the body of little Jamie Bulger had been found, Venables and Thompson were taken into custody. [135][136], In August 2001, a stage play titled The Age of Consent by Peter Morris was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. With Walton Lane Police Station across the road, they hesitated, then led Bulger up a steep bank to a railway line near the former Walton & Anfield railway station, close to Walton Park Cemetery. . Video, On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry, Met Gala 2023: Stars celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, HSBC says 1 bank buyout boosted profit by $1.5bn, Yellen warns US could run out of cash in a month, Shooting suspect was deported four times - US media, Palestinian hunger striker dies in Israel prison. [9] The railway embankment upon which his body had been discovered was soon adorned with hundreds of bunches of flowers. Robert Maudlsey, the real-life Hannibal Lecter and the UK's most dangerous prisoner. Jon Venables - IMDb Then in 2007, he started drinking heavily and taking drugs, including cocaine and the recently-banned substance mephedrone. Had he gone on to lead such a life, that might have been the last the British public ever heard about Jon Venables. [93] In January 2020, a 53-year-old woman from Ammanford in South Wales received a prison sentence of eight months, suspended for 15 months. [4] After a period of apparently reduced supervision, Venables began excessively drinking, taking drugs, and downloading child abuse images, as well as visiting Merseyside, which was a breach of his licence. [38] Thompson was considered to have taken the leading role in the abduction process, though it was Venables who had apparently initiated the idea of taking Bulger to the railway line. He said that on the day James was killed, when he went to the school in the afternoon to collect Jon he was told his son was missing. [74] In a psychiatric report prepared in 2000 before Venables' release, he was described as posing a "trivial" risk to the public and unlikely to reoffend. "[85][86] On 26 April, two men received suspended jail sentences of nine months after admitting to contempt of court, by publishing photographs that they claimed to be of Venables and Thompson on Facebook and Twitter. She attended the trial at Preston crown court every day, brushed up and manicured, wearing a smart suit, high shoes and clutching her handbag with its gold chain. The Old Bailey also heard that in 2008 Venables had posed as a mother offering to sell her daughter for sex during three online chats. He was given a new name, a job and a flat on his release to try to ensure his security and give him an "ordinary" life. He always had plenty of friends. The bullying and violence continued after his father left, with the brothers turning on themselves. The Bulger case has prompted widespread debate about how to handle young offenders when they are sentenced or released from custody. [15][16], Thompson and Venables took Bulger to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, around .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}14 mile (400 metres) from the New Strand Shopping Centre, where they dropped him on his head, and he suffered injuries to his face. Venables suffered no violence at home, though. She contacted the police, and the boys were arrested. One of the overriding motives behind any great act of violence or murder is the urge to be able to effectively exert power and control over your environment. [120] A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice commented: "Such a change of identity is extremely rare, and granted only when the police assess that there is clear and credible evidence of a sustained threat to the offender's life on release into the community. Neil Venables, 40, said he felt "just devastated, thinking of that little boy'. [9][68][69] In 2001, Blunkett stated: "The injunction was granted because there was a real and strong possibility that their lives would be at risk if their identities became known. The play generated controversy due to the similarities between the character and James' killers. Thompson and Venables moved away from Liverpool after their sons' convictions eight years ago. On the other hand, little is known about the player's background or family life. James Patrick Bulger (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. He had been tortured - beaten with bricks and an iron bar. fun to be with". she said. "[36], In September 1999, Bulger's parents appealed to the European Court of Human Rights but failed to persuade the court that a victim of a crime has the right to be involved in determining the sentence of the perpetrator. [106] Chief Inspector Tracie O'Gara of Lancashire Constabulary stated: "An individual who was targeted four-and-a-half years ago was not Jon Venables, and now he has left the area. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. A lifetime ban was placed on reporting anything about either his or Thompson's whereabouts or their new identities after their release. Summing up, the judge, Mr Justice Morland, told them they had committed a crime of "unparalleled evil and barbarity". It was alleged that he had downloaded 57 indecent images of children over a 12-month period to February 2010, and had allowed other people to access the files through a peer-to-peer network. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. Popularly known as the murder of James Bulger on 12 February 1993 in England of Unknown. In November 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest convicted murderers in British history. In court, Venables was the more emotional of the two defendants, crying openly and leaning against the shoulder of his social worker. The Venables were by no means wealthy, but they were more financially comfortable than the Thompsons. Venables was He says 'I know, Mum'. "On the other hand, you are looking at him and you are saying 'Well, I know why - because he is so weak'. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables now in 2021: Jon is [4] On two occasions, Venables revealed his true identity to a friend. 'Jon was fearful, weak, and he was provoked': Parents of boys Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Parents of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson talk about their sons, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. So whats the ultimate answer here? Thompson was born on August 23, 1982 in England. In January 1987, the police were called to Susan Venables' home because the children (then seven, five and three) had been left alone for three hours. [102], Bulger's mother, Denise Fergus, said she was angry that the parole board did not tell her that Venables had been returned to prison, and called for his anonymity to be removed if he was charged with a crime. [37] These aspects were later criticised by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled in 1999 that they had not received a fair trial by being tried in public in an adult court. "[9] The trial judge Mr. Justice Morland stated that exposure to violent videos might have encouraged the actions of Thompson and Venables; this was disputed by David Maclean, the Minister of State at the Home Office at the time, who said that police had found no evidence linking the case with "video nasties". [13][14] The moment was caught on CCTV at 15:42. [117] In November 2010, a review of the National Probation Service handling of the case by David Omand found that probation officers could not have prevented Venables from downloading child sexual abuse material. We feel so sorry for him because he must be going through so much torment. But now and again. How can two children commit such a brutal act against an innocent young boy? '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.'. He didn't want to hurt James. Two days later, after a huge police search, James's battered body was found on a railway line more than two miles away. They were sentenced to indefinite detention at Her Majesty's pleasure, and remained in custody until a Parole Board decision in June 2001 recommended their release on a lifelong licence at age 18. As a result, we've decided to take you behind the scenes of the Mbappe family. Child killer Jon Venables is expected to launch a new bid to be released from prison, it has been reported. WebBackground Crime Sentencing Robert Thompson . Despite commonly held beliefs, psychopathy is mostly determined genetically. This is often given as a driver for serial killers from extremely abusive and chaotic backgrounds. In court, Venables was the more emotional of the two defendants, crying openly and leaning against the shoulder of his social worker. Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (Image: PA) He was held at the Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Merseyside, which was not revealed until after he had been released. Murder of James Bulger - Wikipedia On 27 June 2011, the parole board decided that he would remain in custody, and that his parole would not be considered again for at least another year. Before their trial in November 1993, the press ferreted around the doorways and back alleys of Walton village, Liverpool, looking for any thing that might determine that these two 10-year-olds were indeed evil or the product of evil. He has had his holidays like everyone else. Can specific acts of physical or emotional trauma be enough to push a person to violence? He had so many injuries it was hard to determine which had been fatal. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. At What Age Should A Child be Held Accountable? v. Secretary of State for the Home Department, Ex parte T", "Bulger killers: identifying them was a mistake", "Omand Review The Case of Jon Venables", "James Bulger killing: the case history of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson", "Outrage at call for Bulger killers' release", "Two youngsters who found a new rule to break", "Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. A narrative emerged of two childhoods influenced not merely by the flaws of parents or the absence of a father, but by the environment in which these boys lived, a world of social and economic deprivation, of trashy television and cultural poverty, inadequate social services, failed schooling and general confusion. Jon had a reputation for violence at school, often against younger children. If anything, he was the one likely to bully others. [92] On 13 March 2019, actress Tina Malone was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for posting Venables' identity on Facebook. Does brain chemistry have a role to play, as well as contributions from various environmental factors? Jon Venables What was their family background like? "It was very dark and I shouted down, shouted his name. Head trauma, autism and childhood abuse more common in killers, study finds, In October of 2012, a little girl from Machynlleth, Powys, Wales, vanished after being sighted willingly climbing into a car near her home. [3][4] Thompson and Venables led Bulger away from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, after his mother had taken her eyes off him momentarily. Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . . Born evil: What drove James Bulger's underage killers? "It is hard to take in really. Two days later, after a huge police search, James's battered body was found on a railway line more than two miles away. Neighbours told of pigeons having their heads shot off with an airgun, of rabbits being tied to railway lines, of dawn rollerbooting sessions. Jon Venables was just 10 years old when he and friend Robert Thompson murdered toddler James Bulger. One of the killers of British toddler James Bulger has been jailed for 40 months at the Old Bailey in London after he He denied having had any films that were not mainstream, or that were pornographic, in the house. Were environmental factors solely behind this disturbance? It is as if she thinks of herself walking around with a sign above her head: Mother of Bulger Murderer. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. [139], In June 2007, a computer game based on the television series Law & Order, titled Law & Order: Double or Nothing (made in 2003), was withdrawn from stores in the UK following reports that it contained an image of Bulger. James Bulger's brothers speak about his murder The chances of his successful rehabilitation were described as "very high". James Patrick Bulger has a net worth of $5.00 million (Estimated) which he earned from his occupation as murder of James Bulger on 12 February 1993 in England. The nurture side can exacerbate the condition, but this abnormality of brain function is primarily an inherited, DNA-caused condition. Post-trial, presiding judge Mr Justice Morland laid the responsibility very firmly at the feet of the parents. Jonathan Foster reports", "Drug dealer who found James Bulger's body jailed after crashing into family's car", "Death of James Bulger: Pt 4, Ten-Year-Old Suspects", "Death of James Bulger: Pt 5, Robert Denies, Jon Cries", "Liverpool Tries to Reconcile Murder and a Boy Next Door", "James Bulger documentary: Jon Venables so haunted by toddler victim he detected 'baby smell' on everything he wore, C5 show claims", "The secret meetings that set James's killers free", "Bulger ruling: If the defendants could not talk about their crime, how could they conduct a defence? The Ministry of Justice refused to reveal any details, but the then Justice Secretary Jack Straw did say the recall was prompted by "extremely serious allegations". [4][21][32] When Venables was let out on parole, his psychiatrist, Susan Bailey, reported that "visiting and revisiting the issue with Jon as a child, and now as an adolescent, he gives no account of any sexual element to the offence. Lord Justice Nigel Davis said that the offence was "close to the line" for an immediate prison sentence but suspended the sentence, after observing an early admission of guilt and remorse by the woman. The Venables were by no means wealthy, but they were
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