After that point, the James Bulger killers were to be assessed and, if they werent deemed to be a danger to society, released. "Risk factors identified in subsequent reviews include thinking about sex a lot, problems in maintaining relationships, concerns about self-awareness, and his ability to deal with stress. They first attempted to lure a three-year-old girl and her two-year-old brother away from their mother. 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However, the psychiatrists were not able to find a motive for this horrific crime. Another investigator said Thompson "would cry whenever there would be an awkward situation," to avoid questioning. After bringing in Thompson and Jon Venables for questioning, Phil said: As far as Im concerned that day 20 years ago I stared evil in the face. By 4:15 PM, however, there was no sign of James Bulger and he was reported missing to the local police station. Finally, they hit Bulger over the head with a 22-pound iron bar. 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". 721 Smith Rd. 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. Instead, they were the toddlers abductors and, soon, his killers. At first, Thompson denied everything. A life for a life.. DetectivePhil Roberts was on Merseysides serious crime squad when he got a call at 6am on February 13, 1993, about a two-year-old boy who had gone missing from the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle. It was a crime that shocked the nation and a story that will never be forgotten. Venables was given a SECOND new identity following his release from prison in 2013. 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.. "Of course, because of his existing convictions he would need an exemption my advice would be 'don't bother applying'.". Who suggested it is unclear; later, after they were arrested, each blamed the other. Jon Venables New Identity Leaked But one bystander provided a glimmer of hope however fleeting for James Bulger. 3 They were remanded to separate maximum security juvenile institutions under aliases, out of fear for their safety. We pay for videos too. Over 20 years later, he has remained off the radar of authorities and has continued to live under his assumed identity. Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty ImagesJames Bulgers father Ralph Bulger (pictured) is fighting to keep Jon Venables in prison for life. She was also bothered by the fact that Thompson would cry, but there wouldn't be any tears. He was visited regularly by his parents and was kept at Red Bank for the full eight years because of good progress, despite the facility only being a short-stay remand unit. She quickly found mall security personnel and described her son and what he was wearing. The twisted child killer, now aged 39, took the youngster from a shopping centre along with friend Robert Thompson, before the baby's dead body by a railway track. All of the instruments used in the attack were found strewn around the area the iron bar, stones, and bricks all covered in the boys blood. Most recently, Venables was denied parole in September 2020. All in all, Bulger sustained 42 injuries to his face, head, and body. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Finally, the boys hit Bulger over the head with a 22-pound iron bar, which resulted in 10 skull fractures. He excelled in his academics and began to develop an interest in textiles. 2 A 2015 interview with James Bulgers mother. Its just a big knot in your chest and thats been there since day one.. Explaining why a worldwide injuction preventing details about Venables and Thompson was imposed, then Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "The injunction was granted because there was a real and strong possibility that their lives would be at risk if their identities became known.". Over the course of interviews lasting several days, Venables eventually confessed. Despite positive behaviour and landing a job in jail, Parole officials ruled Venables was still not safe to be released. PA Images via Getty ImagesA policeman stands guard at the entrance of the site where the body of James Bulger was found on a railway embankment in Liverpool. It wont be a slap on the wrist for me.. 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. Jon Venables was born on August 13, 1982. At trial in 1993, Thompson was painted as the ringleader, leading Venables on at every turn. Venables and Thompson had brought blue paint stolen from the shopping mall and splashed it in Bulgers left eye. 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. This was largely due to the fact that Venables appeared more emotional, while Thompson often appeared chillingly unfazed. The toddlers heartbreaking final words were: I want my mum.. Youve got enormous burdens to carry around.. The toddler had gone missing two days before from the Strand shopping center, where Bulger was in the care of his mother. This led to a police investigation of the drive, which yielded dozens of images of abused children. 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. Mifflintown, PA 17059. I have let people down again. Robert Thompson was born on August 23, 1982 the fifth of seven children. Authorities considered Thompson to be the ringleader in the murder that he and Venables committed. 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. It is believed Thompson remains in a long-term relationship with a man who knows his real identity. Though nearly three decades have passed, the story of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables remains shocking to this day. He pleaded guilty to charges of downloading and distributing child sex images and was given a sentence of two years in prison. Soon after the aborted abduction, Venables and Thompson were loitering around a snack kiosk hoping to steal candy when they noticed James Bulger by the door of a nearby butchers shop. As for Venables, he was also born in Liverpool, and just a few days before Thompson, on August 13, 1982. James Bulger's grieving father Ralph lost a High Court bid to have information about Venables made public. It added that Jon had stated that hed benefited from psychological work in prison and didnt ask the panel for release. Authorities gave Robert and Jon new identities and released them into society under strict supervision. Interestingly, his partner knows his real identity. The images included category A photos, the most serious type, and he also admitted having a paedophile manual. Venables was first imprisoned for possessing images of child abuse in 2010, but he was released in 2013. Robert Thompson had a tough childhood and there were allegations of . RM2D3M2P8 - The grave of murdered toddler James Bulger in Kirkdale cemetery, Liverpool, June 22, 2001. The lawyer, representing Ralph and his brother Jimmy, told a court on May 2 that the original injunction granted to Venables was on the basis that he was rehabilitated and did not re-offend. But according to some sources, Venables does not want to be freed, in part over fears hell re-offend and in part over his inability to avoid drugs. 7 Oct 2021; Updated 13:36, 7 . Both boys were ordered to be imprisoned until review when they turned 18. News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. After a three-week trial, the jury took only five hours to render a guilty verdict for the boys. But the two ten-year-olds said, We just found him at the bottom of the hill.. Not long after the elderly woman sent the boys on their way, Bulger was almost rescued yet again. [Robert Thompson and Jon Venables] now 18, were sent to secure units in November 1993, after they were found guilty of abducting two-year old James Bulger and beating him to death, the Home Office has announced today that they will be freed after serving less than nine years of their sentence. I did kill him, Venables said. At 18 years old, Venables and Thompson were both released from a young offenders institution under licence in June 2001. On February 12, 1993, he was tragically murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. On the anniversary of James' death, he was pictured visiting James's . in March 2019. Ralph and James's uncle Jimmy had launched a bid to have Venables' anonymity removed, arguing certain details about him were "common knowledge" and easily accessible online. He was 10 years old. They walked down one of Liverpools busiest streets. Police dropped the charges against him after he agreed to enroll in an alcohol awareness course. The tot was kidnapped, tortured, and sexually abused by the two ten-year-olds. Malcolm Croft PA Images/PA Images via Getty ImagesThe parents of James Bulger, Denise and Ralph, at a police press conference in Liverpool the day after their son disappeared. "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).". He is yet to violate the terms of his release. The computer was taken away and 57 indecent images of children over a 12-month period were found. A woman would recognize one of the suspects, 10-year-old Jon Venables. Another suspect, Jon Venables was also taken into custody. Harry Fletcher, a probation officers union official, talked toIndependentabout Jons difficulty with keeping his identity secret. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators . First, of course, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had to snatch Bulger away from his mother in the midst of a busy shopping mall. But when Venables was recalled to jail in 2010, it emerged Thompson had done well at Barton Moss secure unit, in Eccles, Lancs, showing a growing interest and talent in art. The police then visited both childrens homes and discovered blood on Thompsons shoes and blue paint on Venables jacket. Venables was caged once again in 2010 after being found with a hoard of horrifying child abuse images on his laptop. The killer was 10-years-old when he and Robert Thompson murdered two-year-old James Bulger in 1993, which is. My advice would be dont bother applying,she said. 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. 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. Venables and Thompson then called for Bulger to come. Email us attips@the-sun.co.ukor call 0207 782 4368 . James Patrick Bulger (16 March 1990 - 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. Daniel Rennie is a freelance writer residing in Melbourne, Australia. He claimed that information about him already existed online. Apparently satisfied with their explanation, the woman simply told the two boys to take the toddler down to the nearby Walton Lane Police Station. They were a match made in hell. By all accounts, Venables and Thompson showed no violent or aberrant behavior in prison but instead served their time for the James Bulger murder quietly and without incident. James Bulger was seized and killed by Robert Thompson and his accomplice Jon Venables. Malcolm Croft/PA Images/Getty ImagesJames Bulgers parents, pictured one day before their child was found dead. James Bulger's father calls for Jon Venables's anonymity to be lifted, A police handout photo of Robert Thompson from 1993, James Bulger, two, was abducted from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, Ralph Bulger is the father of murdered James, Venables (pictured as a child) was sent to prison over possession of child abuse imagery, A video still of James Bulger being led away in 1993, John Venables, pictured after his arrest in February 1993. Here is what happened to Jon Venables after he was found guilty of murdering James Bulger. 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. They were remanded to separate maximum security juvenile institutions under aliases, out of fear for their safety. In October 2020, a parole report stated that Venables was attracted to sexual violence and recommended that he remain in prison. His dad abandoned the family five years before Bulger's murder - leaving mum Ann devastated. The report concluded: After considering the circumstances of his offending, the progress made whilst in custody and on licence, as well as the other evidence presented in the dossier, the panel was not satisfied that Mr Venables was suitable for re-release. Despite this evidence, however, Venables and Thompson werent initially the authorities prime suspects. After momentarily becoming distracted, Bulger's mother noticed that he was nowhere to be seen. In 2010, he was arrested for possessing images of child sexual abuse accumulated in over a year. Something went wrong, please try again later. 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