I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. Jon lived in terror of losing his mother's love, yet he was also terrified of her. Ann and Bobby fought regularly in front of the children, with virtually all of the fights leading to physical violence. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. Mrs Venables said: "He mentions James, not all the time. Online Marketing For Your Business 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. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. One of Anns sons claimed that Ann, too, had beaten them with sticks, and had struck one of the boys with a cane. He was repulsed because he found Robert's disdain for authority scary. He did like to be liked, and loved to have friends, and he has got involved with the wrong person.". UK news in pictures 15 February 2023. 'I couldn't hear anything,' she said. kl. re bz. Susan Venables is on Facebook. Or they would mess around in shops, playing on computer games if Robert had his way, sliding on the polished floors if Jon had his. He has had more love and attention than a lot of children I know. Grainy CCTV footage later showed the innocent toddler being led away by Venables and Thompson, who marched the little boy through the streets of Bootle for two miles - a walk that would have taken hours given his size. Any anxiety or animosity he might have felt was manifested largely through his school-aged thumb-sucking, a habit which elicited titters and taunts from the neighborhood children. By now the two boys from Walton were part of an international freak show. "The age of criminal responsibility in this country is 10 that's too low. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? . Pictures; Inside the Guardian; Guardian Weekly . Robert was number five of seven. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked. Ann was a heavy drinker, separated from her husband, also called Robert, who had deserted the family several years earlier and did not attend court. Mrs Venables said: 'I think it was because the class group was too big for them to go in . Jon was also mad on computers. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. He didn't want to hurt James. The most startling moment of the trial came when, in lieu of giving evidence in person, the boys' taped interviews with police - recorded just after their arrest - were played in court. 'Provided you have no court orders for debts already,' the man on the phone would add helpfully. gl. We have found 88 people in the UK with the name Susan Venables. Venables and Thompson were seen on CCTV calmly leading the toddler out of the shopping centre by his hand. Denise Bulger believes her son's murderers - men now - should be in prison for ever. The other boy, Robert Thompson, we are told is now abiding by the conditions of his life license since he was released 17 years ago, and is doing well. Robert passed this down the line bullying his eight-year-old brother into playing truant. As his killers began their sentences, such was the revulsion that it was already clear their families could not. When Jon left home on the morning of Friday, February 12 he was happy because it was the last day of school before a week's holiday and he was going to take some pet gerbils home. The pair was tried for the abduction and murder of James as adults owing to the fact they were over 10, which is legally deemed to be the age of criminal responsibility. I dont think she saw a very happy future., The author says there was no contact with the Venables family after the trial as Mrs Thompson focused, her energy on supporting her son, refusing to accept he was a monster. He is broken- hearted over it. She said that Jon was always "loving, caring, thoughtful and considerate . gk. Shame? You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. The couple was financially strained from the start, but Ann did what she could to make it work. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. The best instincts led hundreds, including me, to lay flowers a few days later at the site of James horrific end. Not surprisingly, Ann had also attempted suicide in the same manner, some months before. ANN THOMPSON, the mother of Robert Thompson, child A, says her son is a thief, a liar, is devious and plays truant. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. Little Bobby went to visit his brothers every so often, eager to show them the latest playthings he had robbed from the assorted shops nearby. The other shops in the area were also armoured with mesh, including the Red Garden chipper where Robert used to pop in with his brothers most nights for a 25p bag of chips. sp. 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. Apart from Jon's incident with the ruler, there had been no record of previous violence. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. The Radio Merseyside newsroom, where I was working at the time, was full and everyone was on this story one way or another. THE first time the boys set eyes on each other after they were arrested was in Preston crown court 3 1/2 weeks ago. CCTV images revealed how James had been lured away by Thompson and Venables, who was also aged 10. 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. According to a legal source we spoke to this week, Jon Venables parents have sought to be a support for their son, despite the enormity of his crime. To widespread dismay and condemnation from the Bulger family, the killers were given new identities, courtesy of the taxpayer. He's quite bright and clever. Could they have planned to do it in advance? Their age was hard to gauge from the CCTV images, so just when you imagined you couldnt be more shocked by this story, it emerged the two accused were just 10-years-old. Some of the red brick houses were well-kept, others had torn net curtains and grubby windows. It was to be an adult trial, both boys appearing every day in the full gaze of whoever was in that room, but neither giving evidence directly to the court. They would hang around the video shop in Walton Village where the shop girl was pleased to have their company. Liked by susan venables. Eventually, Bobby walked out on his family, but not before beating his wife one final time. The family was already exhaustingly overextended, and Robert, being the fifth edition, was quick to pick up on the coping mechanisms needed to survive in a life of unremitting chaos and enmity. The appearance in court this week of Venables, now a 35-year-old man, on charges of possessing indecent images of children, was a jarring reminder that, still a quarter of a century on, his rehabilitation is more an ambition than a reality. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. She said an educational psychologist had diagnosed hyperactivity in her son, who was bullied at his previous school. It is here, of course, that Jon met and made friends with fellow eccentric, Robert Thompson. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. Guilty of abducting and murdering James PatrickBulger. Jon breaks into hysteria whenever the subject is mentioned. "I don't think we went wrong as parents at all. For his parents, the fact they were children was actually a cause for hope at that point. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. Neighbors later reported that it wasnt uncommon for Robert to be seen wandering the streets of Walton after midnight, since he was always running off at night. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. The hardliners in the police have a simpler explanation. Then, one Friday in February, they discovered a new rule to break: they murdered a two-year-old. He was a loyal fan, though he did not go often to Goodison Park. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. Haunting CCTV footage shows the pair leading the tiny, trusting boy . At Preston Crown Court a few months later, I was one of a handful of journalists given full access to the small courtroom for the trial of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both now 11-years-old. I wasnt on duty that day, so the very beginnings of the story washed over me. . Neston Town Council unveil plans for Good Friday Easter Market, Drivers at risk of a 1,000 fine for these simple number plate mistakes, Trip Advisor: Six best Chinese restaurants in Wirral, 'Pubs need to adapt' if they are going to survive the times ahead, Birchwood company donates huge 45,000 to children's hospice, Series of strict conditions placed on dog after Widnes attack, Xi Jinping's power grab - and why it matters, Street fighting in Bakhmut but Russia not in control, Saving Private Ryan actor Tom Sizemore dies at 61, The children left behind in Cuba's mass exodus, Snow, Fire and Lights: Photos of the Week. The petition, that now has 14,682 signatures, reads: "We want a Public Inquiry into the James Bulger murder case. what is the bite force of a baboon. But apart from his brother, Robert struggled to build friendships. While both boys may have felt helpless and inferior in their own settings, together they were fearless, a portrait of machismo, each playing on the others strong points. 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. "An awful mistake for 10 year olds is shoplifting not murdering a 2 year old FFS," another angry viewer tweeted. 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. The case of James, a two-year-old who was snatched from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, in 1993, before being tortured and left to die, shocked the nation. They did. Friday 12th February 1993. 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. But his comment sparked anger from viewers. Occasionally, when the children would be left sitting on the red wall outside the house too long, one of the neighbours would call the police to go and get her out of the Top House. David Sharrock, Maggie O'Kane, and Edward Pilkington look at the lives of the rebels who turned to killing, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. His mother called him hyperactive since, even more than his friend, he was scarcely able to sit still. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. Thompson did what he often did, looked around, grabbing clumsily at his tongue. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' The boys, by now lacking any sense of guidance within the home, took to the streets, robbing, truanting, and some of them experimenting with drugs. 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. wo. To be absolutely accurate, she had only one illusion. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. Everton was his team. Their seats were just below the raised dock where their sons would sit for the next three weeks, listening to a prosecution which aimed to prove not only that they killed James Bulger, but that they planned to, and that when they did they knew it to be wrong. Money, or his family's lack of it, preyed on his mind. Were they to blame? In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. God knows how they must be feeling now.. One woman asked how James had injured his forehead. Trauma? fun to be with". qu fy. Susan Venables Facebook: susan.venables.9 Lives in Mellor, Blackburn With Darwen, . In Jon's case, 'hyperactivity' went beyond mere fidgeting into outbursts of sudden anger and violence. MOST of the boys were bright. Both had parents who had separated. In return, Jon would let Robert ride his bicycle, and from time to time he would suggest naughty deeds himself. Hope. I wish we could turn the clocks back," Mrs Venablessaid. Thompson, who gained five GCSEs and A-levels in design and technology, is said to have developed an interest in theatre. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. They rejected suggestions that he could have watched Child's Play Three, a film that his father had rented three weeks before James's death, which, it has been claimed, included scenes similar to those of the attack on the two-year-old. The officer who questioned Venables took the stand and explained how he had asked Susan Venables to absent herself from the next session as her presence was now inhibiting her son from telling the truth. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Susan, aged 36, a sharp woman . the street. 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. We are proud to endorse the COP27 Leather Manifesto. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. 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. For she added: 'But he's not a murderer.'. I just think of James and his Dad and about all that fun with his little boy, like I had with Jon.". On one occasion one of Anns sons let his real name slip at school and they had to move almost at once, says. The breaking point came when Jon was suspended from Broad Square after attempting to choke a classmate with a twelve-inch wooden ruler. 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. Recently, I dug out my old notebooks of the trial and my handwriting during the verdicts says it all. Grey seal pups on the beach at Horsey in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one the UK's most important sites for the mammals. 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. The primary concern among the faculty was Roberts growing amount of absences. cl gz. It was their sons picked up by detectives. Express. "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. ROBERT had a reputation in the neighbourhood for being a troublemaker. What doing well means is anybodys guess. 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. He wore his dark hair short, almost a crew cut, which accentuated his ample forehead and blunt nose. March 10, 2021 - 20:29 GMT Eve Crosbie. 'I think about little James and what he must have gone through, how they must feel. Are they mad? Constantly fighting and battering one another, and possibly, too, being hit by their emotionally drained mother, the Thompson brothers often looked scruffy, and, on more than one occasion, were seen bearing bruises and bite marks. 'The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you don't survive,' she said. 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. In all, they played truant four times. 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'. View the profiles of people named Susan Venables. 'America is the land of shopping malls. Directly in front of the bench was the raised dock in which Thompson, Venables, and two social workers would sit for the next four weeks.