But Robert was stuck in Walton with his older brothers and the baby. They knew what they were doing," another wrote. 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. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. The teacher had a different perspective, saying that Susan was in fact aware of the issue, and had expressed deep concern. 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. 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. - a grey heron in Asawn, Southern Egypt. A day later, when James still hadnt been found, it was clear from CCTV footage that he had been taken by children. she said. It is just heartbreaking.". A newsroom reporter who was not working on the case fended off transatlantic interview demands, saying that it was not enough that he had a Liverpool accent. "On the other hand, you are looking at him and you are saying 'Well, I know why - because he is so weak'. Neil Venables regarded himself as the Barry Norman of Merseyside - a film buff with a penchant for horror. But however hollow a gesture it might have seemed, those who are in touch with the Thompson and Venables families insist that they have sought to make some sort of amends with their sons after the horrific events of 17 years ago that will rightly stay with them for the rest of their lives. Venables received a 40-month prison sentence after appearing via video link at the Old Bailey. Such pleasantries were not for Robbie. He is far from it. The judge, in sentencing the boys yesterday, voiced his strong suspicion that exposure to violent videos had played a strong part in corrupting them. What's the least amount of exercise we can get away with? Both were banned from ever returning to Liverpool and given new identities at a reported cost of 1.5million. Nine months later, I was one of 30 or so journalists inside Preston Crown Court when the trial began. Those who knew him well said he was a very emotional child, prone to mood swings. That was in September 1991, 17 months before they killed James Bulger. 'You'd better tell the truth. Thompson got better opportunities there than if hed been walking the streets in Walton, says the author. "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' Then they would hide their school satchels under a subway and set off on their adventure. 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. Could they have planned to do it in advance? Our feelings haven't changed towards him. Natural Landmarks. They have never come out of hiding. They deal with drugs, they deal with everything. He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. It emerged that the Venables family had suffered the same fate in another area. "Throughout the conduct of the case there have been a number of issues that have been swept under the carpet. Jon's first year after he was moved was relatively successful. By now the Venables were reunited as a result of the court case. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, and said he was going through torment. Some people thought they were as old as 12 or 13, but when they met they were both only 10 years old. After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. 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. They were drawn to one another quickly. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. She couldn't. A smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. 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. Venables and Thompson abducted, tortured and killed two-year-old James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged just 10. ", Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013. Mrs Thompson said she was so often called to Walton Lane police station to retrieve her truanting son that they should have given her a job there. 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. Were they to blame? 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. 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. "Youngsters are usually tried in a youth court, [Thompson and Venables] were tried in an adult court. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James injuries. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. Just as Venables's confession convicted him, a shoe print belonging to Robert Thompson, found on James cheekbone, confirmed his guilt, too. When she turned around moments later, her son was gone. 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. . "I think my son's concentration wasn't the way it should have been, but he wasn't slow. The Swedes, French, Germans, Canadian and Americans had all come to gaze at Liverpool's child killers. Hyperactive children can't sit still all day,' Mrs Venables said. She was prone to hysteria and hailed from a 'strict and disciplined' background. One police officer described how Jon Venables was so small, his legs were swinging. The only sign he was discomforted by hearing it was a near constant pulling of his tongue in his hands. The haunting words of Jon Venables' parents only interview have resurfaced, twenty five years after he killed tot Jamie Bulger. 'Sometimes I told Robbie to do things so he does,' he told a police officer, with pride in his voice. Thousands of members of Unison, Unite and the GMB unions are set to walk out across England and Wales on Monday as part of continued industrial action in the health service, Performers taking part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese New Year celebrations in London, Everton fans hold up banners protesting against the board of directors during their Premier League match against West Ham at the London Stadium, A pair of swans fly over a frozen pond in Bushy Park in London, People take part in a demonstration in support of trans rights outside the UK Government Office in Edinburgh, A member of the Royal College of Nursing holds their dog whilst on the picket line outside Kings College Hospital in London, as nurses take industrial action over pay, The scene on the A39 Quantock Road in Bridgwater after a double-decker bus overturned in a crash involving a motorcycle, A man walks dogs in snowy conditions in a park in Hexham. He's quite bright and clever. It was this empowering chemistry between them that some argued set into motion the life-altering events that would devastate a family, challenge a community, and rock a nations core in the disquieting months that followed. While, on the face of it, there doesnt appear to be as much external devastation present in Jons family history as in Roberts, his outlandish behavior suggested that internally, Jon was in a state of extreme emotional upset. The attitude when you live where we live is that you have to be tough or else you dont survive, she said. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. 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. "My heart really goes out to them. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. 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. Weeping, she said: 'I wasn't actually on the railway track because there is a fence, but I went up the side. Susan Venabless bent body shrank deeper into itself. Egypt. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10, murdered him in cold blood. Robert was number five of seven. Susan was known as the town " whore". This story has no borders,' NBC correspondent Denis Murphy said. 'I sat away from him - he caused trouble,' Jon said. "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. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. Just four years earlier, we had all covered the Hillsborough disaster and come together in grief. His response couldn't have been more different as he sank into the oversized blazer he was wearing. He was always getting prizes for maths at school. He is one of those children that if you told him to put his hand in the fire, he would. It was not until much later, when questioned as to his involvement in the death of James Bulger, that Roberts resentment towards the new baby became suddenly and painfully apparent. Both parents hope was that he would make something of his life and eventually find some peace. Seeing at first hand the pain of a family who have lost a toddler to an act of brutal violence is almost unbearably moving. As a result of the incident, Jon's mother decided to move him to another school. Jon was afraid of her. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. It was on his way back to the interview room when Venables finally admitted it: "We did it. sp. I didnt connect the dots until much later on. "You look at him and you say to yourself, 'How could you be involved in anything like this?'" 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 questioning was calm, steady, even playful at the beginning to try to get a sense the two boys really did know the difference between right and wrong.
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