susan venables pictures

Now we waited. But that is the common lot of thousands of 10-year-olds who have not turned into murderers. ', The closest either boy came to offering an explanation was when Jon was asked by police why he had taken James's shoe off by the railway tracks. Jon spent Sunday to Thursday with his mum and the rest of every week with his dad. He was too scared to be naughty on his own. A police officer remembered Venables being so small that his legs didn't touch the floor as he sat in the custody office after his arrest. His mates called him a girl because whenever there was something on his mind he sucked his thumb. The citys worst instincts produced the wrongful hounding of a family whose sons people decided were responsible. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. Just seeing the size of them that first time, the childish figures they naturally were, caught my breath. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. 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. So he came home. By then, Robert and Jon had abducted James Bulger from the Strand and attempted to drown him in the nearby canal. 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 first time the boys set eyes on each other after they were arrested was in Preston crown court 3 1/2 weeks ago. From a distance Robert looked a sweet child. Their parents entered the courtroom; The Venables arrived together, Ann Thompson came with supporters but no sign of Robert's father. The base of the dock floor at Preston Crown Court had to be raised 18 inches so each boy could see over it. 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. Ann denied the physical abuse, but later admitted to being cruel to the boys at times. It was during this time that Susan, having suffered from clinical depression for many years, had experienced what were later described as two traumatic incidences, both of which Jon would have witnessed. She visited regularly and they would hold family anniversaries in the, place where he was held. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Susan Venables, mother of Jon, blamed her son's "weakness" for the killing and said he was "fearful" and "provoked" by his accomplice Robert Thompson. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt heartbreak for James and his parents and shame for her son. Get out and get into Dyson Hall children's centre, the only residential care school in the country just outside Liverpool. "What he's done is wrong so he needs to be punished. 'I didn't know it would be like this,' Mr Venables said with hindsight. Most people would regard such sentiments as having come rather late in the day and certainly too late to save poor James. Robert passed this down the line bullying his eight-year-old brother into playing truant. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James' injuries. My young body must have been tense with the deep anxiety that permeated every inch of that courtroom. She was living in secrecy but always felt that she was walking around with a huge sign: mother of Bulger killer, above her head. For weeks, she stayed in bed, not bothering to tend to the children, and when she finally did reemerge, she readily admitted she drank from morning to night, but had stopped taking the pills. They and Ann Thompson, who has six other. When Robert was asked what his hobby was he did not say trolls but 'skipping school'. What they did was exceptionally unpleasant and the fact that a little boy ended up dead is not something the nation can easily forget. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. In contrast he has had no contact with his father despite an approach soon after sentencing. fun to be with" and always had plenty of friends. Left to his own devices Jon liked to spend his playtime in fairly sedentary ways. I have lost my son as well. 'I thought he was all right,' said Boy B, as he was known in court - Jon Venables. It was their sons picked up by detectives. 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. Ultimately, wanting to escape the havoc, most of the boys opted to leave home, and some were placed into voluntary care at Dysons Hall, a childrens home just outside of Liverpool. what is the bite force of a baboon. Robert Thompson was born to Robert Sr. and Ann Thompson on the 23rd day of August 1982, in Liverpool, England. They sat just feet from me, perched on the edge of their wooden seat, smartly dressed and hunched in shame just below their son, Jon. "Just TV programmes and little things remind me of the good times we had together . He frequented local cinemas and regularly hired videos for the night. They didnt kill him in an accident it was premeditated and they tortured that poor baby. Read about our approach to external linking. But he liked collecting trolls, little doll-like creatures with ugly faces and spiky fluorescent hair. The distress of one woman who had come agonisingly close to taking James by the hand herself to a police station, only to be hoodwinked by Thompson and Venables that they were doing just that. 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. The toddler's mum Denise Bulger was at the counter of a butchers in the Strand shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, on February 12, 1993, when she briefly let go of her son's hand to get some change from her purse. We still think the same of him as we always have. Susan Venables, mother of Jon - referred to throughout the trial as Boy B - blamed her son's 'weakness' for the murder of James Bulger, . rk ye. I would say he was provoked. Robert was number five of seven. 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. 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. Everyone called him Chubby, because of his round, cherub's face. One time they sagged off with Robert's younger brother, which went disastrously wrong. 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. He has had his holidays like everyone else. Susan and the children moved in with her mother for a short time, and then settled in a small cluster of derelict apartments in Old Swan, where Jon attended the nearby Broad Green Preschool. The government will be required to respond within 14 days if as the petition achieves more than 100,000 signatures. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. She spent much of her time at the pub after that, and rarely stayed in for a meal. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. A newspaper man from Detroit said it was because 'Liverpool is the Beatles and love, love, love. Depressed, Ann began drinking heavily and was taking narcotics which caused her to hallucinate. A heartstopping moment came when the playing of the tapes in court was paused. It was the kind of family neighbours compare themselves against and then feel better. In the last few years she stopped drinking in the Top House and tried to keep things together. Anne Thompson could hold her drink and no one ever saw her staggering home. Although not officially entered into a witness protection programme they were given help by the authorities in finding new homes and taking on new identities. Neither gave evidence to the court, but were found guilty after an officer told how Venables admitted the murder, saying, "We did it. xf fy. Our feelings haven't changed towards him. He was fearful of the other boy. This would have made little Robert the target of the fourth Thompson brother, who, in less than a years time, had confessed to arson, tried to stab his elder brother in a fit of rage, and had allegedly committed a lewd act against two small children (this incident was overlooked due to lack of evidence; however, because it was always considered a likely possibility that little Robert had been the victim of sexual abuse himself, and since Robert reportedly confirmed this years later, this occurrence involving his elder brother might be thought particularly revealing). It was high- lighted by the trial judge Mr Justice Morland who said they must take moral responsibility for the terrible actions of the young killers. Mr Venables said that the two boys had played truant together four times before, adding that he caught them twice. In a 1993 interview, published in the Guardian newspaper just one day after Robert was convicted of the murder of James Bulger, Ann Thompson was quick to place fault on the neighborhood and the surrounding authorities, who she felt had failed both her and her sons. 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. ', They sagged off in the afternoon and walked around the shops in County Road, near Walton. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. 'I can't read hard words,' he said. Are they mad? 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Meanwhile, Thompson has not re-offended since his release, and is believed to be in a long-term relationship with a man who knows who he really is. Murder of James Bulger. "In terms of knowing what the full consequences of your actions are, you are into older childhood or adolescence. He had an elder brother, aged 13, and a nine-year-old sister. 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. qu fy. The right will draw attention to the broken homes, the single parents, the persistent truancy. While Robert was described as a wily child, known to tell lies, most of the St. Marys school staff agreed that the boy posed little trouble, and, if and when he attended, was generally well-mannered during class. I don't think they understood he was hyperactive. I suspect she still feels that., In 2001 there was a renewed uproar over the case when it emerged that the killers were to be freed, despite a. recommendation by the trial judge that they should remain behind bars for a very long time. cl gz. Whatever problems she had in her own life, she was always there. Thompson admitted nothing. It is time to examine all this.". Behind them eyes bore into them - from everyone on all sides, journalists, their parents, members of the public, and of course, theBulgerfamily. Jon's parents, who sat in court for most of the trial, said they grieved for the Bulgers. 'It's always our family that gets the blame,' Robert said to police after he was arrested for James's murder. But I still kept him in if he was naughty or anything like that.'. In court, he hid his face again. 'In this state it is quite painful to see a normal relationship between mother and child. Scores more watched proceedings from a neighbouring office block which, for the duration of the trial, came under court jurisdiction. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. Its beyond me," one viewer tweeted. Mrs Venables described how she searched for Jon. Asked later if he could recall a time when his brother had exhibited any unusually aggressive tendencies, Roberts brother said no: Hes frightened of his own shadow. Nonetheless, in hindsight, its safe to assume that by 1993, ten-year-old Robert was swiftly approaching crisis point., Alarmingly, some of the neighboring children later claimed to have seen Robert behave cruelly towards animals, and pull the heads off of baby pigeons, although this was never unequivocally confirmed. 'We have never really been apart,' Mrs Venables said. Susan Venables has blamed weakness for her sons role in the killing of James Bulger, claiming that he got involved with the wrong person. Jon breaks into hysteria whenever the subject is mentioned. wo. Could they have planned to do it in advance? Im bringing them up on my own, but if I went round and screwed every warehouse, my kids would have everything, too. Even so, while Roberts community was rough, his home life was perhaps worse, and could hardly be considered a refuge for the boy. Best of all, they would spend time on the Walton railway line where Robert had built a den close to the bridge. 'Provided you have no court orders for debts already,' the man on the phone would add helpfully. He was jailed for two years before being granted parole again in July 2013.. The Americans fed 1 1/2 minutes of the Jamie Bulger story into a 22-minute bulletin of national and international news. More often, he would pinch them from local shops. They went on family outings together, slept together, and when Susan did find a place, virtually coexisted between the two homes. Still, despite being clearly intimidated by him, Roberts brother appeared to share a strangely intimate bond with him. The teacher had a different perspective, saying that Susan was in fact aware of the issue, and had expressed deep concern. It is about a Good Guy doll invaded by the spirit of a mass murderer who kills people in gruesome ways. 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. Jon was afraid of her. After spending just eight years in custody, Britain's youngest killers were released and given lifetime anonymity in the UK. Superintendent Kirby is a religious man. His mind was too restless to take up other hobbies for long. 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. His former wife would send their boys up the street to give their father the fingers through the bay windows of his mother's house. The most agonising thing about the whole case was that so many people had stopped them and questioned them. He had been stripped from the waist down,. You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. It was their sons picked up by detectives. 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. Denise was in court that day. He didn't want to hurt James. 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. Susan Venables agreed but on condition that she saw her son first.

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