Robert Thompson, now 36, said he is a "better person" thanks to his years in prison but. This caused various children to be identified as potential killers, with some parents even reporting their own kids. Venables has now been caged for 40 months foradmitting having a paedo manual explaining "how to have sex with little girls" as well as over 1,000 vile child abuse images. They went out that day to kill I truly believe that. At trial in 1993, Thompson was painted as the ringleader, leading Venables on at every turn. The panel listed as risk factors those influencers that made it more likely that Mr. Venables would reoffend in the future,the report read. The Mirrorreports that authorities considered relocating Jon to Canada, Australia, or New Zealand to reduce the cost of keeping him in the UK. I believe the only way to prevent him from killing another baby like James is to keep him locked up for life, Ralph Bulger said in response to the parole boards decision. Both boys were ordered to be imprisoned until review when they turned 18. James Bulgers parents, pictured one day before their child was found dead. At first glance, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables seemed like two ordinary 10-year-olds. All in all, Bulger sustained 42 injuries to his face, head, and body. The child killer was released from a young offenders' institution under licence in 2001 and has not re-offended since. But during separate police interviews, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson turned on each other. The computer was taken away and 57 indecent images of children over a 12-month period were found. As the jury foreman read the verdict, Venables and Thompson were sitting in an adult court dock that had been altered so that the boys could see over it. Retired detective Laurie Dalton recalled her feeling that Thompson was "pure evil" (via The Sun) and would try to manipulate the police during questioning. Toddler James Bulger disappeared on February 12 1993. Bulger Killer JON Venables is one half of a pair of notorious child killers who abducted and then murdered two-year-old James Bulger back in 1993. The full story of how James Bulger killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables led their two-year-old victim past dozens of witnesses on a grim path to his chilling death. When Bulgers father, Ralph, saw that it was just two boys with whom his son had left the mall, he was relieved: I looked at Denise and smiled with relief. We pay for videos too. The Netline reports that Thompson has fully integrated into society and has "built a healthy relationship" inside the community in which he lives. Just a couple of days later, Bulger was found on the same railway track where his killers had left him. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables The public was already outraged as the police were still not able to catch the killers. Venables himself begged not to be released as he fears he will reoffend, a report in November last year stated. In June 2019, it was reported Venables was being assessed for a permanent move to Canada. Learn more about it in the article below. Where is Robert Thompson now? BWP Media/Getty Images Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, pictured after their arrest for the murder of James Bulger. The killer walked free in June 2001 with unprecedented lifelong anonymity after a parole board ruled he was no longer a threat to public safety. After momentarily becoming distracted, Bulger's mother noticed that he was nowhere to be seen. Children are seen by society as innocent and pure, without malice. Soon after, a woman saw Thompson punch Bulger and shake him. And even by 2000, top child psychiatrist Sir Michael Rutter claimed the risk posed by Venables on his release was "trivial". Within hours of that surveillance image being captured on the afternoon of February 12, 1993, 10-year-olds Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had tortured two-year-old James Bulger to death. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. During their November 1993 trial, the world was equally shocked and outraged that two young boys could have the capacity to viciously murder a toddler. The reports said that Robert is openly gay and is in a long-term relationship with a partner who knows his real identity. Both boys were ordered to be imprisoned until review when they turned 18. [B]ut, in the end, he shot himself in the foot by giving me a detailed account of what James Bulger was wearing. Nevertheless, throughout the whole process, Thompson remained chillingly unfazed, earning him the nickname the boy who did not cry from the press. Youve got enormous burdens to carry around.. At trial in 1993, Thompson was painted as the ringleader, leading Venables on at every turn. Other searches were conducted elsewhere, all leading to nothing. On the outside, he finds it difficult to make friends or gain employment and he seeks out drink, sex and pornography as a way of adding excitement to this life and thats a potent mix.. Since then, the two men have taken vastly different paths. Mary Bell, the 11-year-old who killed toddlers and got off light. By the time Bulger was dead, he had sustained 42 brutal injuries in total. Thompson and Venables were only 10 years old at the time of the murder, making them the youngest convicted killers in Britain. The ex-convict has kept his bargain of the clause of his release. Robert and Jon would sexually abuse, assault, and murder Bulger before dumping his body. In the wake of removing the baby from a mall in Bootle, Merseyside, two 10-year-old young men grabbed and killed him in 1993. tvguidetime.com The paint was showered in his eyes, blocks were flung at him, he was kicked, and batteries were embedded in his mouth. "But he has duped them once too often and now they have ruled against him. His body had been severed in two by a train. Venables was held at the Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Merseyside, which was not revealed until after he had been released. "My decision is in no way a reflection on the applicants themselves, for whom there is a profoundest sympathy," he said. And if they hadnt been caught I fear they would have struck again. The crimes of the 10-year-old killers horrified Britain. From 1993 to 2001, Venables served time in the Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens, Merseyside. 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 youngster had no record of violence before he was found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger. 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. What befell James Bulger? Authorities considered Thompson to be the ringleader in the murder that he and Venables committed. Who suggested it is unclear; later, after they were arrested, each blamed the other. He was just ten years old when he abducted two-year-old James Bulger from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, with his friend Robert Thompson. And in 2018, he was sentenced to 40 months after admitting to possessing more than 1,000 child abuse images and the pedophile manual. With some evidence in hand and the knowledge that the James Bulger killers were likely two children, the police checked nearby schools absentee lists for the day of the disappearance. Though both boys had killed Bulger, Roberts believed that Thompson was in charge. And Roberts wasnt the only one. Who was Wu Lien-teh and who was his wife Ruth? The toddler had gone missing two days before from the Strand shopping center, where Bulger was in the care of his mother. Though they were known to be rule-breakers, they mostly dabbled in low-level criminal activity, like stealing small items from stores and throwing them down mall escalators. The child killer was released from a young offenders institution under licence in 2001 and has not re-offended since. 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. Living under new names, they would both follow different trajectories. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. The next day, police searched the canal where the boys had been earlier in the afternoon because an eyewitness had reported seeing Bulger there. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. Kill the bastards, people yelled. Popular disgust only intensified when witnesses and the media noted Thompsons cold, seemingly remorseless behavior at trial (compared with Venables hysterical outbursts). In November 1993, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables became the youngest convicted murderers in British history. Not only did they find blue paint on Venables jacket, but they also found blood on Thompsons shoes. Thompson and Venables eventually arrived near a railway track in Walton. Before long, an anonymous caller reported to the police that Thompson and Venables were behind the murder, revealing that both boys had been absent from school on the day of Bulgers disappearance and that there may have been some criminal evidence on Venables jacket. All about his family, Was Dave Hollis Sick? Not only had both boys been truant that day, but Venables had also been seen with blue paint on his jacket (the same color that had been used to blind Bulger during his torture). Instead of jail time, he was ordered to seek treatment for alcohol abuse. Venables claimed he was acting in self-defence and the charges were dropped after he agreed to go on an alcohol-awareness course. But as they scanned the lists of children who had been absent that day from local schools, they soon received an anonymous phone call that blamed Venables and Thompson for the crime. After this look at the case of James Bulger and whats become of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, see some other haunting death photos taken just before the victim met their end. Venables was caged once again in 2010 after being found with a hoard of horrifying child abuse images on his laptop. Venables and Thompson were tried in an adult courtroom by a jury. After murdering Bulger, Thompson and Venables placed his body on the railway track in an attempt to make his death look accidental. The woman began calling for her son and ran outside, where she found Venables and Thompson beckoning the boy to follow them. They were a match made in hell. They went out that day to kill I truly believe that. First, of course, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson had to snatch Bulger away from his mother in the midst of a busy shopping mall. Some witnesses later remembered seeing Bulger laughing while others remembered seeing him resisting and even screaming for his mother. They went out that day to kill I truly believe that. The judge, Mr Justice Morland, told they boys they had committed a crime of " unparalleled evil and barbarity in my judgement, your conduct was both cunning and very wicked. Though Thompson tried very hard not to incriminate himself while he was speaking to the interrogators, he failed when he gave a detailed account of what James Bulger had been wearing on the day he was killed. Four years later, Venables returned to prison on the same charge. The Daily Mail tells us that he will be in front of another parole board early in 2023. How can anyone say this monster is safe to live among us ever again?. And even by 2000, top child psychiatrist Sir Michael Rutter claimed the risk posed by Venables on his release was "trivial". Due to the national furor surrounding their case, they were both given new identities. "Pure evil, I will never change my mind about that.". He was arrested yet again in 2017 for the same crime. It was a crime that shocked the nation and a story that will never be forgotten. Robert Thompson was released in 2010. 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. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Both were released under strict conditions in 2001 and given new identities, but Venables kept falling foul of the law and was put behind bars once again for more horrific crimes. "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).". That blow alone caused 10 skull fractures. Daniel Rennie is a freelance writer residing in Melbourne, Australia. On the outside, he finds it difficult to make friends or gain employment and he seeks out drink, sex and pornography as a way of adding excitement to his life and thats a potent mix.. The body of two-year-old James Bulger was discovered near a set of railroad tracks in Liverpool, England on a cold February day in 1993. Over 20 years later, he has remained off the radar of authorities and has continued to live under his assumed identity. WikimediaJames 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. ROBERT Thompson abducted and tortured to death two-year-old James Bulger alongside his partner in crime Jon Venables when they were just ten years old. "Features leading up to his offending as an adult included a sense of dissatisfaction and lack of fulfilment in life, a need for excitement, and a tendency to turn to sex or pornography as a means of coping. Nor did the panel recommend to the Secretary of State that Mr Venables should be transferred to open prison. The child killer was released from a. 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