It was not until February that it emerged Venables had been recalled to prison for breaching the conditions of his release. . The Venables were by no means wealthy, but they were more financially comfortable than the Thompsons. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers in cases like this. "He is easily led. "[4], The police quickly found low-resolution video images of Bulger's abduction from the New Strand Shopping Centre by two unidentified boys. [6][7], Closed-circuit television (CCTV) at the New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle on 12 February 1993 showed Thompson and Venables casually observing children, apparently selecting a target. The evidence for it is limited to say the least. "[55] The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 clarified the rules on the availability of certain types of video material to children. The Ministry of Justice rejected the call, saying that children over the age of ten knew the difference "between bad behaviour and serious wrongdoing". He didn't want to hurt James. [83] In March 2012, a 26-year-old man from Chorley, Lancashire, was arrested after allegedly setting up a Facebook group with the title "What happened to Jamie Bulger was f**king hilarious." He's quite bright and clever. [123] On 4 July 2013, it was reported that the Parole Board for England and Wales had approved the release of Venables. For they themselves will always feel guilty. Both boys had parents who had separated; each had difficulties with attendance, learning and behaviour at school. Thompson was a member of what can only be described as a terribly dysfunctional family. after discovering she dated child killer Jon Venables [4] Details of the boys' lives were recorded twice daily on running sheets and signed by the member of staff who had written them; the records were stored at the units and copied to officials in Whitehall. Venables served seven years of a life sentence for the 1993 murder before he was freed in June 2001, aged 18. Can specific acts of physical or emotional trauma be enough to push a person to violence? A Ministry of Justice spokesman declined to comment on the reports. Despite the passage of nearly three decades, the story of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables continues to stun. I would get him something like a cartoon.". Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Parents of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson talk about their sons, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. He has been educated. In December that year, the paper was fined 30,000 for contempt of court and ordered to pay costs of 120,000. Read about our approach to external linking. "I don't think we went wrong as parents at all. Wiping away tears, he went on: 'I feel for that family. I came back and then (Mrs Venables) went out. During the trial, the full horror of James' death emerged. Justice Secretary Jack Straw stated that Venables had been returned to prison because of "extremely serious allegations", and stated that he was "unable to give further details of the reasons for Jon Venables's return to custody, because it was not in the public interest to do so". A woman has revealed that she discovered that a man she once dated was in fact Jon Venables. Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, said that only 24-hour surveillance would have stopped Venables.
