James Bulger, A 2 Year Old Tortured

February 12, 1993, James Bulger, age 2, was with his mother in Bootle, Merseyside England at the New Strand Shopping Centre. While inside the A. R. Tym’s butcher’s shop on the lower floor of the shopping center, his mother became distracted. She took her eyes off him for just a moment, and he was gone. His dead body was found two days later on a railway line, 2.5 miles away in Walton, Liverpool.

That same morning, two boys, Robert Thompson, and Jon Venables, both age 10, decided to skip school. They went to the New Strand Shopping Centre, where they spent their day, stealing various items from different shops, including candy, a troll doll, batteries, and even a can of blue modeling paint. As the day wore on, they decided they wanted to abduct a child; lead him to a busy road and push him into oncoming traffic.

They watched different children in the shopping centre, until they finally had their target. CCTV footage at the shopping centre showed the two boys approach James and take him by the hand. They led him away and out of the shopping centre. Instead of pushing him into traffic right there, they instead took a meandering 2.5 mile walk across Liverpool. During this walk, at least 38 people later reported seeing the boys.

When they arrived at the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, the boys dropped James on his head, where he sustained injuries to his face. The boys considered pushing him into the canal, but decided to prolong their fun.

James had a bump on his head and began to cry. Passersby and bystanders alike did nothing. A couple of people inquired as to what was going on, but Thompson and Venables claimed James was their little brother, or they said he was a lost boy and they were taking him to the police station. Regardless, the inquiry stopped and the boys were left to do as they wished.

The boys went to a pet shop, where they were kicked out, then ended up in the village of Walton. There, they hesitated momentarily, as they looked across the road at the Walton Lane Police Station, but continued on their way. They led James up a steep bank toward a railway line near the Walton & Anfield railway station. That’s when the real torture began.

One of the boys took the stolen modeling paint, and threw it into James’ left eye. They took turns kicking him and stomping on him. They picked up bricks and rocks and threw those at him too. The stolen batteries were shoved into James mouth, and he was stripped naked from the waist down. The foreskin of his penis was pulled back, and something, presumably batteries, were shoved into his anus. When they had had enough, Thompson and Venables picked up a 22 pound railway fishplate and dropped it onto him.

Finally, the two boys picked up 2 year old James Bulger and laid his body across the railway tracks. They weighed his head down with the rubble, thinking when the train hit, his death would look like an accident.

Two days later, on February 14, 1993, children playing by the railroad tracks discovered the severed body of James Bulger, cut in half by a train.

James Bulger had sustained 10 skull fractures. He had so many injuries, 42 in total, that the case’s pathologist, Dr. Alan Williams, said he could not determine which one had killed him, though he was certain poor James was dead before the train struck him.

Thanks to CCTV footage, and the witnesses who had seen the three boys on February 12, Robert Thompson, and Jon Venables were identified and taken into custody. They were reluctant to give any details regarding the abduction or torture of James, even when questioned by child psychologist, Dr. Eileen Vizard.

Forensic testing was able to confirm that both Thompson and Venables had the same blue paint on their clothing as found on James’ body. The boys also both had blood on their shoes, blood which was tested and matched to James’ via DNA testing. They were even able to match the shoe pattern on Thompson’s shoe to a bruise pattern on James’ right cheek.

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were each charged with the murder of James Bulger on February 20, 1993.

The trial began at Preston Crown Court, on November 1, 1993. The boys were tried as adults, and, as expected, denied the charges. They were considered to be capable of “mischievous discretion,” meaning, they had the ability to act with criminal intent, and they were mature enough to understand that they were doing something seriously wrong. When Dr. Vizard was asked in court whether Thompson would know the difference between right and wrong, that it was wrong to take a young child away from his mother, and that it was wrong to cause injury to a child, Vizard replied, “If the issue is on the balance of probabilities, I think I can answer with certainty.” She also said Thompson was suffering from PTSD after the attack on James Bulger, and Venables absolutely knew the difference between right and wrong.

The boys did not speak at all during the trial, rather the case against them was based on the recorded police interviews with the boys. It was believed that Thompson was the leader of the two, initiating the idea of taking the James. Venables came up with the idea of taking James to the train tracks.

Thompson’s solicitor, or lawyer, Laurence Lee, said that Thompson was one of the most frightening children he had ever seen, even compared him to the Pied Piper.

By the time the trial was over, the boys were both 11. They were found guilty of the murder of James Bulger on November 24, 1993. Mr. Justice Morland, the judge, told Thompson and Venables that they had committed a crime of “unparalleled evil and barbarity… In my judgment, your conduct was both cunning and very wicked.” They were sentenced to be detained at “Her Majesty’s Pleasure,” which is often used for juvenile offenders, as a substitute for a life sentence. The judge ultimately recommended a minimum of 8 years.

After the Trial, Thompson went to the Barton Moss Secure Care Centre in Manchester, and Venables was taken to Vardy House, an eight-bed unit at Red Bank secure unit in St. Helens on Merseyside. The boys were given new identities and instructed to conceal their crime which had resulted in their incarceration. Their parents visited them regularly, and they received both education and rehabilitation.

Despite suffering PTSD, and Venables having nightmares and flashbacks of the murder, they were both ruled no longer a threat to public safety by the parole board. They were given new identities and moved to secret locations under a “witness protection” style program. They were given passports, national insurance numbers, qualification certificates, and medical records reflecting their new identity. They were released in June 2001 on lifelong licence (parole) with the following stipulations:

• They were not allowed to contact one another or Bulger’s family.

• They were prohibited from visiting the Merseyside region.

• Curfews may be imposed on them, and they had to report to probation officers.

• If they broke any rules, or were deemed a risk to the public, they would be returned to prison.

To date, Robert Thompson has remained out of trouble, his location and identity still a secret. The same cannot be said for Jon Venables.

On March 2, 2010, the Ministry of Justice informed the public that Jon Venables had been returned to prison. Then on June 21, 2010, Venables was charged with possession and distribution of indecent images of children. It was alleged that he had downloaded 57 indecent images including children as young as 2 being raped by adults, and penetrative rape of seven or eight year olds. He had allowed others to access the files via a peer to peer network. He had also posed in online chat rooms as a 25 year old woman named Dawn “Dawnie” Smith from Liverpool where “she” boasted about abusing her 8 year old daughter, in hope of obtaining further child pornography.

On July 23, 2010 he pleaded guilty to downloading and distributing child pornography. He was sentenced to 2 years in prison.

Although eligible for parole in July 2011, the parole board decided that he would remain in custody. It wasn’t until  July 2013 that the Parole Board for England and Wales saw fit to grant him release. Venables was again a free man by September 3, 2013.

But that wouldn’t be the end for Venables. On January 5, 2018, he was again charged with possessing indecent images of children. He pleaded guilty, admitting to being in possession of a paedophile manual, as well as 392 category A, 148 category B, and 630 category C child pornography images. He was sentenced to three years and four months in prison.

Venables is being housed in a special segregation unit for paedophiles and sex offenders known as the Vulnerable Persons wing, yet jail bosses are afraid he could still be attacked by other prisoners in revenge for the murder of James Bulger. As a result, he always has 6 guards with him, during time out of his cell, whether that be for exercise or visits.

Children are safe from Venables, at least until 2022.

What happened to little James Bulger is horrific. Why would anyone torture anyone, let alone a child? Unfortunately, there are too many of these awful stories, like that of Sylvia Likens.