He would steal objects that he neither needed nor wanted, then chuck them away in the street. Both had parents who had separated. A smell of bleach lingered on some of the tiled steps that led up to the front doors. Jon, who had the most trouble sleeping, appeared fearful of Susan, and was terrified, above all, of her condemnation. Shed never been back but she clearly missed Liverpool and had tried to recreate the city in her new home, he recalls. The Royal Mint of a 50p coin featuring Professor Albus Dumbledore as part of a Harry Potter-themed collection. As a new documentary is set to air on ITV, the haunting words of Jon Venables' parents have resurfaced. I know how I feel as a mother. 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. I got on with my job, but months later the impact of that trial had sunk in and a difficult, tearful, confusing year followed for me. Jon was afraid of her. His mother, Susan, attributed this behavior with peer pressure and hyperactivity, and put him on a special diet, though it did nothing to quell his frequent emotional outbursts. Ann and Bobby fought regularly in front of the children, with virtually all of the fights leading to physical violence. 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. He carried books on wrestling and wildlife in his school bag. One day they stayed out until 10.30pm and Jon received a severe reprimand from his mother. S. Susan venables. It emerged that the Venables family had suffered the same fate in another area. The James Bulger murder View gallery Venables was born on August 12, 1982. There is, like, a little paint factory. Security launched a search for James inside the centre and James' family searched for their son overnight. His mother cared about him. Robert would give Jon presents of stolen objects: trolls, of course, toy terrapins, sweets. . 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. The appearance in court this week of Venables, now a 35-year-old man, on charges of possessing indecent images of children, was a jarring reminder that, still a quarter of a century on, his rehabilitation is more an ambition than a reality. Boy A - Robert Thompson - was the shorter and more rounded of the two. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. Forensic and pathology evidence was a huge challenge for everyone, not least the jury who were shown pictures of James' injuries. Lady Penelope was his favourite character because she was rich, followed by Brains with the glasses. I'm warning yer,' she would say. For me, though, it is Susan and Neil Venables who stay most in my memory of that day. ", Her husband, Neil, said: "If you had a league table of children, you would put him at the bottom of the list for anything like this.". On Monday night's documentary, Robert Thompson's solicitor Dominic Lloyd said: "Many years after the trial a juror said 'we found them guilty of murder but we didn't have the option to find them guilty of being two very bewildered and frightened little boys who made an awful mistake and need a lot of help'.". His mother especially has been a tower of strength, says the source. The shocking murder that shook the nation, Both Venables and Robert Thompson were 10 years-old when they tortured and killed 2 year-old James Bulger, Thompson and Venables were tried as adults, James Bulger, aged 2 years old, being led away in a shopping centre in Liverpool, Denise Fergus denied having anything to do with the Channel 4 documentary about her son, James Bulger's murder case could now be investigated, The petition is on nearly 15,000 signatures, James Bulger was just two when he was brutally murdered, He had been out shopping with his mum Denise, James was made to walk two miles before being left for dead on a disused rail line, Denise tirelessly campaigned to have their sentence increased, Denise once admitted she's lived 'in fear' since the trial. He was pale in complexion and had watery brown, listless eyes. They have never come out of hiding. This time we came together in shock and disbelief. At first, Robert seemed to respond well to this, taking the initiative to help feed and clothe the baby, and doing what he could to please his mother. "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. Among the list were several horror films, including one video in which the police took special interest: Child's Play 3, a film which carries the line 'Children are consumer trainees'. Twenty-five years on, Im still prone to hot tears at the memory of it all and I do question the trial. Constantly restless, his workbooks were empty, and he would often be denied recess because he was so far behind. 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. That means he is currently 35-years-old. When social workers came round, they did so to see his sister and his brother, who had learning difficulties and was receiving special education. He had been quiet that weekend, they said, but they had thought that was because his mother had taken him to the police station on the Friday evening for playing truant. Money was always a struggle, and she got through the first years drinking in Higson's Top House off St Mary's Lane. But his comment sparked anger from viewers. And in Lower Lane police station when he was being questioned about the murder she had to be told that her harsh words were inhibiting him from confessing. The pair was tried for the abduction and murder of James as adults owing to the fact they were over 10, which is legally deemed to be the age of criminal responsibility. "It is hard to take in really. Were they to blame? You know, we just try and help him as best we can to try to come to terms with things. . "All he said when we've said 'Why didn't you run away?' sp. A torrent of questions erupted from the moment the grim news came out that James Bulger's body had been found on a railway line in Liverpool and the last people seen with him were two ten-year-olds, captured on grainy CCTV footage. Ann Thompson and Susan and Neil Venables didn't need to imagine. On the days he was at school he had a knack for stirring things up. Since the murder Robert has been in a state of post-traumatic shock, hounded by nightmares and flashbacks from the railway tracks. Susan opted to remove him from the school then, and some months later, she reenrolled him in St. Marys in Walton. It was a sign of such restlessness that he was unable to hang on to a football team for long - he kept shifting his allegiance like a floating voter. Susan Venables Profiles | Facebook I wish we could turn the clocks back,' Mrs Venables, 36, said. Some neighbours claim they saw the boy snaring birds into traps in the back yard of his home, while one local youth claimed he saw the boy pull the heads off live baby pigeons. Chilling words of Jon Venables' parents resurface on 25th anniversary "He fell over," was the response. His body was found two days later on a railway line. "He is easily led. He has been educated. Born on August 13th, 1982, Jon was the middle child of Neil and Susan Venables. In the autumn term of 1992, Robert played truant for 49 half days and Jon for 40. Constantly fighting and battering one another, and possibly, too, being hit by their emotionally drained mother, the Thompson brothers often looked scruffy, and, on more than one occasion, were seen bearing bruises and bite marks. The sunrises through the sea mist over the sculpture The Couple by Sean Henry at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea on the Northumberland coast. She was paranoid about being discovered. 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. Venables parents were divorced but still lived within a stones throw of one another and were both involved in their sons upbringing. "BULL**** about 'two frightened kids whod made a terrible mistake' The tapes said they kept stoning him, even when he kept getting up. However, given that the tension in the household was persistent throughout the most crucial of Jons formative years, the belief that he had moved through the ordeal entirely unaffected is questionable. He was fearful, he was weak and he was provoked," she said. As a grim portrait of abuse, drunkenness and neglect emerged, the hatred and loathing for Robert Thompson and Jon Venables was also turned on their parents. They played truant, they pinched sweets, they terrorised old ladies. During the Bulger investigation, police checked the details of 50 videos Mr Venables had hired in recent months. Or they would mess around in shops, playing on computer games if Robert had his way, sliding on the polished floors if Jon had his. The best photos of birds and other wildlife from around the world. My young body must have been tense with the deep anxiety that permeated every inch of that courtroom. They probably weren't out to kill someone, but they were probably out to ruin someone else's happiness. The trial though didnt, and was never designed to, shed light on how two such young children could be guilty of such sustained barbarity. Their kids have got everything, she added, bitterly. 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. Take him home, the officer would say to her. Mrs Venables has also said that she felt. He gets upset. Moments later, we were told, Jon Venables uttered the words, We did it. He took a jar of paracetamol. Robert said 'If you tell anybody I'll get my big brother to batter you up'. Walton Village Financial Services would lend you pounds 300 for Christmas and demand a total of pounds 460 in repayment.