James Bulger killer Jon Venables has skipped his parole hearing held in private to prevent ‘disproportionate emotional stress’ after the victim’s family urged the board to keep their son’s killer locked up.
Venables ‘took the easy option’ by not coming to the parole hearing, which heard the victim impact statement of James Bulger’s parents, according to a source who spoke to the Sun.
Two-year-old James was tortured and killed by Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside in 1993.
The now 41-year-old killer was granted a private hearing after the Parole Board ruled that a public one would cause ‘disproportionate emotional stress’ to Venables, but he still didn’t show up.
The source told the Sun: ‘It makes a mockery of it all. He’s been a coward to the end. He probably didn’t want to hear the impact statements so took the easy option.’
This comes after Denise Fergus, 54, James’s mother, said she endured ‘three decades of hell’ after Venables killed her son and urged the board to ‘keep people safe from this monster’ by denying his parole.
Venables (pictured here in 1993) allegedly ‘took the easy option’ by not coming to the parole hearing, which heard the victim impact statement of James Bulger’s parents, according to a source who spoke to the Sun
Two-year-old James (pictured) was tortured and killed by Venables and Robert Thompson , both aged 10, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside in 1993
Denise Fergus said she endured ‘three decades of hell’ after Venables killed her son and urged the board to ‘keep people safe from this monster’ by denying his parole
She told The Mirror: ‘If he goes on to commit more crimes after you release him, it will be on your shoulders. So, I’m just asking you to do the right thing.’
The heartbroken mother argued that Venables ‘seems to have the upper hand’ because of the protections he has been afforded, such as a private hearing and new identity if his release is granted.
‘Sometimes it feels like we are the criminals, not him, which is ridiculous,’ she added.
Ms Fergus said earlier this month that she was ‘anxious’ ahead of the hearing because ‘fate is in the hands of parole board bosses’.
She wants the parole board to ‘keep my son’s killer behind bars’, alleging that doing so is the ‘right decision’ for everyone.
She further argued that Venables has already been given ‘many chances’ at redemption and has ‘blown them all’. She believes he ‘doesn’t care about anybody’ and fears he will harm more people if he is released.
Ms Fergus reiterated that although she is ‘worried’ about the hearing, she has ‘confidence’ in the parole board and hopes the ‘bosses will see what this man is capable of, what he could inflict on society’.
Venables and Thompson kidnapped, tortured and killed James before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in Liverpool in February 1993. Both were jailed for the toddler’s murder in November that year.
Venables was released on strict licence in July 2001, and recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer.
He was again released in August 2013, and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence. His most recent parole review was in September 2020 at which his application for parole was rejected.
Venables and Thompson kidnapped, tortured and killed James before leaving his mutilated body by a railway line in Liverpool in February 1993. Pictured: James Bulger
If he is released, Venables will be protected by a life-long anonymity order and will live under a new identity.
Due to the ban on publicly identifying Venables, the private parole hearing also barred James’s relatives from attending.
The source said that is was unclear whether it was Venables’ decision to not attend the hearing or whether he was advised against coming.
If he had attended, Venables could have faced a cross-examination by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, who – like James’s parents – opposed the killer’s release.
A decision on Venables’ potential parole is expected within a week, although experts have warned that a decision could take several weeks, alleging one is normally given around two weeks after the oral hearing has finished, bar any delays.
James Bulger: How the murder of a toddler shocked the nation
The murder of James Bulger was a vicious crime that shocked Britain.
Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old on February 12, 1993, when they abducted the two-year-old before brutally torturing and killing him.
The crime made the boys the youngest killers in modern English history.
The duo snatched James from outside a butcher’s shop in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993, while his mother popped into a store for just a few seconds.
Two-year-old James Bulger, pictured, was tortured and left for dead in February 1993
He was abducted by 10 year olds Jon Venables, left, and Robert Thompson
James’ mutilated body was found on a railway line in Walton, Liverpool, two days later.
The boys were playing truant from school, and CCTV showed them observing local children at the shopping centre, appearing to be ‘selecting a target’.
They were then captured on camera taking the boy away at 3.42pm, before leading him on a two-and-a-half mile walk through Liverpool to the village of Walton.
Venables and Thompson were seen by 38 people during the walk, and were twice challenged by bystanders because James was crying and had a bump on his forehead.
CCTV footage, pictured, captured the moment Venables and Thompson took James from the shopping centre in Bootle
But they were able to convince the concerned people that James was their little brother and continued on their way.
They led James to a railway line near the disused Walton & Anfield Railway Station where they began torturing him – including throwing paint in his eye, pelting him with stones and bricks and dropping an iron bar on his head.
After the body was found, police launched an appeal showing the low-resolution CCTV images of the boy.
The breakthrough came when one woman recognised Venables, who she knew had skipped school with Thompson on that day, and contacted police.
They were charged with murder on February 20 and forensic tests confirmed they had the same paint on their clothes as was found on James’ body.
The death of James shocked the nation and floral tributes were left in their droves at his funeral, pictured
Around 500 protesters turned out for their initial magistrates’ court hearing due to the public outcry against the crime.
The subsequent trial at Preston Crown Court and the boys were considered to be ‘mature enough’ to know they were doing something ‘seriously wrong’.
Venables and Thompson were found guilty on November 24, 1993, with the judge describing them as ‘cunning and wicked’.
Reporting restrictions on their names were also lifted as it was considered in the public interest to do so.
Their parents were moved to different parts of the country and also received new identities due to death threats against them.