James Bulger, at just two years old, was out shopping with his mother, Denise Bulger, in the city of Bootle (very close to Liverpool), England. When, around 4:00 p.m., she briefly took her attention off her son to get her wallet and pay for their purchases.
That’s when Robert Thompson and Jon Venables approached James Bulger, took him by the hand, and led him out of the shopping center. They walked around the city for about 4 kilometers. During the walk, they sporadically assaulted James.
Several witnesses saw the three of them walking through the streets. James was crying a lot, but whenever someone approached, the abductors made up excuses, such as being brothers or finding him lost on the street and taking him to the police station.
After walking around the city for a while, they took him to an area near a cemetery, where he was beaten with an iron bar and bricks, as well as kicked and stomped. The criminals also poured turquoise blue paint on his face, which they had stolen earlier that day, and inserted batteries into his mouth and anus.
He suffered 10 skull fractures as a result of the iron bar hitting his head. The forensic pathologist in the case stated that James Bulger had so many injuries (a total of 42) that none could be considered the fatal blow.
The two criminals then placed James, already deceased, on the railway tracks, hoping that a train would hit him and make his death look like an accident. His body was subsequently cut in half by a passing train.
His mutilated and completely disfigured body was found two days after his abduction, on the railway line in the area. The police had no difficulty in finding the murderers or proving their involvement in the crime, as security cameras captured the act, and DNA tests conducted on the suspects’ clothes matched the victim.
The criminals were skipping school at the time of the crime, which they regularly did. Prior to kidnapping James, they had already stolen from several shops, and as one of them revealed, on that day they were planning to kidnap and hurt a child. The choice of the victim was completely random.
Sentencing
In November of that same year, Venables and Thompson were found guilty of the crimes of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering James Bulger. The trial took place when the two perpetrators were already 11 years old.
They served their sentence in a detention center for underage offenders until they were granted parole at the age of 18, in the year 2001. However, one of them later reoffended.
Furthermore, when they turned 21, they were given new identities and the right to live anonymously for the rest of their lives. The parents of the criminals were also granted the same right and live anonymously.
Jon Venables and his history of crimes
Since his parole in 2001, his identity has changed twice. First, because he intentionally revealed his real name to his friends, telling them he was a convicted killer, and the second time because his new name was leaked to the public.
A few years after being granted parole, Venables was arrested for getting into a fight while drunk and for being in possession of cocaine.
The justice system has recommended his release multiple times. However, in 2017, he was arrested again for possession of child abuse images and was once again sentenced to 40 months in prison in February 2018, almost 25 years after the murder of James Bulger.
Currently, Jon Venables is out on parole and using another identity, making it impossible for others to identify him and making it even easier for him to target new victims.
What happened to Robert Thompson?
The investigators who interrogated Thompson suggested that he was the leader of the attack, inciting Venables to participate. In 2010, it was reported that he was in a long-term relationship with a man who knows his true identity.
Like Jon Venables, the new identity of Robert Thompson is protected by the “justice” system, and anyone who discovers or attempts to disclose his real name or even search for his address can face imprisonment.
The English “justice” system overly protects the murderers at the expense of the victim, their family, and the entire society, which becomes hostage to criminals.
Apparently, he has not reoffended since being released, but this information lacks reliability because the English “justice” system excessively protects psychopaths, making it difficult to investigate such cases.
Reasons for impunity
Often, impunity on the part of lawmakers occurs due to their own desire to commit such heinous crimes. However, lacking the courage to do so themselves, they see in the delinquent an opportunity for fulfillment, in addition to the empathy they share, resulting in lenient sentences to quickly return them to the streets.
Society has far more psychopaths than people believe. In this case, the lawmakers have succeeded in their desire, as at least one of the psychopaths continues to act against society.
