James Bulger’s father slams ‘twisted’ parole board hearing after his son’s killer Jon Venables was allowed to miss it to protect his mental health

•  Jon Venables was jailed in 1993 for the murder of two-year-old James Bulger

Murdered toddler James Bulger’s father has lashed out at the ‘twisted’ parole board hearing after his son’s killer Jon Venables was allowed to miss it to protect his mental health.

Venables, now 41, failed to show up at his parole hearing and escaped listening to the victim impact statements being read out – including that of Ralph Bulger, James’ father.

This was after he was permitted to have his hearing in private, to avoid the ‘disproportionate emotional stress’ to the killer.

James’ father asked why Venables was allowed to miss the hearing, and said it was part of his ‘healing that I get to tell him the way it has affected me and my family’.

The 57-year-old said it is ‘twisted’ that he and his family will be ‘hurting for the rest of our lives’ yet Venables ‘is the one who continues to be protected’.

Venables and Robert Thompson were both just 10 years old when they killed little James, aged two, after they snatched him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in 1993.

They were jailed but released with new identities in 2001. Venables was recalled to prison in 2010 for possessing images of child abuse and again in 2017 for having a ‘paedophile manual’.

His most recent parole review was in September 2020 at which his application for parole was rejected. 

A parole hearing to decide whether one of the killers of James Bulger, Jon Venables, was held in private to prevent ‘disproportionate emotional stress’. Pictured: Venables in 1993

Venables and Robert Thompson were both just 10 years old when they killed little James, aged two, in 1993. Pictured: James Bulger

James’ father asked why Venables was allowed to miss the hearing, and said it was part of his ‘healing that I get to tell him the way it was affected me and my family’

READ MORE – James Bulger’s mother in desperate plea as her son’s killer Jon Venables makes bid for freedom

Mr Bulger told The Sun: ‘How can these people even consider releasing Venables from jail if he isn’t made to face up to the reality of the vile crimes he has committed?

‘How can they not insist he hears what I have to say? It’s part of my healing that I get to tell him the way it has affected me and my family.

‘It’s just so twisted that we are the ones hurting for the rest of our lives, but he is the one who continues to be protected.

This comes after James’s mother 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.

The 54-year-old 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.

Denise Fergus said she endured ‘three decades of hell’ after Venables killed her son

Ms Fergus said 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.

READ MORE – James Bulger killer Jon Venables skips parole hearing held in private to prevent ‘disproportionate emotional stress’

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’.

If he is released, Venables will be protected by a lifelong 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.

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.

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. 

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