One of James Bulger’s killers to remain in prison

Jon Venables, known for the tragic murder of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993, will continue to remain incarcerated after informing a Parole Board panel that he does not wish to be released at this time. Venables, who was just 10 years old at the time alongside his accomplice Robert Thompson, abducted James from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, before subjecting him to fatal violence. During his most recent parole hearing, which was conducted privately, Venables explicitly conveyed that he was not seeking freedom, acknowledging the need for additional rehabilitation while in custody.

The Parole Board review included consultations with several professionals, encompassing probation officers stationed in the prison and the community, as well as three psychologists and one psychiatrist. The consensus among these experts, with only one dissenting opinion, was that Venables should remain behind bars. A summary of the panel’s findings highlighted Venables’s own admission at the start of the hearing about the necessity for further offending-related work, which played a role in his decision not to pursue release.

The original crime shocked the nation when Venables and Thompson, both truant from school, led James Bulger away from the Strand shopping centre while his mother was momentarily distracted. They walked the toddler approximately two and a half miles to a railway track, where they ultimately beat him to death. James’s body was discovered two days later. Following a three-week trial at Preston Crown Court, both boys were found guilty of murder, and their names were made public. They were eventually released on life licence in June 2001 with new identities, protected by a court order preventing any disclosure of those identities.

Since his release, Venables has been recalled to prison twice due to breaches of licence conditions related to child sexual offences—first in February 2010 after indecent images were found on his computer, and again in November 2017 for similar reasons. Despite these setbacks, he was freed both times before the latest decision to keep him detained. The latest parole hearing in September 2020 also addressed a victim personal statement describing the profound impact of Venables’s actions. The panel raised concerns about his transparency and cooperation with probation services if released and emphasized the need for further work in custody to address his sexual interests. While Venables expressed sincere remorse for his crime, the board concluded he remains unsuitable for release