A month before his third birthday, little James was taken from a shopping centre and murdered in one of Britain’s most shocking crimeS
IN the 32 years since Jon Venables was convicted of murdering James Bulger, the tragic tot’s dad has not heard the voice of the fiend who killed him.
But yesterday devastated Ralph Bulger vowed to attend Venables’ full parole review so he could hear the murderer speak again.
Ralph Bulger wants his son James’ murderer Jon Venables to remain in jail foreverCredit: WILLIAM GRIFFITHS – Commissioned by The Sun
James Bulger was aged two when he was killed in one of the UK’s most shocking crimesCredit: Reuters
Venables, pictured in his mugshot from February 1993, is making another bid for freedomCredit: Rex Features
Ralph — who will urge justice chiefs to keep Venables behind bars — said the decision on Tuesday to grant Venables another full parole hearing was a “kick in the guts” for him and his family.
It means the case could even fall around the anniversary of tragic James’ abduction and murder — at the hands of Venables and accomplice Robert Thompson, both ten — on February 12, 1993.
Ralph, 59, and his ex-wife Denise Fergus, 57, have won the right to attend a parole hearing for the first time — but Venables, 43, will have his identity hidden and voice distorted due to an anonymity order.
However, in an exclusive interview, Ralph said: “I will stand at the hearing for my son James.
“For my enduring love for him, for justice for him and in defiance of Jon Venables.
“I know I won’t be in the same room as him. I know I won’t be able to see him.
“But I will hear him and, more importantly, he will hear me — and the devastating impact and pain he has caused to me and my family for 33 years.
‘Whole thing is just sheer agony’
“He needs to hear the grief and trauma he inflicted and be accountable for the terrible crimes he committed against my innocent baby son.
“I have fought for justice for James since the day he was murdered — and while I can’t do much, I can be there for him on the day.
“It’s the least James deserves, however painful it will be.”
Little James was a month from his third birthday when Venables and Thompson abducted him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, before going on to torture and kill him.
Builder Ralph hoped the Parole Board would rule Venables — released in 2001 but twice recalled to jail for child sex abuse images offences — should stay behind bars without the need for a full hearing.
The hopes of James’s family were raised after delays in reviewing expert submissions from prison workers, psychiatrists and counsellors over Christmas and New Year.
But on Tuesday, officials informed Ralph and Denise in separate phone calls that it was deemed fair to give Venables another full review.
The decision comes despite the fact Venables was refused parole in December 2023 as he was not rehabilitated and still posed a danger, with experts noting he had “continuing issues of sexual pre-occupation”.
Ralph added: “The whole thing is just sheer agony.
I can’t bear the thought he will gain his freedom and hurt another child like my beautiful James.
Ralph Bulger
“I had hoped his parole would be denied without a hearing but sadly that hasn’t happened.
“Instead, we have to reopen up excruciating old wounds over losing James.
“To compound the agony, every time Venables bids for freedom, it’s always around the time of James’s anniversary.
It feels like a huge kick in the guts. I’ve had sleepless nights for months now waiting to hear if he will go before the parole board.
“Once again the decision lands just as we are facing the dreaded day James was stolen from us.
“It feels like I can’t breathe some days. I won’t rest until I know this monster isn’t getting out any time soon.
“I can’t bear the thought he will gain his freedom and hurt another child like my beautiful James.
“He will kill again, and I’m filled with dread and fear if they let him out.”
Ralph spoke out after James’ mum told of her “anger” and “distress” over the hearing, which could see Venables back on the streets within weeks.
Denise said: “It is distressing and makes me angry that James’s killer will be afforded a chance of release.
“Surely this person has proved he cannot be given yet another chance.” Venables — held in a prison where the parole hearing is likely to be held — is eligible for a parole review every two years.
Ralph was refused the chance to attend Venables’ last hearing, with an official instead reading out his victim impact statement.
But Venables still refused to appear in person before a panel — even though the hearing was held in private to “protect his mental health”.
Venables abducted little James with Robert Thompson, aboveCredit: Rex Features
CCTV of ten-year-old pair Venables and Thompson in Bootle shopping centre with JamesCredit: Rex Features
A date is yet to be set for the new hearing, and it could also coincide with what would have been James’s 36th birthday on March 16.
Grieving Ralph explained: “The not knowing is the worst part of all this.
“I just want to feel safe in the knowledge that he is kept locked up.
“This repeat cycle we keep going through every two years is hell. Rinse and repeat. Rinse and repeat. This grotesque trauma just constantly plays out in my mind.
“It just never goes away — but neither will I. I’m always going to campaign to keep James’s killer behind bars where he belongs.
“Prison food is all he deserves for the rest of his days.”
‘He knows how to hoodwink the best psychiatric minds’
At his last parole hearing, experts said that they doubted Venables was able to be open and honest with professionals.
Ralph added: “Two years ago when he last tried for parole, he was turned down because the panel said he was still a danger to the public.
“What’s changed? Nothing is the answer. He remains a predatory child sex killer. I’m begging the parole board to see sense and deny parole again.
“I took some relief in 2023 that the authorities finally saw what we have always known about Venables.
“He has lied and pulled the wool over the eyes of the establishment since day one.
Let’s not forget that, as a child, he was taught by the state to conceal his identity and lie. He knows what the system wants to hear and how to hoodwink even the best psychiatric minds
Ralph Bulger
“He is a killer with a vile lust for children who can never be rehabilitated.
“He is a danger and a menace to society — but he’s a clever, manipulative operator who has fooled the parole board before.
“Let’s not forget that, as a child, he was taught by the state to conceal his identity and lie.
“He knows what the system wants to hear and how to hoodwink even the best psychiatric minds.
“The legal system is supposed to be there to protect the public but so often it works only in the interests of the perpetrators of the worst crimes. My son’s rights died with him before he could even reach his third birthday.
“But there are other children to protect now. The sooner the system accepts this and rules he can never be released, the safer the world will be.
“It terrifies me that one day they will let him back into society — but so long as I have breath in my body, I’ll do everything I can to stop that happening.
“I’ve said from day one that he can never be reformed because he is damaged and wired wrong in the head.
“If he is released, he will be moving into an unsuspecting community under a new false identity where he is free to molest and murder another child like James.
“My loved ones can never be safe if this killer is a free man.
“We know he is obsessed with his murder of James and equally obsessed with my family — and that makes us a target all over again.”
After snatching James, Venables and Thompson marched him more than two miles to a deserted railway line where they tortured and killed him before leaving his body on a track.
During their trial at Preston Crown Court, more than 20 hours of tape-recorded police interviews with the pair were played.
At the end of the 23-day trial, the vile duo were convicted of murder — but spent just eight years in secure units, which was the minimum recommended term.
They were then released on licence, with a draconian court ruling giving them lifelong anonymity.
But Venables was recalled to jail in 2010 for possessing child abuse images. He was freed but returned to prison again in 2017 for hoarding more images and possessing a “paedophile manual”.
He was also refused parole in 2020.
Ralph insists that Venables’ jail recalls should mean he is locked up forever.
Ralph said: “He’s had his chances and shown that the grotesque experiment to try and rehabilitate him has failed.
“It’s just warped and so very wrong.
“How many chances are they going to give him?
“It’s time to keep him locked up for good and throw away the key.
“Venables should never see daylight as a free man again.”
Ralph, 59, and his ex-wife Denise Fergus, 57, have won the right to attend a parole hearing for the first time – but Venables will have his identity hiddenCredit: PA:Press Association/PA Image