James Bulger killer Jon Venables 'was attacked over grotesque brag about tot'

12 February 2024 , 13:33

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Venables was convicted of murdering James Bulger and served eight years at Red Bank secure unit (Image: PA)

Sick Jon Venables, who kidnapped and tortured two-year-old James Bulger, bragged that killing the tot was as easy as 'going to the shop', his former inmate claimed.

Thirty-one years ago, child killer Venables and his pal Robert Thompson abducted and killed James on February 12, 1993. The pair, who were both 10 years old at the time, were convicted and served eight years in a young offenders institute before being freed in 2001 with new identities.

Back in 1994, whilst serving time at the Red Bank secure unit in Merseyside, Venables was attacked by inmate James Heap for allegedly laughing about the murder of the tot. Venables, then 11, and Heap, then 14, clashed at the juvenile detention centre and Heap punched him in the face, he recalled.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror in 2018, ex-lag James spoke in chilling detail about his encounters with Venables back in the '90s. He said: "The look on ­Venables' face as he laughed about the murder will stay with me forever. He's got this mad face when he grins, the most evil little face you've ever seen. That was enough for me – I didn't want to hear any more of that."

James, who was on remand for burglary, added: "It made me want to kill him". The ex-prisoner recalled the disturbing incident after Venables was sent back to jail in 2017 for possessing child sex abuse images. Venables, 41, remains behind bars after his parole bid was rejected last month. He will serve at least two more years.

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James also revealed how Venables lied about his crimes. He said: "I asked him what he was in for and he told me burglary. But a few days later I found out who he was and what he was really in for. I was shocked. He was playing on a games console when I said to him: 'Why the hell did you do that to that kid?' He just laughed. I said 'What's so funny?' But he just kept laughing."

James continued: "I punched him in the mouth. To laugh about that is just sick. He talked about how he took the kid and how he was too good or too clever for anyone to see him. I remember he said: 'I done it easy'. He said it like it was a normal thing to do, like going to buy a newspaper. Like it was easy to him and nothing to him.

"It was like it didn't matter – like he was proud. There wasn't any remorse on his face, not one bit. No shame, nothing. It was mental. You'd have to hear him and see the face on him when he was saying it to be able to believe it." James said other youths at Red Bank shared his fury and Venables came under attack again.

Inmate James said he punched Venables in the face after the teen laughed about torturing the toddler (John Gladwin/Sunday Mirror)

Recalling the second episode, James said: "He was in the video room and a lad went in, grabbed him from behind and pulled him down. He had hold of him by his neck on the floor and wouldn't let go. Venables went purple, he couldn't breathe and his eyes were popping out.

"I was thinking 'f****** hell, he's really doing it.' Another 20 seconds and I think he'd have gone. Suddenly one of the staff came walking up the corridor, saw what was going on and pressed the riot bell. Loads of staff came and started dragging the lad off by his neck. He wouldn't let go, but in the end they got him off."

Despite being a target, Venables liked to lord it over younger detainees – and made vile threats about what he would do to relatives, James said. He added: "He'd threaten other kids. He'd be going 'you watch till I get out, I'll s**g your sister, I'll kill your mother'."

Venables spent eight years at Red Bank, but James claimed it was a pampered existence. The unit was kitted out with a pool table, football tables, a games room with a Super Nintendo games console, a TV and video player and even a full-size snooker table. James suggested Venables was given special treatment and a string of privileges, including his own Game Boy.

He went on: "People think Venables has been punished for his crime, but it wasn't punishment, it was privileged. James Bulger's parents would have been sickened if they'd seen his life in there. They'd be so heartbroken. They've got no justice whatsoever.

"He didn't serve a sentence, he sat there eating ice cream and jelly, watching videos and laughing his head off while playing computer games. It was like a holiday camp to him. He was given special treatment and had everything in his room – music, a radio, his Game Boy. He was the only one with one. The rest of us had nothing. It caused a lot of resentment. We all hated him.

James Bulger was just two years old when he was abducted and brutally murdered in Merseyside (PA)

James Bulger's mum Denise Fergus has spent years campaigning to keep Venables behind bars (Julian Hamilton/Daily Mirror)

"One day we got sick of him on his Game Boy and someone smashed it, but the staff got him another one. You used to have to earn privileges – if you behaved you got a reward like a go on the games console. Not him, he could play whenever he wanted. If one of us swore at staff we'd get reprimanded, but he'd say anything and just get away with it.

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"Every day he'd have a fit and kick off shouting 'I'm not doing this, I'm not doing that... f*** off, f*** off, f*** off'. But they'd go 'Right Jon, calm down please' and put him in his room with his Game Boy. In the video room, you had to watch what he wanted or he'd kick off. Staff would say 'Let Jon watch what he wants, he's younger than you'."

"And he was a fat greedy little s***. He would never stop eating. It was all home-cooked food, it wasn't like prison food in there. He was first for everything and always had second helpings. You'd have a nice big dinner like bangers and mash or chicken. It was brilliant food. He'd have more than everyone else.

"He'd have jelly and ice cream, massive bowls, throwing it down him. His mum used to visit every couple of weeks. He would wear nice tracksuits and decent trainers. I presume his mum bought them for him. She used to bring him carrier bags full of sweets and chocolates. His locker was rammed full of them, it was like he had his own little shop."

James admitted that after being released from Red Bank, he was in and out of jail more than 20 times before finally going straight. He said that in all his years inside, no one has had such a lasting impression on him as Venables. James, now a block paver, added: "I've seen loads of murderers in my time in prison. But I've never met another one who was as evil as him. He should never be let out."

Patrick Hill