Jon Venables has been recalled to prison a number of times since the brutal killing of little James Bulger(Image: )

The family of James Bulger are in pain following the news that Jon Venables is set to have his latest bid for freedom heard by the Parole Board. Venables, now 43, tortured and murdered two-year-old James in 1993 when he was only 10, along with fellow schoolboy killer Robert Thompson.

Venables was released on licence in July 2001 but recalled to prison in February 2010 after indecent images of children were found on his computer. He was again released in August 2013 and then called back in November 2017 for the same offence, with parole judges last considering his case in September 2020.

In 2023, the Parole Board rejected Venables’ bid, concluding he still posed a danger to children and could go on to reoffend. But he has been granted another hearing, which is expected to take place next month.

Jon Venables has a new parole hearing scheduled(Image: )

There is a longstanding legal order in place to protect the new identities of Venables and Thompson – known as Boy A and Boy B at their trial – because of their young age when they committed the murder. But some disturbing facts about Venables’ upbringing did come to light around the time of the trial – including previous incidents of violence.

Venables was the middle child of Susan and Neil, and he was considered the ‘normal’ one who would prosper in the right “ordinary” school.

In comparison to the Thomson family, the Venables were less impoverished and had higher aspirations. Susan and Neil divorced early in 1986, but were said to be considering a reconciliation around the time of James’s death. They were aware of their son’s friendship with Thompson and believed he was a bad influence who encouraged him to play truant.

But Venables was already exhibiting disruptive behavior at school. A report at the time in the New Yorker noted that in one incident, he stood on a desk and threw chairs; in another, he nearly throttled another pupil with a ruler before being dragged off; in a third, after being dismissed from class for disruptive behavior, he hung himself upside down from a coat peg, like a bat.

There had been some improvement when he changed schools, but his new head teacher nevertheless found him ‘a strange, unusual, and difficult boy’, who was poorly coordinated, with a squint, and given to fighting in the playground.

Jon Venables is making another bid for freedom(Image: SWNS)

It was a friend of the Venables family who helped crack the case. James’s body was found on Sunday afternoon, forty-eight hours after his disappearance. He had been stripped from the waist down, paint had been thrown in his eyes and he had been beaten to death with bricks and a metal bar.

On Wednesday night, the police, who had already interviewed fifty boys from the area, received a call from a neighbour. The caller knew from Venables’ mother that he had been truant from school on Friday and thought she recognised him from CCTV videotapes. The police arrested both boys early the next morning.

Venables – known as Child B – admitted to killing two-year-old James Bulger during a police interview in February 1993, shortly after being detained for the murder. In audio recordings from the 1993 interview, the then-10-year-old Venables is heard in tears, telling officers, “That I killed James. I did it.”

On 24 November 1993, after a three week trial at Preston Crown Court, Venables and Thompson were found guilty of James’ death after five hours of deliberation. Venables openly cried in court, placing his head on the shoulder of the social worker next to him. He often looked over to his parents, who appeared grief-stricken.

The Guardian reported at the time that as the guilty verdict was announced, Thompson remained impassive while Venables sobbed inconsolably. Thompson’s mother Anne had been in court earlier in the morning but was not there to hear the verdict or sentence.

“Thompson, who removed his tie and opened his shirt neck, began to show his first sign of remorse. As he waited for sentence the podgy boy’s face was blotched with tears and his eyes were red and raw. Venables was passed a tissue by his mother who asked him if he was all right. His counsel, Richard Isaacson, grabbed his arm and said: “Come on now, be brave.” Each boy stole a glance at the other and met the same look of disbelief.

“The sobs became louder as they were told by the judge that the killing of James Bulger was an act of unparalleled evil and brutality. Both boys were in hysterical tears when they heard they would be put away for “very, very many years”. On the way down to the cells, Venables asked his solicitor: “Would you please tell them I’m sorry.”

In June 2001, Thompson and Venables were released on life licence and handed new identities protected by a court injunction ordering lifetime anonymity. In February 2010, Venables was recalled to prison after indecent images of children were found on his computer and he breached his parole conditions by visiting Merseyside.

In August 2013 he was released again with a second new identity, but in November 2017 he was recalled again and in February 2018 he was jailed for three years and four months for possessing child abuse images. In 2019 James Bulger’s father, Ralph Bulger, lost a legal challenge for Venables’ new identity to be made public.

Venables had an application to be freed rejected in 2020 following an assessment of his case and in December 2023 a parole officer ruled not to release him because he continued to pose a danger to children and could go on to offend again.

Robert Thompson, unlike Jon Venables, is not known to have reoffended since his release.