Search icon

News

20th Sep 2023

James Bulger’s killer, Jon Venables, could be out of prison by Christmas

Kat O'Connor

Jon Venables killed toddler James Bulger almost 30 years ago.

Child killer Jon Venables has been granted a two-day parole hearing. The murderer, who claimed the life of two-year-old James Bulger in 1993, could even be released from prison by Christmas.

According to The Mirror, a private hearing will take place on November 14th and November 15th.

Prison officers, prison doctors, and probation officers will give evidence to three people in the hearing.

However, the parents of James Bulger are set to write letters, protesting against his release.

His mother Denise Ferguson said releasing him from prison would put other families and their children at risk.

She told The Sun: “If you let him free, you could be ruining the lives of another family like ours.

“When you look at Venables’ file just remember what he is capable of. He killed my son James, has reoffended time and time again and I have no doubt he would kill another child if he is released.”

Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were found guilty of killing 2-year-old James in 1993.

However, both murderers have lifelong anonymity because they were minors when they killed him.

James’s mother has campaigned tirelessly since her son’s death. She has stressed, time and time again, that releasing her son’s killer from prison would be a grave mistake.

Jon Venables was charged with both abduction and murder in February 1993.

Venables and Thompson are the youngest convicted murderers in modern British history.

Both killers were sentenced to indefinite detention until they were released on lifelong licenses at the age of 18 in 2001.

However, Venables returned to prison in 2010 after he breached the terms of his license.

He was released on parole in 2013 but was sent back to prison in 2017 for possessing child sexual abuse imagery.

READ MORE