This article is dedicated to the terrible tragedy that happened many years ago in England. Such a name as Bulger James, then sounded not only in all parts of England, but throughout the world. Terrifying events amazed everyone with their cruelty and meaninglessness. The assassination of James Bulger has been the most resonant lawsuit in the past two hundred and fifty years in England. Until now, recalling those events, the blood runs cold in my veins.
James Bulger: A Story
In the winter of
1993, no one in England had heard of such a name. After all, it was a simple family, nothing noticeable. James Bulger is a boy from Kirkby, Marsyside, England. The child was born in a prosperous family on March 16, 1990. The boy's father was Ralph Bulger, and his mother Denis Bulger. Everything was fine in the family, but one day on a winter day, a month before the third birthday of James, my mother took the child with her to the store, where they went shopping regularly. Like any mother, Denise did not leave the baby unattended for a minute, but when she was distracted for a few seconds in order to pay for the purchase, Bulger James evaporated. Mother rushed to look for him, to call, to ask everyone around, but to no avail. And Denise rushed to the police station. Policeman Albert Kirby immediately realized that the two-year-old baby could not go far himself, and immediately proceeded to search.
Search Actions
James Bulger, the boy we are talking about, was a sociable kid and could go to the entreaties of an outsider who took the child away. So the detective thought. The first thing the detective did was to request video from all the surveillance cameras in the store. After viewing it immediately became clear what happened. The video clearly showed that the baby was initially lost in the crowd of passers-by, but after a few seconds two older boys came up to him, took hands and led him out of the store. Realizing that Bulger James was taken away by the children, the parents and police officers relaxed a little, although many were tormented by the question: where did the baby go? Interviewing hundreds of passers-by and buyers, a picture of what happened was compiled. The boy was taken out of the storehouse by two children and, despite the fact that the baby rested and cried, they led him towards the exit from the city.
searching results
Police began to scour the entire area, and after a while Bulger James was found. Rather, it was found what was left after the child whose body the train moved. Passing by the railway, the police saw something like a doll. Stepping closer, they were horrified by the find. It was the corpse of a child, so disfigured that even the most powerful in spirit police officers could not calmly look at him. The baby's body was cut by the wheels of a passing train, but not only that. Traces of the brutal beating of the boy before his death were noticeable. As the examination showed, the boy was beaten with stones and an iron rod until he died from beating. Moreover, a clear imprint from a kick was visible on the child's face, which, perhaps, was the last for the baby.
After a thorough investigation of the video, the police identified the two boys who had taken James away. These were ten-year-old John Vanables and Robert Thompson. No one could believe that such a terrible crime was committed by children. There were suggestions that they took the child out of the city and transferred it to someone from adults. But the facts showed something else. After the arrest of the boys and the investigation, it was established that they did everything. It was these two boys who committed the murder of James Bulger. Although both criminals denied the beating, the marks on their clothes, shoes, DNA analysis and other facts confirmed the terrible truth. Later, young murderers tried to convince everyone that they threw only small stones at James to joke, but no one believed them. One thing was clear: they beat the baby to death, and then threw the body onto the railway track to stage an accident. This terrible event occurred on February 12, 1993.
James Bulger: Thompson Killer and Vanables Assassin
While the trial was ongoing, and it lasted 17 days, many wondered: what kind of animals are these in children's guise? The answer to this question was received when everyone found out the details of the lives of these children.
- Robert Thompson grew up in a large family. The father abandoned his mother when she gave birth to him the sixth child in a row, before that he regularly beat her. Scenes of violence were not uncommon in this family. After her husband left, her mother found happiness in alcohol. At the same time, she often beat all her children while intoxicated. All the children were left to their own devices and did what they liked. One stole, the other was suspected of arson. School classes were taking a walk, and the family was in poor shape. When something happened, suspicion fell first on the members of this family. Robert was the fifth in a row. At school, they spoke of him as a quiet boy who didn’t climb on the rampage, more often simply did not come to class. He preferred to wander around the city with his friend John.
- John Vanables also grew up in a dysfunctional family. Four children were brought up by parents who constantly sorted out relationships between themselves. They converged, then diverged, then cursed, then reconciled. And this instability and nervous situation greatly affected all children. Each of them was lagging behind in development or had health problems. John did not have any special flaws, so his parents did not care much. In order to somehow draw attention to himself, he even sometimes pretended to be sick.
Trial
Parsing the murder of James Bulger, the reasons that led to him all came to the conclusion that, first of all, this was the fault of the parents of juvenile killers. The boys were left on their own, they wandered around the city for weeks, looking for something interesting. Moreover, as the trial and witness testimony showed, they often watched horror films and thrillers with bloody scenes. Classmates said that both boys wanted to organize a kind of "gang" and even planned to kill someone. This was taken as a joke, and no one was going to join their "gang." Maybe this was a joke, but as a result, it became a reality. Planned or spontaneous, but they committed a terrible crime, which killed an innocent baby.
Sentence
After a full investigation, study of all factors and the conclusion of psychiatrists, both criminals were sentenced to ten years in prison. In England, it is allowed to try murderers from 10 years old. Seven years later, the sentence was reviewed and commuted, and in 2001 both were released from prison. After the release, the killers changed their names and were lost in the country so that they could not be found by the relatives of the murdered baby.