How the James Bulger tragedy unfolded

12 April 2012

Here is a timeline of events surrounding the murder of James Bulger and the conviction of his schoolboy killers - Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.

1993

February 12: Two-year-old James Bulger is snatched during a shopping trip to the Strand shopping centre, in Bootle, Merseyside.

February 13: Parents Denise and Ralph Bulger make an emotional appeal for the safe return of their son, while detectives release stills from the shopping centre's CCTV cameras. The images become iconic of the dreadful crime and show James being led away by the hand.

February 14: The toddler's battered body is found by children playing on a freight railway line 200 yards from Walton Lane police station, Liverpool, and more than two miles from the Strand shopping centre.

February 18: Two 10-year-old boys are arrested in connection with the murder of James, and later charged. They are the youngest to be charged with murder in the 20th century.

February 22: There are violent scenes outside South Sefton magistrates' court in Bootle, when the two primary school pupils make their first appearance, then known as Child A and Child B.

March 1: James Bulger is buried.

November 24: Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, now both aged 11, are convicted of James Bulger's murder following a 17-day trial at Preston Crown Court. They are ordered to be detained at Her Majesty's pleasure, the normal substitute sentence for life imprisonment when the offender is a juvenile.

1994

June: Home Secretary Michael Howard is handed a petition from James's family, signed by 278,300 people who believe the schoolboy killers should never be released.

July: The eight-year sentence tariff set by the trial judge, which has already been increased to 10 years by Lord Chief Justice Lord Taylor of Gosforth, is increased again to 15 years by the Home Secretary.

November: News of the Bulgers' troubled marriage hits the headlines and they finally part some 17 months later. Both later settle with new partners.

1997

June: The Law Lords rule by a majority that Mr Howard has acted illegally in raising the boys' tariff.

1999

March: The European Commission on Human Rights finds that Thompson and Venables were denied a fair trial and fair sentencing by an impartial and independent tribunal.

November: Chief Inspector of Prisons David Ramsbotham prompts an outcry by saying Thompson and Venables should be released soon after their 18th birthdays. He later apologises to Home Secretary Jack Straw.

December: The European Court of Human Rights echoes the Commission's conclusion, saying the schoolboys had not received a fair trial.

2000

March: Mr Straw says he will not set a date for Thompson and Venables' release.

October: Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf reinstates the trial judge's original tariff, paving the way for their release.

2001

January: James Bulger's killers win an unprecedented court order from High Court judge Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss which grants them anonymity for the rest of their lives.

June: Thompson and Venables are freed under new identities.

2004

November: It emerges that James' mother, now known as Denise Fergus, tracked down Robert Thompson but was "paralysed with hatred" and could not confront him.

2007

April: It is revealed that the Government has spent £13,000 preventing overseas magazines revealing the killers' new identities.

June: A computer game is withdrawn because it appears to contain images based on the CCTV stills of James being led away from the Strand shopping centre.

2008

March 16: Eighteen red balloons are released during a private ceremony at Kirkdale Cemetery to mark what would have been James Bulger's 18th birthday.

2010

March 2: Venables is returned to prison after breaching the terms of his release, the Ministry of Justice says.

March 8: Mrs Fergus makes her first television appearance since Venables' recall to demand answers about his alleged crimes.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in