♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ - [Narrator] This is Denise. Her son, James Bulger, should be celebrating his
18th birthday this year. (people clapping) For the first time in 15 years, Denise wants to talk about
life after her son's murder and her plans to build a
school for bullied children as a lasting memorial to him. - I think James'd want me to do this. You know, his life was taken
before he even started school. So, you know, just having
his name over a school, it's gonna be really nice to see. (peaceful music) - [Narrator] Frozen in time. The moment in 1993 that
James was abducted. The crime was unprecedented and all the more horrific because his killers were
children themselves. (eerie music) (eerie music) On Friday, February the 12th, 1993, Denise took James on a shopping
trip to the Strand Center in Bootle Merseyside. At 3:30 PM, they went
into a butcher's shop. While Denise was paying,
James wandered outside. It was only a few seconds
before Denise noticed, but it was too late. James was gone. (suspenseful music) When security staff couldn't find him, they contacted the police. Mandy Waller, a young WPC, was sent to the shopping center. The call would change her life. - I was the first on the scene and the first to speak to Denise about James going missing. It was quite hard to
get any details off her because she was so upset about him and sort of saying that, you know, he wouldn't have wandered off. He wouldn't have done this. He'd already been missing
more or less half an hour. And we conducted a search of
the Strand ourselves as well. (traffic whooshing) - [Narrator] It wasn't long
before local journalists became aware of the disappearance. - Just on my routine police calls, I heard that a little
boy had gone missing from the Strand Shopping Center in Bootle. And I heard that probably
about five o'clock. Maybe slightly after. And it was a bit of a tossup, really, whether it would even make
a story at that point. 'Cause it was the sort of
thing you normally expect it to be resolved quite happily
within an hour or two. (suspenseful music) - I think initially, like any parent, you thought, well, he's probably gone
somewhere inside the store. He may have gone inside a cupboard or under a counter or got somewhere where he couldn't, you know, get out of. That was the initial thought. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] But those early hopes faded. At 5:30 PM, the Strand closed
and James was still missing. Police then launched a major
search operation across Bootle. - We had patrol cars on the
streets with loudspeakers, members of the family had come down, and really widening the search. But by the time it come to
bedtime on the Friday night and there was no sign of him, that's when then the really serious
concern started to come in. - [Narrator] At the shopping center, police and security guards began searching through the day's CCTV recordings. - There are 16 cameras placed throughout the precinct and
it's on a time lapse system. So you get so many seconds on one camera, so many seconds on another. So the police officers then, we had a point of starting, which is outside the butcher's shop. We knew the time. So they had to sit there
and go through the tapes over that period of time. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] In the middle of the night, officers identified the first frame of James leaving the butcher's at 3:39 PM. They would soon discover
a frame-by-frame account of the crucial minutes
following his disappearance. At 3:40 PM, Denise was
pictured on the ground floor, leaving the shop in panic. While she searched downstairs, James was seen on the top floor of the precinct one minute later. He appeared to be following two boys. The next frame police found would become the most
haunting image of the case. - Those grainy images where you
had the two boys walking out of the precinct. One boy was holding James's hand. - [Narrator] This was at 3:42 PM. One minute later, James was with the two boys
walking out of the precinct and towards the Leeds Liverpool Canal. It was just four minutes since he had strayed
from his mother's side. - We were just looking for a missing boy when, in actual fact, it was an abduction. (traffic whooshing)
(eerie music) - [Narrator] By now,
James had been missing for more than 19 hours. Police organized a news conference. - He was just by me. We was at the butcher's. Turned away from him for a minute and then I looked down and he was gone. If you've got my baby,
just bring him back. (ominous music) - By this time, it was pretty clear that
something very serious was wrong because the police had
declared it a major incident in which they're trying to
enlist the public's help. Then, when they showed the video footage, that's when you really begin to think that this is something very
much out of the ordinary. (ominous music) I don't think anyone quite
imagined the significance that those images was gonna
take on as events transpired. (dramatic music) - Good afternoon. Police searching for a
missing two-year-old boy on Merseyside believe he
may have been abducted. He was filmed by security
cameras leaving the center with two teenage boys. (ominous music) - [Reporter] Close ups of the youths don't reveal their identity, but police believe they're both white and in their early teens. - We thought we were looking
for boys about 13 years of age, because it was very, very difficult to judge their heights by anything in the precinct on the early pictures. And we all felt that they were
probably in that age bracket. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] The police appealed for the boys to come forward and the search for James continued. - [Reporter] Police
activity today has centered on the nearby Leeds Liverpool Canal. Witnesses said they'd
seen a boy like James on the towpath with a
group of other youngsters. - We had specialist search teams out who were doing the canal, for example. Who were doing the railway lines, all the wasteland. It was a massive operation on searching. - It's now well over 30 hours
since James went missing from this shopping center. The already serious
concerns for his safety have been further heightened as he faces his second
night away from his parents. (suspenseful music) - I was assigned to stay with Denise. And there's only so many
times you can say, you know, it's gonna be all right or, you know, everything's gonna be fine. I think 'cause by that time, you're thinking, well, you know, it's not. - If you've got my baby,
just bring him back. (suspenseful music) - I don't think it takes much
stretch of the imagination to understand how distressed she was. Denise had a daughter a short while before that was stillborn. And so she was probably
more protective over James than most parents are over their children. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] Throughout
Saturday night and into Sunday, more than a hundred officers
were looking for James and every member of his
family joined in the search. - They had gone through
incredible efforts. You know, if sheer will and sheer love for their son
could have brought him back, then they'd have had him back safe. But, unfortunately, that
wasn't gonna happen. (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] On Valentine's Day, 1993, the body of a toddler was
found on a railway track in Liverpool's Walton district. - About lunchtime, police officers from Walton Lane Police Station rang up and said there's some young
boys come running in here. And it looks as if the
body's on the railway line at the back of the police station. - [Narrator] The railway line
was nearly three miles away from the Strand, the Bootle shopping center, where two-year-old James
Bulger had become separated from his mother, Denise, two days earlier. CCTV had shown two boys
leading him outside. (melancholy music) Although the body hadn't
been formally identified, Denise was told to expect the worst. - She just went spark out
for a while, you know? You told her, she screamed. And then it was like, and she was just, not unconscious. But sorta like completely like out of it. - [Narrator] Detective
Sergeant Phil Roberts was on duty at Bootle
Police Station that day. - I heard this almighty screech, which came from the bottom of the gut. And you just. Even tears came to my eyes. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] James's body was identified by one of his uncles. He'd been found only 100 yards away from Walton Lane Police Station. At first it seemed he'd
been hit by a train. - Myself and a couple of others
immediately went up there and we actually saw what had
actually happened to James. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The nature
of James's injuries immediately ruled out the
possibility of an accident. - We know it is a murder inquiry. It is not as we'd first hoped
we were going to find James and return him to his parents. It is horrific what has taken place and there must somewhere be somebody who will know the identity of the two boys who were seen with James. (eerie music) - At that point, obviously, there's that awful realization that everyone's worst
fears had come to fruition. And coupled with that was the puzzlement of, well, what were those two boys to do with it? How were they involved in it? (eerie music) - [Narrator] In the days
after James was found, Denise stayed with her mother, Eileen. - At first, we couldn't even go in the same room. She didn't know what to say to me and I didn't know what to say to her. So it was like two mothers going through the same pain. It wasn't just me going through it. She was going through it as well. I think I just took each day as it come and took anything that was thrown at me. Basically, I didn't know
what was gonna happen. I didn't know what kind of
future I was gonna have, if there was gonna be one. And I just didn't know. I was basically in the dark. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] At Bootle Police Station, the investigating team was in shock. - It was an horrendous murder. I know what happened. And sometimes it's best not to know what exactly happened. (suspenseful music) - After James's body had been found, because I could see the effect
it was having on the staff, I made my mind up that I wasn't
gonna them all the details of what happened to James. - [Reporter] The coroner, Roy Barter, said it was the most
dreadful and shocking case he'd dealt with in 25 years. - [Narrator] In Liverpool,
a horrified community began to grieve. - [Reporter] A gesture
of the city's outrage, which started as a handful of flowers, has now become a symbolic memorial. Among the many messages, one which sums up the
question on most minds here. Why? - [Narrator] But Denise was unaware of the attention
surrounding her son's death. - She sorta divorced herself from the whole thing for awhile. She was always sorta talking
about James and saying, you know what he was like? What such a character
he was and everything. (suspenseful music) - He was just very cheeky. I mean, he has a very good sense of humor. A lotta character. Always laughing. He was the most lovable, happy-going kid. (kids chattering) (kids laughing) He used to try and dance
like Michael Jackson, which was very funny watching him. A lotta people ask me what
that is around his mouth. A lotta people think it's milk. It's not, it's yogurt. And I remember that day
like it was yesterday. We were actually on holiday in Wales. We went away for a week with him. And he'd just ate a yogurt
when that picture was taken. I keep a lot of pictures private. I don't like anyone seeing them. I actually keep them in the loft with all his clothes and everything. 'Cause obviously I don't like looking at them all the time, but, you know, what I've got in mind. You know, that'll always stay with me. You know, that's something
that no one can take away me is the memories that I've got of him. To a lot of people, he's just a picture. Well, not to me he's not. (melancholy music) - Every parent in the country can only feel the deepest
shock at the abduction from a shopping center
and subsequent killing of James Bulger. - Mothers of young children
have become extra vigilant. There's a growing demand for
these children's harnesses. - Everybody was afraid. All parents were afraid that their child was gonna be abducted. - For goodness sake, keep
tight hold of your children. Poor James only went
missing from his mother for a matter of seconds and
he'd gone and disappeared. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] The only lead the police had was the grainy CCTV footage
of James's abduction. - As I've stressed, we've got an open mind on these two boys. All we know for certain
is they were with James. - Detectives are desperate to speak to the two youths who were
seen by the video cameras. They say it may have been a prank that went tragically wrong. - None of us could have believed initially that any young person
could have done to James what had happened. (people chattering) (phone rings) - The amount of information
that came in was unbelievable. You know, any other murder case, you'd have one person just
to look at the information. But we were having six or seven. - [Narrator] More than 20 boys aged between 10 and 18 were questioned. Some identified by witnesses, others who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. - I was walking past
Walton Lane Police Station and then they pulled me in because they thought that
it was me on the photo. - [Narrator] Then, on Tuesday evening, two days after James's body was found, an apparent breakthrough. - I got a call probably just
after nine in the evening to say that a boy had
been arrested in Kirkdale. I basically filed a very brief news alert to the Press Association and very quickly got myself ready. And by the time I was leaving the house to go to the scene, the news was breaking. - Police hunting the killer of two-year-old James Bulger said tonight, they've made an arrest in connection with his abduction and his murder. - Lots of neighbors had
seen the police activity, made assumptions and decided that this was the killer or one of the killers of James Bulger. And things deteriorated to
the point of a near riot. It was a very scary scene, really and it demonstrated the level of emotion that was running in Liverpool at the time. - [Narrator] Even though
the boy was soon ruled out of the inquiry, he and his
family had to move house. - There was tremendous
aggression with the public. People were so upset
over what had happened, that somebody could do that to a child. (dramatic music) - [Narrator] The requests
for information continued and on Thursday evening, the BBC's "Crimewatch"
also launched an appeal. It was the first time the
program had featured a crime in the same week that it was committed. - Good evening. Tonight, we start with new details that have just become
available on the case that's been uppermost in
all our minds this week, the murder of two-year-old
James Bulger on Merseyside. - [Narrator] The program showed new images of the boys, enhanced by experts
at the Ministry of Defense. - [Reporter] These stills
may look a little bit fuzzy, but they're a huge
improvement on the originals. - [Narrator] But as these
images were broadcast, police were already holding
two suspects back in Liverpool. They had been arrested after a
tip off the previous evening. (eerie music) - A lady who'd been away saw the news, saw the images we put out and she said, I think I know who that is. She said, they're always away from school. They're always into mischief. And we then thought, well, we've got to go and get them. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The next morning, two teams were ready to make
the arrests in plain clothes and unmarked cars. Robert Thompson lived in Walton, not far from the murder scene, with his mother and two younger brothers. His four older brothers had
all been taken into care. He was 10 years old. - I went for Thompson. Knocked on the door. The mother came down. I explained who I was and the reason what I was there for. I didn't see Thompson at that time. He was still upstairs. I spoke to his young brother who was about seven years of age. And he'd said that he
knew about the murder. So much so that himself and Thompson had gone down to the scene of
where the murder had happened with a bunch of flowers. At that time, you thought to yourself, no, he can't be one of the
boys that's responsible. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The other
boy was Jon Venables. His parents divorced when he was three and shared custody of him,
his brother, and sister. Teachers described him
as an attention seeker. He was also 10 years old. - The door was answered by Mrs. Venables and she called to Jon and he
came to the top of the stairs. I was quite shocked to see
the age and the size of him. - [Narrator] Both suspects were taken to separate police stations,
away from the media. Detective Superintendent
Kirby traveled to London for the "Crimewatch" appeal, thinking that the boys they
had in custody were too young to be responsible for murder. - If anyone's got any other
information whatsoever that they may think
could be of assistance, again, please come to us. (eerie music) (melancholy music) - [Narrator] The
arresting officers started the interviews late on Thursday afternoon. It was the first time any of them had interviewed murder
suspects who were so young. - There was no other precedent for it. So we literally had to
set our own precedent and deal with them in that way. - This is an important interview. You're going to the Crown
Court, whatever happens. If you make a mistake here, something could go terribly wrong. (melancholy music) I couldn't be aggressive with him. Everything had to be
sort of nice and easy. Softly, softly. You have to shut off your own feelings. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] The police
interviews were recorded, but a court injunction now prevents them from being broadcast to
protect their identities. - The first part of the
interviews was you had to go through a process to make sure that they knew the
implications of telling lies and telling the truth. - [Narrator] The officers asked questions to establish whether each boy could tell fact from fiction. - I said, what if I told you that Everton won nine-nil on Saturday. And he said, no, no, they didn't. That was a lie. So you have to also prove the fact that they knew what was
right and what's wrong. - [Narrator] To establish whether Thompson could tell right from wrong, Detective Sergeant Roberts
asked him another question. Was it right or wrong that baby James should have been killed? "It was wrong," Thompson replied. - Once I proved that, I could sort of kick off the interview. - [Narrator] In the first
interview with Venables, officers asked him where he'd been on the day James was abducted. - Initially he admitted that he had been in the Bootle New Strand on that day. And in the end, he actually
admitted to seeing James. - [Narrator] In Thompson's
second interview, he also admitted being in the Strand. - He finally said he saw James Bulger. But where he did slip up was the fact that he described the clothes
he was wearing in detail. And for a young child of 10 years of age to remember that much of
what a child was wearing, he must've been in his
company for a long, long time. (eerie music) - In my view, the key breakthrough was when Jon Venables asked if you could get fingerprints off skin. On his arrival at the police station, he'd given his fingerprints. It was obviously playing on his mind as the questions were progressing
through the interviews. When a child asks you that,
there's something to it and they're only asking for one reason. - [Narrator] Thompson eventually confessed that he and Venables had taken James from the shopping center - When it came to talking about James, he'd shuffle his legs, he'd start crying, but no tears. He knew what was right from wrong, 'cause every time he got anxious, his feet would start going. So you knew he was lying. It was a great giveaway. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] By Friday lunchtime, Thompson had admitted taking
James to the railway line where he said Venables
had thrown paint at him. Officers asked Thompson
what James had said to them. - He mimicked what James said, saying that he wanted his mum. And he actually says, "I want my mum." And actually give a sort of a voice like a three-year-old boy. Now that was eerie. (eerie music) - [Narrator] At 12:56 PM, officers ended another
interview with Jon Venables. Alone with his parents, he then broke down and confessed to being involved in the murder. Police were listening in. - He actually admitted being at the scene of where James had died, but all the time, he was
not the person responsible. He was always laying the
blame with Robert Thompson. In the interview, he told us what had
happened on the railway line and how James had met his death and what they'd done to try
and make it look as though it had been an accident. To actually sit there and listen to what such a young child could
get himself involved in to that degree is just frightening. Something that stick in your mind forever. - [Narrator] Robert Thompson still refused to admit to his own
involvement in James's death. - He blamed everything on Venables. I just knew he was the main
instigator of the whole thing. There was no remorse. Absolutely no remorse. Definitely not. I won't be ever convinced
that he had any remorse. - [Narrator] Despite
their differing stories, the police were now confident
they had sufficient evidence against both suspects. - At 6:40 PM today, Saturday
the 20th of February, 1993 two 10-year-old boys from the Walton area have been charged with the abduction and murder of James Bulger. (eerie music) (suspenseful music) (melancholy music) - [Narrator] 17 days after
James's abduction and murder, his funeral took place. - We wish we could turn
the clock back 2 1/2 weeks. We wish so much that we
could bring James back to you both, and to all of us. - It was a terrible day. It really was. I think it was the coldest day that winter and it was so bleak, which actually kinda felt right. 'Cause it just fitted
the mood of the moment, you know, nationally and
locally and in that church. (melancholy music) - You didn't realize what
an impact it had gotten until you were sort of driving along and the whole streets
were lined with people for much of the route like. And you think crikey, you know, this has had such a big impact. - [Narrator] The 500
mourners outside the church that day are among the many people who have continued to support
the family over the years. Denise and her second husband, Stuart, have kept all the letters
and cards she's received from around the world. - This is heavy. Just going through to
the bottom of this box. There's just absolutely
tons in one box here. This is just one of seven boxes and we've got how many sacks up there? - [Stuart] There's nearly
10 boxes (indistinct). - [Denise] Oh, 10 boxes. - There's another five sacks.
- Five sacks. - The big postal sacks. - 18th of November, 1993. South Africa. Still get letters to this day from people that I don't know saying that they remember James, which I think's really lovely. For some of them wasn't even, you know, James Bulger's mum and that
was it on the envelope. Or the parents of James Bulger and they were getting here. Sarah Fergs and she wrote to me and I even remember what
she put in her letter. She was saying, she was putting her girls to bed one night and she thought of James and, you know, I should have been putting my child to bed when she was putting her two girls to bed. Said she just had to write to me. She said she was crying and
she just had to write to me and send support and sympathy to me. And I think it was a lovely for her to do. You know, no one could get over just how many people were writing to me and how many people thought of James. And there were people saying that they were crying
when it happened and. You can't imagine that, can you? And just by looking at
that little box there, which carries so many letters. There's more good people in the world than what there is bad. And I've always said that. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] On the
22nd of February, 1993, the two 10-year-olds appeared
before Bootle Magistrates, charged with James's abduction and murder. (melancholy music) A crowd of 300 gathered outside. And as the police vans left
the court, a riot broke out. (people screaming) - Liverpool is a place that has a really strong
sense of community. And I think then when
the realization happened that those who'd committed this crime were actually from within
that community as well, people felt a sort of futile
rage at that, I think. (people screaming) - [Narrator] The police
had sent the vans out empty as a decoy. - And it was quite a shameful
scene, in all honesty. And you sort of think, well, what would they have done if the boys had been in that van and they
had managed to get to them? (melancholy music) - [Narrator] The trial was set
to start eight months later. The waiting was agony for Denise. - I just wanted to get in
a corner and stay there. Lock myself away from
everything and everyone. But, you know, I couldn't have done that. If anyone was gonna fight for James, it had to be me, didn't it? (melancholy music) I still find it hard to talk about. At the end of the day, I shouldn't be sitting here talking about something like this. I should be talking to him. - [Narrator] The trial
took place in Preston, 40 miles away from the
tensions in Liverpool. By this time, Denise and
her then husband, Ralph, had announced they were
expecting another baby. Denise chose not to attend court. - She just couldn't face
seeing them every time. She just didn't want to
sit in the same courtroom as them, those two boys. And I think there's
still parts of the case that she wasn't aware of. So she didn't want to hear them in court. And she didn't want to be
under the public scrutiny while having been told those details. - The first time I saw the boys, I don't really know
what I'd been expecting or what I thought I was going to see. But I think the thing that struck me more than anything else was, God, they were just two ordinary
little 10-year-old kids. They didn't look in any way deranged or capable of terrible violence. They were just, they were kids. - [Narrator] As well
as pleading not guilty to James's abduction and murder, they denied a third charge, the attempted abduction of another boy in the same shopping
center earlier that day. (eerie music) - I think what people
generally aren't aware of is the fact that, at 12:30, a lady who had two
children, a boy and a girl, she saw Thomson and Venables
and overheard Thompson say, we'll take one of these. Now, she thought that they
were going to go shoplifting. But Venables confirmed in his interview, it was their intention to
take one of those children into the road outside where the buses and the taxis are and push the child underneath
the bus or the taxi to make it look like a
tragic fatal accident. (eerie music) - [Narrator] Thompson and
Venables, who were now 11, were old enough to be convicted of murder, but only if the jury believed they knew what they had
done was seriously wrong. Their police interviews
were played in court, where they were referred
to as Child A and Child B. - [Reporter] In the interviews, A describes an attack on James Bulger, admits being present, but blames B for it and says, I never touched the baby. - They were trying to be crafty and trying to get out of it and try and talk their way out of it in the way that a child would
try to talk their way out of any kind of trouble, really. Hearing that kind of behavior associated with something as grave as this was, it was a very strange experience. It really was. - [Narrator] 37 Witnesses were called. Each had seen James with
Thompson and Venables at different points of their
journey to the railway line. - We were able to say to the court, we're not relying on what these
boys are saying completely, because, at each stage of that journey, there are other people
who will corroborate and identify them and what
they're saying they did or where they went to. (ominous music) - [Narrator] They'd
been seen at the canal, a busy roundabout, at Hillside
School, on Breeze Hill. Some of the witnesses talked to them, asking if James was okay. (ominous music) As they walked across this field, they told a woman that
the toddler was lost and they were taking
him to a police station. Thompson told a school
friend they met by City Road, that James was Venables's brother and he was crying because
he had fallen over. The last witness was a young girl who saw them take James up
an embankment of Walton Lane. (ominous music) By that time, James had
walked nearly three miles. - It was like little snapshots
within a picture of events that took place over, I
don't know, probably an hour, hour and a quarter. - The witnesses seemed to blame themselves to a large extent for
not having intervened, which is a very understandable reaction. But, you know, how were they to know? You just would never,
in your wildest dreams, imagine that, you know, those boys could be
capable of such a thing. (ominous music) - [Narrator] The jury also
heard forensic evidence. The blue paint that was found on James was also on the boys' clothing. James's hair was recovered
from Thompson's shoe and Venables's coat. - Within their shoes, there was blood and hair, which actually confirmed what had actually taken
place at the scene. You know, to show that
the blood that was there was James's blood. - [Narrator] That evidence proved that both Thompson and
Venables had been involved in the violence. (traffic whooshing)
(eerie music) After three weeks, the jury was sent out to
consider their verdict. - People tend to think, you know, that it was just an instantaneous
event that happened. It wasn't. Thompson and Venables knew
they were gonna kill a boy, a young boy, that day. - They had ample
opportunity to release him and let him go into the
care of responsible adults. But they didn't. They led him all over the place to the railway line
where they murdered him. - [Narrator] But if the jury felt that Thompson and Venables
were not responsible for their actions, they could only return a
verdict of manslaughter. - I was petrified. Absolutely petrified. I remember sitting there thinking, this is stupid. I've waited for juries
to come back more times than I care to remember. (eerie music) - [Narrator] The jury
returned within six hours, Denise came to court to hear the verdict. - Guilty of murdering James Bulger. "Evil and brutal," says the judge. Two 11-year-old boys are
tonight beginning sentences for the murder of James Bulger, the two-year-old Liverpool boy. - It was just total and utter relief. And I felt, yes, we've done it. And I just couldn't help but just getting up and going up to Denise and giving her a hug. - [Narrator] The judge
told Thomson and Venables that what they'd done was an act of unparalleled evil and barbarity. It was both cunning and wicked and they would be detained
for very many years. Less than a month later, Denise gave birth to Michael James. - Well, I know why I'm here because I had Michael. I think Michael did give me that strength that I needed to carry on. At the end of the day, I had
this little boy in my arms that needed a mother. He needed me and he needed my attention. (traffic whooshing)
(ominous music) - [Narrator] While the
Bulger family quietly came to terms with their loss, James's murder continued
to make headlines. People wanted to understand why Thompson and Venables
had done what they did. - There must be a reason as to
why they took James that day. We as the interview team never really got to the bottom of what was behind it. We established the truth. We established the facts, but what was in the minds of Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, we never really found out. - It was like probably what most people call a perfect marriage. Slightly different personalities, but brought together, lethal. And that's what they had that day. (suspenseful music) - I think the case left me with
a different view of children and childhood and what
children are capable of. And made me realize that
there is the possibility for great darkness in young children that you just perhaps don't
really like to think is there. (suspenseful music) - I do have lapses where I look back and I think to myself, you
know, how could it happen? Why did it happen? It should not have happened. - [Narrator] More heartbreak
followed for Denise when the judge announced the sentence. Thompson and Venables were to serve a minimum of eight
years in local authority care. - That was another massive blow to me. (eerie music) To get justice for James, I think they should have
served at least 15 years in adult prison. It was so horrendous, the crime. You know, he was only a baby at the time. Everything that he should
have been looking forward to in life was taken away from him. So I thought, you know, I'm gonna fight this. I'm gonna fight it on my own. - [Narrator] And she did. The minimum sentence
was raised to 15 years by the Home Secretary, but Thompson and Venables appealed both in Britain and in the European court. Denise spent years campaigning
against their release. - They took mine. What's gonna stop them
from taking someone else's? I don't think they should
get an early release. Basically, I think 15 years is too early. I'm pleased that the UK governments are continuing to fight the appeal and hope that the court reject the appeal when they give their
judgments in due course. I dropped everything in the hope that I'd gets some peace of mind and some justice somewhere down the line, but never did. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] In June, 2001, little more than eight
years after murdering James, both Thompson and Venables
were released on life license. They are now 26 years old with new names. Nothing can be published that might reveal their
identities or whereabouts. - I felt like I'd just
been told that my son was taken all over again. 'Cause I thought, you know, that's it, I'm not winning. It's the only thing I'm
gonna win in this case. And unfortunately, none,
never won a single thing. (melancholy music) At the end, I would've gotten nothing. That's why I've decided
to turn a new chapter and, you know, give James a nice memorial. - It's a Friday off.
- You can come here whenever you want. (melancholy music) (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] In February, 1993, James Bulger was abducted and
murdered by two 10-year-olds. His death put an unbearable
strain on his parents' marriage and the couple separated in 1994. Three years later,
Denise met Stuart Fergus. - When I first met Denise, obviously, I didn't know who she was. And as we started getting more involved, she says, now James is a part
of my life, always will be. If you think it's gonna
be too much, you know, be friends, but that's all it will be. No. But I like Denise and I'm still here. I'm putting me own words in as well. - You're not meant to be
changed anything though. You're meant to just be copying it. You can't do anything about
changing it, you know? He's gotta change everything. And he starts building it up, (indistinct) turns into be a shirt. He's been a shoulder to cry on. Someone to shout at, take everything out on. So really I feel sorry for him. Yeah, he used to have a head of hair until he met me (laughs). - [Narrator] Denise and
Stuart married in 1998. As well as Michael, they
have two sons of their own. - She's so protective of the boys. She's very aware that she
doesn't want their photos being put out anywhere because she still fears that the two, that Thompson and
Venables are still there. Like, you know? (eerie music) - No one could understand how I feel. Right down to the kids
playing in the front garden. Don't like them by the railings. I sit on that chair right by
the window so I can watch them. It's a horrible thing that
I've gotta live with now. If I go out shopping, one's nine, one's 10, Michael's 14. They've still gotta stay by my side. - They've still got the childhood. They still have enjoyment, but they just can't do things like walk down the street on their own just because of, it's in Denise's mind it's her anxiety that
something could happen. So they can't do that. - [Narrator] But Denise makes
sure her family understand why she's so protective. - I wanted them to grow
up, what happened to James? They don't know the full
extent of what happened to him. Even I don't know that. But I am as open as possible with them. (melancholy music) - James is the eldest brother to all the children. He is my stepson as well. So yeah, he is part of the family. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] And 15 years after his death, the name James Bulger still
has an impact around the world. - Everyone in Liverpool remember James. Even if this didn't know him, they still say he's a
part of their life now. People around the world, you know, they write to me and say he is a part of our lives. (melancholy music) I'm sure as a community
and people pull together, we can look out for other kids. And that's what I'm trying to
do is look out for other kids. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] This year, when
James would have turned 18, Denise decided to create
a memorial to him. The idea came from a meeting with broadcaster, Esther Rantzen. - Every time I saw her
interviewed about James's death, it seemed to me that it was unhealed. It was tremendously painful for her. She was really angry. And I thought to myself, no one has celebrated
this little boy's life. So all she's got in her head
is the memory of his murder. So no wonder she feels as she does. I thought it was time that
James was celebrated properly. So I put the idea to her and
she immediately took to it. She immediately said, yes, because she wants the little boy she knew to be alive in other people's minds. (melancholy music) - [Narrator] Denise and
Esther are visiting Cambridge where the charity Red Balloon
has set up a special school. - Hello again! - Take that! - [Woman In Red Shirt] Take that! - Red Balloon is a safe haven for children who have
been so badly bullied they can't go to mainstream school. And by the time we get them, they have often thought about, or even attempted, suicide. And our job is to start
a recovery program. And the recovery program is
sort of 70% academic work and 30% personal and social and therapy to help them really come to terms with what's happened to them. (suspenseful music) - [Narrator] Next year, Denise wants to open a Red Balloon school in Liverpool and name it after James. - Over the past 15 years, nothing's been achieved from his death. No good's come from it, really. But there's gonna be good in this. You know, we're gonna be
seeing kids become happier. - This is Jake.
- Hello. Hiya. - That's William.
- Hi. - Hello.
- That's Diana, and it's her birthday.
- Oh, happy birthday. It was mine on Tuesday.
- It's your birthday. - If I can do that under James's name, it's gonna be absolutely brilliant. Do you feel better now
that you've got somewhere like this to come to? - Yeah, I really like coming here. At least now I actually
enjoy coming to school. - [Denise] Do you feel more
relaxed and everything here? - Yeah, I've like been
able to speak to people about what's happened. My education's obviously got better. I've got more confident. When we found this place, it was like a miracle . It's like saved my life. - But look around. That's the thing that's
absolutely fantastic and just seeing all the kids smiling, the ways yous are all getting on. Like you've passed all kinds
of exams and everything. You've just talked that you
was have committed suicide if this house wasn't here. So think it's a really good thing to do and I'm desperate to get
this house up and running out in Liverpool. - I can't believe how much she's changed. I can't believe that the woman who could barely say a word, the silent woman, the shy woman I met, now does interviews, goes
out and promotes the charity. She tells me she's got a reason now to walk out of her house. Something to look forward to, and it's changed her completely. - You can see it in her face that she's enjoying it. She's enjoying finding things out, looking forward to things. Doesn't matter if there's a mountain, a wall in front of her, she will get through it or past it to make this happen. She's had something in her
eyes when she goes for it. - You look really well.
- Thank you. - I can't understand why kids
are getting bullied today 'cause you look absolutely gorgeous. - Thank you. - Do you realize how much you've changed? - I feel a lot different. I just feel, you know, I've got something to go for now and what I'm looking forward to is being able to pick myself up and say, today, I'm
going to visit the home, see how the kids are getting on in there and, you know, see
what's what's happening. And that's it, I can't wait for it. ♪ Happy birthday to you ♪ I feel more positive. I feel a lot stronger. I've come a long way. And I'm gonna turn a new corner now and I just wanna make sure that kids get the best of everything. (people clapping) (melancholy music) - [Narrator] You can find more information about James Bulger House on our website, www.itv.com/realcrime. (melancholy music) (bright music)
