The father of tragic tot James Bulger, who was brutally murdered in Merseyside, UK, in 1993, has lodged legal proceedings to strip one of his son’s killers of his entitlement to lifelong anonymity.
James was just two years old when he was kidnapped and killed by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both 10 at the time, in the Bootle area of Merseyside, after the pair lueed him away from a shopping centre he had been visiting with his mother Denise Fergus.
Venables and Thompson were sentenced to a minimum terms of eight years for the murder, making them the youngest murderers in British history at the time, however the pair were released following a parole hearing in 2001.
Upon their release, the men were given lifelong licences and granted new identities, however James’ dad Ralph now wants Venables, who has since been jailed twice since his release, to lose his right to anonymity, according to The Daily Mirror.
Ralph has reportedly launched a legal bid in the British courts in an attempt to uncover more details about one of the men responsible for his son’s death, however the newspaper claims that Venables has begged to retain his anonymity, fearing he would be killed if it was removed.
Venables’ lawyer Edward Fitzgerald told The Mirror: “Successive judicial findings show there is a real risk of serious personal violence if not death. There are graphic statements that this person should be killed.
“Any variation could lead to targeted violence.”
Read more: James Bulger’s dad outraged by ‘offensive’ film about son’s brutal murder.
Last month, Ralph spoke out about an “offensive” film documenting the death of his beloved son, claiming it was too sympathetic towards the boys who took his child’s life.
Full of anger and disappointment, Bulger spoke openly to The Mirror about his frustration over the movie Detainment, branding it offensive and revealing that he nor any other members of James’ family had been contacted by film makers during production.
Bulger admitted while he has seen many documentaries and news stories about the death of James over the past 26 years, Detainment takes things to another level. The short drama is based solely on police interviews with 10-year-old murderers Jon Venables and Robert Thompson.
Read more: James Bulger’s mum ‘disgusted’ by Oscar nod for film about son’s murder.
“I have never been so cut up and offended by something that shows so little compassion to James and his family,” he told The Mirror.
“I accept this is a murder of such magnitude it will always be written about and featured in the news but to make a film so sympathetic to James’ killers is devastating.”
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