James Bulger’s mother has ‘never returned to the Bootle Mall’ where her son was kidnapped

The murder of James Bulger was a vicious crime that shocked Britain.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were both 10 years old on February 12, 1993 when they kidnapped the two-year-old before brutally torturing and killing him.

The crime made the boys the youngest murderers in modern English history.

The duo kidnapped James in 1993 outside a butcher’s shop in Bootle, Merseyside, while his mother appeared mere seconds inside a shop.

James’ mutilated body was found two days later on a railway track in Walton, Liverpool.

The boys were skipping school and CCTV showed them watching local children at the mall who appeared to be “picking a target”.

They were then caught on camera and took the boy away at 3.42pm before taking him on a two and a half mile walk through Liverpool to the village of Walton.

Venables and Thompson were seen by 38 people during the walk and were twice challenged by bystanders because James was crying and had a bump on his forehead.

But they managed to convince the concerned people that James was their little brother and moved on.

They led James to a railway line near the disused Walton & Anfield train station, where they began torturing him – including throwing paint in his eyes, throwing stones and bricks at him, and dropping an iron bar on his head.

After the body was found, police launched an appeal that showed the boy’s low-resolution CCTV images.

The breakthrough came when a woman realized Venables, who she knew had skipped school with Thompson that day, and contacted police.

They were charged with murder on February 20 and forensic tests confirmed they had the same color on their clothing as was found on James’ body.

Around 500 protesters turned up for their first hearing at the district court due to the public outcry against the crime.

The ensuing trial at Preston Crown Court and the boys were deemed “mature enough” to know they were doing something “seriously wrong”.

Venables and Thompson were found guilty on November 24, 1993, with the judge describing them as “cunning and evil.”

Reporting restrictions on their names were also lifted as this was deemed to be in the public interest.

Her parents were relocated to different parts of the country and also given new identities due to death threats against them.