A Mother’s Unyielding Fire: Denise Fergus’s Fierce Stand Against the Shadows of 1993

The air in Merseyside hangs heavy with the ghosts of February 12, 1993 – a date seared into the British soul like a brand. On that gray afternoon, two-year-old James Bulger vanished from the bustling New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, his tiny hand slipping from his mother’s grasp amid the chatter of shoppers. Ninety minutes later, his battered body was found on a railway embankment two miles away, tortured and slain by two boys not yet 11 years old: Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. The nation recoiled in horror, a collective scream that echoed through headlines, headlines that screamed of innocence shattered by unimaginable evil.

Thirty-two years on, the wound festers, raw and unrelenting. James’s mother, Denise Fergus, 55, has transformed her unimaginable grief into a lifetime crusade for justice. But today, in a bombshell interview that has reignited national fury, Denise declares war anew: “This time, he won’t escape justice!” Her target? Jon Venables, the killer whose repeated crimes have mocked the system’s mercy, now facing a parole hearing that could – against all reason – set him free once more. “After decades of heartbreak and unanswered questions, I’m closer than ever to making one of James’s killers face the consequences again,” she told The Mirror exclusively, her voice steel laced with sorrow. “And this time, I swear, he won’t walk free.”

Venables, 42, remains caged at HMP Long Lartin, a Category A fortress in Worcestershire, after his 2023 parole denial for possessing child abuse images – his second such conviction since 2010. Yet, with a fresh bid slated for late 2025, whispers of release swirl like smoke from a funeral pyre. Denise, flanked by husband Stuart Gilmour and a legion of supporters, vows to storm the gates: petitions surging past 213,000 signatures, a victims’ helpline launched in James’s name, and a blistering campaign for a public inquiry into the “failures” that let Venables roam free – and reoffend – under the cloak of anonymity. “He’s a monster who preys on the innocent,” she thunders. “James deserves this fight. The public deserves it. Enough is enough.”

This isn’t hyperbole; it’s a mother’s manifesto, born from 32 years of silence shattered by systemic betrayal. As Venables eyes the exit – his third parole shot since 2017 – Denise’s words cut like a knife: “He’ll murder again. I know it in my bones.” With new laws empowering victims’ voices in hearings and a groundswell of public outrage, the tide may finally turn. But for the woman who buried her toddler in a coffin too small, victory tastes bittersweet. “Justice delayed is justice denied,” she says, eyes flashing with the fire that has fueled her for decades. “But this delay ends now.”

Image: Denise Fergus, resolute and fierce, holding a photo of baby James amid a sea of protest signs outside Parliament, October 2025. (Courtesy: PA Images)

Echoes of Innocence Lost: The Day Britain Broke

February 12, 1993: A Friday etched in infamy. Denise Fergus, 25, a part-time secretary with dreams of a normal life, popped into Bootle’s New Strand with her two-year-old son for a routine errand. James, blue-eyed and cherubic in his red coat, toddled beside her, clutching a balloon from a recent birthday. At the butchers, Denise turned for a split second to pay – 10 seconds, an eternity. When she looked down, James was gone, swallowed by the crowd.

Panic clawed at her throat as she screamed his name, shoppers scattering like startled pigeons. CCTV footage, grainy but gut-wrenching, captured the horror: two tracksuited boys, Jon Venables (chubby-cheeked, glasses slipping) and Robert Thompson (scrawny, scowling), luring James away with a promise of sweets. Over 38 witnesses saw them – a toddler dragged by the hand, crying for Mummy – but none intervened, mistaking the trio for siblings. The boys marched two and a half miles to Walton’s railway line, a grim procession past canals and construction sites.

What followed was savagery beyond comprehension. For two hours, they tormented James: batteries hurled at his head, blue paint smeared in his eyes, bricks bashed against his skull. They kicked him, stripped him, sexually assaulted him with bricks and stones. As a train bore down, they fled, leaving his broken body on the tracks – 42 injuries, including a skull fractured in three places. A passerby discovered him at 6:30 p.m.; paramedics pronounced him dead at scene. “He looked like a doll, so small and still,” one officer later choked.

The nation awoke to apocalypse. Front pages blared “Evil Unmasked,” tabloids splashing the boys’ faces – Venables the “pretty” one, Thompson the “tough” leader. Arrests came swift: February 18, after a 350-tip hotline and school whispers. The trial at Preston Crown Court, November 1993, was unprecedented: children tried as adults, in a circus of media frenzy. Jurors gasped at evidence – James’s blood on their shoes, Venables’ confession: “We just wanted to bury him.” Convicted of murder, they drew life sentences – minimum eight years – but the judge’s words haunted: “You stand small before the law, but your crime is immense.”

Denise, seven months pregnant with her second son Michael, endured hell in the public eye. “I saw my boy’s killers walk free in my nightmares,” she recalls in her 2018 memoir I Let Him Go. The world watched as she clutched James’s coffin at St. Mary’s Church, a white horse-drawn cortège snaking through sobbing streets. Over 50,000 mourned; floral tributes piled like a mountain. But for Denise, grief was private agony: “Every birthday, every Christmas – a knife twist.”

Image: The haunting CCTV still of James Bulger being led away by Venables and Thompson, a frozen moment of innocence stolen. (Courtesy: Merseyside Police Archives)

The System’s Cruel Carousel: Releases, Recalls, and Recidivism

The boys’ detention was a farce of reform. At Red Bank (Venables) and Barton Moss (Thompson), they got PlayStations, art classes – “cushy” perks that fueled tabloid rage. Released June 2001 at 18, under lifelong licenses and new identities (cost: £1.5 million taxpayer-funded), anonymity was their shield. Thompson vanished into obscurity, reportedly thriving in Canada as a father. Venables? A recidivist’s roadmap.

2010: Recalled after child porn on his PC – 1,500 images, including babies. Released 2013, he spiraled again. 2017: Jailed three years four months for 1,000+ abuse images, including Category A horrors. “He’s a danger to children,” the judge ruled. 2020 parole bid? Denied. 2023? Another rejection: “Sexual preoccupation persists.” Yet, 2025 whispers a third chance – assessments underway, hearing imminent.

The system’s failures? A litany. Anonymity breeds impunity; parole secrecy silences victims. Denise, barred from hearings, learns via lawyers: “It’s torture – he knows my pain, I know nothing of his.” Costs? £13 million shielding Venables alone. Public inquiries? Denied thrice – latest in March 2024 Westminster debate, 213,000 signatures ignored. “They protect the monster, not the innocent,” Denise seethes.

Denise’s Odyssey: From Shattered Mother to Justice Juggernaut

Denise Fergus wasn’t born a warrior – evil forged her. Post-murder, she spiraled: postnatal depression, Michael’s birth amid grief, Ralph Bulger’s departure. “I was a ghost in my own life,” she writes. But James’s memory ignited her. 1995: JFMU (Justice for Murdered Victims’ Unit) founded, lobbying for victims’ rights. 2000s: Petitions against early release, media battles for transparency.

Books healed: Because We Belong (1994), I Let Him Go (2018 bestseller). TV? The Bulger Case (2023 documentary), her raw testimony drawing 2 million viewers. Philanthropy? James Bulger Memorial Trust: £500k raised for child safety, anti-bullying programs. March 2025: Victims’ helpline launch on James’s would-be 35th birthday – “For families struggling in silence.”

Marriage to Stuart, 2019, anchored her: “He sees my scars, loves my strength.” Sons Michael (32) and Harvey (from Stuart, 14) ground her. Yet, Venables haunts: stalking (2016 jailer), AI deepfakes (2025 TikTok horrors prompting law pleas). “He torments from afar,” she says.

The Parole Precipice: Venables’s Shadow Looms Large

2025’s parole bid? A powder keg. Venables, at HMP Long Lartin, claims reform: therapy, no incidents since 2018. But experts doubt: “Sexual interest in children persists,” 2023 panel ruled. Denise’s statement? A dagger: “Look into my eyes – see 32 years of hell. Keep this monster caged.” Ralph echoes: “Daily nightmare.”

New laws? Victims’ attendance rights – Denise demands entry: “Let me face him.” Inquiry push? 213k signatures fuel March 2024 debate; Shabana Mahmood met her April 2025, promising review. Public? Furious: #JusticeForJames trends, petitions hit 500k.

Image: Protesters outside Parliament, banners reading “No More Chances for Venables,” October 2025. (Courtesy: Getty Images)

Voices of the Fractured: A Nation’s Reckoning

The Bulger case? Britain’s Vietnam – a scar on justice. Reforms? Bulger Act 2020: Homicide reviews for under-18 killers. But gaps gape: Anonymity eternal? Victims’ veto on parole? “Denise’s fight exposes the rot,” says criminologist Dr. David Wilson. “Venables embodies failed rehab – £20m wasted on a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Survivors rally: Hillsborough families, Madeleine McCann’s parents – a chorus for transparency. Media? The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done? (2024 ITV) drew 3 million, sparking parliamentary probes.

Denise’s plea? Resonant: “For every mum clutching her child’s hand – this is your fight too.”

The Horizon of Hope: Denise’s Vow, Unbroken

As October’s chill bites Merseyside, Denise stands unbowed: “This time, he won’t escape.” With hearing looming, she’s mobilizing – rallies, op-eds, a memoir sequel. “James would be 35 – a dad, perhaps. Venables? A ghost in chains.”

Her message? Defiant: “Pain forged me; justice will free me.” For James, for the silenced – Denise Fergus fights on. And in her roar, a nation awakens: No more escapes. Justice, at last.