KILLED BY KIDS
What happened to James Bulger and how old would he be now?
TODDLER James Bulger was savagely murdered by two schoolboys in 1993.
Here's everything you need to know about what happened to James Bulger.
1
Who was James Bulger?
James was a two-year-old boy from a loving family who lived in Bootle, Merseyside.
On February 12, 1993, he was tragically murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.
The tot was kidnapped, tortured, and sexually abused by the two ten-year-olds.
It was a crime that shocked the nation and a story that will never be forgotten.
What happened to James Bulger?
Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were only 10 years old when they became the country’s youngest murderers in 250 years.
On February 12, 1993, little James was led away by the depraved duo while his mother Denise was in a butcher's shop at the busy New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle.
A picture taken from CCTV footage shows the tot being taken by the hand in what would become one of the defining images of the shocking case.
The killers walked James for two and a half miles and were spotted by 38 people – some of whom challenged the pair.
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Venables and Thompson told passers-by that the distressed toddler was their younger brother or that he was lost and they were taking him to a local police station.
The pair took James to a railway line and tortured, beat, and sexually assaulted him.
How old would James Bulger be now?
The tragic tot was born on March 16, 1990, in Merseyside.
He was killed on February 12, 1993 - a month before his third birthday.
James would now be 30 years old, but approaching his 31st birthday.
Who are his killers Robert Thompson and Jon Venables?
Jon Venables was born on August 13, 1982, and Robert Thompson was born ten days later on August 23, 1982.
Venables and Thompson were found guilty of Bulger's abduction and murder on November 24, 1993 - making them the youngest people to be jailed for murder in 250 years.
Where are Robert Thompson and Jon Venables now?
At 18 years old, Venables and Thompson were both released from a young offenders’ institution under licence in June 2001.
After intensive rehabilitation, the pair were handed new identities.
Venables' new identity has been changed twice after he told friends he was a convicted murderer.
Both of their identities are protected by a worldwide injunction - meaning that even trying to find out where they now live could land you in jail.
Does James Bulger have any brothers or sisters?
Michael
James has a brother Michael, who mum Denise was pregnant with at the time of the trial.
He spoke out in 2013, saying: "It upsets me to think that two ten-year-olds could do that to my brother. I will never understand it and I can never forgive them, but I am not consumed with hate or thoughts of revenge.
"I just want to get on with my life and look to the future, not the past. I don’t want to sink to their level."
Thomas and Leon
Denise met electrician Stuart Fergus when Michael was two and they married in 1998.
They had two sons together called Thomas and Leon.
Meanwhile, in 2013, Ralph, James' dad, and his new partner Natalie McDermott, welcomed a baby girl.
The pair chose not to reveal her name but use the nickname "Princess".
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