I’m living an amazing life.. but I’ll always fight to keep Venables locked up
KILLER IS ‘TOO DANGEROUS’ TO BE FREED
TRAGIC James Bulger’s mum has found light and happiness in her life again thanks to her young granddaughter.
Our heartwarming photo shows a beaming Denise Fergus cradling tiny Peyton, who has turned her life around.
Denise sees tiny flashes of James in the tot, who is now 16 months old.
And when the toddler visits, she is always drawn to the picture of a smiling boy on the mantelpiece.
The little boy she sits and stares at is two-year-old James, who was tragically abducted and murdered 29 years ago by two evil killers, both aged 10.
In an exclusive interview, Denise told the Sunday People how her granddaughter has “helped remind her of the happiness in the world”.
She said: “Peyton has been a power of strength for us and helped the light come back into our lives after James.
“Her dad Michael looks so much like James and I can see him in Peyton, too. It’s lovely.”
Strength
Denise will tell Peyton about her uncle James one day but said her granddaughter “is a reminder to try to focus on the happiness in our lives, not the tragedy”.
She added: “There is not a day I don’t think of James and now having Peyton in our lives gives me even more strength to fight in his name.”
And Denise needed all that strength last month when it was revealed Jon Venables, 39, one of James’ killers, is bidding for parole. He will appear at a hearing later this year.
She said: “I’m living an amazing life and most the time I’m flying with happiness but when this comes up it drags me back down again.
“It just deflates me, it’s just so hard. It’s been never-ending.
“But I will fight with everything I possibly can to keep him in prison. It is a life battle. I’ve done it from the beginning and I’ll do it until the end.”
Denise, 53, who has three other sons – Thomas, Leon and Michael – will never accept an apology from Venables, or speak to him, saying: “I don’t believe he’ll ever be sorry. He should never be allowed back on the streets.”
She and husband Stuart are also battling to keep the James Bulger
Memorial Trust alive after fundraising was blighted by Covid and they received no Government help. The charity foundation helps young people affected by a crime or bereavement by offering them stays at a holiday lodge.
James’ brutal torture and murder in 1993 at the hands of Venables and Robert Thompson shocked the nation. The twisted pair snatched James from Denise as she was out shopping in Bootle, Merseyside.
They were jailed but also given lifelong anonymity and new identities following their release.
Venables was first released in 2001 but then recalled in 2010 and 2017 for possession of child abuse images. Thompson, also 39, is now free and is living under a new identity.
Denise said: “What happened to James is something I think about every day. It has got easier over time but especially when something comes up like it just has, it comes back. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to shift that off.
Danger
“I’m hoping and praying he doesn’t get released because he’s still capable of evil. He’s proven to everyone that he’s still got it and that’s why he’s locked up again.
“I think if he comes out he will do something because he’s so used to being looked after now. He’s a danger to society. I don’t want another family to go through what my family has been through – you’re on a rollercoaster ride from the beginning. He knows where I live, he knows what I look like. I’m not getting told where he lives and I don’t know what he looks like.
“Now the lads are older and we’ve got the new baby I’m going to be worried. I don’t know if he’s going to be standing outside my house while we’re all sleeping.
“I’m hoping to God he doesn’t find out where Michael lives.”
Denise was told by her lawyer that Venables had asked if he could speak to her and say sorry.
She said: “I wouldn’t accept his apology. What would he expect me to say. It’s OK? When you murdered my boy in the worst possible way? You can apologise over saying something wrong, but not taking someone’s life.”
She also hit out at the criminal justice system, saying: “How much money has he had spent on him?
“New identity, new life, protection, yet we live on the edge of our seat. They always look after the one who taken someone’s life and not the victims. It’s wrong on every level, the law should be changed on that.”
Denise and Stuart have taken solace in their family. Thomas, Leon and Michael lived at home with her until recently. In November 2020, Michael and partner Leanne had Peyton, Denise’s first grandchild.
Denise said: “She’s an absolute doll. She’s such a good baby, she hardly ever cries, she’s walking everywhere, she’s just a joy. She’s at that stage where if you give her a chocolate bar it doesn’t stay in her hand, it’s all over your furniture.”
Leanne thinks Peyton looks a lot like Denise but the new gran said: “We can see Michael more in her. It’s more her eyes than anything. Of course, you have moments when you remember James at that age.
“Having our family has helped so much. You could be having a down day
but then the front door opens and in they come, that gives you the lift then, it changes your mood and changes the day for you.
“It’s just lovely to have them around and we’re always there for them as well.
Treasure
“The years have gone so quick it’s just unbelievable. You see them as babies but now they’re grown men and we’re grandparents now.”
Last month, the family went to James’ grave, which they call his “resting place”, to mark the 29th anniversary of his death.
But Denise said Peyton’s presence the past two years has altered the atmosphere around the date for the family.
She said: “She changed the mood on James’ anniversary last year and this. We talk amongst ourselves and we talk about James, but when Peyton came along – it’s still about James – but Peyton takes our attention. Although there’s the grim side, we still give our time to Peyton. She takes me back to when we had James and our lads. We’ve got this new baby in our lives and we absolutely adore and treasure her.
Michael said: “When it was the anniversary of James in February they came to ours. You could see the smile on the face from Denise having the baby there. It just took her mind off what the day should have been, this little bundle. It was really nice to see.”
The family have cleaned the ground at James’ resting place, laid new grass and got a new wrought-iron frame made.
Denise said: “Michael brings Peyton to James’ resting place and it’s nice he makes her a part of it. At Christmas Eve we go and put up a Christmas tree for James. We always have a star that goes
on top of the tree at Christmas Eve and that’s always been Michael’s job. Maybe it’s something he and Peyton can do together this year.”
They also have a quiet place in honour of James behind their home in Merseyside – James’ Garden. Denise said: “Because James isn’t here to spend the money on, we put the money into our own private little garden.
“We’ve got a fish pond out there we’ve got a waterfall fountain thing with Christmas lights.
“It’s a constant reminder of him for us.”
Later this month, Denise and Stuart are hosting the Black Tie and Tiara Ball for the James Bulger Memorial Trust.
Denise said: “It’s so good to be fundraising again in James’ name and for his trust. Lockdown made it really difficult
Having Peyton in our lives makes my fight for James
even stronger
and we seriously had to consider whether to close the trust, such was the upkeep of the lodge and other things.
“We also had to cancel on the eve of a big charity ball which would’ve marked James’ 30th birthday because of Covid.
“Since then we’ve struggled – we’re not the only ones. But now we’re back. We have got a good line-up – Claire Sweeney and a Jersey Boys tribute act. It will be a great night.”
Denise added: “Sometimes I feel like throwing my cards down and saying I’ve had enough. But then I speak to Stuart and the lads, and look at Peyton.
“And I did make that promise to James and I will stand by it. I’ll always keep going for him.” n The Black Tie and Tiara Ball in aid of the James Bulger Memorial Trust is on Saturday, March 26, at the Crowne Plaza, Liverpool. The tickets are £60, visit forjames.org/black-tie-tiara-ball.