James Bulger’s mother Denise Fergus ‘couldn't be happier’ about becoming a grandmother with baby due in 2020
James Bulger's mother has revealed her joy at the prospect of becoming a grandmother after she found out her son was having a child of his own.
Denise Fergus, now 52, made the announcement with a picture of a baby vest bearing the message "Baby Fergus" with tiny feet and hearts. It read "Coming soon, baby Fergus, due in 2020."
Denise had been pregnant with James' brother, Mickey, when the then-two-year-old boy was abducted from the New Strand Shopping Center in Bootle, Liverpool, on February 12, 1993, tortured and killed.
James' mutilated body was found on a railway line 2.5 miles away, with police arresting and charging two ten-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and John Venables, in connection to the horrific crime.
Both were tried as adults and found guilty, making them the youngest convicted murderers of the 20th century. They were subsequently handed a minimum sentence of eight years - meaning they would be 18 by the time they were released - and sent to anonymous locations to receive rehabilitation and treatment.
Denise's marriage to James' father, Ralph Bulger, did not survive the tragedy. The couple filed for divorce a year after their son's death and Denise went on to marry electrician Stuart Fergus in 1998.
Besides Mickey, they have two other sons together, Thomas, 21, and Leon, 20.
She and Stuart congratulated Mickey and his partner Leanne McPadden for the baby while simultaneously sharing the good news that they were about to become grandparents.
"My first grandchild is on its way. I couldn't be happier," she told her followers on Twitter.
"So proud to say Denise and I are going to be grandparents for the first time," Stuart added.
Denise had set up the James Bulger Memorial Trust to support young victims of crime and bullying following her son's death. Both of his killers have taken significantly different paths following their convictions.
Both had been released under new identities and on a lifelong license in June 2001 but Venables turned out to be a repeat offender. In 2010, it was revealed that he had been returned to prison after he had been charged with the possession and distribution of child pornography - some of which involved children as young as two being raped by adults.
He was arrested in February 2019 after child abuse images were once again discovered on his computer, marking the second time he had breached the terms of his release and new identity.
Thompson, on the other hand, had shared how he's had a "better life" as a result of being jailed for James' murder. He said his time at the Barton Moss secure unit in Manchester, where he spent close to a decade in incarceration, brought him huge benefits.
"I do feel aware that I am now a better person and have had a better life and a better education than if I had not committed the murder," he said, before admitting he saw the irony in his statements and expressing remorse for committing the murder.