Search icon

News

18th Feb 2018

Jon Venables was attacked with boiling water during in prison fight

He has reportedly had a price put on his head

Reuben Pinder

He was convicted of James Bulger’s murder in 1993.

Jon Venables was attacked in a prison fight with boiling water, according to the Daily Star.

The Star report that Venables had a ‘falling out’ with an inmate who had sussed out his true identity and as tensions were rising, the inmate “went for him” with a pot of boiling water.

Venables and Robert Thompson were both convicted of the murder of James Bulger in 1993 and were granted lifelong anonymity and new identities upon their release. Venables is back in prison, having pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children for a second time, but retains his lifelong anonymity.

According to the Daily Star’s report, Venables feels he is a marked man in jail and that the prison officers “didn’t do enough” to protect him from the attack.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Incidents [like this] happen all the time in prison”, and declined to comment further,

The Star claims a source has told them that the killer’s identity has been compromised and inmates wanting to avenge James Bulger have “put a price on him.”

The prisoner who attacked Venables “noticed him” after information about his identity and his appearance “was passed on”, the source claims, according to the Star.

“Every single person knows that he’s there,” the source added.