James Bulger

Bell was released from the Risley remand centre 18 years ago and, ever since, has been hunted by the tabloids. The ' Mary Bell Order' - a court ruling that protects her identity for the sake of her daughter - has not stopped journalists from stalking her as she moved from town to town, nor from offering her large sums of money to tell her story. Four years ago, amid the furore over the Bulger case, she was traced by reporters and forced once more to change her name. Two weeks ago, editors could not justify such stories in the public interest. But with the row over payment for her collaboration with Sereny, the witch-hunt began anew.

The two richest newspapers - the Sun and the Daily Mail - set off in pursuit of the 41-year-old mother. Her new name, it appears, was provided by police sources. By last Tuesday they had tracked her down. The Mail pulled out of the chase at this point, leaving the Sun to claim the tabloid triumph.

The Observer 1998

Without the change in the law brought about by the media reporting that the author of the book had paid Mary Bell for her collaboration, criminals would still be free to write about their crimes and profit from them without restrictions. Mary Bell chose to collaborate in the writing of this book, nobody could compel her to do so. Her behaviour was in poor taste.

Surely there is much for the media to report on without using a very damaged woman

If it wasn’t for the media we would know nothing of what is happening in the world, Annie. We would be as ignorant of world events as our forefathers living in isolated villages and relying on news from the London carrier. In this case the publicity about the payment to Mary Bell led to a change in the law, restricting the ability of criminals to profit from their crimes by selling or writing about their stories. That is surely a good thing.

Thank you, yet again the media

Anniebach

She had brutally attacked in the media, by the public, perhaps the book was her opportunity to speak . Did she or the author say how much money was involved ?

The media reported £50,000 at the time in the 1990s

She had brutally attacked in the media, by the public, perhaps the book was her opportunity to speak . Did she or the author say how much money was involved ?

It was due to her childhood that she was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. I have sympathy for her. She and her daughter have had to move several times when their anonymity was compromised. I still don't think she should have taken money for the book but maybe she thought people couldn't think any worse of her.

I didn’t know much about the home life of Mary Bell, looked up the book yesterday, dear God what hell for a child

Doodledog

OldFrill

Anniebach

I understand that, is the book about the murders or her life leading to and after

From the reviews it seems to be about her life and why she murdered, the book is a supposedly a useful investigation into why she murdered. It's called "Cries Unheard" of you want to look it up. It's reviewed 3.88 out of 5 on Goodreads if you use that.

Cries Unheard was not written by Mary Bell. It was written by Gitta Sereny, who has written widely about murderers and victims, including in the Third Reich. It's a disturbing but interesting read, and came out decades ago. My copy includes an essay about the Bulger case, which is also very interesting, and outlines the upbringing of the killers and both their behaviour and that of their parents in court.

I'm not sure that Bell benefited from the book, but to be fair it's many years since I read it.

I think l was clear that Mary Bell was paid to collaborate with the author and didn't write it herself. The book was mentioned due to the furore over Mary Bell receiving payment for it (£50,000 l believe in the 1990s). Sereny also wrote a book about the trial.

OldFrill

Anniebach

I understand that, is the book about the murders or her life leading to and after

From the reviews it seems to be about her life and why she murdered, the book is a supposedly a useful investigation into why she murdered. It's called "Cries Unheard" of you want to look it up. It's reviewed 3.88 out of 5 on Goodreads if you use that.

Cries Unheard was not written by Mary Bell. It was written by Gitta Sereny, who has written widely about murderers and victims, including in the Third Reich. It's a disturbing but interesting read, and came out decades ago. My copy includes an essay about the Bulger case, which is also very interesting, and outlines the upbringing of the killers and both their behaviour and that of their parents in court.

I'm not sure that Bell benefited from the book, but to be fair it's many years since I read it.

Kandinsky 👍
It’s such a difficult subject to discuss and too easy to be polarised

Iam64
Agree.

Kandinsky

Plenty of children have terrible childhoods, some even worse than Thompson & Venebles, they don’t all go out and murder 2 year olds.

No one here is suggesting they disagree with you Kadinsky. My work meant I met many incredible people who despite frankly horrific abuse in childhood, went on to live decent/good lives

Expressing compassion for the two ten year old murderers does not mean being blind to the horror of their crime.mmit does mean acknowledging the horror of their lives leading to the murder

I remember this little boy so vividly. How can you not? While in a large shop recently I noticed a little girl wandering about. I kept watch to see if a parent came looking. After a few minutes I spoke loudly around asking if anyone had lost a child. A young women appeared from quite a distance away and claimed her. She said to me, 'I don't worry because anyone that takes her will soon give her back. She is a monster.' Unbelievable!

Crossstitchfan, Denise Bulger is still alive.

Good to see people on here using his real name. The family never called him Jamie.
Sad for all the children.

They put the two boys in two different secure units. One never offended again and is living a useful life apparently. The other is now a repeat sex offender. I often find myself whether this difference was already in them, or whether the experiences they had in their respective units shaped them in different ways. It's actually pretty tragic all round. If only that day hadn't happened.

Violence begets violence ,

Reading these threads has made me think about the parents and family members who birthed these two boys . I can't say cared for so I say birthed . Wondering what their lifes were like , were they ever shown care / love / tenderness . My mind is imagining an awful home life possibly violence and more . These parents / family members who were they and how could they . The boys were ferrell . I can't imagine the home life . I'm wondering if harsh/ unkind / cruelty is all you know you lack any feelings of knowing love .
I guess I'm trying somehow to see the upbringing of a child and how it shapes their future . I'm probably wrong and will never know . But those parents surely are responsible too ?

LovesBach

Barleyfields

Yes. Heart-stopping. M&S in my case. He was just behind a rail of clothes but I will never forget.

I had exactly that experience when for about thirty seconds my three year old had gone. I let go of his hand to put a dress back on the rail and he was no longer there - he too had walked behind the clothes. The jolting, sickening fright comes back to me still. -

I think probably most mums (and don’t forget the dads) have been there. The shock, horror and panic can’t be described. And it doesn’t matter how careful you are. Years ago, when our grandson was three, we went to a farm where you could pretend to look after the animals. There were life size animal models and you could ‘milk’ the cow, and have other hands-on experiences. It was beautifully done. We were there with our grandson’s parents (our daughter and her husband) and we were all very careful for his safety.( If one couple wanted to stop to look at something, or join in something, the other couple took charge of the little one and it worked well. In the evenings, one couple would babysit while the other couple went out, then we would swap the next time). At one point, the four of us suddenly realised our grandson wasn’t with us. Horrified, we realised that each couple had thought he was with the other couple. Not unreasonable as he loved being with us so it was quite common for his parents to relax knowing he was safe. We tore back to the milking shed where, thankfully, he was still happily milking his cow. It was horrifying and shaming to realise what could have happened. It only takes a second! But it is SO easily done, even by the most caring and attentive parents.

Allira

We'll never forget that sweet little boy.
Thinking of Denise Bulger today.

Yes, we have all probably experienced the panic of realising our child is not right there next to us however careful we are.

I believe Denise Bolger has passed away. Is that correct? Poor woman. She must have gone to hell and back. He was a cute little boy and unfortunately not the only one to have been removed from family in this way.
My heart goes out to anyone who is in that position. ❤️

What those boys did was beyond terrible as others have said. And as others have also said, the killers were children who had had terrible damaging childhoods.

I recall school boys who were cruel to animals, I went to the same school as them, tied things to cats tails, opened garden gates to let dogs out, bonfire night was awful, fireworks thrown
at animals, they started bullying tinies in the tinies playground ,both those boys were taken away from their homes, never saw them again, learned many years later they only knew
cruelty

Plenty of children have terrible childhoods, some even worse than Thompson & Venebles, they don’t all go out and murder 2 year olds.