For 30 years Denise Fergus has been shielded from details about how her son James Bugler was murdered by two older boys in 1993.

But now, Denise says taking part in a documentary on the murder trial taught her she was ready to hear what happened to the two-year-old. It was while making the documentary she learnt little James was killed with a metal railway componant.

Denise only attended one day of the real trial, reports The Mirror, because she was pregnant at the time. She feared the effect the stress of the courtroom would have on her pregnancy.

Having now watched Channel 5’s 90-minute recreation of 10-year-old Jon Venables and Robert Thompson’s trial, Denise has been able to answer some of the questions that lingered over her son’s death. Speaking to The Mirror, she said: “Watching it was obviously extremely hard but because I was not physically there for a lot of it, it filled some gaps.”

READ MORE: Child killer Jon Venables could be freed as James Bulger’s mum warns of ‘danger’

The 55-year-old says husband Stuart also helped her avoid details abtou James’ death. She continued: “When I first met Stuart, anything that was in the papers regarding James he would get a felt tip pen and wipe out… so a lot of detail I have been sheltered from. But I’m stepping forward now and ready to hear the detail. These wounds do need to open before they heal.”

Denise said parts of the documentary were a “hard watch”, particularly the discussion about the component – a length of metal used to join sections of track. She added: “I wasn’t aware of the fishplate. I was aware of the brick. That was a hard watch.”

The documentary is being released as killer Jon Venebles is reportedly being offered a parole hearing so may be freed from prison. Thompson has not reoffended but Venables was sent back to jail in 2010 and 2017 after being caught with child sex abuse images.

Denise added of the methods of the killing in the documentary, to be aired tomorrow: “It was not pleasant to hear for the first time but I feel people need to hear this detail. It is an important time to remind ourselves of the abhorrent things they did to James and hopefully sends the message that Venables should never be released.”

 is reportedly being offered a parole hearing so may be freed.

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Denise, who took part in the documentary, said it has reignited her calls for an inquiry into her son’s death and its aftermath. She said: “How did James’ killers get just eight years in a youth offenders institute? Fifteen or 20 years would have been justice for James. Why were they allowed to not take the stand?

“Why was evidence not included in the trial like the fact they had tried to take another girl just before abducting James? If the full evidence had been heard, we probably wouldn’t be here 30 years on, with one of them repeatedly re-offending.”

In the documentary, child actors portray Venables and Thompson. Their real defence lawyers Dominic Lloyd and Laurence Lee give commentary on the 1993 trial at Preston Crown Court.

Denise said of them: “Their solicitors came out in the documentary and said that there was a lot of things that weren’t mentioned in the court about what Venables and Thompson did.

Denise claims she saw the killers sniggering at their sentencing. She added: “I do wonder whether that sentence would have been more severe if that evidence had come to light.”

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