The Sleep of Reason: The James Bulger Case

by David James Smith

  They were all exhausted. Jim Fitzsimmons had been pulled to one side earlier by one of the Superintendents, and told to get some rest. He looked as though he needed it. Today should have been his duty rest day. No one was taking their days off. There was anxiety and concern all round that they should close the case as quickly as possible. After the briefing, Phil Roberts went up to the bar, to see the Crimewatch update, but mostly to have a cigarette and a pint before trying to get some sleep.

  Albert Kirby had been phoning in to Marsh Lane from the BBC at odd intervals throughout the afternoon. He wanted to hear how the interviews were going, naturally, but he had to be discreet about it. He didn’t want the Crimewatch team catching on before the arrests had been made public. He used the Vodaphone from his briefcase. Conversation was guarded. Any developments? Okay, good, speak to you later.

  Mike One was waiting for him at the McAlpine’s headquarters in Hayes, not too far from Heathrow. Albert sped there from Shepherds Bush after the programme. He had never been in a bloody helicopter in his life. He had been feeling rough earlier, so much so that he had taken a stiffening drink to cope with being on live television. He certainly wasn’t feeling any better now.

  The co-pilot, a police sergeant, strapped Albert in, and showed him what to do. If you feel bad, sir, there’s the bag. Shit, thought Albert, it’s going to be a hard night this.

  They set off for Birmingham, where the helicopter was scheduled to refuel. The first half of the journey was harmless. At Birmingham they landed safely and sat on the tarmac waiting for a fuel tanker to appear, and when it did there was a problem. Something to do with credit clearance for fuel. The tanker couldn’t oblige. They waited a little longer, and longer still. Sitting there dwarfed by 747s and assorted aeroplanes, half two in the morning, and the wind’s blowing up. Albert wasn’t very happy.

  Finally, the fuel problem was resolved, and they took off, into what now seemed to Albert like a hurricane force gale. Wedging himself into the corner of his seat, he thought he might die. He hoped he’d die having led a successful investigation into the killing of James Bulger.

  He survived the flight and arrived home at half four, vowing that wild horses would not drag him back into a helicopter.

  20

  Jim Fitzsimmons was unaware of Albert Kirby’s late-night adventure when he arrived at Alberts home at seven thirty on Friday morning to pick him up for work, as they had arranged yesterday afternoon. Albert had only been home for three hours, and he was still in bed.

  Susan Kirby admitted Jim to the house and sent him upstairs, where he sat at the foot of the senior investigating officers bed, drinking a cup of tea.

  ‘What do you think?’ Albert asked.

  ‘Yeah,’ said Jim.

  They were talking about the two boys, of course.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘No, I’m not sure.’

  Jim left Albert to get ready and make his own way to Marsh Lane, and went in ahead of him for the morning briefing. He decided they should make some changes to the interviewing teams.

  It seemed to be a problem that Phil Roberts and Bob Jacobs were not familiar with the area, and Jim wanted somebody in there who knew the locations they hoped Bobby would mention as he described the route taken with James. Jim knew the area well and thought again about taking the interview himself. But no, that would be wrong. The best alternative was John Forrest from the back-up team, who also knew Walton.

  With Jon’s interviews, Jim felt that a woman officer might be an advantage. Michelle Bennett, on Mark Dale’s back-up team, had experience of interviewing children, particularly in sensitive child abuse cases, and she might bring something extra to what was clearly a very difficult process.

  By nine o’clock Albert had arrived and the senior officers and the interview teams sat down in a corner of the bar to discuss the changes. Albert was feeling terrible, and looked it. He didn’t know how he was going to survive the day, but suspected that adrenalin would see him through.

  Phil Roberts and Bob Jacobs were not keen to alter their team. They were working well together, and had made good progress over a relatively short period of time. They’d got hold of a map which they would use with Bobby in the interviews, and this would overcome their lack of local knowledge. Jim Fitzsimmons relented. Lets see how it goes then, and keep John Forrest on stand-by.

  Michelle Bennett wasn’t happy going in cold. She felt unprepared, but if she could read up the notes on yesterdays interviews during the morning, she’d be ready to take over.

  What they really needed was the Downstream Monitoring equipment, so that Michelle Bennett could listen in and get a proper feel for the interviews. Unfortunately, the facility was still in use elsewhere. Jim Fitzsimmons was annoyed, but there was nothing he could do about it.

  Albert now briefed the teams on the injuries that James had suffered. Officially it was the first time they had been told, though in practice they were already familiar with many of the details. Albert also had some tips from his offender profiler, Paul Britton, who suggested, among other things, that the boys would be highly unlikely to admit any sexual assault of James, whether it had taken place or not.

  ■

  Susan Venables had stayed the night with Jon in the juvenile detention room at Lower Lane, and in the morning they had a cooked breakfast and a change of clothes, brought in by Jon’s father.

  The fourth interview begins not long after eleven o’clock, with Jon agreeing that he had told a lie before, about not being at the Strand, then admitting that he had been there, messing around, but had not seen any kids. He had seen kids, waiting outside shops but he never saw any kids with two boys or nothing because he wouldn’t go near any kids.

  The officers steer Jon through a description of his activities at the Strand, and Jon gives a selectively truthful account of the roaming in and out of shops and the robbing. He didn’t go into a card shop to look at trolls. He enjoyed looking at the Thunderbirds figures in Woolworths. Jon likes Thunderbirds and his favourite character is Lady Penelope, because she’s rich. Dale asks if Jon is going to get himself a rich girlfriend. Susan says she hopes so.

  Jon remembers being in Tandy twice, and says there was nothing to pinch in the shop. He is not asked about the theft of a packet of batteries. He mentions being in a sports shop, and says he’s hoping to be given a Liverpool kit for his birthday. His mum says they’ll have to wait and see how he behaves. Jon says he wants a Blackburn Rovers shirt now.

  He and Bobby were at a charity stall, tapping the old woman on the back and running away. How would you like it if you were splattered on your back, she says, and runs round after them with a walking stick.

  How about the toyshop, Toymaster, did he go in there? No, the woman chased them out because they weren’t with their parents.

  Jon thinks it was about half three when they left Stanley Road and started making their way up to Walton. They went along County Road and into Fads where they nicked a tin of blue paint and some borders. Round the corner, on Olney Street, Robert tried to open the tin, and as he was banging it the lid opened quick and the paint went all over Jon.

  Dale says Jon’s jumped forward suddenly, and he wants to go back to half three at the Strand. Jon says he didn’t know the time exactly but Robert said they should leave because it was getting dark. Then he says they were looking at the big clock at the front and it said four o’clock.

  The interview ends, after 44 minutes, just as Jon begins to describe the route he and Bobby took on their walk back to Walton.

  ■

  Ann Thompson had not wanted to leave baby Ben and Ryan overnight, and had felt it would not be safe, staying in the Village. Social Services had put them up at the Gladstone Hotel in the city centre, while Bobby stayed at the police station, under the watchful eye of the custody officer and a duty social worker.

  On Friday morning Ann was back at Walton Lane in time for Bobby’s 24–hour custody review, which Phil Roberts attended, before going
on to Marsh Lane.

  Bobby’s fourth interview began at 11.35. He had already told the officers he had something new to say. He and Jon had sagged off, and Ryan had gone to school.

  Bobby. Then we went to the Strand and we picked little James up …

  Roberts. Yeah.

  Bobby… and took him out of the Strand.

  Roberts. Yeah.

  Bobby. Well he, Jon did.

  Roberts. Right.

  Bobby. Then we took him down and left him on the How.

  Roberts. On the How?

  Bobby. By the railway.

  Roberts. By the railway, all right. Now you went past the reservoir, yeah?

  Bobby. Pardon?

  Roberts. Did you go past the reservoir?

  Bobby. Yeah, we went up on the reservoir, yeah.

  They begin to go over the route that Jon, James and Bobby took from the reservoir to the railway, and the map is produced. Bobby says that they saw two women with dogs on the reservoir and, after Jon had asked one of them where the police station was, they had walked down Bedford Road to County Road, and then down Church Road West. They had not gone into any shops on County Road. From Church Road they had crossed over to the How, and left James there. Bobby and Jon had then gone to the video shop.

  After some detailed discussion of the whereabouts of the How, Bob Jacobs asks Bobby why they left James there. Bobby says if they had taken him to the police station they would have had to go in. There was a taxi there, and the fella would’ve took the baby. James wasn’t crying, he was just looking round. He just had a graze on his eye.

  They talk for a while about the video shop, and what happened with Jon’s mother. Then Phil Roberts says, okay, now who had the tin of paint? We never had a tin of paint. We know you had the tin of paint. We never.

  Bob Jacobs explains how the police can find paint that’s been splashed on clothing. Jon had paint on his jacket. Bobby doesn’t know about that, he never saw it. Well, it was there, so where did it come from. Bobby says he doesn’t know but his mum’s painting the house. It’s not house paint. Baby James had paint on him, didn’t he? Bobby doesn’t know. Have a think about it. Bobby begins crying. Yeah, well, youse are trying to say I killed him. He slumps in his chair. His mum tells him to sit up.

  We want the truth, says Roberts. They know he can tell lies. We never killed him, Bobby cries. Well, the police know he was on the railway line. He wasn’t. They had all this yesterday, and now they want the whole truth. It’s about time for the truth.

  Ann is getting upset now, and Bobby is still crying.

  I left him at, on the end. I don’t think you did, I don’t think you did. I did. Bobby, we didn’t want to upset you, we don’t want to upset your mum, now if you don’t… Yeah but youse are trying to say that we killed him. We have found things on your clothes, right Bobby, and we know you’re telling lies, you see. But I never killed him. Well, tell me what happened, the paint, tell me all about the paint. I never got no paint. Well, somebody got the paint, did Jon get the paint? I don’t know, he might’ve picked it up from a shop. It must’ve been a small one, ’cos I never seen him with a big tin of paint.

  Again, Roberts and Jacobs press Bobby to admit that James was not left at the How, and that they had a tin of paint. Bobby resists them, and continues to cry… crying, the officers observe, without tears.

  He stops when the subject changes, and Jacobs begins asking if James, Jon or Bobby were bleeding, or had blood on them. James wasn’t bleeding when they left him, and Jon would have said if he was bleeding. Bobby says he might have got blood on him after Jon’s mum dragged him out of the video shop.

  Did you see anybody who had blood on him? Who? Did you see anybody who had blood on him? No. No, and James was okay? What? And James was all right? No, he’s dead. When you last saw him, was he all right at the time? Yeah.

  The officers decide it’s time for a break. Would Bobby like a cup of tea or some dinner or something? He’s just had one. Well, they’re going to give him a break. He’s told them a little bit more about the story, but they need to go further into it.

  Bobby begins crying again. Yeah, well, why can’t I go home with my mum? Because we haven’t asked all the questions we need to and we haven’t had all the right answers. Well, when they’re all right can I go with my mum? Bobby, we need to speak to you a little bit more, we want to know. We want to know. Well, I don’t want to sleep here again.

  Phil Roberts says it’s up to Bobby to tell the truth. He says he is. Roberts says they know he’s not telling the truth about the paint. Ann says she told him before, just tell the truth.

  Bobby. We did have paint. It was a little enamel wasn’t it?

  Jacobs. Yes it was.

  Bobby. Jon took it.

  Jacobs. Where from?

  Bobby. I think it was Toymaster.

  Jacobs. When was that?

  Bobby. Friday.

  Jacobs. No, but at what stage, Toymaster in the Strand was it?

  Bobby. Yeah.

  Jacobs. What colour was it?

  Bobby. I didn’t know, it was in a little silver tin with a white label on.

  Jacobs. Was it. Now, did he take that before you took baby James?

  Bobby. Yeah.

  Jacobs. Where did he put it?

  Bobby. In his pocket.

  Jacobs. Okay. Now, did he open it at that stage or when did he open it? When did he open the tin?

  Bobby. When we were walking along the road.

  Jacobs. Which road?

  Bobby. Bedford.

  Jacobs. Bedford Road. Okay, now you still don’t have to tell us anything unless you wish to do so, anything that you say can be given in evidence, you understand that do you? We still want to know what happened with that paint, all right? Now what happened with it?

  Bobby. He threw it in baby James’ eye. That eye, I think it was. (Bobby points to his lejt eye.)

  Jacobs. Where was that?

  Bobby. On the railway.

  Bobby says he doesn’t know what happened then. He ran away from Jon. What did James do? He sat on the floor. He was crying. Why did Bobby run away? Because Jon had splashed stuff in James’ eye. Why did Jon throw it at him? Bobby doesn’t know. What did Bobby think about it? Were they having a joke or what? No, Bobby was crying himself, because he threw it in his face, he could have blinded him.

  When Bobby ran off, Jon ran after him. James was crying but, no, he was not injured in any other way. Bobby is sure he wasn’t bleeding.

  The officers produce the map and Bobby shows them where he, Jon and James got over the railings on to the railway line. It was by the entry on the far side of City Road, the bit with the tiny railings. They had walked back up the entry between City Road and Walton Lane to get there. Phil Roberts marks an X on the map.

  Bobby explains how they walked along the embankment, Jon holding James’s hand. He thinks Jon threw the hood from James’ anorak into the tree, after they had walked under the City Road bridge, the broo. Another X on the map. Bobby doesn’t know why Jon threw the hood. He just ragged it off him and threw it.

  They walked on and, just by the bridge, Jon threw the paint. James was looking down and he went like that and it hit him in the eye. Bobby gestures in demonstration of Jon’s throw, an upward movement with his arm. Bobby told Jon to throw the tin down, and he threw it on to the bridge.

  The buzzer goes. Bob Jacobs says they’d like to carry on speaking straight away. It takes four minutes to change the tapes and start the fifth interview.

  Before Bobby ran off, had anyone hit baby James? Jon might have hit him in sly. What makes Bobby say that? Because Jon is sly. Okay, when was that? No, I only said he might of, in sly. You didn’t see him? No, but, ’cos he is sly. If baby James had been hit, he would have started crying, wouldn’t he? James was already crying. Was he? ’Cos he wanted his mum. He wasn’t crying all the way along, he just started crying when Jon threw the paint in his eye.

  Jacobs goes back to the theft of the
paint. Did Jon take anything else that day? Pepperami. He ate it before they were with James. Did either of them take some batteries? No. Are you sure about that? Yeah. Phil Roberts says he wants to point something out. Bobby went all red in the face there. He went a bit red in the face as if he knew something about it. Yeah, well, I’m hot. Bobby begins crying. Yeah, but, I never took no batteries. I’m terrible, says Phil Roberts.

  Bobby is asked again about the batteries, and, still crying, says that Jon might’ve took them. Where from? I don’t know. You do know, this is what you said last time, but you told us where the paint came from, didn’t you? Yeah, well, I don’t know where batteries… why do we want batteries? That’s what Phil Roberts wants to know. Why did they want paint? Ask Jon, I didn’t. I didn’t want paint.

  The officers can make no further progress with the batteries, and decide to end the interview, which has lasted for eight minutes.

  ■

  Jim Fitzsimmons still thought Michelle Bennett should be in the team interviewing Jon, and Michelle Bennett still felt she wasn’t ready. At least the Downstream Monitoring equipment had finally got to Lower Lane. Michelle Bennett and her colleague Dave Tanner set themselves up in the small medical room next to the juvenile detention room, and eavesdropped on Jon’s fifth interview through the extension speaker. It was twenty past twelve on Friday afternoon.

  Mark Dale and George Scott picked up the theme of the previous interview, taking Jon through his walk back to Walton with Bobby. He said they had gone to Hillside School (which was almost opposite the reservoir) and played in the long jump sandpit. They both jumped, and Jon won because Bobby doesn’t know how to jump. Mark Dale says there must have been sand in his toes when he got home. No, says Jon, he took his shoes off.