The mum of James Bulger, who was killed after being snatched from a shopping centre in 1993, has renewed her wedding vows in a moving ceremony.
Denise Fergus has been a passionate voice calling for justice for her son across the past three decades – including the 25 years she has been married to husband Stuart.
Marking their gratitude and love for each other on their silver anniversary, the couple walked down the aisle at St Chad’s Church in Kirkby, Merseyside, earlier this month to reaffirm their commitment to each other.
The pair’s son Thomas, 25, acted as Stuart’s best man, and the day’s music included the song they performed their first dance to in 1998: Michael Jackson’s You Are Not Alone.
Denise told the Mirror: ‘I feel the happiest I have been for some time and that’s been the case for a while.
‘I am living the life I should have lived all those years ago when I was young; a life that was taken away from me.
‘There are so many more positives now, with our three sons and granddaughter; we can sit back and watch them live their lives; get married, have kids. It’s their turn now.
‘Life is an enormous learning curve but here we are – just Denise and Stuart.’
James Bulger was two years old when Jon Venables and Robert Thompson took his hand and led him away from New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, north of Liverpool.
The toddler’s mutilated body was later found on a nearby railway track, and the two killers – who were both aged 10 at the time – were incarcerated in secure units until their release in 2001.
Venables was sent to prison in 2010 and 2017 after being caught with child sex abuse images, and last month it was revealed he had been granted a parole hearing.
The hearing will take place on November 14 and 15, but it will not take place in public.
Denise, whose victim impact statement will be heard by the panel, said: ‘If you let him free, you could be ruining the lives of another family like ours.
‘When you look at Venables’s file just remember what he is capable of. He killed my son James, has reoffended time and time again and I have no doubt he would kill another child if he is released.’
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