I heard an interesting if rather
macabre fact about this case a week ago when I discussed the case with a
barrister who had assisted the prosecting
council during the original case. This was a fact of which I was unaware when I engaged the lawyer in conversation about the case. I asked the lady in question what her opinion on the case was, and was shocked to hear her reply: it was obvious, she said, that
Thompson and
Venables had been stealing a child "to order", on behalf of an adult. She reported that they had simply been looking for any child to abduct, having been ordered by another adult (whose identity had never been uncovered) to steal an infant, presumably for unspeakable purposes.
I was shocked by this, and entirely disbelieving; as I pressed the barrister for more details, she reported that psychological analysis of the deeds done to James and the body was placed indicated an adult mind behind the scheme. Furthermore, he pointed to the video footage taken which showed Venables and Thompson attempting to abduct a different child that morning, being stopped only by a vigilant mother.
Despite harsh questioning, the pair had never revealed the identity of the adult behind the scenes (presumably, my friend insisted, because they had been threatened with horrible reprisal if they told), which was one reason why the government and the press was less than keen to publicise that they had not been the initiators of the deed.
I'm not sure whether to believe the individual in question. It all sounds very conspiracy theory-esque. However, given their personal involvement in the case, they have an authority that is hard to question. I'm still unsure why this fact would not be more widely publicised, but it's a disturbing thought nonetheless.