A baby was left at the mercy of his abusive adoptive parents and paid with his life, a court has heard. Preston Davey, aged 13 months, died after months of alleged sexual and physical abuse at the hands of high school head of year Jamie Varley, 37, Preston Crown Court was told.
Varley, accused of murder and 25 other offences, adopted the boy with his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who is accused of causing or allowing the death of a child, child cruelty, and sexual assault. Both men deny a sexual interest in the child and have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Prosecution's Closing Speech
Peter Wright KC, delivering his closing speech to the jury in the seventh week of the trial, said: “Preston Davey was just nine months old when he was placed with these defendants for adoption. It was supposed to be, you may conclude, the start of a new life together for each of them. Yet just a few days short of four months later Preston was dead and his body contained injuries both external and internal we say, consistent with his abuse.”
Mr Wright stated that it was only after Preston began living at their home in Blackpool in April 2023 that he started to suffer non-accidental cluster injuries, including bruising, seizures, respiratory failures, and evidence of abnormality of his anatomy. He suggested the common denominator was when the child was left alone with Varley.
Evidence of Sexual Interest
The prosecutor argued that Varley's sexual interest in Preston became evident within weeks of his placement, an interest shared by his partner, as shown by alleged indecent images and videos taken of the child. Mr Wright added: “Preston’s death was a tragedy waiting to happen. Mr McGowan-Fazakerley knew that but chose to ignore it.”
The cause of Preston’s death was acute upper airways obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth. A post-mortem examination found 40 external and internal trauma injuries to the child’s body, consistent with forcible penetration and sexual abuse, and ruled out drowning as a cause of death.
Incident at Hospital
Preston had been rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on July 27, 2023, with Varley telling medical staff he had left the child in the bath for two or three minutes and returned to find him submerged. Mr Wright said: “As Preston lay dying, he needed an explanation and the charade then followed.” He reminded jurors that the child had dry hair, was wearing a nappy, the bath tub was empty of water, and no water was found in his lungs.
He also recalled how witness Janet Gee, a work colleague of Varley, told the court that Varley had spoken of his dark thoughts about drowning or suffocating the child. Concluding his closing speech, the prosecutor added: “Preston was at the mercy of Jamie Varley on the 27th of July, and paid for it with his life.”
Charges and Next Steps
Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo. McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty, and one count of sexual assault of a child. The trial was adjourned until Tuesday morning.
