A baby was left at the mercy of his abusive adoptive parents and ultimately paid with his life, a court has heard. Preston Davey, aged just 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, who is accused of murder and 25 other offences, adopted the boy alongside his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32. McGowan-Fazakerley is accused of causing or allowing the death of a child, child cruelty, and sexual assault. Both men deny any sexual interest in the child and have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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 anatomical abnormality. He suggested the common denominator was when the child was left alone with Varley.
The prosecutor further alleged that Varleys 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: Prestons death was a tragedy waiting to happen. Mr McGowan-Fazakerley knew that but chose to ignore it.
The cause of Prestons death was determined to be acute upper airways obstruction, either by smothering or by objects inserted into his mouth. A post-mortem examination revealed 40 external and internal trauma injuries to the childs body, consistent with forcible penetration and sexual abuse, and ruled out drowning as a cause of death.
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 commented: As Preston lay dying, he needed an explanation and the charade then followed. He reminded jurors that the child was noted as having dry hair, was wearing a nappy, the bathtub 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 said: Preston was at the mercy of Jamie Varley on the 27th of July, and paid for it with his life.
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 count of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his co-accused, and one count 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.
