Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, have been found guilty of murder and the sexual abuse of a 13-month-old boy they were in the process of adopting. The partnership, supposedly forged from a 'life-changing' love, ended with the heinous sexual abuse and murder of little Preston Davey.
The youngster only spent four months in the home of the couple in Blackpool before he died in hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest. Preston Crown Court heard how the tot suffered horrific physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the couple, with 40 internal and external injuries found on his body. Jurors also saw in real-time the couple turn against each other, in a dark end to their twisted relationship.
Guilty Verdicts
On Tuesday (June 15), Varley was found guilty of murder, 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 was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
The pair had denied having a sexual interest in the child and pleaded not guilty to all charges. However, after hearing weeks of harrowing evidence, jurors put together a devastating picture of the torment young Preston endured in the final months of his life.
The Adoption and Death
On April 1, 2023, McGowan-Fazakerley and Varley adopted “sweet and bubbly” Preston, then nine months old, bringing him to live with them at their Blackpool home. Tragically, just four months later, little Preston was dead at 13 months old. On July 27, 2023, having suffered a cardiac arrest, the tot was rushed to the hospital, where medics could do nothing to revive him.
Varley told officers he'd briefly left Preston in the tub, only to find him off his seat and submerged upon his return. However, no water was found in Preston's lungs or in the tub where the tragedy was said to take place. A post-mortem examination, which ruled out drowning, found 40 external and internal trauma injuries to Preston's body, consistent with “forcible penetration” and sexual abuse. A pathologist concluded that the cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects being inserted into his mouth.
Model Parents to Monsters
Preston was said to be "a perfectly healthy baby" when he was delivered into the care of the couple, who gave the impression of being model parents with their good jobs and apparent longing to start a family of their own. Varley, a design and technology teacher, later told the court: "I had always thought about having kids, I wanted to be a teacher, a daddy, just never thought it was possible once I realised I was a gay man. John was everything I had ever asked for in a relationship. My whole life just changed when I met John."
But, as highlighted by Peter Wright KC, Varley’s sexual interest in Preston became evident “within weeks” of him being brought into their home. This interest, Mr Wright said, was “shared” by McGowan-Fazakerley, as demonstrated by the indecent images and videos taken of the infant. Disturbing footage showed Preston spinning fast on a park playground, with his eyes rolling back, and other videos showed the baby messing with his genitals or having an apparent seizure.
Expert Testimony
Dr Joanne Gifford, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's clinical lead, referred jurors to footage including of Preston being “jump scared” when Varley shouts “Boo!” to him while he falls asleep. She remarked: “They are hard videos to watch. They are a child having unpleasant experiences.”
Varley took a year off from his position as head of year at South Shore Academy to look after the child, while sales manager McGowan-Fazakerley continued to work long hours. The court heard how Varley struggled as a new parent with a baby who woke frequently throughout the night. He allegedly told others he had “dark thoughts” about Preston, who he described as “just annoying”.
Blame and Betrayal
At first, McGowan-Fazakerley stood by Varley, but he later tried to distance himself from his former partner, claiming his trust had been "misplaced". Under cross-examination, Peter Wright KC suggested that McGowan-Fazakerley had been aware of the horrific abuse. McGowan-Fazakerley replied: “I feel as if, to put it in this way, Preston’s life is like an iceberg, and there’s things under the water I did not know about.” He told jurors that he'd had no reason to believe Varley had hurt Preston and believed he had drowned after Varley told him so while en route to the hospital.
According to McGowan-Fazakerley, he continued to believe Preston's death was accidental, with he and Varley continuing to live together until they were re-arrested and charged in 2025. He asserted that, after learning of the child's injuries, he had tried to be “his own detective” to “put the pieces together”. Mr Wright enquired: "Did you ever interview the prime suspect, sharing a bed with you?" To this, McGowan-Fazakerley responded: "I asked Jamie and he has always said what he's said."
Mr Wright then remarked: "It's only very recently indeed you have now sought to give an account in which you deflect responsibility on your partner. And you are now seeking to distance yourself from him and what happened in your knowledge and assent and participation in." McGowan-Fazakerley disputed this, stating, “No. I have always been honest and truthful in every account.”
McGowan-Fazakerley was also asked about Varley allegedly telling a friend about his “dark thoughts” of suffocating or drowning Preston. He said: "If these conversations happened, I feel quite, it’s quite a strong word, disturbed, if those conversations happened, why no one has told me about it. I feel heartbroken."
Disturbing Evidence
The defendant was also quizzed about a 14-minute video taken by Varley, showing Preston alone in an empty bath, learning to ‘self-soothe’. McGowan-Fazakerley claimed he was only made aware of this footage when it was shown to jurors, insisting, “Nothing more than just shocking and inappropriate and pathetic. The video makes me very angry. Very angry.”
Questions were also asked about images of Preston in his cot found on Varley's phone, just four days before his death, which stretched over a time period of three minutes and 12 seconds. The seemingly asleep or unconscious child could be seen with his head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot, while his neck rested on the bar. His body appeared to be partially suspended, in what was deemed a 'very unsafe' and 'dangerous' position.
According to McGowan-Fazakerley, he had been cooking Sunday lunch when Varley called him upstairs to look at Preston, supposedly sleeping in this unusual position. He claimed: "I remember seeing him over the bars of the cot with his arms and saying, ‘Oh bloody heck, what's he like?' And saying put him down." He said he only took a 'fleeting look' and expected Varley to lay the child down. The prosecution's case was that the baby had been placed in that position so as to be sexually abused by both men. McGowan-Fazakerley called it "sick, vile, disgusting, abhorrent, inhuman."
McGowan-Fazakerley claimed he'd never suspected Varley and that he had never sexually assaulted the child. He added: "That I'm having to have to say those words leave my mouth is ridiculous."
Prosecution Statement
Karen Tonge, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "This has been one of the most shocking and horrific cases I have dealt with in my career. Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley had a responsibility to care for and protect baby Preston. They violated that responsibility and 13-month-old Preston was abused with sickening ease. It is difficult to comprehend how the very people who should have loved him could inflict such sickening physical and sexual harm on an innocent child. No child should have to go through what Preston went through in the last four months of his short life."
