The cold-hearted killer of innocent baby Preston Davey showed no emotion as he learned he will spend the rest of his life in prison. Despite dramatic outbursts from the moment the 13-month-old was taken to hospital on July 27, 2023, Jamie Varley didn't flinch in the dock of Preston Crown Court as the sickening details of his abuse were laid bare. Ditching the suit he has worn throughout the trial, the baby killer looked dishevelled in faded black jeans and a dark polo top. The mask of respectability was finally off.
Throughout the seven week trial, jurors have seen Varley's dramatics on hospital CCTV; police body worn camera footage; and live in the dock. As helpless Preston was pronounced dead, Varley wailed for his mother and ran around the hospital corridors, snatching a crucifix from the wall, as nurses urged him to go to the bedside of the dying child. In police interviews he cut a different figure, turning his emotions on and off to suit the questions he was being asked, before announcing dramatically: "I will fight you 'til the day I die."
Varley's Courtroom Antics
In the witness box, he attempted to portray himself as a loving father and dedicated teacher who had been wrongly accused of the most wicked crimes. Every doctor and witness was wrong, he said, as he tried to explain away evidence from some of the country’s leading experts in child abuse and pathology. Arrogant Varley had an answer for everything. On Monday (June 15) the jury returned unanimously guilty verdicts on charges of murder; GBH; sexual assault; cruelty; and making/taking/distributing indecent images of Preston. As guilty after guilty verdict was read in court, Varley clasped his hands over his mouth in supposed horror, before retching and dropping to the floor in the dock.
Victim Impact Statements
Today in court (Friday, June 18), members of Preston's birth family; his foster parents; the defendants' own parents; and members of the jury struggled to contain their emotions as the horror of Preston’s final months was read out. Preston's mum Sarah Davey wept in the dock as she said: "Preston Paul Arlo Davey was perfect from the moment he was born. The second he was placed in my arms, I fell completely in love with him. He was my baby, my only son, and from that day on I never wanted to let him go. For the first seven months of his life, I was lucky enough to spend precious time with him. He had the most beautiful smile, one that could light up any room, and the bond we shared was something everyone could see. Those memories should have brought me comfort - but instead, they are now mixed with pain, because I know what you put him through in his final months."
Ms Davey added: "The day he was taken from me was one of the worst days of my life. I had no choice in that decision. I tried to take some comfort in believing he would be safe, loved, and protected, and he was with his foster parents, Sandra and Paul, I trusted them, they and the system trusted you, that trust was completely and unforgivably broken. Preston was innocent. He was defenceless. He relied entirely on you - the adults responsible for him - to love him, care for him, and keep him safe. Instead, you caused him suffering. You took away his chance to grow up, to go to school, to make friends, to live a full life. You took everything from him. There are no words that can truly describe the moment I was told my son had died. My world ended. A part of me died with him. But what makes it even more unbearable is knowing that his death was not an accident - it was something cruel, something he did not deserve, something that should never have been allowed to happen."
Preston's father Gary Nolan said in a statement: "Preston was the son that I never got to meet and now never will. I always hoped that we would get Preston back at some point." Foster parents Sandra and Paul Cooper choked on their words as they bravely read statements about the happy times they had spent with Preston in the first nine months of his life before.
Only Two Unmoved in Court
Only two people in the courtroom appeared unmoved - Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley. Mrs Cooper said: "Preston's death has had a huge impact upon our lives. Preston was going to be the last child we fostered; however, we could not retire after Preston died. We felt we had a duty to other children and could not sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that other children were being abused, mistreated and could die. My husband Paul and I have continued to foster children to protect them. We are doing this for Preston, in his memory. Preston's death has changed my perspective on life; things I once felt were important I now feel are not. I realise that life too short. Paul and I have attended Court and listened to the evidence and we now need to remember Preston as he was when he was in our care. Preston was wonderful, happy and lit up any room. Preston will remain in our thoughts and prayers forever."
McGowan-Fazakerley looked straight ahead throughout the proceedings, stretching his neck occasionally, but showing no sense of remorse or emotion as his mother cried in the public gallery. As Mr Justice Turner handed down a whole life order to Varley, for the murder of baby Preston, those of us who had followed the trial waited for the fireworks from this man who was unable to contain his emotions. They never came - proving what the jury knew all along. Jamie Varley’s emotions were all for show.
