Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to a whole life order for the murder of his adopted baby son Preston Davey, after months of physical, psychological and sexual abuse alongside partner John McGowan-Fazakerley. The sentence, the strictest available to UK judges, ensures Varley will die in prison.
What Is a Whole Life Order?
A whole life order, previously called a whole life tariff, is reserved for the most heinous murders. It can only be imposed for murder and once required Home Secretary approval. Recipients are never released, making it the ultimate punishment for the UK's most twisted killers.
Notorious Recipients of Whole Life Orders
John Thomas Straffen (1952)
Straffen became the first recipient in 1952 after murdering three young schoolgirls in Somerset and Berkshire. He served 55 years, becoming Britain's longest-serving prisoner in 2002, and died in Frankland prison in November 2007 aged 77.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley (1966)
The Moors Murderers received whole life orders in May 1966 for the sadistic murders of five children aged 10 to 17 in Manchester between 1963 and 1965. Victims were assaulted and buried on Saddleworth Moor; Keith Bennett's body was never found. Hindley died after 36 years in prison; Brady died in Ashworth Hospital in 2017 after 51 years total.
Dennis Nilsen (1983)
Nilsen, a prolific London serial killer and necrophile, received a whole life order in 1994 for murders committed between 1978 and 1983. He killed up to 15 young men and boys, caught when human remains blocked his apartment drains. He died in York Hospital in 2018 after 35 years.
Rosemary West (1995)
West, with husband Fred, committed horrific torture-murders between 1973 and 1987, including her eight-year-old stepdaughter in 1971 and one of her own daughters. Initially given 25 years in 1995, her sentence was upgraded to a whole life order in 1997. She remains alive in New Hall Prison, West Yorkshire, after 31 years.
Peter Sutcliffe (1981)
The Yorkshire Ripper murdered 13 women and attacked seven others in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester between 1975 and 1980. Caught by chance in 1981, he was sentenced to life with a minimum 30-year term. In 2010, after 29 years, his sentence was upgraded to a whole life order. He died from diabetes complications on 13 November 2020 in University Hospital of North Durham.
Harold Shipman (2000)
Shipman, known as the Doctor of Death, murdered 215 patients in the 1990s. He was sentenced to life in January 2000 with a recommendation for never release, confirmed by Home Secretary David Blunkett in 2002. Shipman hanged himself in prison in January 2004 after 14 years.
Levi Buller (2004)
Buller received a whole life order for murdering two women between 2003 and 2004. He later became a suspect in the unsolved murder of 13-year-old Millie Dowler in 2002, and in 2011 was found guilty of her killing, becoming the first Brit to receive a second whole life order.
Michael Adebolajo (2013)
Adebolajo was given a whole life sentence for the unprovoked murder of soldier Lee Rigby in 2013, hacking him to death with a cleaver outside his barracks in Woolwich. Co-defendant Michael Adebowale received a minimum 45-year term. Adebolajo is held at HMP Frankland; Adebowale is at Broadmoor Hospital for schizophrenia treatment.
Lucy Letby (2023)
Letby received multiple whole-life orders in 2023 for murdering seven newborns and attempting to murder six others at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015-2016. She was the first woman given such a sentence in a Crown Court with TV cameras. In 2024, a 15th whole life order was added after a retrial. She was not present in court.
Mark Fellows, David Taylor and Lee Newell (2026)
All three received whole life orders in 2026 for killing child murderer Kyle Bevan, 33, in 2025. Bevan had murdered his partner's two-year-old daughter Lola James in 2020. The trio stabbed Bevan more than 25 times. Fellows and Newell were already serving whole life orders for previous murders.
