A secondary school teacher has been given a whole-life order for sexually abusing and murdering the 13-month-old baby boy he was adopting. Jamie Varley, 37, will spend the rest of his life in prison with no chance of parole, the judge Mr Justice Turner ruled at Preston Crown Court.
Varley’s partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for sexual abuse, child cruelty and allowing the death of a child. The couple treated Preston Davey as a “plaything”, the court heard, subjecting him to routine ill-treatment, sexual abuse and physical assaults that left 40 traumatic injuries.
On 27 July 2023, the couple took an unresponsive Preston to hospital, where medics tried for 50 minutes to save him. Varley gave a “performance” of a grieving parent, but a pathologist determined the cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction, likely from smothering or objects inserted into the baby’s mouth. A police investigation found disturbing images and videos on Varley’s phone documenting the abuse.
Preston had been taken from his biological mother, convicted killer Sarah Davey, at birth and placed with foster parents before being placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley at nine months. In the weeks before his death, he was seen by numerous professionals, including social workers, doctors and nurses, and taken to hospital three times—once with a broken arm—but each time returned to the couple’s care.
A child safeguarding practice review, launched by Oldham council and paused during the trial, has now resumed to examine how agencies handled Preston’s welfare. In a victim impact statement, Sarah Davey said Preston’s death “should never have been allowed to happen” and that she carries “grief, guilt and heartbreak” every day.
