An adoptive father has been told he will never be released from prison for sexually abusing and killing a one-year-old child. Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court after being found guilty of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey during a sexual assault on July 27, 2023.
Jamie Varley's Crimes
Varley's partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was also jailed for his role in Preston's death and a joint sexual attack on the child four days earlier. Varley, a high school teacher, was convicted of murder, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, cruelty, and making, taking, and distributing indecent images of Preston. McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of causing or allowing Preston's death, cruelty, and sexual assault. They were sentenced on Thursday, June 18.
Preston was born to convicted killer Sarah Davey. Five days after birth, the 5lb 7oz baby was taken into care by Oldham Council. At nine months old, he was placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley, who had been approved to adopt. Over the following months, Varley subjected Preston to escalating physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. McGowan-Fazakerley ignored the abuse and participated in a joint attack on July 23, as Preston slumped over his cot bars. On July 27, Preston was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in cardiac arrest and died at 7.18pm.
Other Merseyside Killers with Whole Life Orders
Mark Fellows
In 2019, ruthless assassin Mark Fellows was convicted of murdering Liverpool mob enforcer John Kinsella and Salford gang boss Paul Massey. Fellows gunned down Massey outside his home in 2015 but was only caught after killing Kinsella in 2018. He received a whole life order, and an appeal was rejected in June 2019. In November 2020, he was given a second life sentence for an attack before Massey's murder. On June 18, 2026, he was convicted of stabbing child killer Mark Bevan to death in HMP Wakefield, along with Lee Newell and David Taylor.
Robert Maudsley
Liverpool killer Robert Maudsley is held in an underground glass cell at Wakefield Prison. He committed his first murder at age 21 and has been jailed since 1974. His cell, built in 1983, is similar to Hannibal Lecter's in Silence of the Lambs.
Peter Moore
Peter Moore, known as "The Man in Black," killed four men in sexually motivated attacks in 1995. His victims came from Merseyside and North Wales. He was convicted and jailed in 1996.
John Sweeney
John Sweeney, the "canal killer," murdered and dismembered his former girlfriends, dumping their bodies in canals. He is serving a whole life sentence for murders in England and the Netherlands. His victims' heads and hands have never been found.
