A chilling video released by Lancashire Police captures the moment convicted baby killer Jamie Varley told police he would fight them 'to the day I die' as he was confronted about the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey.
Varley, 37, a teacher from Blackpool, was found guilty on Monday of sexually abusing and murdering the toddler, whom he and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, had adopted in 2023. The couple were convicted of sexual assault, child cruelty, and allowing the death of a child following a trial at Preston Crown Court.
The Confrontation
The footage, played in court, shows Varley sitting cross-armed in a police interview room as an officer tells him he will 'make the suggestion' that Varley killed the baby. Varley responds curtly: 'You make the suggestion and I'll fight you to the day I die. Because one day, you guys will be in trouble, because you are absolutely wrong.'
He adds: 'I don't know how I'm going to prove it, but you are wrong, because I have not done it.'
The Horrific Crimes
Jurors found Varley guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of child cruelty, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent images, and one count of distributing an indecent image. McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty, and one count of sexual assault of a child.
The court heard that Preston suffered 40 traumatic injuries under the couple's care, including sexual abuse, physical assault, and being filmed for indecent purposes. He was taken to hospital three times before his death with suspicious bruising, but the injuries were explained away.
On July 27, 2023, Varley rushed an unresponsive Preston to hospital, claiming he had left him in the bath for a few minutes. Medics tried for 50 minutes to save him, but failed. A post-mortem ruled out drowning and found 40 non-accidental injuries, including fingertip bruises, slap marks, and a human bite mark on the baby's buttock.
The cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction by an object inserted into his mouth. Evidence showed Varley had confessed to a fellow teacher about having 'dark thoughts' of suffocating or drowning Preston, and texted his sister saying the child was 'dead meat'.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows described Varley as a 'manipulative character' and 'arrogant, self-centred liar' who tried to control the narrative. Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley are due to be sentenced on Thursday.
