Jamie Varley, the former schoolteacher sentenced to a whole-life order for the sexual abuse and murder of his 13-month-old adopted son Preston Davey, displayed chilling red flags years before the crime, according to a former neighbour.
Early Warning Signs in Blackpool
Varley, 37, grew up on a council estate in Newark, the second youngest of six children, with no father listed on his birth certificate. He moved to Blackpool as a teenager. A former neighbour who lived next to the family's Victorian mid-terrace home in the Lancashire seaside resort described the household as an absolute 'nightmare.'
The woman, a mother of five who has fostered around a dozen children, told the Daily Mail: 'He [Varley] was horrible. I had to report him to the police and to the housing association for anti-social behaviour and criminal damage but he was never arrested.'
Sinister Encounters
The neighbour recalled more sinister encounters that left her deeply anxious for her own children's safety. 'He started shouting nasty abuse and ended up throwing lit cigarettes at their toys, trying to set them on fire,' she said. Varley's erratic behaviour forced her to drastically alter her daily routine: 'I wouldn't let my children play in the front of the house because of him, not unless I was on the doorstep. When his family moved out [in 2014], we put the flags out. How on earth he got to be a secondary school teacher, I really don't know.'
Varley's Career and Personal Life
Varley started his career at South Shore Academy as a design and technology technician, later qualifying as a textiles teacher after attending university as a mature student. He rose to become head of year and safeguarding lead. Around seven years ago, he took a six-week absence from work, with colleagues told it was due to mental health struggles and whispers of a nervous breakdown.
During the Covid pandemic lockdown, Varley failed to show up for work after allegedly injuring his back from falling off a ladder or drainpipe while spying on a boyfriend he believed was cheating. The incident became known among peers because Varley's extreme narcissism, evident during his four months as Preston's adoptive dad, meant he couldn't stop bragging about it.
The Murder and Aftermath
On July 27, 2023, Preston suffered two unspeakable sexual assaults at the hands of Varley before being killed. Varley was sentenced at Preston Crown Court two weeks ago to a whole-life order, joining roughly 70 other notorious British criminals destined to die behind bars, including Wayne Couzens, Levi Bellfield, and Jeremy Bamber.
