A school teacher has been handed a whole life order for the murder and sexual abuse of his adopted 13-month-old baby, whom he treated as a 'plaything.'
Sentencing Details
Jamie Varley, 37, a former head of year at a high school, and his partner, ex-public schoolboy and sales manager John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, sexually assaulted and physically abused Preston Davey after adopting him at nine months old. The abuse culminated in Preston's murder following a sexual assault by Varley four months later at their Blackpool home. McGowan-Fazakerley was also jailed for 25 years for allowing Preston's death. Both were convicted by a jury on Monday after an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
Background of the Child
Preston had been taken from his mother, Sarah Davey, now 42, by an emergency care order from Oldham Council and placed into foster care at five days old. Ms. Davey, when she was 14, had been jailed for the 'unspeakably wicked' murder of a frail pensioner in 1998 and had been in and out of prison since then.
Judge's Remarks
Passing sentence, Mr. Justice Turner said Preston had faced 'unremitting abuse' and neglect before being killed by Varley during a sex attack. Turning to Varley, he stated: 'It was you who did this. You murdered him. A whole life order is a sentence of last resort for cases of the most extreme gravity. This is a case of the most extreme gravity. You must stay in prison for the rest of your life. You will never be eligible for parole.' Varley, wearing a purple vee-neck T-shirt, looked gaunt and sat with hands folded on his lap, looking straight ahead with no reaction.
Victim Impact Statements
Preston's foster parents, Sandra and Paul Cooper, described as 'brave' by lawyers, read out victim impact statements to the hushed courtroom. Tearfully, Mrs. Cooper said: 'Preston's face would light up when we looked at him; he was joyful, so content and happy, with sparkly smiling eyes. I will often dream about Preston and I feel that he is still alive, but when I wake up I realize he has died and I go through the trauma again of knowing he has died and how. I just want to see his smiling happy face again. I am devastated about his death and I struggle when I think about what pain and torture he has been through before he died.' Paul Cooper added: 'I think about the world and the people out there and if these so-called 'respectable' persons can do this then anyone could – I do not trust anybody any more. Preston had his whole life ahead of him, one that should have been a happy life with a new family.'
Courtroom Reactions
Preston's biological mother and grandmother, Sarah and Debbie Davey, sat in the public gallery and sobbed throughout the hearing. McGowan-Fazakerley's parents sat two rows behind, with the defendant's mother appearing close to tears.
Timeline of Abuse
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved for adoption in January 2023, and Preston began living at their home in Blackpool in April that year. The child had been 'thriving,' a little boy who 'lit up the room' with smiles, the court heard. However, in the just under four months he was in their care, he was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, was sexually abused, and physically assaulted, suffering 40 traumatic injuries. A social services investigation is under way.
Medical and Professional Oversight
The trial heard that Preston had been taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death with suspicious bruises noticed by medical staff, but these were explained away and police stood down. Preston had also been seen by multiple social workers and teachers, colleagues of Varley, who took a year off work as head of year and design and technology teacher at South Shore Academy in Blackpool. On July 27, 2023, Varley rushed Preston to hospital a final time, unresponsive. He claimed to have left the child in the bath for a couple of minutes and returned to find him submerged. Medics worked in vain for 50 minutes to save his life. Meanwhile, Varley gave a 'performance' of a grieving parent that one senior doctor described as unlike any she had ever seen before. It was also noted that Preston's hair was dry, he had a nappy in place, and he did not appear to have swallowed any water.
Post-Mortem Findings
A Home Office post-mortem examination ruled out drowning as the cause of death and found around 40 non-accidental, internal and external injuries. These included multiple clusters of 'finger tip' bruises on his head, face, and limbs, slap marks on his leg, and a human bite mark on the baby's right buttock. Preston also had injuries to his mouth, throat, and bottom, with parts of his anatomy 'abnormal' and the injuries consistent with 'forcible penetration' and sexual abuse. The cause of death was found to be acute upper airways obstruction by an object or objects inserted into his mouth.
Child Safeguarding Review
As a 'looked after' child, Preston was seen by a 'battery of professionals' during his life, including social workers, health visitors, and hospital medics. A child safeguarding practice review, paused during the criminal proceedings, will be relaunched by Oldham Council.
Incriminating Evidence
Detectives recovered evidence that Varley had confessed to a fellow teacher about having 'dark thoughts' of suffocating or drowning Preston. He had also sent a text to his sister saying the child was 'dead meat' after a sleepless night. Neighbors told the jury they wondered why they heard the baby crying so much. Most damning of all were grim indecent photos and videos of the abuse of Preston, some of which 'cannot be unseen,' the trial heard. Some of the evidence was too much to stomach for one juror, leading to the trial being aborted and restarted with a new jury.
Graphic Evidence
The photos and videos ranged from examples of Varley 'jump scaring' the clearly exhausted and sleepy child to wake him up, to much more potentially lethal examples. Police recovered a series of photos of Preston taken four days before his death, over a period of three minutes and 12 seconds, at the time of a sexual assault. Preston is photographed along with his favorite toy teddies, suspended over the top horizontal bar of his cot, his neck resting on the bar and his legs in a 'frog like' position, seemingly asleep or unconscious. Fluid dribbles from his mouth, his tongue is protruding, and his lips are blue from lack of oxygen. The images are too graphic to be released by police. Four days later, 90 minutes before he was rushed to hospital, Varley recorded another video, in between using Snapchat and checking emails, of Preston in extreme distress, hardly breathing and taking 'agonal breaths.' Preston had been described as a happy, smiley baby, clearly seen in early photos. He is described as looking 'blank' later in his life, a sign child abuse expert Dr. Joanne Gifford described to the jury as 'frozen watchfulness,' a trauma and stress response to abuse. Jurors on the trial were excused from doing jury service again for life.
