A former friend of Jamie Varley, who worked at the same high school as him, claims he phoned her after killing 13-month-old Preston Davey to figure out what she had heard.
Varley's call after the murder
Elaine, who was in a friendship group with Varley, said the killer called her after Preston's death. Speaking on the Break The Ice channel, she said: “Preston had passed away and I didn’t know. And he rang me up and he said, ‘I’m moving to Preston.’ And I said, ‘Oh, have you got a new job?’ And he said, ‘No, no. I’m just, I’m going to commute to work.’” She added: “Now, that was him testing to know whether I knew anything about Preston’s murder.”
Preston's death and Varley's sentence
Varley was in the process of adopting Preston with his boyfriend, John McGowan-Fazakerley. On July 27, 2023, Varley rushed Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, claiming he found him submerged in the bath. Despite 50 minutes of resuscitation, Preston was pronounced dead. He died after months of sexual and physical abuse. Varley, 37, received a whole life order for murder. McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years for his role in the abuse. Preston had 40 internal and external injuries.
Elaine's account of Varley's behavior
Elaine worked with Varley at a school as head of Year 11. She described him as “bossy… could be rude, could be obstructive, could be just an absolute pain in the a**.” She said he was “very very self-absorbed” and there was always drama. She also revealed he once spied on a former boyfriend by climbing a drain pipe. Despite his behavior, she never thought him capable of such horror. “Your brain doesn’t go there,” she said.
Elaine speaks out against online targeting
Elaine felt compelled to speak out after being unfairly targeted online for her association with Varley. She said: “I’m not this horrible person for knowing him and I just want to get on with the rest of my life.” She stressed: “It has been really really difficult for family and friends who have been associated with him. It just feels like people are targeting family and friends unjustifiably for things that we haven’t done, for things they’ve done.” She said she would reject any request to visit Varley in prison and hopes he suffers behind bars.
