Warning: This article contains details that some readers may find distressing
An “evil monster” who sexually abused and murdered his adopted baby has been told he will die in jail for the horrific crime, which police said had “truly shocked the nation”.
High-school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was handed a rare whole-life order for killing 13-month-old Preston Davey, whom he had adopted at nine months old with his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32.
McGowan-Fazakerly, a former public schoolboy and financial sales manager, was jailed for 25 years at Preston Crown Court for sexual assault and allowing the baby’s death.
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 said: “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 T-shirt, looked gaunt and sat with his hands folded on his lap looking straight ahead.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, who led the murder investigation for Lancashire Police, said the case had “truly shocked the nation”.
“Jamie Varley is an evil and monstrous individual who sexually, physically and mentally abused a vulnerable baby for his own sadistic pleasure,” he said. “I struggle to imagine the horror that Preston endured in his short life.
“This has been one of the most challenging investigations our force major investigation team has ever undertaken, and the most extreme example of sordid and wicked behaviour by two completely remorseless human beings.”
Children’s commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza said the harrowing case was a “failure of the state and the safeguarding system” and vowed to find out what had gone wrong. She said: “I need to know whether we could have prevented Preston’s murder.”
In the four short months he was in the couple’s care, Preston was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, and was sexually abused and physically assaulted, suffering 40 traumatic injuries.
His mother, Sarah Davey, 42, has said she will never forgive his adoptive parents for abusing her son, adding: “The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry for the rest of my life.”
Preston had been taken from Davey under an emergency care order sought by Oldham Council. At the age of 14, Davey was jailed for the “unspeakably wicked” murder of a frail pensioner in 1998, and has been in and out of prison ever since.
In a victim impact statement, Davey described the day Preston was taken from her as one of the worst days of her life.
She said: “I had no choice in that decision. I tried to take some comfort in believing he would be safe, loved, and protected, and he was with his foster parents, Sandra and Paul [Cooper]. I trusted them, they and the system trusted you, that trust was completely and unforgiveably broken.”
She added: “I will never forgive you for what you did to my son and what you stopped him from becoming and achieving in his life.
“Every single day, I live with the unimaginable pain of wondering what he went through. Those thoughts do not leave me. They are with me when I wake up, and they haunt me when I try to sleep. The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry for the rest of my life.”
In his victim impact statement, Preston’s biological father, Gary Nolan, told of his grief at hearing of his son’s death. “Hysterical and crying”, Mr Nolan was admitted to hospital for his own safety and still takes medication to help manage his anxiety and depression.
He said: “Preston was my first and only son. The fact that he has been taken away from me has stopped me from having a father-son relationship.
“I was looking forward to doing the simple things with him, playing football, teaching him how to ride a bike, having him ask me for help, seeing him learn to drive and of course celebrating his birthdays. This has deprived my three daughters and me of ever having these opportunities.”
Sarah Cooper, who fostered Preston alongside her husband Paul, said his death had had a “huge impact” on their lives, and is the reason they decided not to retire from fostering.
She said: “We felt we had a duty to other children, and could not sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that other children were being abused, mistreated and could die.
“My husband Paul and I have continued to foster children to protect them. We are doing this for Preston, in his memory.”
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved for adoption in January 2023, and Preston began living at their home in Blackpool, Lancashire, in April 2023. Following an eight-week trial, both men were convicted by a jury at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
Varley was found guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.
McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty, and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
The trial heard that Preston had been taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death in July 2023, and was seen by a “battery of professionals” during his short life, including numerous social workers, health visitors and medics. A social services investigation is underway.
The trial heard that, at first, Ms Cooper thought Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley would make ideal parents for Preston, but she had a “gut feeling” something was wrong after he had spent a month with his new family.
Varley had taken a year off as a textiles teacher and head of year 11 at South Shore Academy, and had confessed to a fellow teacher that he had experienced “dark thoughts” of suffocating or drowning Preston.
He was Preston’s main daytime caregiver while McGowan-Fazakerley, a sales manager at an asset and finance leasing firm, was at work.
The judge said Varley soon began to complain to friends and work colleagues that he was losing sleep and it was having an impact on his relationship.
“I am sure that your growing and selfish resentment towards Preston played at least some part in your motivation for treating him so badly in the weeks which followed,” Mr Justice Turner said.
“I do not doubt that your professional background as a teacher, together with your charm and easy manner, did much to reassure the social workers and health professionals that all was well when it clearly was not.”
A government spokesperson said Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were “evil abusers” who had exploited a vulnerable child.
They said a national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will work with an independent review commissioned by the local authority into the “horrifying” case, adding: “The public rightly demand answers about what went wrong, and we can assure them we will make sure anyone responsible for negligence faces consequences.”
