A former teacher who sexually abused and murdered the 13-month-old boy he had adopted with his partner has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Jamie Varley, 37, from Blackpool, was convicted over the death of Preston Davey, who died in July 2023 after enduring months of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. The court heard that the abuse occurred during the final four months of the child's life after he was placed in the couple's care.

Varley initially claimed that Preston had accidentally drowned while left unattended in a bath. However, medical examinations later revealed extensive injuries, leading investigators to uncover the true circumstances surrounding the toddler's death.

His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was found guilty of sexual assault, child cruelty and allowing the death of a child. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

During sentencing, Mr Justice Turner described the case as one of exceptional seriousness. He said Preston had been subjected to relentless abuse and neglect before being killed during a sexual assault.

Addressing Varley directly, the judge 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."

A whole-life order means an offender will never be released from prison except under highly exceptional compassionate circumstances.

Preston's biological mother, Sarah Davey, and grandmother, Debbie Davey, were present in court and became visibly emotional throughout the hearing.

In a victim impact statement read on Sarah Davey's behalf, she described the lasting anguish caused by her son's death and the unanswered questions surrounding his final months.

"I now live with the unimaginable pain of wondering" what her son experienced before he died. "Those thoughts do not leave me," she said. "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. I will never forgive you for what you did to my son and what you stopped him from becoming and achieving in his life."

A statement from Preston's biological father, Gary Nolan, was also read to the court. He spoke of the devastation of losing a son he never had the opportunity to know.

"Preston was the son that I never got to meet and now never will. Upon hearing the news, I remember officers taking hold of me and me blanking out, the next thing I recall is waking up in hospital two days later. I am told that I was hysterical and crying and that it was for my own safety that I was taken to the hospital, clearly, I must have been in a bad place mentally."

The couple who fostered Preston before his adoption also paid tribute to him during the hearing. Sandra Cooper described him as "joyful, so content and happy, with sparkly smiling eyes". Her husband, Paul Cooper, recalled the difficulty of handing Preston over to his adoptive parents.

"Saying goodbye to [Preston] and handing him over to Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley was extremely difficult. "However, we believed at the time that this was the best thing for Preston and he was going to a loving family. What happened after this I still cannot bear to think about."

Preston was born in June 2022 and entered care when he was just five days old following an emergency care order issued by Oldham Council. He remained with foster carers for the first nine months of his life. The court heard that his biological mother had a lengthy criminal history, including imprisonment at the age of 14 for the murder of an elderly man in 1998. Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved as adoptive parents in January 2023. Preston moved into their Blackpool home in April that year at the age of nine months.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that the child suffered repeated abuse while living with the couple. Investigators documented 40 separate traumatic injuries, including signs of physical assault and sexual abuse. Medical records showed Preston was taken to hospital on three occasions before his death. He was first treated following a nosebleed and seizure, later for bruising and a rash, and finally after suffering a fractured elbow.

Despite these incidents, social workers who visited the home did not conclude that the child was at immediate risk. On 27 July 2023, Preston was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for the final time. Varley told healthcare workers that he had briefly left the toddler alone in the bath before returning to find him underwater. Doctors quickly became suspicious of the account. Preston's body was dry, and there was no evidence that he had inhaled or swallowed water. Efforts to save him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead in hospital.

A post-mortem examination identified 40 external and internal injuries. Some of the injuries were found to be consistent with sexual abuse and forcible penetration. Pathologists also ruled out drowning as the cause of death. Investigators later uncovered a video recorded by Varley approximately 90 minutes before Preston was taken to hospital. The footage showed the child in severe distress, struggling to breathe and displaying what experts described as "agonal breaths". During the same period, Varley was using Snapchat and checking emails.

The evidence presented during the trial was so distressing that one juror was unable to continue, resulting in the proceedings being abandoned and restarted before a new jury. Following the conclusion of the criminal case, a child safeguarding practice review that had been paused during legal proceedings is set to resume under Oldham Council. Minister for Children, Families and Wellbeing Josh MacAlister described the case as deeply disturbing and confirmed that independent experts had been asked to examine the agencies involved.

"It's a really shocking case, people will look at it and feel sick," he said. "The independent safeguarding review that's now being done will establish more of the facts. "But I have asked some independent experts to go and look at Oldham, the hospital trust and the adoption agency to see whether things we already know have been acted upon."

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