Jamie Varley, 37, was given the maximum possible jail term at Preston Crown Court yesterday after being convicted of 13-month-old Preston Davey’s murder in July 2023.

That was four months after the boy was placed in the care of Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who was convicted of causing or allowing Preston’s death and sentenced to 25 years, of which he must serve two-thirds.

Boy suffered of harrowing abuse

During his time with the couple, then of Grimsargh in Lancashire, Preston was subject to harrowing physical and Sєxual abuse, with a Home Office postmortem finding he suffered 40 traumatic injuries. This included internal bruising to his mouth, throat, anus, bowel and bladder, said Lancashire Constabulary, which investigated the boy’s death.

Alongside his murder conviction, Varley was also convicted of two counts of Sєxual ᴀssault of a child under 13, a count of grievous bodily harm, four counts of cruelty to a person under 16, ten counts of taking indecent images of a child, two counts of possessing indecent images of a child and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child.

McGowan-Fazakerley was additionally convicted of two counts of cruelty to a person under 16 and one of Sєxual ᴀssault of a child under 13, said the constabulary.

Safeguarding review investigating Preston’s death

Preston was taken into care by Oldham Council at his birth, in June 2022, and spent the first nine months of his life in foster care.

Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley had been approved for adoption by Adoption Now, the regional adoption agency for Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. In March 2023, an adoption panel approved Preston’s placement with them, and he moved in soon after.

A local child safeguarding practice review, commissioned by Oldham Safeguarding Children Partnership, is currently investigating the role of agencies’ in relation to the boy’s care and protection, and the circumstances surrounding his death.

Multiple hospital visits in weeks leading up to death

Lancashire Constabulary said that between the end of May and early July 2023, Preston was taken three times to Blackpool Hospital Victoria, run by Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

On the first occasion (25 May 2023), Varley said that Preston had had a seizure and was experiencing breathing difficulties. Though the police were called, medical staff indicated there were no concerns around non-accidental injury.

At the second hospital visit (30 June 2023), which was due to a rash, staff noted bruising to Preston’s head, but were misled by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley about the cause. They showed them a video of a toy box falling on the boy’s head which was taken 12 days earlier and so could not have been the reason for the bruising.

A week later (6 July 2023), he was taken to hospital again, with a fractured arm, when Varley gave hospital staff, social workers and friends differing accounts of the cause, said Lancashire Constabulary. On neither of the second or third visits were the police called.

Preston left ‘a broken shell by couple’s wicked acts’

The constabulary added that, on the day of Preston’s death (27 July 2023), Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley took the boy to hospital when unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

Varley claimed that he had left Preston unsupervised a few minutes in his bath seat while he got changed and returned to find him submerged, said the police. However, this was not supported by medical evidence, said the police.

Following Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley’s convictions, DCI Andy Fellows, who led the investigation, said: “For the first nine months of his life Preston was a happy and healthy child but by the end he was a broken shell. This was due to the sordid and wicked acts of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.”

‘An amazing little boy who lit up the room’

At Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley’s sentencing yesterday, Preston’s mother, Sarah Davey, father, Gary Nolan, and foster carers, Sandra and Paul Cooper, gave victim impact statements about the affect of the boy’s murder on them.

Paul Cooper said: “Preston was an absolute pleasure to look after, he was the most amazing little boy who lit up the room as you walked into it. He was so small and vulnerable you couldn’t help but love him immediately. Preston’s smile was infectious and he brightened up my day from the second he woke up.”

He added: “Saying goodbye to him 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.”

How agencies involved have responded

Following the convictions, a spokesperson for Oldham Council said: “The death of any child is a tragedy, but this is a particularly heart-wrenching and disturbing case.  We are thankful that the perpetrators of the sickening murder and abuse of an innocent child have today been convicted for their crimes.

“An independent child safeguarding practice review is already underway, which will examine the handling of Preston’s safeguarding. Our thoughts remain with Preston’s family, loved ones, and the many people affected by this case.”

A spokesperson for Adoption Now said: “This was a deeply upsetting case, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by these truly awful crimes. Adoption Now follows a strict and rigorous process in line with all relevant legislation and guidance in the ᴀssessment and approval of adopters.”

For Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, chief executive Maggie Oldham said: “The appalling murder of Preston Davey has shocked us all and our thoughts remain with Preston’s family and all the people affected by these terrible crimes.

“We are working closely with other agencies and are continuously improving our child safeguarding. We are committed to encouraging colleagues to speak up about anything they are not comfortable with or concerned about.

“We will now consider carefully all the evidence heard at the trial to identify if any further improvements are necessary, beyond the safeguards already in place.”