A former colleague of Jamie Varley has broken silence with a claim that may cast a disturbing new light on the final weeks of little Preston Davey’s life. According to the woman who once worked alongside the secondary school teacher, Varley’s growing rage after discovering secret messages that suggested his partner had been unfaithful could have been the spark that intensified the abuse of the toddler they were in the process of adopting. The claim, first reported in early July 2026, has reignited public discussion about the private pressures inside the Blackpool household in the months before Preston’s death. While the full truth of any relationship tensions remains known only to those involved, the former friend’s account adds another layer of tragedy to a case that already shocked the nation.

Preston Davey was born on 16 June 2022 and taken into care five days later. After thriving with foster carers for most of his short life he was placed in April 2023 with Varley, then a head of year, and John McGowan-Fazakerley. Within four months the thirteen-month-old was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. A lengthy trial at Preston Crown Court established that during that period the child had been subjected to physical and emotional abuse, Sєxual ᴀssault and the making of indecent images. Varley was convicted of murder and a large number of related offences. McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child and other offences. In June 2026 Varley received a whole-life order and McGowan-Fazakerley was sentenced to twenty-five years. The former colleague’s claim does not alter those convictions, yet it raises the possibility that personal turmoil between the two men may have played a role in the escalation of harm. She has described Varley as someone whose outward presentation could mask deeper instability, and she believes the discovery of messages pointing to infidelity pushed him into a darker place that the toddler ultimately paid for.

The ᴀssertion has been met with a mixture of horror and cautious interest by those following the case. Family members of Preston have long maintained that warning signs were missed at multiple stages. Debbie Davey, the child’s maternal grandmother, continues to insist that social services should have listened when she begged them to keep Preston with his foster carers until she recovered from breast cancer. Sarah Davey, the birth mother, has spoken of the unimaginable pain of knowing her son suffered in the care of men who were supposed to protect him. An independent safeguarding review is examining the entire sequence of decisions, from the adoption approval through the hospital visits that failed to trigger removal. Whether private relationship rage formed part of the motive may never be fully proven in a courtroom, but the former friend’s willingness to speak has ensured that the question will form part of the wider public reckoning with how a child could be so comprehensively failed. For many the claim simply deepens the sense of pure evil that has surrounded the case from the moment the truth emerged. A little boy who should have been safe became the target of adult turmoil he could never understand, and the consequences were irreversible.

Source: https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/preston-daveys-gran-wanted-keep-34128960