Preston Davey, a 13-month-old baby, was killed at his home in Blackpool, UK, by one of his proposed adoptive parents after months of physical and sexual abuse, a court has been told. A 13-month-old baby was “regularly physically and sexually abused” by his gay adoptive parents before being murdered by one of them, a court has been told.
Preston Davey was adopted by Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley in April 2023 when he was nine months old.
Less than four months later, he was rushed to the emergency room in cardiac arrest and pronounced dead a short time later.
A jury at Crown Court heard that Preston’s cause of death was an obstruction of the airway, either from choking or having something placed in his mouth that prevented him from breathing.
Mr Varley, a former secondary school teacher, is accused of murdering Preston at their home in Blackpool on July 27, 2023. He is also charged with sexual assault, cruelty, grievous bodily harm, assault by penetration, taking indecent images of a child and distributing them.
John McGowan-Fazakerley, his partner and co-defendant, was not at home when Preston was allegedly murdered.
He is charged with allowing the death of a child, cruelty to a child and sexual assault.
Mr Varley, dressed in a cream suit, white open-collar shirt and shoulder-length hair with thin blonde streaks, sat next to his co-defendant in the dock, a few metres from Preston's mother in the public gallery. On the first day of their trial, prosecutor Peter Wright KC told the jury it would be a "very emotionally charged case".
He said: “Preston Davey was born on 16 June 2022. In April 2023, then nine months old, he was placed with the defendants Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley with a view to being formally adopted by them.
“At the time of these events, the defendants were living together as a couple at an address in Blackpool.
“Less than four months later, at approximately 6.30pm on Thursday afternoon, 27th July 2023, Preston Davey was brought to the accident and emergency department of Blackpool Victoria Hospital by the defendants.
“Preston Davey was unconscious and in cardiac arrest. At the time, he was only 13 months old. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff on duty at the hospital, Preston Davey was in terminal decline and at 7.18pm, he was pronounced dead.”
Prosecutor Wright continued: “As horrific as it is, this tragedy was not the result of some horrific accident or natural phenomenon… we say the evidence shows that he was murdered by one of the people entrusted with his well-being, one of his proposed adoptive parents.” “We say that the person responsible for the murder of Preston Davey was the defendant, Jamie Varley.”
At least 40 traumatic injuries
The judges were told that during the four months that Preston had lived with the defendants, he had been physically and psychologically mistreated, as well as sexually abused.
"After he was placed for adoption with the defendants and lived with them in Blackpool, he was admitted to Blackpool Victoria on three occasions," the prosecutor said.
A post-mortem examination found he had suffered at least 40 traumatic injuries while in the defendants' care, Mr Wright explained. The jury was told the injuries included at least 30 external bruises, internal bruises to his mouth and throat, internal bruises to his buttocks, bowel and bladder, lacerations to his rectum and a broken arm.
The prosecutor said the person primarily responsible for the sexual and physical assaults was Mr Varley, but there was also evidence implicating both defendants in a previous sexual assault on Preston, as well as negligence.
The court was told that Mr McGowan-Fazakerley was at work on the day Preston was allegedly fatally attacked.
Wright said the prosecution's argument was that he should have known the danger the baby was in, but failed to protect her.
The court heard that when Varley's mobile phone was seized, a number of indecent images of Preston were allegedly found.
Wright said they were not the usual type of photos taken by a loving parent and explained that some of the photos had been shared with Mr McGowan-Fazakerley.
The jury was told there was also a recording showing Preston apparently left unattended, sliding uncontrollably in the bathtub for 14 minutes without any adult intervention.
Jamie Varley is also accused of deliberately depriving the baby of sleep and forcibly spinning him on a children's playground roundabout, leaving him feeling disoriented.
Varley denies murder and an alternative charge of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of indecent photographs and videos of a child, one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child to his partner.
McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.
