Adoptive parents convicted of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey in Blackpool

Two Blackpool men have been found guilty of murdering 13-month-old Preston Elijah Davey, whom they had adopted just four months before his death on 27 July 2023. Jamie Varley, 37, a teacher, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, a financial sales manager, were convicted on Monday, following a seven-week trial.

Lancashire Constabulary confirmed the verdicts and detailed the harrowing extent of the abuse Preston suffered during the final months of his short life.

40 injuries in four months

A postmortem examination revealed that Preston died of acute upper airways obstruction. It also uncovered 40 traumatic injuries sustained during the four months he spent in the care of his adoptive parents.

Those injuries included 30 external bruises, internal bruising to his mouth and throat, and internal bruising to his anus, bowel, and bladder. Preston had been taken to hospital several times in the preceding months with breathing difficulties, a seizure, bruising to the head, and a fractured arm.

What the jury found

Varley was found guilty of murder and two counts of sexual assault of a minor under 13. He was also convicted of inflicting 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 found guilty of causing and allowing the death of a child; two counts of cruelty to a person under 16; and sexual assault of a male child under 13.

Preston's early life

Preston was placed into emergency foster care just five days after his birth and spent his first nine months described by health professionals as happy and healthy. An adoption panel approved his placement with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley on 23 March 2023, and Preston spent his first night with the two men eight days later.

Within weeks, Varley sent messages to a friend describing the baby as annoying. He also began taking indecent photographs and videos of Preston, which were later recovered from his phone following his arrest.

Final days

On 23 July 2023, four days before Preston died, both men sexually assaulted him, with Varley recording the act on his phone. On the afternoon of 27 July, at 4:45 p.m., Varley filmed Preston lying on a bed, visibly struggling to breathe and in clear discomfort. Prosecutors said during the trial that Preston had been sexually assaulted by Varley earlier that same day, and that a second assault caused the obstruction to his airways that killed him.

When Preston was brought to hospital that evening, one of the adoptive parents told doctors he had found the toddler unresponsive after leaving him alone in the bathtub. Medical personnel worked for over an hour attempting to revive him, but Preston was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m.

'Pure evil'

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, from Lancashire Constabulary's Force Major Investigation Team, did not mince his words in describing the two men. "Almost from day one, they set about abusing Preston and making his short life a harrowing tale of misery and pain. It was this abuse that ultimately led to Preston's death," he 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," Fallows added. "This was due to the sordid and wicked acts of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley." Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley are due to be sentenced on 18 June.