High school teacher Jamie Varley found guilty of murdering adopted baby son Preston Davey

High school teacher Jamie Varley found guilty of murdering adopted baby son Preston Davey High school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, has been found guilty at Preston Crown Court of the murder of adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey Two men have been found guilty over the tragic death of their adopted baby with the boy’s killer having joked the child was “dead meat”. High school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, has been found guilty at Preston Crown Court of the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey, and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, has been convicted of allowing the death of the child. The couple adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey in April 2023. In the four months that the baby was in the couple’s care, Preston Crown Court heard he was ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, and was sexually abused and physically assaulted at the defendants’ home in Blackpool, suffering 40 traumatic injuries. He died in hospital on July 27, 2023, having suffered a collapse and cardiac arrest after what the prosecution had said was a sexual assault by Varley. Varley was accused murder, manslaughter, sexual assault of a child under 13, inflicting grievous bodily harm, five counts of child cruelty and further counts of making, taking and distributing indecent images. McGowan-Fazakerley was accused of allowing the death of a child, and two counts of child cruelty and sexual assault of a child under 13. Both men, now of Grimsargh, Preston, had denied the charges against them. Preston had begun living with the defendants on April 1, 2023. But just days later Varley, who took a year off work as head of year at a high school to adopt a child, confessed he was struggling with a lack of sleep due to the baby constantly waking in the night, a jury heard. On April 6, he texted his sister, a baby sleep trainer: “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every one and a half hours.” Four days later, the court heard, Varley sent his mother Karen Graham, a video of Preston in his walker, and she replied: “Clever boy xxx.” Varley then replied: “This was before he was murdered and put to bed.” Preston was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital unresponsive by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley July 27, 2023. Varley told police he had left Preston in the bath for three or four minutes and then found him submerged in the water. But Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour ruled out drowning as a cause of death, with a post-mortem examination revealing he had suffered the 40 injuries, including 30 external bruises, internal bruising and a fractured arm. During the trial, jurors were told medics worked on Preston for around an hour after he was brought into the hospital in cardiac and respiratory arrest. Dr Wendy Aubrey, the anaesthetist tasked with intubating Preston, said both parents came into the room during the resuscitation, adding that this is standard practice as it helps parents see that everything that can be done is being done. "I recall one dad [McGowan-Fazackerley] was quite subdued and stood to my right," she told the court. "The other dad [Varley] was very dramatic and more dramatic than I have seen parents previously - a bit chaotic, he wouldn't stand still and let people support him. He wouldn’t listen to what was being said." Varley was initially shouting "don't let him die", she told the court. "He was saying 'don’t stop' - I presume he meant resuscitation. He then said: 'I f***ing killed him,'" she said. In his closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Peter Wright KC, said alleged indecent images and videos taken of Preston demonstrated Varley’s sexual interest in the child, adding that this interest was “shared” by his partner. In cross-examination, Mr Wright said to Varley: “This little boy as your plaything, wasn’t he?” Varley replied: “You are wrong.” Sales manager McGowan-Fazakerley told the jury he had no reason to believe Varley had harmed Preston and thought he had drowned after Varley told him en route to hospital that he had left him alone in the bath. He said he still believed his death was accidental as the couple continued to live with each other up until they were re-arrested in 2025 and were then both charged. While on remand in prison, he said he began to “try to put the puzzle together” as he learned what the prosecution case would be. When asked by the prosecution if he now had a clearer picture of what happened, McGowan-Fazakerley said: “Yes I do feel like my trust in Jamie has been misplaced.” This is a Breaking News story. You’ll be more likely to see our stories when any big news breaks in future by simply by clicking this link . You can also join The Mirror’s WhatsApp Community or follow us on Google News , Flipboard , Apple News , TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage .