Preston Davey's sick parents' warped relationship before turning on each other in court

Preston Davey's parents' warped relationship before turning on each other in court WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT. John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, and Jamie Varley, 37, have now been found guilty following the death of their adopted baby son, Preston Davey It was a union supposedly forged from a 'life-changing' love that ended with the vicious abuse and death of their adopted baby, Preston Davey. Now John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, and Jamie Varley, 37, have turned against each other, in a dark end to their twisted relationship. But they will be forever bound by their terrible crime. Varley of was found guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo. McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child. The pair had denied having a sexual interest in the child and pleaded not guilty to all charges, in a case that saw both men point fingers of blame at each other. However, after hearing weeks of harrowing evidence, jurors put together a devastating picture of the torment young Preston endured in the final months of his life. On April 1, 2023, McGowan-Fazakerley and Varley adopted “sweet and bubbly” Preston, then nine months old, bringing him to live with them at their Blackpool home. Tragically, just four months later, little Preston was dead at 13 months old. On July 27 2023, having suffered a cardiac arrest, the tot was rushed to the hospital, where sadly, medics could do nothing to revive him. Varley told officers he'd briefly left Preston in the tub, only to find him off his seat and submerged upon his return. However, no water was found in Preston's lungs or in the tub where the tragedy was said to take place. A post-mortem examination, which ruled out drowning, found 40 external and internal trauma injuries to Preston's body, consistent with “forcible penetration” and sexual abuse. A pathologist concluded that the cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects being inserted into his mouth. Preston was said to be "a perfectly healthy baby" when he was delivered into the care of McGowan-Fazakerley and Varley, who gave the impression of being model parents with their good jobs and apparent longing to start a family of their own. As design and technology teacher, Varley would later tell Preston Crown Court: “I had always thought about having kids, I wanted to be a teacher, a daddy, just never thought it was possible once I realised I was a gay man. John was everything I had ever asked for in a relationship. My whole life just changed when I met John.” But, as highlighted by Peter Wright KC, in his closing speech to the jury, Varley’s sexual interest in Preston became evident “within weeks” of him being brought into their home. This interest, Mr Wright said, was “shared” by McGowan-Fazakerley, as demonstrated by the alleged indecent images and videos taken of the infant. Disturbing footage shows Preston spinning fast on a park playground, with his eyes rolling back. Another video shows the baby messing with his genitals, while a third sees him having an apparent seizure on Snapchat. Dr Joanne Gifford, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health's clinical lead, referred jurors to footage they'd seen, including of Preston being “jump scared” when Varley shouts “Boo!” to him while he falls asleep. The child sexual abuse expert, who reviewed evidence in this case, remarked: “They are hard videos to watch. They are a child having unpleasant experiences.” Varley took a year off from his position as head of year at South Shore Academy, a local high school, to look after the child, while sales manager McGowan-Fazakerley continued to work long hours as a sales manager. The court heard how Varley struggled as a new parent with a baby who woke frequently throughout the night. He allegedly told others he had “dark thoughts” about Preston, who he described as “just annoying”. At first, McGowan-Fazakerley stood by Varley, but he had since tried to distance himself from his former partner, claiming his trust had been "misplaced". While under cross-examination, Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, suggested that McGowan-Fazakerley had been aware of the horrific abuse. McGowan-Fazakerley replied: “I feel as if, to put it in this way, Preston’s life is like an iceberg, and there’s things under the water I did not know about.” He told jurors that he'd had no reason to believe Varley had hurt Preston and believed he had drowned after Varley told him so while en route to the hospital. According to McGowan-Fazakerley, he continued to believe Preston's death was accidental, with he and Varley continuing to live together up until they were re-arrested and charged in 2025. The defendant asserted that, after learning of the child's injuries, he had tried to be “his own detective” to “put the pieces together”. Mr Wright enquired: "Did you ever interview the prime suspect, sharing a bed with you?" To this, McGowan-Fazakerley responded: "I asked Jamie and he has always said what he's said." Mr Wright then remarked: "It's only very recently indeed you have now sought to give an account in which you deflect responsibility on your partner. And you are now seeking to distance yourself from him and what happened in your knowledge and assent and participation in." McGowan-Fazakerley disputed this, stating, “No. I have always been honest and truthful in every account.” Fazakerley-McGowan was also asked about Varley allegedly telling friend, Janet Gee, about his “dark thoughts” of suffocating or drowning Preston. Ms Whyte asked: “Given what Mr Varley is alleged to have said about the type of harm, that he disputes, and what the prosecution said about his cause of death, how do you feel about the fact that you were not informed?” McGowan-Fazakerley replied: “If these conversations happened, I feel quite, it’s quite a strong word, disturbed, if those conversations happened, why no one has told me about it. I feel heartbroken. She’s got my number. She’s a friend. Why on earth would she not pick up that phone and tell me or tell somebody that Jamie had that conversation." The defendant was also quizzed about a 14-minute video taken by Varley, showing Preston alone in an empty bath, learning to ‘self-soothe’. McGowan-Fazakerley claimed he was only made aware of this footage when it was shown to jurors, insisting, “Nothing more than just shocking and inappropriate and pathetic. The video makes me very angry. Very angry.” Questions were also asked about images of Preston in his cot found on Varley's phone, just four days before his death, which stretched over a time period of three minutes and 12 seconds. The seemingly asleep or unconscious child could be seen with his head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot, while his neck rested on the bar. His body appeared to be partially suspended, with his legs in a 'frog-like' setting, in what was deemed a 'very unsafe' and 'dangerous' position. According to McGowan-Fazakerley, he had been cooking Sunday lunch when Carley called him upstairs to look at Preston, supposedly sleeping in this unusual position. He claimed: "I remember seeing him over the bars of the cot with his arms and saying, ‘Oh bloody heck, what's he like?' And saying put him down." As per the defendant, he only took a 'fleeting look' and expected Varley to lay the child down while he continued preparing the meal. It was the prosecution's case that the baby had been placed in that position so as to be sexually abused by both men. He said: "It's sick. It's vile, its disgusting, it's abhorrent, it's inhuman." McGowan-Fazakerley claimed he'd never suspected Varley, and that he had never sexually assaulted the child. He added: "That I'm having to have to say those words leave my mouth is ridiculous." Karen Tonge, of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: "This has been one of the most shocking and horrific cases I have dealt with in my career. "Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley had a responsibility to care for and protect baby Preston. They violated that responsibility and 13-month-old Preston was abused with sickening ease. It is difficult to comprehend how the very people who should have loved him could inflict such sickening physical and sexual harm on an innocent child. "No child should have to go through what Preston went through in the last four months of his short life and I cannot begin to imagine the toll this has taken on those that loved Preston. My thoughts remain with them all." If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999 Do you have a story to share? Email me at [email protected]