Preston Davey's heartbreaking final days as paedophile dads watched him suffer

Preston Davey's heartbreaking final days as paedophile dads watched him suffer WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT - Jamie Varley will spend the rest of his life behind bars for the harrowing abuse of 13-month-old Preston Davey, who died as a result of his injuries Little Preston Davey suffered "unremitting abuse" at the hands of his adoptive dads, who have today been jailed for their roles in his death. At 4.45pm on July 27, 2023, textiles teacher Jamie Varley used his phone to record a horrifying 35-second video of the 13 month old in extreme respiratory distress and in urgent need of resuscitation. It would be almost two hours until cruel Varley sought help, finally arriving at Blackpool Victoria Hospital with Preston at 6.30pm. Varley, 37, tried to claim the infant had slipped in the bath - despite the fact he was dry and wearing a nappy. Paramedics, nurses and doctors battled for 50 minutes to save him, but Preston was tragically pronounced dead at 7.18pm. Four days later, a Home Office post-mortem examination ruled out drowning. Instead, it concluded Preston had died from acute upper airway obstruction. "Preston was having a seizure. You videoed it," the judge told Varley at sentencing on Thursday. "I'm sure it was caused by your further abuse. His lips were blue. He was plainly in need of urgent medical attention. You were the only person with Preston that afternoon. It was you. You murdered him." The examination also uncovered around 40 external and internal injuries, including bruises to Preston's forehead, throat, mouth, bladder, bottom and bleeding in the lungs with evidence of sexual abuse. After a lengthy police investigation, a number of disturbing images and videos on Varley's phone revealed the full torment that Preston suffered in the final months of his life. Tragically, there had been a string of red flags in the months leading up to his death. Born four weeks early at Wythenshawe Hospital on June 16, 2022, weighing 5lb 7oz, to a mother who was in jail, Preston Davey was placed into emergency care just five days later under an interim care order obtained by Oldham Council. For the next nine months, Preston remained with loving foster carers until January 6 when Varley, a teacher, and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved as adopters through Adoption Now. Records showed Preston was a child who needed "love, affection, safety and stability". The couple first visited him in February before Preston spent his first night at their home on Staining Road, Blackpool, on April 1. Within days, however, messages and medical records would begin to paint a troubling picture. On April 6, Varley texted his sister, who worked as a baby sleep trainer, complaining about Preston's sleep pattern. "He's dead meat today," he wrote. "Didn't sleep last night after 11.30. Up every one and a half hours." Over the following months, Preston was taken to hospital on a number of occasions. In May, he was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital after becoming floppy and unresponsive. Medical staff noted bruising to his head and recorded concerns about unexplained injuries, although following discussions with clinicians the bruising was not ultimately treated as suspicious. A month later, on June 30, Preston returned to hospital with a rash, diarrhoea, vomiting and a high temperature. Staff again observed bruising to his head. The couple showed medics a video of a toy box falling onto him while he played, explaining the injuries. It later emerged the footage had been recorded 12 days earlier. Varley said at the time: "You lot are going to think we have been abusing him or something." Days after that, on July 6, Preston was taken back to hospital with an injured arm. An X-ray revealed a fractured elbow and a cast was applied. Following contact with hospital staff, social worker Amy Shepherdson reassured Varley by text message that doctors had "absolutely no concerns" and that he had done "the right thing". During a visit to the home, she noted Preston had a "very sad face and a little cry". The following day, an independent reviewer, Helen Magee, from Oldham social services visited Preston at home. Behind the scenes, Varley was telling others he was struggling. During the same week, he spoke to a colleague about having "dark thoughts" involving drowning or suffocating the child. As July progressed, further evidence emerged of Preston's deteriorating condition. On July 23, Varley took a series of photographs over a period of just over three minutes. The images showed Preston in his cot with his head and arms over a horizontal rail, his neck resting on it, his lips blue and his body partially suspended. Following a trial at Preston Crown Court, Varley was convicted on June 15 of Preston's murder along with a series of sexual offences, child cruelty offences, grievous bodily harm and indecent image offences. His partner McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was convicted of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault of a child. Varley was handed a whole life order in court today, while McGowan-Fazakerley was sentenced to 25 years, of which he will have to serve two thirds. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme before the sentencing, the children's commissioner for England, Rachel De Souza, asked whether more attention was not paid because of Varley's profession as a teacher. "Did that evil abuser hoodwink people under that professional guise?" she asked. "The social worker saw [Preston] 20 days before he died. I want to know whether the correct level of professional curiosity was there. I have huge numbers of questions and I’m not going to let go until I have the answers." Preston's biological mother, Sarah Davey, has spoken of her pain at the trial today. Now 42, she was jailed at the age of 14 for the murder of a frail pensioner in 1998 and had been in and out of prison since then. She was still behind bars when she gave birth, and so Preston was placed into foster care. Sarah said she would never forgive Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley for what they did to Preston. "Every single day, I live with the unimaginable pain of wondering what he went through," she said. "Those thoughts do not leave me. "They are with me when I wake up, and they haunt me when I try to sleep. The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry for the rest of my life."