Jamie Varley, 37, is accused of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey while his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is accused of allowing the death
Baby Preston Davey the morning after his first sleepover with his adoptive parents Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazackerley
A teacher asked about the death of his adopted baby son denied abusing him and said he “could not recall” filiming a Snapchat video of him struggling to breathe, a court has heard.
Jurors at Preston Crown Court were shown footage of Jamie Varley being grilled by detectives about the circumstances surrounding the death of 13-month-old Preston Davey at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in July 2023.
In the recording, when pressed about baby Preston’s injuries, Varley replied: “I don’t believe he had that many bruises.” The 37 year old faces a charge of murder, while his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is charged with allowing the child’s death. Both men also face accusations of sexual abuse.
During the four months Preston was in the couple’s care at their Blackpool home, prosecutors allege he was routinely mistreated, subjected to indecent images and videos, and was both sexually and physically assaulted.
The court heard Varley was questioned by police about a Snapchat video recorded approximately one hour and 45 minutes before he and his co-accused rushed Preston, whom he had renamed Elijah, to hospital.
The video was taken while Varley was home alone with Preston, and in it the child is lying on a bed struggling to breathe in what officers described as a “distressing” video.
The detective says: “There’s some concern about the content of the video. Why did you not do anything about it?”
Varley said he could not recall taking the video and thought the child was having a seizure as he had done before. “He was fine in the bathtub,” Varley added. “He’s a long way from fine in that video,” the officer tells him, adding: “In my view it’s horrible.”
Varley was also questioned by police about the multiple bruises or injuries on the child’s body, including to both arms, his legs, back, throat and bottom and 24 bruises to his head, including behind his ear.
“There’s a lot of injuries here,” the detective tells Varley, “we are not satisfied they are all accidental.” Varley replies: “I don’t believe he had that many bruises. He has not been abused. He hasn’t.”
Varley is also told an initial post-mortem investigation indicates the child did not drown in the bath and no water was found in his lungs. “Can you explain how else he might have died?” the detective asks.
Varley said the child was “responsive” when he pulled him from the bath but that Preston was “not a well little boy”.
“Was there any sexual motivation?” the detective asked. Varley replies: “Absolutely not. No.”
The detective tells him that when Preston was adopted he was healthy with no injuries but while living with the defendants someone has caused the child’s death. “We have not caused Elijah’s death. We would never do that,” Varley said.
The defendants had rushed the unconscious child from their home, after an alleged final sexual assault by Varley, to Blackpool hospital at around 6.20pm on July 27 2023.
Medics worked for nearly an hour to resuscitate the child until a decision was made that further intervention was futile. Varley said he had left the child alone in the bath for only three or four minutes before he returned.
Varley denies murder, manslaughter, 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 denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
