Preston Davey’s killer’s childhood, ‘arrogant’ lies and twisted courtroom display

WARNING DISTRESSING CONTENT – Jamie Varley will die in prison after murdering his adopted baby son Preston Davey. Behind his facade of respectability, jurors saw a ‘wicked and arrogant’ killer

To the outside world, Jamie Varley seemed to be a doting dad, but behind closed doors, the sick predator used his baby son as a ‘plaything’.

The teacher and his sales manager partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, adopted little Preston Davey when he was nine-months-old. In the four short months he spent in their care, he was tormented by the two men tasked with keeping him safe.

This week, Varley was handed a rare whole life order for sexually abusing and murdering the 13-month-old tot. McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

At sentencing, the two men remained silent and stony-faced, barely reacting as heartbreaking victim impact statements were read out. While sobs racked the public gallery, Varley stared blankly, seemingly resigned to his grim fate.

It was only after being sent down that the monster made some movement, tripping awkwardly as he rushed from the dock – a shadow of the “sassy”, theatrical man friends thought they knew.

Preston’s short life was steeped in horror. At 4.45pm on July 27, 2023, Varley used his phone to record a 35-second video of the baby Preston 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 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.

A post-mortem found 40 injuries to Preston’s body, many consistent with sexual abuse. It concluded that Preston had died from acute upper airway obstruction.

For those who remember Varley as a respected Head of Year teacher, the sullen, grey-faced man sitting in court may seem like a stranger. But one neighbour who knew him as a child isn’t surprised by how the “horrible” boy turned out.

Newark-born Varley was the second of six children. Reports suggest that that no father is listed on his birth certificate, but mum Karen Graham had been married for 10 years by 1989, and each of the children was given her then-husband’s surname, Varley.

The family moved to Blackpool before Varley reached his teenage years. After this point, it’s said that Karen’s marriage collapsed, and she married for a second time in the summer of 2005. One former neighbour remembers the Varleys as “a nightmare family”.

“The kids were allowed to do what they wanted, and Jamie was out of control. I reported him for anti-social behaviour and criminal damage once after I asked him to get off my drive, and he stuck a potato up my car exhaust,” the woman told The Mail.

“When I read about the court case, I wasn’t a bit surprised. He was a little f***ing s***. He was horrible. When they all finally moved, we put the flags out,” she claimed. The Mirror understands that Varley has no prior criminal convictions.

Initially employed as a school technician, Varley rose to become a design and technology teacher and later head of Year 11 at Blackpool’s South Shore Academy. One neighbour remembered him and McGowan-Fazakerley as being a perfectly “ordinary couple”.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, who led the investigation into Preston’s murder, spoke in court of how Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley “were very Instagram-ready”, documenting their lives on social media in a carefully curated manner.

“What I mean by that is everything was for show. They tried to present as the perfect family, living in the perfect home, having the perfect lives. But if you scratched away at that veneer of respectability, the reality was far removed from a professional, well-to-do couple that lived, in Jamie Varley’s words, in a show home.”

Varley, who told the court that from a young age he wanted to be a “teacher, a daddy with a Jeep who lived on a farm” took a year off work to care for Preston. McGowan-Fazakerley continued to work long hours, often involving a lengthy commute to the office in Salford Quays. He told the court: “I lived on the M6.”

“Sick” of McGowan-Fazakerley being away from the family home, Varley made his frustrations clear in texts blaming his partner for catching a late return flight following a work trip, snapping that it was his ‘f***ing fault, now f*** off.’

The court heard that little Preston was a very ‘happy’ boy before he entered the couple’s home. McGowan-Fazakerley had no experience with babies, but Varley had often babysat nieces, nephews and the children of friends. “I felt it was going to be a breeze,” he told the court. “But it wasn’t.”

Preston was not a good sleeper. “Sometimes he would be up 10 times in a night,” his foster mum, Sandra Cooper, said. But all he needed was “soothing by having his head stroked”.

Messages to and from Varley, shown at trial, now make for harrowing reading. “We are struggling”; “we are questioning every choice”; “he’s just annoying”; “he’s very needy, screams all the time like he’s being killed.”

In one text to his sister, a baby sleep trainer, Varley said: “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every one and a half hours.”

Despite three hospital visits in the months leading up to his death, no-one discovered the “unremitting abuse” that vulnerable Preston was suffering at the hands of his adoptive dads.

Varley admitted in court that he was prolific in taking photographs and videos of baby Preston. Many were the kind you would expect to see on any parents’ phone, like one of the tot playing in his baby bouncer. Others made clear that Varley was physically, sexually and psychologically tormenting his child.

One photograph shows Preston with his head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot and his neck resting on the bar. He had liquid in his mouth and his lips were blue. The court heard that it was “unsafe” and “dangerous”, but rather than rush to Preston’s aid, Varley took pictures for more than three minutes.

Another video showed a visibly tired Preston being kept awake by his adoptive father, with music from Moana blaring in the background. Evil Varley shouts “Boo!” at the tot just as he falls asleep.

McGowan-Fazakerley, who was at work on the day Preston died, turned on his now ex-partner in court, attempting to claim he’d been deceived by Varley, and that his trust had been “misplaced”. He said: “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.”

But police said McGowan-Fazakerle had been taking a “hear no evil, see no evil” approach to his partner’s abuse of their child. “He saw and cared for Preston Davey on a daily basis,” said Det Ch Insp Andy Fallows. “He must have seen a significant amount of injuries over that four-month period. He knew that Preston had suffered a fracture to his arm.”

When medics at Blackpool Victoria Hospital told Varley that nothing more could be done to save Preston on the day of his death, he threw himself to the floor, called for his mum and begged officers to “please kill me”. In dramatic police bodycam footage, seen by the jury, the killer wailed: “No, no, this is not happening” and slapped himself as if trying to wake himself up from a bad dream.

Det Ch Insp Fallows said Varley’s hysterical behaviour in hospital was “almost like a pantomime” adding: “I think we saw a different Jamie Varley giving evidence during his trial: obstructive, wholly inconsistent and wholly unbelievable. Jamie Varley is a manipulator.”

Describing Varley as “a chameleon”, he added: “He’s got the outward persona of a teacher, quite affable, quite popular, the life and soul. But then again, you dig that little bit deeper, and you start to see it. Jamie Varley is an evil, cruel, manipulative child abuser and murderer. We should not give him a second thought.”

At sentencing, Preston’s birth mother Sarah Davey, a convicted killer, wept as her victim impact statement was read out, paying tribute to her ‘beautiful blue-eyed boy’. She said, in part: “Preston was innocent. He was defenceless. He relied entirely on you – the adults responsible for him – to love him, care for him, and keep him safe. Instead, you caused him suffering. You took away his chance to grow up, to go to school, to make friends, to live a full life. You took everything from him.”

Preston’s father, Gary Nolan, also made a statement in court, revealing he never got to meet his son and had been waiting for an appointment with social services at the time of his murder. After being told about Preston’s death, he was so traumatised that he ‘blanked out’ and was hospitalised for two days.

He said: “I am told that I was hysterical and crying and that it was for my own safety that I was taken to the hospital. Clearly, I must have been in a bad place mentally. Upon being discharged from hospital, I turned to drink. […] I was having nightmares about Preston after hearing about the autopsy. These included seeing some horrific images in my mind. The only thing that got me off the alcohol was when I started throwing up blood; at that point, I knew that I needed help.”

And Sandra Cooper, Preston’s foster mum, told the court: “Preston’s death has had a huge impact upon our lives. Preston was going to be the last child we fostered; however, we could not retire after Preston died.

“We felt we had a duty to other children and could not sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that other children were being abused, mistreated and could die. My husband, Paul, and I have continued to foster children to protect them. We are doing this for Preston, in his memory. Preston’s death has changed my perspective on life; things I once felt were important I now feel are not. I realise that life is too short.”

Sharing special memories she has of Preston, she said: “Paul and I will often watch the videos we took of Preston when he was happy with us laughing and giggling, playing with his toys, smiling,” she said. “Preston’s face would light up when we looked at him; he was joyful, so content and happy, with sparkly, smiling eyes. That is how we want to remember him.”

Sentencing Varley on Thursday, Mr Justice Turner, the judge in the case, said: “Preston was noted to be a healthy baby when he was entrusted to your care. You, Varley, were primarily responsible for the daytime care of Preston. Unfortunately, Preston proved to be restless at night. Otherwise, he was described as a dream to care for. I’m sure that your growing and selfish resentment towards Preston played a part in your treatment of Preston.”

The judge described how Varley videod a seizure on the day Preston died. “Preston was having a seizure. You videoed it. I’m sure it was caused by your further abuse,” he said. “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.”

“A whole life order is a sentence of last resort for cases of the most extreme gravity. This is a case of the most extreme gravity. You must stay in prison for the rest of your life. You will never be eligible for parole.”

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 julia.banim@reachplc.com