Mother of 13-month old Preston Davey haunted by ‘unimaginable pain’ of his murder: ‘I will carry for the rest of my life’
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The mother of a murdered 13-month-old baby said she would never forgive her adoptive parents for abusing her son, adding: “The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
High school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually abusing and murdering Preston Davey, whom he adopted with his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, when he was nine months old.
The former government student and financial sales manager was sentenced to 25 years in prison at Preston Crown Court for sexual assault and condoning the baby’s death.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Turner said Preston had been subjected to “remitting abuse” and neglect before he was killed by Varley during a sex attack.
Turning to Varley, he said: “It was you who did this. You killed him. Aggravated life imprisonment is a sentence of last resort for very serious cases.”
“This is an extremely serious case. You have to spend the rest of your life in prison. You will never be eligible for parole.”
Wearing a purple T-shirt, Varley looked skinny and sat with her hands folded in her lap, looking straight ahead.
During the four months he was in the couple’s care, Preston was routinely mistreated, indecently photographed and videotaped, sexually harassed and physically assaulted, suffering 40 traumatic injuries.
Preston was taken from his mother Sarah Davey, now 42, under an urgent care order from Oldham Council. Ms Davey, aged 14, was jailed for the “unspeakably evil” murder of a frail pensioner in 1998 and has been in and out of prison ever since.
In a victim impact statement, Ms Davey described the day Preston was taken from her as one of the worst days of her life.
He said: “I had no choice in this decision. I tried to take some comfort in believing that he would be safe, loved and protected and that he was with his foster parents Sandra and Paul (Cooper), I trusted them, they and the system trusted you, that trust has been completely and inexcusably broken.”
She added: “I will never forgive you for what you did to my son and the things you prevented him from happening and achieving in his life.
“Every day, I experience the unimaginable pain of wondering what he is going through. These thoughts do not leave me. They are with me when I wake up, and haunt me when I try to sleep. The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.”
In his victim impact statement, Preston’s biological father, Gary Nolan, described his sadness when he heard the news of his son’s death. Mr Nolan, who was “hysterical and crying”, was taken to hospital for his own safety and is still taking medication to control his anxiety and depression.
He said: “Preston was my first and only son. Taking him away from me prevented me from establishing a father-son relationship.
“I was looking forward to doing simple things with him, playing football, teaching him to ride his bike, seeing him ask me for help, learning to drive, and of course celebrating his birthdays.
“This deprived my three daughters and me of having those opportunities.”
Sarah Cooper, who cared for Preston with her husband Paul, said his death had a “huge impact” on their lives so they decided not to retire from caring.
He said: “We felt we had a duty to other children and we couldn’t just sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that other children were being abused, mistreated and could die.
“My husband Paul and I continued to raise the children to protect them. We do this for Preston, in his memory.”
Mr Cooper said the horrific crime had led to him losing trust in the system, adding: “Preston had his whole life ahead of him, which should have been a happy life with a new family. I’ll never forget him. I’ll never forget him.”
“I cannot express the pain I feel enough to talk about this and how her life was cut so short. I will never forget you, Preston.”
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley’s adoption was approved in January 2023, and Preston went to live at their home in Blackpool, Lancashire, in April 2023. Following an eight-week trial, both men were convicted by a jury at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
Varley 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 photographs or videos of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child to other defendants and one count of taking an indecent photograph.
McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of cruelty to children and one count of sexually assaulting a child.
The hearing heard Preston was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death, April 27, 2023, and was seen by a “group of professionals” throughout his life, including numerous social workers, health visitors and paramedics. Social services investigation is ongoing.
A government spokesman said Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were “evil abusers” who exploited a defenseless child.
The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will operate an independent review into the “appalling” case: “The public are rightly demanding answers about what went wrong and we can reassure them that we will ensure anyone responsible for negligence faces the consequences.”
