Teacher accused of murder ‘kept filming baby as he lay dying’
19:04, 20 Apr 2026Updated 19:04, 20 Apr 2026
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Preston Davey was just 13 months old when he died
A 13-month-old baby allegedly lay dying after being sexually assaulted while the teacher who was in the process of adopting him filmed his final moments, a court was told.
Little Preston Davey was said to have been "routinely ill-treated" by 37-year-old Jamie Varley, who also is alleged to have taken indecent images and videos of the baby. Varley is currently on trial accused of killing Preston and faces 25 other charges relating to sexual and physical abuse the boy suffered.
He appeared at Preston Crown Court on Monday (April 20) alongside his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who is accused of causing or allowing the death of the child and four other offences. Both men deny all charges, reports the Manchester Evening News.
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Preston Davey was 13-months old when he died(Image: Lancashire Police)
Preston had reportedly been sexually assaulted by Varley on the day of his death, Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, told Preston Crown Court. The injuries inflicted during the assault are alleged to have caused internal injuries and Varley subsequently failed to seek medical help, causing further harm.
Officers retrieved footage of Preston, alleged to have been recorded by Varley, lying on a bed in visible pain and showing physical signs of respiratory arrest. The court was told the video, from Varley's seized phone, appeared to show the baby with blue lips while the recording was made, and no help was offered.
Preston's short life had "more than its share of misfortune", the court was told, being put in emergency foster care after his birth, but Preston had been a "perfectly healthy boy" before he was adopted by the defendants in April of 2023. Within four months of the adoption, Preston was admitted to hispital three times prior to his death on July 27, 2023.
“This is inevitably a highly emotionally charged case," Mr Wright told the jury of six women and six men. "It’s a terrible case because it involves the death of a very, very young child. It is inevitable that it will provoke strong feelings in anyone who hears the details of this case.”
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Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Jamie Varley, 36 (left) with co-accused John McGowan-Fazakerley, 31, (right).
Both defendants sat yards from Preston’s biological mother, who was in the public gallery, during proceedings. The child was born on June 16, 2022 and was placed in the care of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley when he was nine months old, in April 2023, living at their home on Staining Road, Blackpool.
At around 6.30pm on July 27, 2023, the baby was rushed to the Accident and Emergency Department of Blackpool Victoria Hospital by the duo, unconscious and in a state of cardiac arrest, Mr Wright told the court,
Despite the best efforts of hospital staff to revive him, Preston was pronounced dead less than an hour later. A post-mortem gave the cause of his death to be acute upper airways obstruction, a result either of a smothering, most likely with a hand or soft fabric or by the insertion of an object or objects into his mouth.
“As terrible as it is, this tragedy was not the result of some dreadful yet unforeseen accident, or natural phenomenon," Mr Wright told the jury, adding, "The evidence gathered during the investigation into his untimely death revealed a much more sinister pathology.
“We say the evidence demonstrates that he was murdered by one of the people entrusted with his wellbeing; one of his proposed adoptive parents.
“We say the person responsible for killing Preston Davey was the defendant, Jamie Varley. But that was not the only tragedy to befall him when in the care of these defendants,” the prosecutor continued. “In the final months of his brief life, we say he was routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted.”
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Preston suffered roughly 40 injuries across the four months spent in the care of the defendants, the court was told. This included 30 external bruises, a fracture to his upper left arm and internal bruising to his mouth, throat and other parts of his body.
Varley was allegedly mostly responsible, though officers recovered evidence that potentially implicates both men in sexual assault, and McGowan-Fazakerley, failing to protect him, Mr Wright said.
The 13-month-old had allegedly been sexually assaulted on the day of his death while his reported attacker, Varley, was home alone with the child and McGowan-Fazakerley was out at work. The co-defendant had joint responsibility for caring for the child, had daily contact and should have been aware of what was going on and protected the youngster, the court heard.
Mr Wright alleged that McGowan-Fazakerley was not only aware of the abuse but also participated in it, warning jurors to “steel themselves” as images of the child were shown on screen, the prosecution said, after he had been sexually assaulted.
Images taken by Varley documented the abuse and were described as not being “happy snaps of family life”, rather they were indecent images, the jury heard. The defendants appeared to be a happy, stable couple, but that was far from the truth, Mr Wright continued.
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.
The trial was adjourned until Tuesday morning.