Two Men Convicted of Murdering and Sexually Abusing 13-Month-Old Boy in Their Care

A Preston Crown Court jury convicted Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey, who had been placed with them by Oldham Council. The same jury found Varley guilty of 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 count of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his co-accused, and one count of making an indecent photo.

John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was convicted of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty, and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

Preston Davey died in July 2023. He had been removed from his mother by Oldham Council under an emergency care order and placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley in Blackpool in April 2023 at nine months old. In the four months he lived with the couple, Preston suffered 40 traumatic injuries.

The eight-week trial ended after the jury deliberated for approximately 14 hours. Varley stood in the dock and put his hands to his face as the verdicts were read, then collapsed to his knees, retching and vomiting. Preston had been taken to hospital three times in the weeks before his death.

Social workers, teachers, doctors, and nurses had seen him during that period. Karen Tonge of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This has been one of the most shocking and horrific cases I have dealt with in my career. Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley had a responsibility to care for and protect baby Preston.

Tonge added: “It is difficult to comprehend how the very people who should have loved him could inflict such sickening physical and sexual harm on an innocent child. ” A Child Safeguarding Practice Review launched by Oldham Council after Preston’s death was paused during the criminal proceedings and is expected to resume.

Preston’s mother, Sarah Davey, was jailed in 1998 at age 14 for the murder of a frail pensioner.