Jamie Varley has been sentenced to a whole life order for the murder of his 13-month-old adopted son Preston Davey, meaning he will never be released from prison.
The 37-year-old textiles teacher from Blackpool, who also served as head of year and safeguarding lead at a comprehensive school, was told by Mr Justice Turner at Preston Crown Court: “You will stay in prison for the rest of your life.”
Varley had claimed Preston drowned in the bath in July 2023 after he left him unattended for a couple of minutes. But a post-mortem examination found more than 40 injuries on the baby’s body, including 30 visible bruises and serious internal injuries, exposing that account as a lie. A jury convicted him of murder following a harrowing trial in which he was also found guilty of 24 other charges including sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, cruelty and 13 counts of taking and distributing indecent images of the child.
Varley’s partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who was at work on the day Preston died, was convicted of sexual assault, two counts of cruelty and allowing Preston’s death. He was sentenced separately.
Preston had been removed from his birth mother — herself a convicted murderer — at just five days old in 2022 and placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley. He spent his first night at their Blackpool home at the end of March 2023 and died on 27 July that year, with his adoption not yet finalised at the time of his death.
