An “evil monster” who sexually abused and murdered his adopted baby has been told he will die in jail for a crime police say has “truly shocked the nation,” after one of the most disturbing child abuse cases in recent UK legal history concluded at Preston Crown Court on June 18, 2026.
High-school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was handed a rare whole-life order for killing 13-month-old Preston Davey, the baby he had adopted at nine months old with his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32. The sentence means Varley will never be eligible for parole and will spend the rest of his life behind bars.
McGowan-Fazakerley, described in court as a former public schoolboy and financial sales manager, was jailed for 25 years after being convicted of sexual assault, child cruelty, and allowing the baby’s death.
A Child Placed Into Protection, Then Handed Into Trust
Preston Elijah Davey was born on June 16, 2022. From the very start, his life was shaped by intervention from the state. Within days of his birth, he was removed from his biological mother under an emergency care order issued by Oldham Council. Authorities judged that he could not safely remain in parental care, and so he entered the foster system.
In those early months, Preston lived with experienced foster carers Sandra and Paul Cooper. Their testimony later became a crucial part of the case because it established an important baseline: a child who was, at that stage, healthy, developing normally, and emotionally secure within foster care.
Sandra Cooper later told the court she initially believed Preston’s eventual adoptive placement would be positive. When Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley were approved, they appeared to present as stable and suitable adoptive parents. That impression was reinforced by Varley’s professional identity as a high-school teacher and McGowan-Fazakerley’s employment in financial services.
The decision was made in January 2023. By April 2023, Preston left foster care and moved into their home in Blackpool, Lancashire. It was meant to be a permanent placement. Instead, it became the setting for his final months.
The First Signs of Instability Inside the Home
Evidence presented in court showed that concerns emerged almost immediately after the adoption placement began. Within a month, foster carer Sandra Cooper described a “gut feeling” that something was wrong. While she could not identify a single visible incident at that stage, she later said the change in Preston’s demeanor and the lack of reassurance from the adoptive home raised alarm.
At the same time, Varley’s private behavior began to shift. Investigators found that he expressed difficulty coping with caring responsibilities. He reportedly told colleagues he was experiencing “dark thoughts” about Preston, including disturbing thoughts of suffocation or drowning.
These statements became significant during sentencing because they established that internalized resentment was present early, not after months of strain. The judge later concluded that Varley’s “growing and selfish resentment” toward the child was part of what shaped his actions in the weeks that followed.
Life in the Home
Once Preston was in the Blackpool household, Varley became his primary daytime caregiver. McGowan-Fazakerley worked during the day, leaving long periods where Varley had sole responsibility for the child. This structure of isolation was critical in the prosecution case. It meant that much of what occurred inside the home was not directly witnessed by outsiders.
Over the following four months, prosecutors said Preston was subjected to escalating abuse. The court heard that he was physically assaulted, sexually abused, and neglected. In addition, indecent images and videos of the child were created and shared.
The scale of harm was later summarized in court as approximately forty traumatic injuries, accumulated over repeated incidents rather than a single event. Medical experts linked these injuries to a pattern of sustained violence. Lancashire Police later described the abuse as “catalogue-like,” meaning it was continuous and varied rather than isolated.
Hospital Visits and Missed Opportunities for Intervention
One of the most closely examined parts of the case was Preston’s repeated contact with medical services. He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death. On at least one occasion, Varley claimed Preston had experienced breathing difficulties and a seizure. These presentations triggered concern among medical staff, and safeguarding protocols were activated.
However, despite these red flags, the full pattern of abuse was not identified in real time. Investigators later noted that Preston was seen by a “battery of professionals,” including social workers, health visitors, nurses, and doctors. Each interaction captured a fragment of concern, but no single point of contact reconstructed the full picture of ongoing abuse.
This fragmentation became a central issue in the safeguarding review: information existed, but it was not unified quickly enough to prevent further harm.
Increasing Control, Distress Signals, and Warning Behaviors
As the months progressed, Varley’s behavior reportedly became more volatile. Evidence suggested he complained about lack of sleep, stress, and strain on his relationship. The court also heard that he continued to express resentment toward the child, framing Preston as a burden rather than a dependent infant.
Mr Justice Turner told the court he was satisfied that this resentment contributed to how Preston was treated in the weeks leading up to his death.
The judge also made a significant observation about perception versus reality. He said Varley’s professional identity and “easy manner” created a false sense of reassurance among professionals. In other words, outward presentation masked internal risk.
The Final Period
By July 2023, the situation inside the home had reached its most extreme point. On July 27, 2023, Preston Davey died following what prosecutors described as a sexual assault carried out by Varley. The court accepted that this final attack occurred within a broader pattern of sustained abuse rather than an isolated incident.
When emergency services and investigators later reconstructed events, they found that Preston’s condition reflected prolonged harm, not sudden injury alone. The prosecution case argued that the abuse had intensified rather than diminished over time, culminating in the fatal assault.
Arrest, Trial, and the Scale of Convictions
Jurors at the court were shown the police video interview of McGowan-Fazakerley being asked to account for the child’s injuries. He was asked a series of questions about bruises and abrasions to the baby’s head, both arms, both legs, chest and back.
McGowan-Fazakerley replied: “I’ve never caused any injuries to him ever, I’ve never hurt him, never done anything to him. “I’ve never seen anybody hurt him and I would never allow anybody to hurt him.”
Following the investigation, both men were arrested and later tried at Preston Crown Court over an eight-week hearing.
The jury convicted:
- Jamie Varley of murder
- Two counts of assault by penetration
- Five counts of child cruelty
- Grievous bodily harm
- Sexual assault of a child
- Multiple counts relating to indecent images and videos of a child, including creation and distribution
McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of:
- Two counts of child cruelty
- One count of sexual assault of a child
These convictions reflected not only direct violence but also sustained exposure, failure to intervene, and participation in abusive conduct within the household environment.
Sentencing
At sentencing, Mr Justice Turner delivered one of the most severe outcomes available under UK law: a whole-life order for Varley.
He told the defendant:
“It was you who did this. You murdered him.” A whole-life order is a sentence of last resort for cases of the most extreme gravity.
He added:
“You must stay in prison for the rest of your life. You will never be eligible for parole.”
Varley showed no visible reaction in court, sitting still, hands folded, staring forward. McGowan-Fazakerley received 25 years, reflecting his role in allowing the death and participating in abuse while failing to protect the child.
Police Description, “Evil, Monstrous, and Sadistic”
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows, who led the investigation, gave one of the strongest official characterisations of any recent UK child murder case.
He said:
“Jamie Varley is an evil and monstrous individual who sexually, physically and mentally abused a vulnerable baby for his own sadistic pleasure.”
He added that the case had “truly shocked the nation,” and described it as one of the most difficult investigations his team had ever undertaken. He also stated that both men showed “no remorse,” a conclusion drawn from interview responses and trial evidence.
Family Testimony
Preston’s biological mother described the moment her child was removed as traumatic, but said she believed it was done for his safety. She told the court she trusted the system, believing foster care and adoption would protect him. That trust, she said, was “completely and unforgivably broken.”
Her victim statement described ongoing psychological torment, including vivid and persistent thoughts about what her child endured. Preston’s father described being hospitalized after hearing of his son’s death, overwhelmed by shock and grief. He spoke of losing the future he had imagined, including everyday milestones like football games, birthdays, and school events.
Foster Carers and the Meaning of Memory
Sandra and Paul Cooper, who fostered Preston before adoption, said his death fundamentally changed their lives.
Rather than withdraw from fostering, they chose to continue.
“We are doing this for Preston,” Sandra Cooper said. “In his memory.”
Their decision reflects one of the most human contradictions in the case: even in the aftermath of extreme failure, individuals within the system continue to work inside it.
A Case That Now Sits Inside a Wider System Review
Authorities have confirmed that Preston’s death will be examined through a national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel alongside a local authority investigation. Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza described the case as a “failure of the state and the safeguarding system,” and said the central question is whether the death could have been prevented. That question remains unresolved in structural terms, even though the criminal case itself is closed.
Final Reality
What makes this case so difficult to process is not only its brutality, but its progression: a child removed for protection, placed into professional assessment systems, adopted into a formally approved home, seen by multiple professionals during distress, and still exposed to sustained and fatal abuse.
Every layer of the system existed. Every layer failed to connect in time. And in the middle of those failures was Preston Davey, a child whose entire life lasted just over a year, most of it spent moving between systems designed to keep him safe.
