Prosecutors allege abuse before adopted toddler's death

Prosecutors at Preston Crown Court have presented evidence alleging that Jamie Varley, 37, a former school teacher, and his partner John McGowan-Fazackerley, 32, subjected their adopted 13-month-old son Preston Davey to months of abuse before his death on July 27, 2023, in Blackpool. The toddler, who had been placed with the couple in April 2023, suffered more than 40 non-accidental injuries and died from upper airways obstruction after being rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in cardiac arrest, according to a Home Office pathologist.

Preston was born in June 2022 and taken into care five days later by Oldham Council. Foster carer Sandra Cooper described him in a statement read to the jury as a happy, healthy baby with reflux and sleep issues that improved with simple soothing techniques and a dietary change. She handed him over to Varley and McGowan-Fazackerley following an assessment process, after which the couple adopted him and he moved to their Blackpool home on April 1, 2023.

Within days, Varley texted family and friends expressing frustration over Preston's sleep patterns. On April 6, he messaged his sister, a baby sleep trainer, "He's dead meat today. Didn't sleep...