A British teacher has been convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a 13-month-old boy he and his partner were preparing to adopt, in what investigators described as a four-month campaign of “pure evil.”
According to a June 15 news release from the Lancashire Constabulary, Jamie Varley was found guilty of murder, sexually assaulting a child, causing grievous bodily harm, child cruelty, taking indecent images of a child, possessing indecent images of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.
Varley’s partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, was also convicted on charges of causing or allowing a child’s death, child cruelty offenses and sexual assault.
Both defendants denied the allegations, the BBC reported.
The verdicts came after a seven-week trial that laid out the severe abuse suffered by Preston Elijah Davey while he was living with the couple.
Preston, who had previously been described as a happy, healthy child, was placed in their care in March 2023. Police said that within a matter of weeks, Varley had sent messages to a friend saying the toddler was “annoying” and that he was finding childcare difficult.
Soon after, Varley started recording indecent images and videos of Preston, sharing it with McGowan-Fazakerley through Snapchat, according to police. Some of the footage, police noted, showed injuries on the toddler that were consistent with physical abuse.
That digital evidence captured only part of what was happening behind closed doors.
According to police, in May 2023, McGowan-Fazakerley made a call to emergency services, but quickly hung up after a male voice in the background allegedly said, “put it down.” When dispatch called back, a man who answered said he had called by accident.
Then, about 30 minutes later, McGowan-Fazakerley called the non-emergency line to report that Preston was having trouble breathing and struggling to hold his head up, according to the press release. When a medical professional called back, no one answered.
At that time, the couple did not seek further medical attention, said police.
Later that month, however, they took Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for his breathing difficulties and a seizure. Though hospital staff contacted police, prompting detectives to attend the visit, there were no concerns about potential abuse, according to investigators.
Then, in June, Varley messaged McGowan-Fazakerley, asking him to come home because Preston was experiencing a “potential medical episode,” police noted. However, Varley never pursued medical treatment.
Investigators later recovered evidence from Varley’s phone they said showed him intentionally keeping Preston awake in conduct they called “psychological cruelty.”
Two weeks later, the couple brought Preston back to the hospital for a rash. When staff noted bruising on the boy’s head, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley showed a video of a toy box falling on Preston. However, authorities later determined the footage had been recorded 12 days prior and did not contribute to the bruising.
The abuse escalated during the final months of Preston’s life.
On July 6, Preston was brought to the hospital for a fractured arm, an injury that Varley could not clearly articulate to doctors, according to police.
Varley first explained there was an incident in Preston’s cot, then said the injury occurred while putting the boy in his car seat. Varley then messaged a friend claiming he had caught Preston falling, according to police.
Later, Varley recorded himself spinning Preston on a playground ride at an “excess speed,” police said. In the videos, authorities described Preston as appearing visibly distressed, with his eyes struggling to focus.
Varley then set two of these videos to music, and shared the footage with others, including McGowan-Fazakerley.
A video recovered from Varley’s phone also showed that Preston had once been left alone in the bathtub for more than 14 minutes. The toddler was in “significant distress,” said police, whimpering as he attempted to exit the tub.
On July 27, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley brought Preston to the hospital, unconscious and in cardiac arrest, said police.
Varley told hospital staff he left Preston in the tub for a few minutes and when he returned, the boy was submerged in water, according to police. However, Preston was completely dry. At just 13 months, he did not survive.
That same day, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were arrested on suspicion of child neglect. Later, an autopsy showed that Preston suffered 40 traumatic injuries including to head, extremities and anus, bowel, and bladder. His cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction.
In August 2023, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were re-arrested and found guilty on June 15, 2026. They are scheduled to be sentenced on June 18.
“It is not often in this job that you encounter pure evil,” police spokesperson Andy Fallows said in the press release, adding that the couple, “set about abusing Preston and making his short life a harrowing tale of misery and pain.”
Attorneys for Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Oxygen.
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