Social workers and medical professionals failed to spot multiple red flags that could have exposed the abuse baby Preston Davey endured before his adoptive father killed him, according to accusations leveled against the agencies involved.
The 13-month-old died in July 2023, just weeks after he was placed with gay couple Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32.
While in the pair’s care, he suffered physical, sexual and psychological abuse before he was ultimately suffocated when an object was forced into his mouth.
Debbie Davey, Preston’s maternal grandmother, has raised the question of whether social workers let fears of being labelled homophobic affect their judgment.
Following an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court, Varley was convicted of murder, 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 of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.
McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault of a child.
Varley stood in the dock and put his hands to his face in shock as the verdicts were delivered, before he collapsed to his knees, retching and vomiting. His co-accused showed no reaction, but his father was seen shaking his head.
Preston was taken to hospital three times before he was killed, and on each occasion, medical staff spotted bruises on his body. On one occasion, a hospital safeguarding team referred the matter to Lancashire Constabulary, but the matter was closed after a consultant said there was nothing to worry about.
A spokesman for the force said: “On 25th May 2023, Varley took Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital stating he had breathing difficulties and that he had suffered a seizure.”
They said a detective from the child protection team attended but “medical staff indicated there were no concerns around potential non-accidental injury”. The spokesman added: “As a result, we did not see baby Preston, Jamie Varley or John McGowan-Fazakerley that day.”
Social workers visited Preston at home several times before his death, but they failed to notice he was being mistreated and harmed. A post mortem examination found more than 40 external and internal bruises, as well as injuries consistent with sexual assault.
Preston’s grandmother, Debbie Davey, 66, who could not care for him after being diagnosed with breast cancer, has accused social workers of failing to spot the abuse.
She told The Telegraph: “I hate social services with a passion. What they did was disgusting. The social worker came to see me one day and said that she had just visited Preston.
“She said he had been crying a bit, was a little weepy, but they [Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley] told her it was because he’d just had his injections. She just took their word for it.
“Concerns had been flagged up at the hospital at least twice and nothing was done. He had been to hospital a good few times and the hospital flagged it up and nobody went to see them to check on Preston. That is disgusting.”
Mrs Davey added: “They had taken Preston to hospital on one occasion because he had breathing problems, and he needed to be resuscitated and brought round. Then there was [the time] he had a broken arm.
“The social worker involved in Preston’s case is still working, and I am fuming about that. She was supposed to be checking on Preston. I think it’s terrible that she is still working and my baby is dead.”
She questioned whether fears of homophobia accusations preoccupied the social workers, saying: “Social services might have been hesitant to take action when they saw Preston because they may have been accused of being homophobic.
“They didn’t see through them and see what was going on to Preston. As soon as you see a baby with a broken arm, you ask questions.”
Preston’s tragically short life had a difficult start. His mother Sarah, 42, was sent to prison at the age of 14 for murdering a pensioner, and struggled with substance abuse after she was released.
Preston was born at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester on June 16, 2022. He was four weeks premature, but he was healthy with no major medical issues.
Because of Sarah Davey’s personal difficulties, Oldham council immediately applied for an interim care order. His grandmother, who cared for Sarah’s older child, was about to start treatment for breast cancer and could not look after a newborn.
After spending his first week in hospital with his mother, Preston was placed with foster carers Sandra and Paul Cooper. The Coopers had been fostering for 27 years, and Preston was the 43rd child they had cared for.
He was slow to regain his birth weight and was later diagnosed with a dairy allergy and reflux. He was also a poor sleeper, and Mrs Cooper said it was not unusual for him to be up 10 times during the night.
Despite these issues, he thrived during his time with the Coopers, who described him as a gorgeous little boy who was having a “really nice life”.
When Preston was seven months old, news came through that Varley, a teacher, and McGowan-Fazakerley, a sales rep, had been approved for adoption. The couple, from Blackpool, Lancashire, had been together since 2018 and officials considered them to be in a loving and stable relationship.
They had started their application in December 2021, and after deferring for a period because of work commitments, they were approved in January 2023. Adoption Now, a private company that handled adoptions for several local authorities in the North West, managed the process.
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley have said they saw Preston on Adoption Now’s website and knew immediately he was the little boy they wanted. They visited him for the first time on February 13, and he was formally handed over to them on April 4.
Varley, a textiles teacher and head of Year 11 at South Shore Academy in Blackpool, was one of six children and had several nieces and nephews. He was to be the main caregiver, while McGowan-Fazakerley, who worked for a financial firm, would be the breadwinner.
‘He’s dead meat today’
Mrs Cooper remained in contact to offer support, but within weeks she found that the relationship with the two adoptive fathers had deteriorated. She later said she was worried they were trying to hide Preston from her.
The child’s ongoing sleep problems meant he would wake repeatedly at night, and Varley complained to friends that he was struggling to cope. In one message, he wrote: “I love him to bits but he is killing us.” In another, he told his sister: “He’s dead meat today.”
The couple’s relationship came under immense strain, and neighbours reported hearing raised voices. Despite regular visits during this period, social workers failed to spot that events were beginning to spiral out of control.
In early May, a month after Preston had been handed to the couple, McGowan-Fazakerley dialled 999 then ended the call after four seconds.
The call handler heard a voice in the background sternly saying “put it down” before the line went dead. The couple claimed he had dialled 999 by mistake, intending to call the NHS 111 number.
A fortnight later, on May 25, Preston was taken to hospital. It was the first of three occasions he would be there in a little over a month.
He was admitted with a chest infection after Varley reported he was having breathing problems. A nurse noticed bruises on either side of his forehead and referred it to the hospital safeguarding team, who informed Lancashire Constabulary.
Social workers are adamant that no safeguarding concerns were raised with them at the time. A medical report said the injuries were consistent with the version of events the couple provided: that the bruises were accidental.
Two weeks later, Amy Shepherdson, a social worker, wrote in her notes: “The family have experienced a very challenging time with Preston in hospital, however they have managed this brilliantly and have really pulled together as a team.”
In mid June, while McGowan-Fazakerley was away on a business trip, Varley filmed a clearly exhausted Preston being kept awake deliberately.
The soundtrack to Moana, a children’s film, was playing loudly in the background, and at one point, as Preston started to fall asleep, Varley yelled “boo” at him, frightening him awake. About an hour later, he recorded another video showing Preston in distress.
Varley claimed it was evidence of a seizure, but prosecutors insisted it was a “trophy video” filmed after he sexually assaulted the little boy. Other videos recovered from Varley’s phone showed alleged cruelty towards Preston.
In one, he spun the boy violently on a playground roundabout, to the child’s obvious distress. He had set the video to Spinning Around, a song by Kylie Minogue.
Another 14-minute video showed Preston whimpering in distress in a bath of shallow water while Varley made no attempt to help or comfort him.
On June 30, Preston was admitted to hospital for a second time with a fever and a rash. Doctors again noticed bruising, but Varley told them the baby was clumsy and bruised easily. He even remarked to medics: “You lot are going to think we have been abusing him or something.”
Paediatrician had ‘no concerns’
He showed hospital staff a video of Preston pulling a toy box on to his own head. The video had been recorded 12 days earlier, so it could not have accounted for the bruising.
On July 4, Ms Shepherdson visited the family and noted that Preston was pale and did not seem himself, but she sought no further intervention. Two days later, on July 6, Preston was back in hospital, this time with a broken arm.
Varley told medics he may have accidentally twisted the arm when putting him back into his cot, but he gave a different explanation when describing what had happened to friends.
In a WhatsApp message to the couple, Ms Shepherdson said a paediatrician had told her about the incident, but added: “Just to reassure you, she said they have absolutely no concerns.”
She later wrote in her notes: “Jamie was beside himself and he was feeling bad about Preston’s arm. He was very teary and gaunt-looking.”
As a result of the fracture, Helen Magee, another social worker, visited the couple’s home on July 7.
In her notes, she wrote: “I did watch your [Preston’s] responses to your daddies quite carefully as I’m aware that you had a few hospital admissions of late and this made me ponder a little bit as to whether there was a problem I could see. I decided there wasn’t.”
Meanwhile, Varley was telling friends how difficult he was finding fatherhood.
In a message to Rachel Alty, a fellow teacher at South Shore Academy, he said: “I haven’t seen anyone or left the house in weeks. I’ve felt the worst I’ve ever felt and not wanted to be here. At best, I’ve just felt emotionless and upset, like I’m a s— dad.”
In a message to another friend, he wrote: “Can’t cope with any more hospital visits and social workers.”
Ms Alty was concerned and raised the issue with colleagues at the academy, and Rebecca Warhurst, their headteacher, visited Varley at home. She acknowledged the strain Varley was under but noted he was “in good spirits under the circumstances [with] no immediate concern about his welfare”.
But around the same time, Varley confided to a close friend, Janet Gee, that he was having dark thoughts about harming Preston.
On July 23, four days before his death, Varley recorded a video of Preston in great distress, hanging over the railing of his cot.
He and McGowan-Fazakerley were both at the house at the time, and prosecutors said the video had been recorded after the 11-month-old baby had been sexually assaulted.
On July 27, the day Preston died, the couple had left him with Varley’s mother, Karen Graham, because they had an appointment with a mortgage adviser.
After the meeting, McGowan-Fazakerley went to work in Salford Quays while Varley collected Preston, returning home at about 3pm. Records show he was playing on his phone until 4.37pm, after which there was a seven-minute gap.
Varley said he had probably fallen asleep, but prosecutors suggested those seven minutes were when he sexually assaulted the little boy, placing something in his mouth that stopped him breathing and eventually led to his death.
Afterwards, Varley recorded a video showing Preston lying on his bed struggling to breathe, before he returned to social media and messaged a man who wanted to buy a kayak he was selling.
Varley: ‘I f—— killed him’
McGowan-Fazakerley arrived home at 6.15pm to find the door locked. He said when he got inside, Varley was in distress and Preston was on the floor being sick.
Varley claimed he had been bathing him and had left him for a couple of minutes to shower and change. He said when he returned, Preston had slipped out of his bath seat and was under water.
The couple got into their car, with Varley not even stopping to put on shoes, and drove to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in about two minutes. When they arrived, Preston was in cardiac arrest, and medics immediately tried to resuscitate him.
Varley was inconsolable and was shouting “don’t let him die” and “I f—— killed him”. At one point he had to be told to stop trying to give Preston mouth-to-mouth, because it was inappropriate. The baby could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at 7.18pm.
One nurse described how Varley threw himself to the floor dramatically and began howling, but she said she never saw any tears.
Medics were immediately suspicious of Varley’s explanation that Preston had drowned in the bath. The baby’s clothes, skin and hair were dry, and there was no water coming out of his nose or mouth.
Both men were arrested on suspicion of child neglect, questioned and released on police bail. After a period apart, they moved back in together and continued their relationship, with McGowan-Fazakerley claiming he was trying to “heal” his partner.
However, the pathologist’s report suggested the death had not been accidental and identified several other injuries. Preston had 30 external bruises, internal bruising in his mouth and throat, internal bruising to his anus, bowel and bladder, lacerations to his anorectum, and a perforated bowel.
One medical expert said a bruise on the baby’s bottom appeared to be a bite mark. Police found images and videos on Varley’s phone, including of the baby’s bottom and private parts, which prosecutors claimed were indecent and had been captured for sexual gratification.
In June last year, just before what would have been Preston’s third birthday, both men were rearrested and charged with almost 30 separate offences.
A spokesman for Oldham council said: “The death of any child is a tragedy, but this is a particularly heart-wrenching and disturbing case. We are thankful that the perpetrators of the sickening murder and abuse of an innocent child have today been convicted for their crimes.
“An independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review is already underway, which will examine the handling of Preston’s safeguarding. Our thoughts remain with Preston’s family, loved ones, and the many people affected by this case.”
A spokesman for Adoption Now, which arranged Preston’s adoption, said: “This was a deeply upsetting case, and our thoughts are with everyone affected by these truly awful crimes.
“Adoption Now follows a strict and rigorous process in line with all relevant legislation and guidance in the assessment and approval of adopters. An independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review is being completed.”
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