The text was sent just weeks before Preston Davey died.
Preston Davey died aged 13 months after suffering multiple injuries (Image: Lancashire Police/PA Wire)
A vile text message a UK teacher sent to his partner after he was found to have sexually assaulted and murdered a baby boy was heard in court. Jamie Varley, 37, was handed a whole-life order for the murder and sexual abuse of adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey.
His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was jailed for 25 years for allowing Preston’s death, child cruelty and sexual assault.Varley was convicted of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of child cruelty, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child and a string of indecent image offences. McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and sexual assault of a child. During the trial, the court heard that Varley messaged his boyfriend saying “Your son’s in hospital, I strangled him” just weeks before he died. Jurors heard that Preston died in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest just four months after the pair adopted him.
Jamie Varley, 37, was convicted of the murder and sexual abuse (Image: Lancashire Police/PA Wire)
At the time of the text, Preston had been admitted to hospital with an elbow fracture on July 8, 2023.
The teacher followed up the ‘strangled’ text with, “Jokes, just give me a call when done.”
An autopsy revealed that the tot was subjected to 40 separate injuries.
Shortly after Preston began living with the couple in their Blackpool home, in April 2023, confessed he was struggling with a lack of sleep due to the baby constantly waking in the night.
The jury heard he had taken a year off work as head of year at South Shore Academy to adopt the child.
Just days later on April 6, he texted his sister, who is also a baby sleep trainer, saying “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every, one and a half hours.”
John McGowan-Fazakerley was jailed for 25 years (Image: Lancashire Police/PA Wire)
Four days later, Varley sent his mother a video of Preston in his walker, to which she replied, “Clever boy xxx.” Varley then replied, “This was before he was murdered and put to bed.”
He texted his friend, “First sleep over. I wanted to put him in the field with the cows,” but then went on to describe Preston as a “ray of sunshine”.
Varley added that the child was “refusing” to go to sleep, wand was “very needy”. He texted another friend to say “He’s just annoying. Lol.”
He goes on to tell the friend: “Right now we are questioning every choice.”
In other messages, Varley says Preston is “crying all the time”, and that they are “really struggling” as the lack of sleep is a “nightmare”.
Preston was described by former foster carer Sandra Cooper as a “very happy” baby during the 10 months she looked after him after his birth in June 2022.
Baby Preston Davey (Image: Daily Express)
Jurors heard that while living with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley, Preston was taken to hospital three times, including with the fractured left elbow.
On July 27, 2023, the 13-month-old was rushed to hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest. Varley told police he had briefly left Preston alone in the bath and returned to find him drowning.
However, a post-mortem examination revealed multiple non-accidental internal and external injuries.
Experts concluded Preston died from an acute obstruction of his upper airway, caused either by smothering with a hand or fabric, or by an object being forced into his mouth.
An autopsy found he had suffered around 40 separate injuries.
Throughout the trial, Varley denied murdering or sexually assaulting Preston, while McGowan-Fazakerley denied sexually assaulting the child and denied allowing his death. Both were convicted by the jury.