Preston Davey, a 13-month-old baby, was killed in his home in Blackpool, Great Britain, by one of his proposed adoptive parents after months of physical and sexual abuse, the court was told.
A 13-month-old baby was "regularly physically and sexually abused" by his gay adoptive parents before being killed by one of them, the court was told. Preston Davey was adopted by Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley in April 2023 when he was nine months old. Less than four months later, he was rushed to the emergency room in cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after. A jury at the Crown Court said the cause of Preston's death was an airway obstruction, either from choking or from something being placed in his mouth that prevented him from breathing.
Mr. Varley, a former high school teacher, is accused of killing Preston at their home in Blackpool on July 27, 2023. He is also charged with sexual assault, cruelty, grievous bodily harm, assault by penetration, taking indecent images of a child, and distributing them. John McGowan-Fazakerley, his partner and co-defendant, was not at home when Preston is alleged to have been killed.
He is charged with allowing the death of a child, cruelty to a child, and sexual assault.
Mr. Varley, dressed in a cream suit, white open-collar shirt, and shoulder-length hair with thin blonde streaks, sat next to his co-defendant in the dock, a few meters from Preston's mother in the public gallery. On the first day of their trial, prosecutor Peter Wright KC told the jury it would be a "highly emotionally charged case."
He said: "Preston Davey was born on June 16, 2022. In April 2023, then nine months old, he was placed with the defendants Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley with the intention of being formally adopted by them.
"At the time of these events, the defendants lived together as a couple at an address in Blackpool.
"Less than four months later, around 6:30 PM on Thursday, July 27, 2023, Preston Davey was brought to the accident and emergency department of Blackpool Victoria Hospital by the defendants.
"Preston Davey was unconscious and in cardiac arrest. At that time, he was only 13 months old. Despite the best efforts of the medical staff on duty at the hospital, Preston Davey was in terminal decline, and at 7:18 PM, he was pronounced dead."
Prosecutor Wright continued: "As terrible as it is, this tragedy was not the result of a terrible accident or natural phenomenon... we say the evidence shows he was killed by one of the people entrusted with his welfare, one of his proposed adoptive parents." "We say the person responsible for the death of Preston Davey was the defendant, Jamie Varley."
The jurors were told that during the four months Preston lived with the defendants, he was physically and psychologically mistreated, as well as sexually abused.
"After he was placed for adoption with the defendants and lived with them in Blackpool, he was admitted to Blackpool Victoria on three occasions," the prosecutor said.
A post-mortem examination revealed he had suffered at least 40 traumatic injuries while in the care of the defendants, Mr. Wright explained. The jury was told the injuries included at least 30 external bruises, internal bruising in the mouth and throat, internal bruising in the buttocks, intestines, and bladder, tears in his rectum, and a broken arm.
The prosecutor said the person primarily responsible for the sexual and physical assaults was Mr. Varley, but there was also evidence implicating both defendants in a previous sexual assault on Preston, as well as neglect.
The court was told that Mr. McGowan-Fazakerley was at work on the day Preston is alleged to have been assaulted to death.
Wright said the prosecution's argument was that he should have known the danger the baby was in but failed to protect him.
The court heard that when Varley's mobile phone was seized, a number of indecent images of Preston were allegedly found.
Wright said they were not the usual type of photos taken by a loving parent and explained that some of the photos were shared with Mr. McGowan-Fazakerley.
The jury was told there was also a recording showing Preston apparently left unsupervised, sliding uncontrollably in a bathtub for 14 minutes without any adult intervention.
Jamie Varley is also accused of intentionally depriving the baby of sleep and violently spinning him on a children's playground roundabout, leaving him disoriented.
Varley denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of indecent images and videos of a child, and one count of distributing indecent images of a child to his partner.
McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.