THE FINAL HOURS OF PRESTON DAVEY: WHAT THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE REVEALED

LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND — The death of 13-month-old Preston Davey was initially presented as a possible drowning. But the forensic evidence examined during the investigation and trial told a very different story.

A Home Office postmortem found that Preston had suffered around 40 traumatic injuries during the four months he was in the care of Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley. The injuries included extensive bruising, internal injuries and a healing fracture to his left arm that was determined to be non-accidental.

The evidence ultimately helped prosecutors establish that Preston’s death was not the result of an accidental drowning.

THE TIMELINE THAT CHANGED THE CASE

Preston was placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley in March 2023 as part of the adoption process.

Within weeks, investigators began finding evidence of physical cruelty in photographs and videos recovered from the men’s phones.

Preston was taken to hospital multiple times before his death, including visits for breathing difficulties, bruising and a fractured arm. Investigators later discovered that some explanations given for his injuries were inconsistent with the evidence recovered from the phones.

On July 27, 2023, the investigation reached its devastating conclusion.

At approximately 4:45 p.m., Varley recorded a video showing Preston in severe respiratory distress. Police said the child was visibly struggling to breathe.

About an hour and a half later, at 6:24 p.m., Preston arrived at hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

Medical teams attempted to save him, but he was pronounced dead that evening.

THE BATH EXPLANATION

After arriving at the hospital, Varley claimed that Preston had been left alone in a bath for several minutes and was later discovered submerged.

But medical evidence did not support the explanation.

Preston arrived at the hospital completely dry, and the postmortem examination ruled out drowning as the cause of death.

Instead, the Home Office pathologist concluded that Preston died from acute upper-airway obstruction.

Prosecutors argued that his airway had been obstructed during an assault earlier that day.

THE EVIDENCE OF LONG-TERM ABUSE

The significance of the forensic findings was not limited to Preston’s final hours.

The approximately 40 injuries documented during the postmortem examination demonstrated the extent of the trauma he had suffered while living with the defendants.

Investigators found evidence of bruising to his head, mouth and throat, internal injuries and a healing fracture to his arm. Other medical evidence indicated injuries consistent with sexual abuse.

The prosecution also relied heavily on digital evidence recovered from mobile phones, including photographs and videos recorded throughout the months before Preston died.

Together, prosecutors argued, the evidence showed a continuing pattern of cruelty rather than a single unexplained medical emergency.

THE VERDICT

After a seven-week trial at Preston Crown Court, Jamie Varley was convicted of murder and multiple other offenses involving Preston.

His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual assault.

On June 18, Varley was given a whole-life order, meaning he will remain in prison for the rest of his life.

McGowan-Fazakerley was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

The case has left serious questions about how warning signs were handled. Preston had been seen by medical professionals and had been taken to hospital several times during the months before his death.

But the most important evidence came from what investigators eventually reconstructed from the medical records, photographs, videos and forensic examination.

What was initially described as a possible bath accident ultimately became a murder investigation.

And the forensic evidence provided the timeline that prosecutors used to show how a 13-month-old boy suffered repeated injuries before dying from an acute obstruction of his airway.

Preston Davey’s final hours were only one part of the investigation. The larger forensic picture revealed four months of escalating abuse that ended with the death of a child who had been placed in the defendants’ care for protection and a permanent home.