40 INJURIES. ONE DEADLY FINAL MOMENT. THE FORENSIC EVIDENCE THAT EXPOSED THE TRUTH ABOUT PRESTON DAVEY

For months, Preston Davey was in the care of the people who were supposed to protect him.

Then, on July 27, 2023, the 13-month-old boy was rushed to hospital in cardiac and respiratory arrest.

His adoptive father, Jamie Varley, initially claimed Preston had accidentally drowned in the bath.

But the medical evidence told a very different story.

A Home Office post-mortem examination found that Preston had suffered around 40 traumatic injuries during the four months he had been in Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley’s care.

The injuries included extensive external bruising, internal injuries and a healing fracture to his upper arm that was judged to be non-accidental.

THE BATH STORY COLLAPSED

Varley told investigators that he had left Preston in a bath seat for several minutes before finding him submerged.

But prosecutors pointed to evidence that did not support drowning.

Preston was reportedly completely dry when he arrived at hospital, and medical experts ultimately determined that drowning was not the cause of death.

Instead, the post-mortem established that Preston died from acute upper airway obstruction.

The prosecution case was that his airway had been deliberately obstructed.

THE INJURIES TOLD A MUCH DARKER STORY

The forensic findings did not point to a single isolated accident.

They showed a pattern of serious injuries sustained during the relatively short period Preston lived with his adoptive parents.

Prosecutors also presented phone evidence showing child cruelty, while experts established that Varley had taken indecent images and videos of Preston.

The evidence ultimately convinced the jury that what happened to Preston was not a tragic bath accident.

It was abuse.

And it ended with the death of a child who was only 13 months old.

JUSTICE CAME YEARS LATER

On June 15, 2026, Jamie Varley was found guilty of murdering Preston, as well as multiple sexual and child-cruelty offences.

His former partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, was convicted of allowing Preston’s death, child cruelty and sexual assault.

Three days later, Varley was sentenced to a whole-life order, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

McGowan-Fazakerley received a 25-year sentence, of which he must serve two-thirds.

The forensic evidence did not merely challenge the original explanation for Preston’s death.

It helped reveal what had happened to him during the final months of his short life.

Around 40 traumatic injuries.

A fatal airway obstruction.

A false explanation about a bath.

And a 13-month-old child who could no longer speak for himself.

Now, the evidence speaks for him.

The convictions and sentences cited above are official findings of the UK courts. Details about the abuse were established during the criminal proceedings and reported by the Crown Prosecution Service and Lancashire Police.