PRESTON DAVEY CASE: THE FINAL TIMELINE, 40 INJURIES AND THE DIGITAL EVIDENCE THAT HELPED EXPOSE THE TRUTH

A 13-month-old boy was placed with prospective adoptive parents expecting safety and care. Four months later, Preston Davey was dead. What investigators uncovered afterward — including medical findings, dozens of injuries and videos recovered from a phone — helped prosecutors build a devastating case that ultimately ended with Jamie Varley convicted of murder.

LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND — Preston Davey was just 13 months old when his short life came to an end on July 27, 2023.

For the first nine months of his life, Preston had been described by health professionals and his foster carers as a happy, healthy baby.

Then, in March 2023, he was placed with Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley, who were in the process of adopting him.

Four months later, Preston was dead.

The evidence uncovered during the investigation would reveal a pattern of abuse that prosecutors said had begun almost immediately after he entered their care.

THE STORY THAT FIRST EMERGED

On the afternoon of July 27, Preston was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

Varley claimed that Preston had accidentally drowned after being left unattended in a bath.

But the postmortem examination ultimately contradicted that explanation.

Experts concluded that Preston died from acute upper-airway obstruction — meaning his airway had been obstructed, rather than him dying from accidental drowning.

That finding became a crucial part of the prosecution’s case.

THE 4:45 P.M. VIDEO

Perhaps one of the most important pieces of digital evidence was a video recovered from Varley’s phone.

At approximately 4:45 p.m. on July 27, Varley recorded Preston while the child was struggling to breathe.

Later that evening, at around 6:24 p.m., Preston was taken to hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

Despite attempts by medical staff to save him, he was pronounced dead at approximately 7:20 p.m.

That digital timestamp provided investigators with a disturbing window into Preston’s final hours.

It also allowed prosecutors to compare what was recorded on the phone with medical evidence and the account given by Varley.

MORE THAN 40 INJURIES

The postmortem examination found approximately 40 traumatic injuries on Preston’s body.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the injuries included extensive external bruising as well as internal injuries involving his mouth, throat, anus, bowel and bladder.

A healing fracture to his left arm was also considered non-accidental.

The significance was not simply the number.

Medical evidence indicated that the injuries had occurred during the months Preston was living with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.

Prosecutors argued that the evidence demonstrated repeated physical and sexual abuse rather than one isolated incident.

THE DIGITAL TRAIL

Investigators also recovered photographs and videos from Varley’s phone.

Some of the material documented injuries and incidents involving Preston.

Police said indecent images and videos had been taken while Preston was in the couple’s care, and the prosecution used the digital evidence to establish a broader pattern of abuse.

The phone evidence became particularly important because digital files can preserve dates and times, allowing investigators to establish when particular incidents occurred.

That evidence was then considered alongside medical records and testimony.

WARNING SIGNS HAD APPEARED BEFORE THE FINAL DAY

Preston had multiple medical encounters during the four months he lived with the couple.

On May 11, an emergency call was made after concerns about Preston’s breathing and ability to hold his head properly. According to Lancashire Police, the call was abandoned after four seconds, followed later by a call to the non-emergency medical service. No further medical attention was sought that night.

Preston was subsequently taken to hospital on other occasions.

On July 6, he was admitted with a fractured arm.

The injury was ultimately regarded as non-accidental, becoming another important piece of evidence in the case.

THE INVESTIGATION FOUND A MUCH DARKER PICTURE

What initially appeared to be a tragic accident eventually became a murder investigation.

Investigators examined:

• Medical records
• Postmortem findings
• Photographs and videos
• Messages from the defendants’ phones
• Witness accounts
• Previous incidents involving Preston
• The circumstances surrounding his final hospital admission

The prosecution argued that the evidence demonstrated that Preston had been repeatedly abused during the four months he lived with the couple.

THE JURY REJECTED VARLEY’S ACCOUNT

After a seven-week trial at Preston Crown Court, Jamie Varley was convicted of murder along with multiple child-cruelty, sexual and indecent-image offenses.

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

Varley had maintained that he had not harmed Preston and that the child’s death was an accident.

The jury rejected that account.

THE SENTENCE

Varley was subsequently given a whole-life order, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in prison.

McGowan-Fazakerley received a 25-year sentence.

The convictions brought the criminal proceedings to an end, but the case continues to raise serious questions about how Preston’s warning signs were handled before his death.

THE TIMELINE THAT STILL HAUNTS THE CASE

The sequence is stark:

March 2023: Preston enters the prospective adoptive placement.

April–July: Evidence later presented in court shows repeated abuse and injuries.

July 6: Preston is hospitalized with a fractured arm later considered non-accidental.

July 27, 4:45 p.m.: A video records Preston struggling to breathe.

July 27, approximately 6:24 p.m.: He arrives at hospital unconscious and in cardiac arrest.

July 27, 7:20 p.m.: Preston is pronounced dead.

Postmortem: The cause of death is determined to be acute upper-airway obstruction, and approximately 40 traumatic injuries are identified.

That timeline became one of the most powerful elements of the prosecution’s case.

PRESTON WAS ONLY 13 MONTHS OLD.

HE HAD BEEN IN THE HOME FOR ABOUT FOUR MONTHS.

MEDICAL EXAMINERS FOUND AROUND 40 TRAUMATIC INJURIES.

A VIDEO RECORDED HOURS BEFORE HIS DEATH CAPTURED HIS CONDITION.

AND THE POSTMORTEM FOUND THAT HIS DEATH WAS NOT AN ACCIDENTAL DROWNING.

The evidence ultimately led a jury to convict Jamie Varley of murder.

For Preston’s family and those who followed the case, the most devastating question is not simply what happened on July 27.

It is how so many warning signs could exist before that final day — and whether Preston could have been protected sooner.