Teacher murdered little Preston Davey after adopting him with his boyfriend – then moved to suburban £450,000 newbuild in attempt to reinvent themselves

Just 22 days after the death of their 13-month-old adopted son, child murderer Jamie Varley and his depraved boyfriend John McGowan-Fazakerley splashed out £450,000 on a newbuild home intent on starting a new life together.

A huge detached home with a manicured green garden, a double garage and spacious driveway, 10 Chandlers Way looks like a show home on a quiet street surrounded by fields.

But beneath this veneer of suburban respectability in the Preston village of Grimsargh, Varley, 37, and McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, had been harbouring a sickening secret. 

For these two predators moving into the neighbourhood had subjected little Preston Davey to a catalogue of physical, sexual and emotional abuse during the final four months of his short life. 

Preston, a beautiful, curly-haired baby with a beaming smile, tragically died in hospital on July 27, 2023. On Thursday, murderer Varley was sentenced to a whole life order, while child abuser McGowan-Fazakerley was jailed for 25 years.  

Former high school teacher Varley, described by one officer as an 'arrogant, self-centred liar', told police Preston had accidentally drowned in a bath, but a post-mortem examination discovered the child had suffered 40 traumatic injuries.

In the hours after Preston's death, Varley was arrested on suspicion of child cruelty, murder and rape of a child under 13. McGowan-Fazarkerley, a sales manager for a finance company, was also arrested on suspicion of causing and allowing the death of a child and neglect.

But despite being arrested and put at the centre of a shocking child death investigation, we can reveal that the couple purchased a brand new property for £449,995 on August 18 2023 – just three weeks after they were arrested.   

Neighbours noticed the couple, who took out a mortgage to fund their new life, move in later that month. 

John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was found guilty of sexual assault and being complicit in Preston's death, while secondary school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was convicted of sex abuse and murder

Adopted baby Preston suffered systematic psychological, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of the ‘evil’ couple.

With a manicured green garden, a double garage and tarmacked drive, it looks immaculate, like a show home on a quiet street surrounded by fields

At this stage, they had no idea the couple, who adorned their home with decorations on every occasion, even letting children pose for pictures with a cardboard Easter bunny, resembled chilling villains from a horror film. 

One neighbour told the Daily Mail: 'The house they lived in was well known due to the decorations they put out every Christmas, Easter and Halloween.'

The woman explained how the men had a cardboard Easter bunny on the lawn with a hole in the top for children to put their head through and pose for pictures. They also filled their drive with Easter eggs.

She added: 'We don't have kids but I remember thinking if we did, our children would have been involved in all of that. We would probably have gone inside.

'You would often see them out at the front of the house, especially during Christmas Easter and Halloween.

'They certainly did not behave as if they had something to hide.'

The woman said that she was invited into the couple's home over the Christmas period for a drink.

'They were just lovely, you know. They were big on Christmas and very charming,' she added. 

But on June 13 last year police executed a warrant at the couple's home and the two men were both charged. Varley was charged with the murder of Preston, as well as a serious of serious sexual and child cruelty offences.

McGowan-Fazakerley was charged with allowing the death of a child, as well as child cruelty and sexual offences. 

Pictured: The living room inside the huge property

The neighbours told how the men had a cardboard Easter bunny on the lawn with a hole in the top for children to put their head through and pose for pictures

The neighbour said: 'As soon as the first person mentioned this to me, I knew which house it was.

'It was the Easter Bunny house.

'What annoys me now is that they were obviously trying to get away from something. I also feel a little used. This was all a big PR stunt to show they were nice people.'

This week, Varley was convicted of Preston's sex abuse and murder, and McGowan-Fazakerley found guilty of sexual assault and being complicit in his death. 

Prosecutors said it was one of the 'most shocking and horrific' cases they have ever dealt with and they were found to have carried out what prosecutor Peter Wright KC described as 'a litany of psychological and sexual ill-treatment'.

Following a trial lasting over seven weeks, jurors at Preston Crown Court took 13 hours to find Varley guilty of murder, assault by penetration, sexual assault, causing grievous bodily harm and cruelty.

Varley, head of Year 11 at South Shore Academy in Blackpool, was also convicted of 14 counts of making or taking an indecent image and one count of sharing an indecent image.

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

Mr Wright said Preston had been 'left at (Varley's) mercy and paid with his life' when he died on July 27, 2023.

Rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley – with Varley putting on a theatrical show of hysterics, collapsing and crying 'I'm going to hell' – Preston was pronounced dead after just 50 minutes despite the best efforts of medical staff.

Later, a 'sinister pathology' was revealed, showing he died from 'acute upper airways obstruction'.

The court heard Varley, alone with Preston, may have sexually assaulted Preston twice that afternoon, causing him to suffocate and have a seizure. The post-mortem found his breathing may have been obstructed previously.

Preston had been taken to hospital three times previously, with breathing difficulties on May 25, with an unexplained rash on June 30, when bruising was noted, and on July 6 with a broken elbow due to rough handling – resulting in the GBH charge.

The court heard Varley told McGowan-Fazakerley that Preston also had a seizure on June 15, in messages sent to his partner when he was at home with the infant and McGowan-Fazakerley was flying back from a business trip.

Mr Wright said: 'The facts of the case point unerringly to the conclusion that Preston had been sexually abused and killed.'

On the morning of his death, Preston was 'in good health and uninjured' – taken to Varley's mother's house where he was photographed playing happily on her knee.

But the baby later twice went into 'apparent respiratory distress', the first episode filmed on Varley's mobile phone camera, followed by his fatal collapse soon after, the court heard.

Preston was driven to hospital when McGowan-Fazakerley returned from work in Manchester.

Mr Wright accused Varley of initially 'taking out annoyance' he felt towards his partner through rough treatment of Preston, which became sexual abuse.

McGowan-Fazakerley knew the 'glaringly obvious' risk to Preston from Varley, 'which he had chosen to ignore', Mr Wright said.

He later joined in with the sexual abuse, with the pair jointly participating in a sickening assault on July 23, when Preston was placed standing with his arms draped over cot bars and photographs were taken.

Each man acted either as 'abuser or encourager' posing 'immediate and blindingly obvious' danger, Mr Wright added.

Varley took pictures of Preston naked and of him in the bath with him, plus photographs of injuries which the court heard were 'trophies'.

Several warning signs were ignored, including multiple hospital visits and social care visits

McGowan-Fazakerley was raised in a five-bedroom detached property in the Cheshire market town of Middlewich

Varley's defence said he had died from choking on vomit caused by cows' milk allergy reflux, that the throat bruise could have been caused by surgical tubing during resuscitation efforts, and he was a 'clumsy' child who bruised easily.

The teacher also claimed the naked pictures of Preston, which included one of both of them in the bath together, were 'innocent' and taken because they were 'funny', that he videoed Preston having apparent seizures following medical advice.

He added he didn't always take Preston to hospital because medical staff had told him he shouldn't unless the seizure lasted over five minutes.

McGowan-Fazakerley claimed he should not be held responsible because he was not at home when any alleged abuse happened and nobody else – including social workers and medical staff – felt anything was wrong.

He denied participating in the July 23 assault, saying he was downstairs cooking and his defence argued that despite the presence of DNA it wasn't sufficient to be conclusive.

When the guilty verdicts were announced McGowan-Fazakerley stood motionless in the dock while Varley collapsed and was sick in the dock. 

Oldham Council, which was responsible for Preston because his adoption had not been finalised when he died, says no staff have been disciplined or sacked following the infant's death but insists an independent child safeguarding practice review is being carried out and will report in due course.

For Preston, it was a desperately tragic end to a short life that also had its roots in depravity.

In an extraordinary twist revealed by the Daily Mail, his mother was forced to give him up for adoption because of her own murderous past. 

Sarah Davey, now 42, had been recalled to prison shortly after Preston was conceived in 2021, under the terms of a life licence for the callous murder of 71-year-old Lily Lilley when she was a teenager.

Davey's mother, Debbie, 66, would have been considered a candidate to adopt her grandson. But she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before his birth, in June 2022, meaning there was little option but for him to be placed into care.

Debbie has called for those responsible for placing him with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley to be sacked. 'Everyone involved with Preston is still working,' she told the Daily Mail. 'That's not right.'

Mrs Davey added: 'Social services might have been hesitant to take action when they saw Preston because they may have been accused of being homophobic.

'They didn't see through them and see what was going on.'

She also believes the couple had a 'sinister plan' for Preston and purposely set out to adopt a baby to carry out their sick sexual fantasies. While police say they found no evidence that was the case, they admit they cannot discount it either.

Born in Newark in March 1989, Varley was raised on a council estate, the second youngest of Karen Graham's six children.

No father is named on his birth certificate, but in 1989 Karen had been married for ten years and all her offspring took her then husband's surname, Varley.

Before he reached his teens, Varley's parents moved the family to Blackpool, although their marriage didn't last and Karen wed her second husband in August 2005. 

One neighbour told the Daily Mail that Varley and his siblings were 'a nightmare family'. 'The kids were allowed to do what they wanted and Jamie was out of control,' a local woman said.

'I reported him for anti-social behaviour and criminal damage once after I asked him to get off my drive and he stuck a potato up my car exhaust.

'When I read about the court case I wasn't a bit surprised. He was a little f***ing s***. He was horrible. When they all finally moved, we put the flags out.'

In contrast, McGowan-Fazakerley had an altogether more middle-class upbringing.

Born in July 1993, the only child of Guy Fazakerley, an accounts manager, and his wife, Jayne McGowan, who worked in retail, he was raised in a five-bedroom detached property in the Cheshire market town of Middlewich.

According to a family friend, the McGowan-Fazakerleys, who have been together for almost 50 years, were determined to 'give him everything,' including a private education at the prestigious £19,700-a-year King's School in Macclesfield. They even named their home 'Casa Juan', which means John's House in Spanish.

CCTV shows a paramedic carrying Preston into the hospital while Varley, left, and McGowan-Fazakerley follow

Varley outside Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He told doctors Preston accidentally drowned in the bath while his back was turned

McGowan-Fazakerley repaid them by succeeding in his studies, graduating with a history and politics degree from Keele University, where he went on to complete a Masters degree. He also started a PhD in politics and international relations but never finished it because, in late 2018, he met Varley on a night out on Canal Street, in Manchester's gay village, and decided he wanted to go out to work instead.

Despite their differences – Varley is described as a 'sassy' drama queen, with McGowan-Fazakerley a calmer personality – the pair hit it off immediately and, as Varley said: 'John never really went home after that.'

Varley was working as a technician in the design and technology department of Blackpool's South Shore Academy and had his own house, so McGowan-Fazakerley, still living with his parents, effectively moved in.

He got a well-paid job as an accounts manager for a finance firm and a year later the besotted pair bought a home together, a £220,000 semi-detached house.

The family friend of the McGowan-Fazakerleys told the Daily Mail: 'John's mum and dad saw much less of him after that. Jamie's mum and step-dad lived round the corner, so they were with them a lot.

'It felt like Jamie, who could be quite a domineering character, cut John off from his old life once he moved to Blackpool.'

Encouraged by McGowan-Fazakerley, Varley began progressing his career at South Shore Academy. Despite struggling with dyslexia, he went to university as a mature student and qualified as a textiles teacher.

Later, he was promoted to head of year and also underwent training to become a safeguarding lead which, police now believe, he manipulated for his own ends.

The couple already had a miniature pinscher dog, Maximus, and a baby felt like the next step.

McGowan-Fazakerley did some research and registered with Adoption Now, an organisation that runs adoption services for five councils across Greater Manchester. Those local authorities include Oldham, where Preston was registered when he arrived on June 16, 2022.

Oldham Council has so far refused to explain why Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley chose to adopt outside their home county of Lancashire, but one senior social worker told the Daily Mail it was 'extremely odd' they had not used their local agency.

By early 2023, following months of what the men described in court as 'intrusive' scrutiny, including eight home visits, criminal record checks, examination of their finances and medical histories, plus virtual reality training on 'abusive' situations, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved as adoptive parents and matched with Preston.

On March 18, they threw a party to celebrate. The equivalent of a baby shower, the couple called it a 'chosen shower' because they'd chosen Preston, after falling in love with his biography on Adoption Now's website.

In preparation for his arrival, the pair spent hundreds of pounds on clothes and toys, and Varley, who opted to take a year off his teaching role to be Preston's main carer, also painted a mountain mural in his nursery.

They furnished it with a cot, glass chandelier and sheep-skin rug. The couple also had his name – Preston Elijah – stencilled in large italic letters on their kitchen wall.

'We couldn't buy enough for him,' Varley said.

One senior detective has speculated that they wanted a baby 'as a fashion accessory – a designer baby to fit in with their Instagram lifestyle'.

After a series of introductory meetings, Preston spent his first night with the couple on March 31, 2023.

A picture sent to the 'Team Preston' WhatsApp group – set up to keep social workers and Preston's foster carers Sandra and Paul Cooper, who'd cared for him since he was five days old, abreast of his progress – showed the infant smiling and enjoying breakfast in his high-chair the following morning.

Scores of other messages, images and videos – the vast majority taken by self-confessed 'snap-happy' phone addict Varley – were sent to the group over the next few weeks to demonstrate how well Preston was apparently adjusting to his new life.

Only Mrs Cooper, who has looked after 43 children in her 27-year fostering career, sensed that the couple's glossy portrayal of parenthood was too good to be true.

In court she said she raised concerns with Preston's social worker, Amy Shepherdson, when the men cancelled two of three scheduled meetings designed to ease the transition for Preston. 'I had a gut feeling,' she said. 'I said, 'I feel like they are hiding him from me.'

Eventually, they were forced into a meeting but the couple later lodged a complaint about Mrs Cooper, which didn't go anywhere but left her devastated. Social workers were less concerned by the men's behaviour.

Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley gave plausible excuses that Preston, who was a difficult sleeper and on medication for milk reflux, was ill or might feel too overwhelmed to attend.

Sadly, it meant no one in a position of authority spotted what was really happening behind closed doors until it was too late.