Jamie Varley, 37, and partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, adopted 13-month-old Preston before he was allegedly ill-treated, had indecent images taken of him, sexually abused and physically assaulted
A former teacher accused of sexually abusing and killing an adopted baby joked the child was “dead meat”, a court heard.
Jamie Varley, 37, and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey in April 2023, Preston Crown Court heard.
The baby was allegedly ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, sexually abused and physically assaulted at the defendants’ home in Blackpool, suffering 40 traumatic injuries.
He died in hospital on July 27 2023, having suffered a collapse and cardiac arrest allegedly following a sexual assault by Varley. Varley denies murder and his co-accused denies allowing the death of a child as well as multiple other offences.
After undergoing an assessment and familiarisation process Preston was adopted and began living with the defendants on April 1 2023. But just days later Varley, who took a year off work as head of year at a high school to adopt a child, confessed he was struggling with a lack of sleep due to the baby constantly waking in the night, a jury heard.
On April 6, he texted his sister, a baby sleep trainer: “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every, one and a half hours.”
Four days later, Varley sent his mother Karen Graham, a video of Preston in his walker, and she replied: “Clever boy xxx.” Varley then replied: “This was before he was murdered and put to bed.”
He texted his friend: “First sleep over. I wanted to put him in the field with the cows,” but went on to describe Preston as a “ray of sunshine”. Varley said the child was “refusing” to go to sleep, is “very needy” and texted another friend: “He’s just annoying. Lol.” He went on to tell the friend: “Right now we are questioning every choice.”
In other messages Varley said Preston was “crying all the time”, and that they were “really struggling” as the lack of sleep was a “nightmare”.
Foster parent Sandra Cooper looked after Preston for 10 months after his birth in June 2022, when he was taken into care by Oldham Council, aged just five days. Mrs Cooper, in a statement read to the jury, said: “Preston was a very happy baby.”
She said while he was “not a good sleeper” he quickly went back to sleep by having his head stroked. Mrs Cooper said after Preston’s dairy intolerance was identified and his milk changed, the child was “happy and content”, adding: “Preston was a perfectly healthy baby.”
Mrs Cooper handed Preston over to the defendants at the end of March 2023, but Preston was taken to hospital three times, once with a fractured left elbow, in the following months, the jury heard.
On July 27 2023 the baby had been rushed to hospital by the defendants, unconscious and in a state of cardiac arrest, and medics could not revive him. Varley told police he had briefly left the child in the bath and when he returned he was drowning.
A Home Office post-mortem examination found multiple non-accidental, internal and external injuries, and a cause of death to be acute upper airways obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth.
Varley denies murder, 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 taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.
McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
The trial was adjourned until Wednesday morning.
