Overview
- Jamie Varley and his partner John McGowan‑Fazakerley face a criminal trial at Preston Crown Court with Varley charged with murder, sexual offences, child cruelty and indecent images and McGowan‑Fazakerley charged with causing or allowing a child’s death.
- Varley, who gave evidence this week, denied sexually abusing or killing 13‑month‑old Preston but accepted that photographs and videos he took of the child’s genitalia were 'wrong' and an 'error in judgement'.
- A post‑mortem presented at trial found about 40 separate injuries and concluded the cause of death was acute upper airway obstruction consistent with smothering or insertion of an object, with experts saying some injuries were consistent with sexual assault.
- Prosecutors have relied on images and videos recovered from the defendants’ phones, including a bath clip and a Snapchat recording from the afternoon Preston died, while the defence says the boy was briefly left in the bath and disputes the prosecution’s account.
- The case has highlighted failures in early safeguarding after Preston was placed with the couple in April 2023, including three hospital contacts in four months without referrals, a point that could prompt scrutiny of adoption screening and health‑to‑social‑care communication.