Preston Davey’s birth mother sobbed in court as she told her son’s adoptive killer fathers ‘I will never forgive you’ ahead of their sentencing today.
Jamie Varley, 37, was found guilty this week of the murder of the 13-month-old Preston in July 2023, who suffocated during sexual abuse.
His partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, a sales manager for a finance company, was also convicted of charges including causing or allowing Preston’s death and jointly participating in a sickening sexual assault.
Prosecutors said it was one of the ‘most shocking and horrific’ cases they have ever dealt with.
Today, a statement from Preston’s mother – convicted murderer Sarah Davey – was read out in court ahead of the pair’s sentencing.
She said her ‘world had ended’ when she found out that her son had died, adding that she now lives with the ‘unimaginable pain of wondering what he went through’.
Preston was born to Davey on June 16, 2022 after she was released from prison for callously ending the life of a pensioner at the age of just 14.
She and 15-year-old Lisa Healey had tortured 71-year-old Lily Lilley by squirting shampoo in her eyes, cutting her with a knife and tying a gag around her mouth.
Five days after giving birth to Preston, he was taken into the care of Oldham Council. He was then given to Varley and his partner for adoption.
Preston Davey with his mother Sarah Davey, who carried out a horrific crime as a teenager
Preston Davey, who died aged 13 months, was smothered and sexually assaulted
Jamie Varley, 37, (left) was found guilty of murdering Preston and his boyfriend, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, (right) was also convicted of being complicit in his sex abuse and death
Davey told the court today: ‘The second he was placed in my arms, I fell completely in love with him. He was my baby, my only son, and from that day on I never wanted to let him go,’ she says.
‘For the first seven months of his life, I was lucky enough to spend precious time with him. He had the most beautiful smile, one that could light up any room, and the bond we shared was something everyone could see.
‘Those memories should have brought me comfort – but instead, they are now mixed with pain, because I know what you put him through in his final months.’
She also called the day he was taken from her ‘one of the worst days of my life’ and sobbed as her statement was read out.
‘I had no choice in that decision. I tried to take some comfort in believing he would be safe, loved, and protected, and he was with his foster parents, Sandra and Paul, I trusted them, they and the system trusted you, that trust was completely and unforgivably broken,’ she says.
‘Preston was innocent. He was defenceless. He relied entirely on you – the adults responsible for him – to love him, care for him, and keep him safe.
‘Instead, you caused him suffering. You took away his chance to grow up, to go to school, to make friends, to live a full life. You took everything from him.’
Preston died on July 27, 2023 after Varley, who was a head of year and safeguarding lead at a comprehensive school, twice sexually assaulted him while McGowan-Fazakerley, an accounts manager for a finance firm, was at work.
The men rushed Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, where doctors tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate him for 50 minutes, before he was pronounced dead at 7.18pm.
Sandra Cooper, 58, (pictured) and her husband, Paul, were Preston’s foster parents and looked after him for the first nine months of his life
Convicts: Sarah Davey, 42, with Gary Nolan, 43, at the murder trial
Lonely widow: Lily Lilley’s body was dumped in a canal after she was tortured and killed by Davey
A review is now underway to work out how the men were able to carry out their warped fantasies and harm the infant, whose adoption had not been legally finalised, under the noses of social workers.
It is expected to examine whether political correctness or a fear of challenging the gay couple could have played a part in the state’s failure to protect vulnerable Preston.
The court heard that the infant was taken into the care of Oldham Council aged just five days, in June 2022.
For the first nine months of his life, Preston was looked after by experienced foster carers Sandra and Paul Cooper, before being handed over to Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley after they passed a series of ‘robust’ checks, in April 2023.
Today, ahead of the sentencing, Mr and Mrs Cooper criticised Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley for failing to apologise or acknowledge what they have done.
She told the court that while she and her husband Paul thought the verdicts would have brought ‘some relief from the pain’, she said: ‘There has been no relief.
‘I realise now we have verdicts that there has been no admission of guilt or sorry, or recognition that ‘we should never have done that’ from Jamie Varley or John McGowan-Fazakerley.’
They said they had planned for the tot, who was the 43rd child they had taken in during a 27-year fostering career, to be their final ‘retirement’ baby, but after his death they felt they had a duty to continue their work ‘in Preston’s memory.’
The 58-year-old raised concerns about the men with social workers because they cancelled planned transition meetings and she had a ‘gut feeling’ they were hiding Preston from her after he went to live with them.
Describing the infant as ‘so content and happy, with sparkly smiling eyes,’ Mrs Cooper said Preston’s death had ‘changed her perspective’ on life.
‘Paul and I have previously felt that the best option for all our foster children was to leave us happy and healthy to go and live with a new permanent adoptive family,’ she added.
‘We now struggle with this, and I will feel mistrustful and anxious about any of our children leaving our care to live with strangers.
‘I am devastated about his death and I struggle when I think about what pain and torture he has been through before he died.
‘Preston was wonderful, happy and lit up any room. We need to remember Preston as he was when he was in our care. He will remain in our thoughts and prayers forever.’
Mr Cooper said Preston was an ‘amazing little boy’ and an ‘absolute pleasure’ to look after. He said the couple brought up the infant, whose smile was ‘infectious,’ like their own.
Preston Davey’s short, tragic life was bookmarked by murder, by his mother and then his adoptive parents
Mr Justice Mark Turner, who is sentencing Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.
He said Preston had his own ‘little personality’ and was ‘thriving’ when they handed him over to Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.
‘We built a strong bond with him during his time with us (and) saying goodbye was extremely difficult,’ he said.
‘We believed at the time that this was the best thing for Preston and he was going to a loving family. What happened after this I still cannot bear to think about.’
Mr Cooper said he struggles to sleep, cries every week and finds it painful to talk about the ‘way his life was cut short.’
‘Preston had his whole life ahead of him, one that should have been a happy life with a new family,’ Mr Cooper said. ‘I just wish we could have kept him. I will never ever forget him.’
Statements from Ms Davey and Preston’s father, Gary Nolan, 43, a criminal and drug addict who never met his son, were also read to the court.
Ms Davey was jailed aged just 14 for murdering 71-year-old pensioner Lily Lilley, in Failsworth, near Oldham, Greater Manchester, in September 1998.
She and friend, Lisa Healey, 15, stuffed Ms Lilley’s body into a wheelie bin and dragged it through the streets before dumping it in a canal, in a crime that shocked the nation.
Ms Davey served 14 years before being released but has been in and out of prison for most of her adult life for breaching the terms of her life licence.
Her mother, Debbie Davey, 66, who already takes care of Ms Davey’s older daughter, wanted to become Preston’s legal guardian too, but shortly before his birth she was diagnosed with breast cancer, so social workers put him up for adoption instead.
Addressing Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley directly, Ms Davey said she had trusted them to care for ‘innocent and defenceless’ Preston, adding: ‘That trust was completely and unforgivably broken.
‘He relied entirely on you—the adults responsible for him—to love him, care for him, and keep him safe.
‘Instead, you caused him suffering. You took away his chance to grow up, to go to school, to make friends, to live a full life. You took everything from him.’
She said giving up Preston, who she wanted to keep, was ‘one of the worst days of her life’ and her ‘world ended’ when she was told he had died.
‘A part of me died with him,’ she added. ‘What makes it even more unbearable is knowing that his death was not an accident – it was something cruel, something he did not deserve, something that should never have been allowed to happen.
‘I will never forgive you for what you did to my son and what you stopped him from becoming and achieving in his life.’
Ms Davey also said she is haunted day and night by what he suffered.
‘Preston should be here today,’ she added.
‘He would be four years old. He should be getting ready to start school, learning, laughing, and living his life. Instead, he is forever thirteen months old.
‘I am left trying to live a life that no longer makes sense. I carry grief, guilt, and heartbreak every single day.
‘I try to be strong for my daughter, but part of me is broken forever. This is not something I will ever recover from.’
Ms Davey said her son, who she described as her ‘beautiful blue-eyed boy,’ was ‘loved beyond words’ and ‘deserved’ to be with the people that loved him.
She added that he was ‘failed by the very people who were supposed to protect’ him.
Mr Nolan, a father of three daughters, said he had hoped one day to get his only son back but his murder had stopped him from ever playing football with him or teaching him to ride a bike or celebrating his birthdays.
He said he struggled to listen to the ‘horrible’ details of what Preston went through.
‘No one should have to suffer like that, let alone a baby,’ he said. ‘It’s disgusting.
‘It makes me so angry that it has been allowed to happen.’
