An eight-week trial heard Preston Davey died in hospital on 27 July 2023 after months of sexual and physical abuse, with Jamie Varley convicted of murder, sexual assault and taking indecent images.
Post-mortem findings showed 40 external and internal injuries and no evidence of drowning, undermining Varley’s claim that he left Preston alone in a bath for two or three minutes.
Lancashire Police said Preston suffered repeated non-accidental injuries after his April 2023 adoption, including bruising, seizures, respiratory failures and a fractured arm, while Varley treated him as a “plaything” in a “reign of terror.”
John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was also convicted of allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual abuse, with investigators saying he must have seen significant injuries during the four months Preston lived with the couple.
Preston had been taken to hospital three times before his death and social workers did not judge him to be in danger, leaving wider questions about agency oversight beyond the murder case.