A British teacher and his partner have been found guilty of the death of their 13-month-old adopted son following an eight-week trial at the Crown Court in Preston, Lancashire. Jamie Varley, 37, was convicted of murder, sexual assault, child abuse and other crimes committed against little Preston Davey, while John McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the child’s death, as well as child abuse and sexual assault.
Months of repeated abuse and then death
According to the prosecution, the little boy, adopted by the couple a few months before his death, was subjected to repeated physical and sexual abuse during the four months he spent with the two men. The medical examination attributed the death to acute obstruction of the upper respiratory tract, caused by suffocation or the introduction of one or more objects into the child’s mouth.
During the trial, the prosecutor’s office argued that Preston died while an attack was in progress. The defendants had instead told investigators that the child had been the victim of an accident while bathing. A version which, according to the prosecution, was constructed to hide the real circumstances of the death.
The jury listened to testimonies and viewed photographic material which, according to the prosecutor’s office, documented the violence suffered by the child. Over 40 injuries were found on the victim’s body. The two defendants had attributed those marks to accidental falls and normal domestic accidents. A thesis that did not convince the jurors and was in fact denied by the trial evidence.
“One of the most shocking cases of recent years”
Karen Tonge of the Crown Prosecution Service called the proceedings “one of the most shocking cases” she has dealt with in her career. Lancashire Police investigating officer Andy Fellows described Varley as a “serial manipulator and serial liar”, claiming that the child was subjected to violence from the first days he spent with the couple. And the two also shot videos and took photos of the alleged violence.
And the charges against the two men are serious. Jamie Varley was found guilty of murder, penetrative sexual assault, child abuse, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault, producing indecent images of minors, and producing and disseminating child pornography images. The man declared himself innocent before the jury and announced that he “wants to fight to the death to establish the truth”.
John McGowan-Fazakerley, the partner, was found guilty of allowing the death of a minor, child abuse and sexual assault.
The two men were found guilty by the Crown Court, the popular jury which, in the British system, is called upon for the most serious trials; but the sentence with the quantification of the sentence will be pronounced next Thursday 17 June by a judge.