The foster parents who looked after a baby who died in the care of the paedophile Salford Quays sales manager and “sadistic” schoolteacher who adopted him say the death has had a “huge impact” on their lives and is the reason why they decided not to retire from fostering.
John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, and his partner Jamie Varley, 37, sexually assaulted and physically abused Preston Davey after adopting him aged nine months, before his murder following a sex assault by Varley four months later at their Blackpool home.
Both were convicted by a jury on Monday following an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court, as Varley received a whole life order and was told he will die in jail.
Sarah Cooper, who fostered Preston alongside her husband Paul, before the perpetrators were approved for adoption and given care of the child, said she now feels a duty of care to protect other children from such despicable wrongdoing.
“We felt we had a duty to other children and could not sit back and enjoy ourselves knowing that other children were being abused, mistreated and could die,” she said.
“My husband Paul and I have continued to foster children to protect them. We are doing this for Preston, in his memory.”
Mr Cooper explained he had lost trust in the system now under significant scrutiny following Preston’s death.
“As a foster carer, you have to put so much trust in the system and the persons responsible for caring for a child,” he highlighted.
“What happened to Preston has caused me to lose that trust, thus affecting me socially and through being a foster carer. I don’t see being a foster carer as an ’employment’, more like a vocation.
“Preston had his whole life ahead of him, one that should have been a happy life with a new family. I will never ever forget him. I cannot express enough the pain that I am going through to even speak about this and the way his life was cut so short. I will never forget you Preston.”
High school teacher Jamie Varley, 37, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to a whole life order for the murder and sexual abuse of Preston, whom he adopted at nine months old with his partner, ex-public schoolboy and financial sales manager John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32.
McGowan-Fazakerley was also jailed for 25 years for allowing Preston’s death, on April 27 2023, and sexually abusing him, after both were convicted by a jury on Monday following an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
Salford sales manager McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of causing or allowing a child’s death, two child cruelty offences and a single sexual assault and was sentenced to 25 years. He will spend two-thirds of that time behind bars.
Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved for adoption in January 2023 and Preston began living at their home in Blackpool, Lancashire, in April 2023.
“Sadistic” paedophile Jamie Varley was given a whole life order for the murder and abuse of Preston Davey.
Varley was found guilty of murder, 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.
The trial heard Preston had been taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death, on April 27 2023, and was seen by a “battery of professionals” during his life, including multiple social workers, health visitors and medics.
A social services investigation is under way.
McGowan-Fazakerley grew up in Congleton in Cheshire, attended Nottingham Trent University and taught undergraduates at Keele while working towards a PhD left academia to work in financial sales in Salford.
In 2022, he took up a role as a northern sales manager at Salford Quays.
When Varley took a year off work to adopt, his partner, who earned more, continued in his Salford job – but also did the cooking, shopping, laundry and was also a “clean freak”.
After McGowan-Fazakerley left for his work with his briefcase each morning, Preston was left at the mercy of Varley; soon annoyed with childcare, frustrated with a lack of sleep and with a sexual interest in children.
The child had been “thriving”, the court heard.
But in the just under four months he was in their care, he was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, and was sexually abused and physically assaulted and the pair of depraved paedophile parents continued to inflict harm which led to his harrowing death.
With reporting from Pat Hurst, Press Association.
