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  "path": "/2026/05/12/teacher-accused-murdering-adopted-baby-told-police-ill-fight-til-day-die-28342983/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-12T17:39:47.000Z",
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  "textContent": "Preston Davey had been in the care of Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley for four months by the time he died in July 2023, jurors at Preston Crown Court have heard (Picture: Lancashire Police/PA)\n\n**A teacher accused of sexually abusing and murdering his adopted baby son told detectives ‘one day you guys will be in trouble’ as he angrily denied the allegations, jurors heard today.**\n\nJamie Varley, 37, vowed to ‘fight you to the day I die’ while being questioned over the death of 13-month-old Preston Davey.\n\n‘I don’t know how to prove it, but you are wrong because I haven’t done it,’ Varley told officers in the video interview with detectives shown to the jury at Preston Crown Court.\n\nVarley, at the time a high school teacher, is accused of Preston’s murder, while his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is accused of allowing the death of the child, with both accused of sexual abuse.\n\nDuring the four months Preston was under their adoption at their home in Blackpool, jurors have heard he was routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted, suffering dozens of injuries.\n\nBoth men deny all charges.\n\nThe couple had rushed the unconscious baby from their home, after an alleged final sexual assault by Varley, to Blackpool hospital at around 6.20pm on July 27, 2023. Medics worked for nearly an hour to resuscitate the toddler but could not save him.\n\nVarley said he had left Preston alone in the bath for three or four minutes before he returned to discover he had drowned.\n\nBut in his final police interview detectives confronted him with the post-mortem examination findings of Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nVarley, at the time a high school teacher, is accused of Preston’s murder\n\nJohn McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is accused of allowing the death of the child, with both accused of sexual abuse\n\nJurors were shown a video of the interview, in which Varley was told Dr Armour concluded Preston had not drowned but was the victim of ‘abusive trauma, non-accidental injuries and sexual abuse’.\n\nOne of the detectives told him Preston ‘just hasn’t drowned’ before adding: ‘The post-mortem identified no evidence of natural disease to account for the death of baby Preston – how do you explain that?’\n\nVarley replied: ‘No comment.’\n\nChallenged about findings suggesting Preston was ‘very recently’ the victim of sexual abuse involving ‘the forcible penetration of his anus’ by a penis-shaped object, he said: ‘It’s bullshit.’\n\nJurors saw him give the same answer to questions in a previous interview about ‘tear’ injuries to Preston’s bottom.\n\nThe court heard Dr Armour concluded the cause of Preston’s collapse and subsequent death to have been an upper airway obstruction, either by ‘a deliberate act of smothering’ or ‘by inserting an object or objects into his mouth’.\n\n‘You are wrong,’ Varley replied.\n\nThe officer then asked: ‘Is that what you did to Preston on July 27?’\n\n‘No,’ Varley replied.\n\nThe officer added: ‘Preston lived for one year, one month and 11 days.\n\n‘He was only in your care just less than four months before he was killed.\n\n‘There is no evidence of natural disease.\n\n‘I’m going to suggest you have killed Preston.’\n\nVarley, raising his voice and clearly angry, replied: ‘I have not done it. I will fight you ’til the day I die. I know you are wrong. I have not done it.’\n\nCourt artist drawing of Jamie Varley (left) in the dock at Preston Crown Court where he is accused of murder (Picture: Elizabeth Cook/PA)\n\nEarlier, the officer put to Varley the series of images and videos taken of Preston which were evidence of alleged cruelty or indecency.\n\nThey include one video where Preston is left alone in a bath for more than 14 minutes.\n\nVarley said he set his phone up to record and was on the landing out of sight ‘to see how he reacts to his own company’.\n\nThe officer asked Varley: ‘How do you explain that, Jamie? He’s slipped, whimpering, I would describe him as distressed. Why not go to comfort him?\n\n‘Have you left him in the bath because you are fed up with him?’\n\nVarley replied: ‘I was keeping an eye on him. He’s not distressed. There was no intent to hurt him.’\n\nDuring the four months Preston was under their adoption, jurors have heard he was routinely ill-treated, sexually abused and physically assaulted (Picture: Lancashire Police/PA)\n\nHe was also asked about intimate videos and photos of the child found on his phone, prosecutors allege are indecent images.\n\nVarley told the officers they were attempts at ‘capturing’ his child’s life.\n\nAngrily, the defendant told officers: ‘Unlike you, I don’t think about his genitals 24/7.\n\n‘You are making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s totally innocent, it’s ridiculous.\n\n‘You have got it now as if I’m a bloody pervert.\n\n‘That’s your job I guess.’\n\nVarley denies murder, manslaughter, 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.\n\nMcGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.\n\nThe trial continues on Wednesday morning.\n\n******Get in touch with our news team by emailing us atwebnews@metro.co.uk.******\n\n**For more stories like this,** check our news page.\n\n\nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Teacher accused of murdering adopted baby told police ‘I’ll fight you til the day I die’"
}