Teacher's Remark During Trial
A teacher accused of sexually abusing and murdering a baby he adopted said
"I'm going to hell"while holding the deceased child, the trial at Preston Crown Court has heard.
Jamie Varley, 37, who earlier called out for his mother, made the statement in the bereavement room at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, cradling 13-month-old Preston Davey.
Video footage of the incident, along with other recordings from police body-worn cameras, was presented to the jury during the proceedings.
Varley's Behaviour and Account
Varley, who denies all charges, appeared distraught and guilt-ridden in the footage, blaming himself for leaving Preston unattended in the bath and later claiming he found the child face down minutes afterward.
Prosecutors argued that Varley's account conflicted with the post-mortem examination, which revealed Preston had sustained 40 injuries.
Varley, formerly a high school teacher, faces charges of murder. His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is charged with allowing Preston's death. Both are also accused of sexual abuse. Both defendants deny all allegations.
During the four months Preston lived with the couple at their Blackpool home after adoption, he was allegedly subjected to routine mistreatment, sexual abuse, physical assault, and had indecent images and videos taken of him.
The court heard that the defendants rushed the unconscious child to Blackpool hospital at approximately 18:20 BST on 27 July 2023, following an alleged final sexual assault by Varley.
Medical staff attempted resuscitation for nearly an hour before Preston was pronounced dead at 19:20.
Hospital Footage and Varley's Reaction
Jurors viewed footage showing a
"hysterical"Varley, accompanied by his mother Karen Graham, collapsing inside the hospital when medics informed him that resuscitation efforts were ending.
Varley is heard saying:
"I'm done. It's my fault. No mum, I can't get up. It's my fault. Do not give up on him. This is not happening. It's my fault, I left him for literally two minutes. It's my fault. I left him. Mum. I can't, I can't, this is not happening. Please kill me."
Additional footage showed Varley, barefoot and wearing a Jurassic Park t-shirt with tartan pyjama bottoms, pacing outside the hospital minutes after Preston was declared dead.
He said:
"It's not happening. He's not gone. I'm going to go in there, he's going to be smiling, he's going to be laughing. This is not happening. If he's dead, I can't live with this."
When asked if he wanted to see Preston, whom the couple had renamed Elijah, Varley replied:
"No. I don't deserve to see him. I left him. I can't, not now please. I only left the bathroom to get clothes… This can't happen. He's got his life ahead of him. I'm not going in, because it's fine. I'm a teacher, I'm head of year, I'm child protection trained. You don't leave him in a bath tub. He was in his chair, he was fine. He doesn't deserve me. I should not have left him… He was giving me cuddles when I put shampoo in his hair."
Bereavement Room and Final Footage
Further video showed events inside the bereavement room with McGowan-Fazakerley and Varley's mother, where Varley was encouraged to enter.
He paced and said:
"I don't want to be in here. He needs to be warm, keep him warm. Elijah wake up. He is going to wake up mum. He's my baby boy. He's got to wake up."
The next clip showed Varley outside, stating:
"I tried to go in but my mum wouldn't let me hold him."
The final footage showed Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley together just after 23:00 in the bereavement room.
Varley was cradling the child when McGowan-Fazakerley said:
"It's going to be the hardest thing… we've got each other."
Varley was told not to blame himself and that the death was a
"tragic accident". He responded:
"I probably won't see you again. I'm definitely going to hell."
His co-accused continued to console him, and Varley added:
"They'll be whisking me away for neglect."
Background on Preston's Adoption and Charges
Preston was born on 16 June 2022 and was immediately taken into care by Oldham Council. He was placed with foster parents at five days old.
After an assessment and familiarisation process in early 2023, he was adopted and began living with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley on 1 April at their Blackpool home.
Varley took a year off from his role as head of year and design and technology teacher at South Shore Academy to care for Preston. The court heard he struggled with the demands of parenting a baby who frequently woke during the night.
Varley denies charges including 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 count of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his co-accused, and one count of making an indecent photo.
McGowan-Fazakerley denies charges of allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty, and one count of sexual assault of a child.
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The post-mortem examination revealed Preston had 40 injuries, contradicting Varley's account of the events leading to the child's death.
