Preston Davey: Timeline of baby's tragically short life

Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley have been jailed after the murder and sexual abuse of Preston Davey, their adopted baby.

Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing

Varley, a 37-year-old teacher from Blackpool, was sentenced to a whole life order for murder and sexual abuse - including 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child.

As it happened: Teacher will never leave prison

His 32-year-old partner, McGowan-Fazakerley, was sentenced to 25 years after being found guilty of sexual assault, child cruelty, and allowing Preston's death.

Here's a timeline of Preston's life:

16 June 2022: Preston Davey is born four weeks early, weighing 5lb 7oz, to Sarah Davey at Wythenshawe Hospital, south Manchester.

21 June 2022: Five days later, newborn Preston is placed into emergency care with foster parents by Oldham Council via an interim care order, where he remains for the first nine months of his life.

6 January 2023: Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, are approved for adoption by Adoption Now, a company providing services to local councils. The company says Preston needs: "Love, affection, safety and stability."

13 February 2023: Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley make their first visit to see Preston at his foster parents' home.

1 April 2023: Preston spends his first night at the couple's home in Staining Road, Blackpool, and is formally placed under their care.

6 April 2023: Varley texts his sister, a baby sleep trainer, saying: "He's dead meat today. Didn't sleep last night after 11.30. Up every, one and a half hours."

25 May 2023: At 11.10am, Preston is rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital, floppy and unresponsive, with Varley reporting a seizure and breathing difficulties.

Nursing staff notice bruising to Preston's head. A medical report states that Preston had "unexplained injuries, inconsistent with a version of events given".

Hospital safeguarding are informed, and social services and Lancashire Police are called. It's eventually decided that the bruises to a baby learning to walk are not regarded as suspicious.

30 June 2023: At around 8.25pm, Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley take Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital A&E Department, reporting the child has a rash, diarrhoea, vomiting and high temperature.

Medics note bruising to Preston's head, but staff are shown a home video of the child pulling a toy box on to himself while playing, by way of explanation.

Varley comments: "You lot are going to think we have been abusing him or something." It is later discovered the toy box video was filmed 12 days earlier.

6 July 2023: At 10.36am, Varley takes Preston to hospital for the third time with an injury to his left arm. He says it was sustained while putting him in his cot the previous evening.

After an X-ray, a cast is applied for a fractured elbow. The child's social worker, who had been in contact with the hospital, texted Varley to say: "Just to reassure you they said they had absolutely no concerns. U absolutely did the right thing."

She visits the home and notes Preston had a "very sad face and a little cry" during her time there.

7 July 2023: Preston is visited at home by Helen Magee, an independent reviewer from Oldham social services.

The same week, Varley tells a work colleague he is struggling mentally and having "dark thoughts" about drowning or suffocating Preston.

23 July 2023: Varley takes a series of photos of Preston, stretching over a period of three minutes, 12 seconds.

The child, asleep or unconscious, has his head and arms over the top horizontal bar of his cot and his neck resting on it, his body partially suspended and his legs in a "frog-like" position. His tongue is protruding and his lips appear blue.

27 July 2023: At 4.45pm, Varley records a 35-second video on his phone of Preston in "extreme respiratory distress" taking an "agonal gasp" and needing resuscitation.

At 6.30pm, Preston is rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital in a critical condition; Varley says he found the child submerged in the bath.

A team of paramedics, nurses and doctors attempt to resuscitate him for 50 minutes, but Preston is pronounced dead at 7.18pm.

See more from Sky News:
Amber heat alert issued as new heatwave looms
What's in the US-Iran deal? The 14 points explained

31 July 2023: A Home Office post-mortem examination concludes Preston's cause of death is acute upper airway obstruction and rules out drowning.

The autopsy also found around 40 external and internal injuries - including bruises to Preston's forehead, throat, mouth, bladder, and bottom, and bleeding in the lungs - with some evidence of "forcible penetration" to the child's "abnormal" anatomy, regarded as clinical signs of sexual abuse.

20 April 2026: Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley both go on trial at Preston Crown Court. They deny all charges

15 June 2026: Varley is found guilty of murder and sexually abusing a child. McGowan-Fazakerley is found guilty of allowing the death of a child, child cruelty, and sexually abusing a child.

18 June 2026: Varley is sentenced to a whole life order, with judge Mr Justice Turner telling him: "You will stay in prison for the rest of your life." McGowan-Fazakerley is separately sentenced to 25 years in prison.

(c) Sky News 2026: Preston Davey: Timeline of baby's tragically short life