Jamie Varley, the former high school teacher who sexually abused and murdered his adopted 13-month-old son Preston Davey, has appeared in court again for a brief hearing to correct a technical error in his sentencing.

Varley, 37, from Blackpool, was given a whole-life order last month, meaning he will never be released from prison. On Monday he appeared via videolink from HMP Wakefield at Preston Crown Court under the “slip rule,” a legal provision that allows judges to rectify accidental mistakes in sentencing.

The short, two-minute hearing addressed one count of sexual assault of a child for which Varley had not been formally sentenced in June. Mr Justice Turner, who also appeared by videolink, imposed a concurrent seven-year prison term for that offence. The additional sentence has no practical effect because of the whole-life order already in place.

Varley’s partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, also appeared by videolink from HMP Preston. He is serving 25 years for allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual assault.

The Crimes

Preston Davey died on 27 July 2023, just four months after being adopted by the couple. He was nine months old when he moved into their home in Staining, near Blackpool. During those four months the child was subjected to what the judge later described as “unremitting abuse.”

Varley, a former head of year at a secondary school who had taken a year off work for the adoption, was found guilty after an eight-week trial of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of child cruelty, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, and multiple offences involving indecent images of a child. McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault.

A post-mortem examination revealed approximately 40 injuries on the baby’s body. Varley had told police that Preston had accidentally drowned in the bath. Prosecutors told the jury the child had been treated as a “plaything” and that the drowning story was a cover-up after he died during a sexual assault that caused acute upper-airway obstruction.

Detectives described the couple’s crimes as having “shocked the nation” and labelled Varley “evil” and a “sadist.”

Sentencing and Aftermath

When sentencing Varley on 18 June 2026, Mr Justice Turner told him: “It was you who did this. You murdered him. A whole-life order is a sentence of last resort for cases of the most extreme gravity. This is a case of the most extreme gravity. You must stay in prison for the rest of your life. You will never be eligible for parole.”

The case has prompted calls for a public inquiry into potential safeguarding failures during the adoption process and subsequent contacts with social services and medical professionals. Preston had been taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times in the months before his death with suspicious injuries. A child safeguarding practice review, paused during the criminal trial, is expected to resume. MPs and campaigners, including high-profile figures, have pressed for a full national inquiry.

Preston’s biological mother, Sarah Davey, told the court at the original sentencing that her son had been “perfect from the moment he was born” and that she would never forgive the men who killed him.

A social-services investigation remains under way, and an inquest into Preston’s death is expected in 2027. The brief court appearance this week closes one remaining procedural gap in the criminal proceedings against the man who will never leave prison for the murder and sexual abuse of the baby he adopted.

Main Sources: BBC News, The Guardian, Sky News, Lancashire Police statements, and court reporting from Preston Crown Court.