Every Day I Wonder What He Went Through” — A Mother’s Heartbreaking Words After Her 13-Month-Old Son Was Murdered Have Left Britain Demanding Answers 😢
A Mother’s Heartbreaking Statement: ‘Every Day I Live With the Unimaginable Pain of Wondering What He Went Through’ – The Full Story of Preston Davey’s Murder
Imagine a baby boy with the biggest smile, sparkling blue eyes, and a laugh that could light up any room. That was Preston Davey – a 13-month-old who was supposed to be thriving, safe, and loved. Instead, he endured months of hell before a monster killed him in the most brutal way imaginable. And on 18 June 2026, as the killer was sentenced to life behind bars, his biological mother stood in court and poured out a statement that has left the nation shattered.
Sarah Davey’s words – read by the prosecutor because she was too emotional to speak herself – hit like a hammer. “Preston should be here today… instead, he is forever 13 months old.” She described the boy she had just met as her “only son,” the one she fell completely in love with the second she held him in her arms. For the first seven months of his life, she got to hold him, watch him smile, and feel the bond that everyone could see. Those memories should have been comfort. Instead, they are now twisted with pain because she knows exactly what his adoptive parents did to him in his final months.
Sarah Davey is 42 now. She was just 14 when she gave birth to Preston in June 2022. At the time, she was already serving a life sentence for the murder of a frail pensioner in 1998 – a crime that sent her to prison for years. Preston was taken into care just five days after his birth, on 21 June 2022, under an emergency order by Oldham Council. For nine months, he lived with foster parents Sandra and Paul Cooper in what looked like a loving home. Health visitors, social workers, and even teachers saw a happy, bubbly baby who was thriving. They called him Elijah. They watched him laugh, play with toys, and light up every room with his smile. The Coopers would later describe him in court as “joyful, so content and happy, with sparkly smiling eyes.” Paul Cooper recalled how his little personality blossomed and how saying goodbye to him was “extremely difficult” because they believed he was going to a loving family.
But on 4 April 2023, that dream turned into a nightmare.
Jamie Varley, 37, a former head of year at a Blackpool high school, and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, a finance sales manager, were approved for adoption just three weeks earlier. On 13 February they met Preston for the first time. Nine days later, on 4 April, he was formally placed with them in their Blackpool home. The very next day, Varley texted his sister – a baby sleep trainer – a chilling message: “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every one and a half hours.”
From that moment, Preston’s life became a living hell.
The abuse was relentless. Varley began recording videos of the baby on his phone. By late April, forensic analysis revealed physical bruising to the baby’s head – injuries that would later be used in court. The couple claimed it was “dark thoughts” about parenting, but the bruises were real and unexplained. Then came the hospital visits that should have triggered alarms.
On 11 May 2023, Varley made a 999 call at 9:43pm claiming breathing difficulties. He hung up after just four seconds, telling medics he would call back – but never did. Two hours later, McGowan-Fazakerley called the non-emergency 111 line, saying the baby had breathing and head-control issues. No one from the system followed up. The next day’s routine health visitor visit passed without comment.
Two weeks later, on 25 May, Varley rushed Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital claiming a seizure. Nursing staff noticed bruising to the baby’s head. Doctors recorded the injuries as “unexplained” and inconsistent with the story the couple gave. A medical report said the injuries didn’t match what they claimed happened. Yet nothing happened that would have saved him.
Then, on 6 July, another emergency visit. This time, Preston had a spiral fracture to his elbow. Varley told staff he had been holding the baby’s hands in the cot; when he let go, the child “twizzled backwards.” Doctors flagged it as a possible non-accidental fracture. A cast was applied. The couple’s story didn’t add up with what friends and medical staff had heard.
Meanwhile, the sexual abuse continued.
Forensic evidence from Varley’s phone showed indecent images and videos of Preston. McGowan-Fazakerley faced charges of sexual assault. By July, Preston had suffered at least 40 external and internal injuries – bruises, fractures, trauma to his mouth, throat, anus, bowel, and bladder. Some were consistent with forcible penetration. The forensic pathologist later concluded the injuries were deliberate and repeated.
On 27 July 2023, the final nightmare happened while McGowan-Fazakerley was at work. Varley was alone with Preston. At 4:45pm, he filmed a 35-second video of the baby in “extreme respiratory distress,” tongue protruding, lips blue. Varley claimed he found the child submerged in the bath after leaving him for two or three minutes. But the post-mortem examination – carried out by Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour – ruled out drowning. Preston’s hair was dry. The bathtub at home was empty. The cause of death was acute upper airway obstruction, deliberately caused by smothering or an object placed in his mouth.
At 6:24pm, the couple rushed Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He was unconscious, in cardiac arrest. Paramedics and doctors fought for nearly an hour. At 7:18pm, he was pronounced dead.
In court, jurors saw the final video – Varley being asked to come to his son’s bedside while medics worked desperately. The jury didn’t buy the couple’s lies. On 15 June 2026, after an eight-week trial, the verdicts came in.
Jamie 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 under 13, and 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, plus distributing one. He was sentenced to a whole-life order – life without parole, ever. High Court judge Mr Justice Turner told him: “This is a case of the utmost gravity… You will stay in prison for the whole of your life. You will never be released.”
John McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty, and one count of sexual assault of a child under 13. He received 25 years.
The sentences sent shockwaves through the nation. Detectives described the crimes as shocking and Varley as “evil” and a “sadist.” Preston had been treated as a “plaything,” with routine sexual assaults and physical abuse for four months. Varley had taken a year off work specifically for the adoption, presenting the perfect picture of stability.
But the real horror was how the system failed him.
Blackpool South MP Chris Webb and Fylde MP Andrew Snowden have called for a full public inquiry into the adoption process and safeguarding failures involving Oldham Council and Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Campaigners want a national review of how babies move from care to adoption – and why obvious red flags were ignored. Celebrities like Ellie Goulding and Carrie Johnson have added their names to a petition with over 100,000 signatures demanding a thorough inquiry into the “missed opportunities to save Preston.”
Sarah Davey has said she will never forgive Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley. “Every single day, I live with the unimaginable pain of wondering what he went through,” she told the court. “Those thoughts do not leave me. They are with me when I wake up, and they haunt me when I try to sleep. The reality of how he suffered is something I will carry for the rest of my life.”
Her biological father, Gary Nolan, described learning of Preston’s death from police as “just awful.” He was told two men had been bailed. Officers had to restrain him; he was hysterical and taken to hospital for his own safety. He never got to meet his son.
Preston’s foster mum Sandra Cooper told the court she still dreams about him and goes through the trauma again every time she wakes up. Paul Cooper recalled the infectious smile that brightened his day from the moment the baby woke up. They will never forget the moment they handed him over – but they still cannot bear to think about what happened next.
In the weeks after the sentencing, a vigil in Blackpool saw the tower lit up in blue. About 150 people, many travelling from Scotland, Kent and Wales, laid flowers, cards and teddies at the Flag Market in Preston on what would have been Preston’s fourth birthday. Sarah Davey released balloons in his memory every year since. Campaigners in Oldham held a peaceful protest demanding accountability.
This case exposes terrifying failures in the adoption system. Babies like Preston – already vulnerable after being taken from their biological parents – slip through the net when social workers, hospitals and adoption panels don’t connect the dots. Varley was a teacher; McGowan-Fazakerley ran in finance. They looked like the perfect couple. Social services saw a happy baby. No one asked the tough questions. No one saw the videos. No one stopped the abuse.
Sarah Davey’s statement is not just a personal tragedy – it is a national warning. A reminder that every child who falls through the cracks pays with their life. Preston deserved better than four months of hell. He deserved safety, love, and a future.
The sentences reflect the gravity of the crime. A whole-life order for Varley and 25 years for McGowan-Fazakerley are just deserts. But nothing can bring Preston back. Nothing can erase the pain Sarah lives with every single day. Nothing can stop the haunting thoughts that wake her at night.
Yet the campaign for change continues. The inquiry is coming. The voices demanding answers are growing louder. And in the silence that follows, one boy’s short life becomes a call to every parent, every politician, every worker in the system: protect our children. Because when the system fails, the consequences are not just headlines – they are a baby boy who never got to grow up.
Preston Davey was born too soon, left too long, and taken too far. A boy who should have grown up loved and safe. Instead, he died with a smile on his face – a smile that will never be seen again. The world watched. The system failed. And in the end, only one thing mattered: Sarah Davey’s words still echo.
“Every single day, I live with the unimaginable pain of wondering what he went through.”
That pain, that pain alone, is why this case will never be forgotten. And why it must never happen again.
