A teacher accused of murdering his adopted baby has denied making up a story that the child drowned in the bath. Jamie Varley, 37, told Preston Crown Court that 13-month-old Preston Davey was left unattended in the bath for only a couple of minutes before he found him submerged.
Varley, who was on parental leave from his job as head of year at a local high school, said he ran a bath with about two inches of water and placed the child on a bath seat while he showered. After leaving to get a towel, he returned to find Preston off the seat and in the water. 'When I entered the bathroom my legs just felt like jelly. I scooped him up as quickly as I could, he gasped for a breath of air,' Varley told the court.
However, a Home Office pathologist ruled out drowning and found the child had suffered 40 traumatic injuries, consistent with sexual and physical abuse. The prosecution alleges that before his death on July 27, 2023, Preston was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images taken of him, and was sexually and physically abused.
Defending, Nick Johnson KC asked Varley if the bath incident was entirely made up. Varley replied: 'It’s not. There would be no reason to make such things up.' He also denied ever sexually or physically abusing the baby, saying: 'I know 100% their allegations and opinions and view points are wrong.'
Varley described the child's final afternoon, saying Preston did not have his usual nap, so he put him in bed and nodded off. He later filmed what he believed was a seizure to show medical staff. After the bath incident, Varley said Preston began vomiting heavily and lost consciousness. Varley and his partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, rushed him to hospital, where medics tried for an hour to revive him but failed.
