Police tapes show Lancs teacher Jamie Varley tell detectives the baby he was trying to adopt had no injuries
Lancashire teacherJamie Varley was questioned by police about the multiple bruises or injuries on the child’s body, including to both arms, his legs, back, throat and bottom and 24 bruises to his head, including behind his ear.
A Textiles teacher being questioned by police over the sudden death of the baby he was in the process of adopting denied abuse or any sexual interest in the child, a court has heard.
37-year-old Jamie Varley told officers “he has not been abused” in the video shown to jurors at Preston Crown Court of the police interview after his arrest following the death of 13-month-old Preston Davey.
In the video, the textiles teacher is questioned over concerning injuries and videos taken by him of the child.
Varley, of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh and formerly of Staining Road, Staining denies 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 of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo.
His partner John McGowan-Fazakerley also of Chandlers Way, Grimsargh and formerly of Staining Road, Staining denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
During the four months Preston was under their adoption at their home in Blackpool, it is alleged he was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, was sexually abused and physically assaulted.
Varley was questioned by police about the multiple bruises or injuries on the child’s body, including to both arms, his legs, back, throat and bottom and 24 bruises to his head, including behind his ear.
“There’s a lot of injuries here,” the detective tells Varley, “we are not satisfied they are all accidental.”
Varley replies: “I don’t believe he had that many bruises. He has not been abused. He hasn’t.”
He is also asked about a Snapchat video taken around one hour and 45 minutes before he and his co-accused rushed Preston, who he had renamed Elijah, to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.
Varley claims he left the child temporarily alone in the bath and returned to find him partially under the water.
The video was taken while Varley was home alone with Preston, and in it the child is lying on a bed struggling to breathe in what officers described as a “distressing” video.
The detective says: “There’s some concern about the content of the video. Why did you not do anything about it?”
Varley, a former South Shore Academy teacher in Blackpool, said he could not recall taking the video and thought the child was having a seizure as he had done before.
“He was fine in the bathtub,” Varley added.
“He’s a long way from fine in that video,” the officer tells him, adding: “In my view it’s horrible.”
Varley is also told an initial post-mortem investigation indicates the child did not drown in the bath and no water was found in his lungs.
“Can you explain how else he might have died?” the detective asks.
Varley said the child was “responsive” when he pulled him from the bath but that Preston was “not a well little boy”.
“Was there any sexual motivation?” the detective asked.
Varley replies: “Absolutely not. No.”
The detective tells him that when Preston was adopted he was healthy with no injuries but while living with the defendants someone has caused the child’s death.
“We have not caused Elijah’s death. We would never do that,” Varley said.
The defendants had rushed the unconscious child from their home, after an alleged final sexual assault by Varley, to Blackpool hospital at around 6.20pm on July 27 2023.
Medics worked for nearly an hour to resuscitate the child until a decision was made that further intervention was futile.
Varley said he had left the child alone in the bath for only three or four minutes before he returned.
The trial continues on Monday.