Senior Coroner Alan Wilson has indicated that an inquest is likely following the murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey. The inquiry will scrutinize the failures of several public authorities to protect the child from his adoptive parents.
A whole-life sentence for Jamie Varley
The criminal proceedings against the perpetrators have already established the brutality of the case. According to the reporrt, Jamie Varley, 37, received a whole-life sentence after an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court. His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years for his complicity in the physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of the infant.
The court heard that the couple treated Preston Davey as a "plaything," subjecting him to unremitting attacks. The abuse culminated in a final fatal sexual assault on July 27, 2023, ending the life of a child who had been in their care since he was nine months old.
Three missed warnings at Blackpool Victoria Hospital
The most critical point of systemic failure appears to be the medical interventions that failed to trigger a safeguarding response . As the report notes,the perpetrators brought Preston Davey to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on three separate occasions prior to his murder. During these visits, the child was seen by a "battery of professionals," including medical staff, social workers,and welfare officers.
Despite these three points of contact with the NHS trust running Blackpool Victoria Hospital, no further action was taken to remove the child from the home. This gap in communication between medical professionals and safeguarding authorities represents a recurring tragedy in child protection cases, where clinical observations are not translated into protective legal action.
Oldham Council and the legacy of Sarah Davey
The trajectory of Preston Davey's life was marked by insstability from birth. He was removed from his mother, Sarah Davey, by an emergency care order from Oldham Council when he was only five days old. Sarah Davey is a convicted murderer who received a mandatory life sentence in July 1999 for the killing of a frail pensioner; the court heard she and an accomplice had disposed of the body in the Rochdale Canal.
This history places the case within a broader , troubling trend of "high-risk" placements where children from traumatic backgrounds are moved through multiple temporary care systems. In this instance, the child moved from Oldham Council's care to temporary adoptive parents, and finally to Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley through Adoption Now, the service responsible for the placement. The involvement of both Oldham Council and Bolton Council (the host council) suggests a fragmented administrative chain that may have obscured the child's vulnerability.
The undecided roles of South Shore Academy and Lancashire Police
While the scope of the upcoming inquest is expected to be wide-ranging, several key parties have not yet been formally tied to the proceedings. it remains undecided whether Lancashire Police or South Shore Academy—the school where Jamie Varley was employed—should have legal representation at the hearing.
Furthermore, the timeline for accountability is delayed. The inquest cannot proceed until the Oldham Safeguarding Children's Partnership completes its review into the death, which is expected by next January. Consequently, Coroner Alan Wilson has suggested the public hearing will likely take place in the autumn of next year, leaving the family of Preston Davey to wait nearly two years for official answers regarding the "acts and omissins" of the state.
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