Accused adoptive father allegedly smothered toddler after months of abuse

This is the moment a teacher accused of sexually assaulting and murdering a baby he was adopting wailed “it’s my fault” to nurses, a court heard.

Footage shows Jamie Varley collapse crying to the ground after being told Preston Davey would not survive.

Varley, 36, had allegedly sexually assaulted the 13-month-old then smothered him – causing the tot to go into cardiac arrest.

He and boyfriend John McGowan-Fazakerley are currently on trial at Preston Crown Court.

Jurors were today shown the video of Varley wearing a red Jurassic Park T-shirt and tartan pyjama bottoms while sobbing in the hospital.

He pleaded with hospital doctors to “kill me” and wailed loudly: “It’s all my fault”.

Nurses and police could be seen trying to comfort Varley as he cries “I can’t, no, I have done this”.

When of the hospital staff tells him that Preston needs him, he replies: “He doesn’t need me, it’s my fault…please get my mum…this is not happening…please kill me, please kill me.”

The court heard when Varley eventually went to see and cradle dead son, he was heard saying: “I probably won’t see you again, I’m definitely going to hell.”

Varley was described as “hysterical” and told doctors he had left the baby in the bath while he had a shower and returned three to four minutes later.

But Dr Wendy Aubrey, a senior anaesthetist, told the jury there was no water in Preston’s lungs despite Varley’s claims about the bath.

Medics worked for nearly an hour to resuscitate the baby on July 27, 2023, until a decision was made that further intervention was futile.

Jurors heard Varley then tried to give chest compressions and mouth to mouth resuscitation to Preston, despite the breathing tube being still in place.

Dr Aubrey added: “I had to be really quite firm and tell him to stop because of what he was continuing trying to do to Preston.”

Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley both deny sexually assaulting Preston, who they were in the process of formally adopting.

The court heard Preston began living with the couple in their Blackpool home in April 2023 after undergoing an assessment and familiarisation process.

But just days later Varley, who took a year off work as head of year at a high school to adopt a child, confessed he was struggling with a lack of sleep due to the baby constantly waking in the night, a jury heard.

On April 6, he texted his sister, a baby sleep trainer: “He’s dead meat today. Didn’t sleep last night after 11.30. Up every, one and a half hours.”

Jurors heard once in the defendant’s care, Preston was taken to hospital three times – once with a fractured left elbow.

He was allegedly routinely ill-treated, sexually abused, physically assaulted and had indecent photos taken of him.

Just four months after he was adopted, the baby died after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Jurors heard a post mortem found multiple non-accidental, internal and external injuries.

Preston’s cause of death was given as an acute obstruction of his upper airway.

The court was told this was caused either a smothering with a hand or fabric or the insertion of an object into Preston’s mouth.

Varley denies murder, manslaughter, sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of assault by penetration, grievous bodily harm, five counts of child cruelty and further counts of making, taking and distributing indecent images.

McGowan-Fazakerley pleaded not guilty to causing and allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and sexual assault of a child under 13.