by Martin Evans, Telegraph
Prosecution claims infant was smothered or choked at home less than four months after being placed with proposed adoptive parents
A 13-month-old baby was “routinely physically and sexually abused” by his proposed adoptive gay parents before being murdered by one of them, a court has heard.
Preston Davey was placed with Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley in April 2023 when he was nine months old.
Less than four months later, he was taken to A&E in a state of cardiac arrest and pronounced dead a short time later.
A jury at Preston Crown Court was told the cause of death had been an obstruction to his airway, either by smothering or having something placed in his mouth that prevented him from breathing.
Mr Varley, a former high school teacher, is accused of murdering Preston at their home in Blackpool on July 27, 2023.
He is also accused of sexual assault, cruelty, grievous bodily harm, assault by penetration, taking indecent images of a child and distributing an indecent image.
Mr McGowan-Fazakerley, his partner and co-accused, was not at home when Preston was allegedly killed.
He is charged with allowing the death of a child, cruelty to a child and the sexual assault of a child.
[…] At least 40 traumatic injuries
The jury was told that in the four months that Preston had lived with the defendants, he had been ill-treated physically and psychologically as well as being sexually abused.
“After he was placed for adoption with the defendants and residing with them in Blackpool he was admitted to Blackpool Victoria on three occasions,” Mr Wright said.
A post mortem examination revealed he had suffered at least 40 traumatic injuries during his time in the defendants’ care, Mr Wright explained.
The jury was told the injuries included at least 30 external bruises, internal bruising to his mouth and throat, internal bruising to his bottom, bowel and bladder, lacerations to his rectum and a fractured arm.