A court found that a man who adopted a baby with his partner did not accidentally lose the child to a bath drowning, but instead sexually assaulted and murdered him, and jurors convicted both men on multiple child abuse charges after evidence and a post-mortem contradicted their story.
The baby, Preston, was placed in emergency foster care at birth and later adopted when he was nine months old by Jamie Varley and his partner. The couple presented themselves as parents, and Varley even took time away from teaching to complete the adoption. Those early months gave an appearance of normalcy that later proved tragically misleading.
In July 2023 Preston was found dead at 13 months, and Varley reported an accidental drowning in a bath. A post-mortem, however, turned that claim on its head by revealing dozens of injuries and other signs that the child had been harmed over time. Investigators say the physical evidence simply did not match a bath-time accident.
The medical examiner recorded some 40 injuries on Preston’s little body and found no signs consistent with drowning. The boy’s hair was dry, he wore a diaper, and there was no evidence he had swallowed water. Instead, doctors concluded the immediate cause of death was acute upper airways obstruction, likely from an object forced into his mouth, followed by cardiac arrest.
Prior to his death Preston had been taken to a hospital three times, each visit marked by injuries staff found concerning. Social workers also encountered the child during that period, and the people caring for him offered explanations that did not trigger immediate removal. Those explanations were later undermined by the scale and severity of the harm uncovered.
Investigators reported that indecent photographs and videos were recovered from Varley’s phone, and at least one video had been shared with his husband. Those digital findings became key evidence in the prosecution case, tying the abuse to one of the adults in the home. The presence of such material added a technological trail to the physical injuries observed on Preston’s body.
At trial a jury found both men guilty on every count presented. Varley was convicted of murder, sexual assault of a child, taking indecent child images, and child cruelty among other charges, while his partner was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, child sexual assault, and cruelty. Sentencing is scheduled to follow the verdicts already returned.
Police released footage showing Varley calling for help and appearing distraught at the scene, a performance that did not sway jurors in light of the forensic and digital evidence. Officials described the case in stark terms and made clear the force of the facts would guide the courtroom outcome. The visual record of those final moments became part of a much larger evidentiary picture.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Fallows described the couple as “pure evil” in comments about the case. “Almost from day one, they set about abusing Preston and making his short life a harrowing tale of misery and pain,” Fallows said. ‘For the first nine months of his life, Preston was a happy and healthy child, but by the end he was a broken shell.’
Authorities have said they are reviewing how Preston’s safeguarding was handled before his death, looking for any missed opportunities to intervene. That review will examine contacts with health services and social workers to see what lessons can be learned. Families, professionals, and the public will watch closely for any policy changes that aim to prevent a repeat.
Court documents and statements made during the trial laid out a grim sequence of neglect and deliberate harm that accumulates into a case prosecutors described as one of the worst. The convictions reflect the jury’s view that the evidence showed sustained abuse rather than a tragic accident. Families and agencies tied to safeguarding will now face the aftermath as sentencing approaches.
