Baby Preston Davey had 'human bite mark' weeks before death, murder trial hears

A baby boy allegedly sexually abused and murdered by his adopted father had a bite mark on his bottom more than a month before his death, a court has heard.

Jamie Varley, 37, faces trial at Preston Crown Court accused of killing Preston Davey, who was just 13 months old when he died on 27 July 2023. Varley's partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is also on trial.

The baby had arrived at the couple's Blackpool address at nine months old under fostering arrangements intended to lead to his formal adoption. The prosecution has told the jury that Preston endured routine ill-treatment, sexual abuse and physical assault over the last four months of his life, leaving him with dozens of injuries.

What did the pathologist tell the court?

On Wednesday, Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour was shown a series of photographs and videos of the child recovered from the couple's phones.

Among the photographs examined in court was one captured on 12 June 2023, depicting Preston unclothed and standing in a garden paddling pool. Asked about a darker area of skin visible on his right buttock, Dr Armour told the court: "It is my view, sir, it most likely represents a human bite mark."

Examining the photograph, she said the discolouration appeared as a roughly circular bruise with a purplish tone, around 3.5cm across. Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, asked why she believed it to be a bite mark. "The size, configuration, which means the shape, are all consistent with a human bite mark," she replied.

What did photos found on Varley's phone show?

Dr Armour was also asked to examine a series of seven photographs recovered from Varley's phone, showing Preston in his cot alongside two toy teddy bears. The images were taken four days before the child's death.

Taken over a period of three minutes and 12 seconds, the images captured Preston with his head and arms "slumped" forward across the cot's top rail, his neck pressed against the bar. The child's weight appeared to be partially supported by the rail alone, his legs hanging in what Dr Armour described as a "frog-like" position, with Preston showing no signs of consciousness.

"This is very unsafe and in my view dangerous," Dr Armour told the court. She warned that partial suspension of that kind risked inhibiting a child's ability to breathe, describing it as a "very prolonged period of time for a child to be in such an unsafe position."

In one of the photographs, fluid was visible coming from Preston's mouth. Dr Armour said: "Preston's tongue is protruding, its blue and also his lips appear blue, consistent with a lack of oxygen in the blood."

How did Preston Davey die?

Four days after the photographs were taken, at around 6.20pm on 27 July 2023, the defendants rushed Preston unconscious from their Blackpool home to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Hospital staff made efforts lasting close to an hour to revive the child, but Preston could not be saved.

Varley said he had left Preston alone in the bath for three or four minutes before returning to find the baby partially submerged. However, Dr Armour, who carried out the post-mortem examination at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, said she found no water in Preston's lungs or stomach. She told the court: "It is my position that drowning can be reasonably excluded as the cause of death in this case."

In Dr Armour's assessment, death resulted from a blocked upper airway — brought about either through deliberate smothering or by something being forced into the child's mouth.

What injuries did Preston Davey have?

The post-mortem examination revealed a catalogue of external and internal injuries, including bruising to Preston's forehead, throat, mouth, bladder and bottom, as well as bleeding in the lungs. Dr Armour said the majority of these were "non-accidental" and could not be attributed to the resuscitation attempts carried out by hospital staff on admission.

A significant number of the surface injuries bore the hallmarks of "fingertip" contact - marks that Dr Armour said were consistent with a child being gripped, prodded, poked and pinched.

Preston also had severe bruising to the back of his throat, an injury Dr Armour described as among the "most unusual" she had encountered in her 39-year career as a consultant forensic pathologist. "This is an extensive bruise," she said.

Asked whether the throat injury was consistent with sexual assault, Dr Armour replied: "I cannot exclude that, sir." She added that the injuries to Preston's throat and body were "very recent" and had been inflicted "a matter of hours" before his death. The absence of any damage to his teeth, tongue, palette or cheeks indicated that whatever object had been used had no sharp edges.

What charges do the defendants face?

Varley denies murder, manslaughter, assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child under 13, taking indecent photographs or videos of a child, distributing an indecent photograph to his co-accused, and one count of making an indecent photograph.

McGowan-Fazakerley denies causing or allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual assault of a child under 13.

The trial continues.