Social workers stand accused of missing eight opportunities to spot the abuse suffered by baby Preston Davey at the hands of his adoptive parents.
The 13-month-old was murdered in July 2023, within weeks of being adopted by gay couple Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32.
Baby Preston was killed after suffocating on an object lodged in his mouth, bringing an end to an awful period of physical, sexual and psychological abuse by his adoptive parents.
Now, baby Preston's grandmother Debbie Davey has questioned whether fears of being accused of homophobia clouded the judgement of social workers who "failed" the child.
In early May of that year, McGowan-Fazakerley phoned 999 "by mistake", where the call handler heard a voice in the background - “put it down” - before the line went dead.
Varley then took Preston to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on May 25 citing breathing difficulties and a seizure, where the nurse noticed bruises and notified police.
A detective from the child protection team attended, with both them and medical staff failing to identify the bruises and intentionally inflicted on the child.
After being admitted to hospital once more on June 30 with further bruising, staff again failed to attribute the cause of the baby's injuries, with Varley batting away concerns.
The 13-month-old was murdered by gay couple Jamie Varley and John McGowan-Fazakerley
|LANCASHIRE POLICE
On July 4, social worker Amy Shepherdson visited the family and recognised Preston was pale and did not seem himself, but sought no further intervention.
Two days later, Preston returned to hospital with a broken arm, where Varley created an elaborate excuse of twisting the baby's arm when putting him back into his cot, also failing to raise an alarm.
Social worker Helen Magee visited the home on the following day after being notified about the injury to Preston's arm, concerned there were "problems" - but that after her visit, she "decided there wasn’t”.
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In early July, Varley told a friend he was having "dark thoughts" about harming his adoptive son, telling a fellow teacher at South Shore Academy: "At best, I've just felt emotionless and upset".
Not long after, Varley's colleague raised a safeguarding concern to headteacher Rebecca Warhurst, who visited the family home and noted Varley as“in good spirits under the circumstances with no immediate concern about his welfare”.
Preston’s grandmother, Debbie Davey, who was unable to care for him after being diagnosed with breast cancer, accused social workers of failing to spot the trail of abuse presented to them.
She told The Telegraph: “I hate social services with a passion. What they did was disgusting. The social worker came to see me one day and said that she had just visited Preston.
“She said he had been crying a bit, was a little weepy, but they [the couple] told her it was because he’d just had his injections. She just took their word for it.
“Concerns had been flagged up at the hospital at least twice and nothing was done. He had been to hospital a good few times and the hospital flagged it up and nobody went to see them to check on Preston. That is disgusting.”
She questioned whether fears of homophobia accusations affected the social workers, and that they might have been hesitant to take action as a result.
“They didn’t see through them and see what was going on to Preston. As soon as you see a baby with a broken arm, you ask questions.”
Jamie Varley (left) and John McGowan-Fazakerley (right) were charged with almost 30 separate offences
|LANCASHIRE POLICE
Varley was found guilty of murder at Preston Crown Court, in addition to two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, and sexual assault of a child.
Other charges included 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child to his partner McGowan-Fazakerley, and one of making an indecent photo.
Meanwhile, McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.
Oldham council confirmed an independent Child Safeguarding Practice Review is already underway, which will examine the handling of Preston’s safeguarding.
Adoption Now, which arranged Preston’s adoption, claims it follows a "strict and rigorous process in line with all relevant legislation and guidance in the assessment and approval of adopters".