Family of baby weep in court as trial date set for alleged killer
The loved ones of a baby boy wept as his alleged killer appeared in court.
Former high school teacher Jamie Varley, 36, is accused of the murder and sexual assault of 13-month-old Preston Davey in 2023.
The 36-year-old was in the process of adopting the child along with co-accused John McGowan-Fazakerley, 31, who also appeared in the dock at Preston Crown Court on Monday.
Members of the child's family sat yards away in the public gallery alongside police officers, one woman in tears as she looked over at the defendants.
Judge Robert Altham, the Honorary Recorder of Preston, at the beginning of the 30-minute hearing, dealing with administrative matters that cannot be reported yet, said: 'I gather there are members of Preston's family here. They are most welcome.'
Judge Altham set a date for the trial for both men of April 14, next year, estimated to last up to eight weeks.
He remanded both defendants, who spoke only to confirm their names, into custody to next appear for a plea hearing on October 13 later this year.
Varley is accused of murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration of a child, five counts of child cruelty, one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and one count of sexual assault of a child.
He is further accused of 10 counts of taking indecent photographs of a child, one count of distributing indecent photographs of a child, two counts of possessing indecent pseudo images of a child, and one count of possession of an extreme pornographic image.
McGowan-Fazakerley is charged with allowing the death of a child, as well as two counts of child cruelty and one count of sexual assault of a child.
All the charges against both men, who lived in Grimsargh, near Preston, span between March and July of 2023, and relate to Preston Davey.
A police investigation first began after officers were called to Blackpool Victoria Hospital at 7.15pm on July 27 2023 after the baby was brought in unresponsive. Preston was pronounced dead a short time later.
Varley was suspended as teacher at South Shore Academy, Blackpool, when he was arrested in 2023, the Cidari Multi Academy Trust which now runs the school said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
An Albuquerque woman was arrested for leaving child in car
Jun. 20—Albuquerque police arrested a woman who left her 3-year-old son locked in a vehicle outside a Walgreens in Southwest Albuquerque earlier this week — on a day when temperatures neared 100. Gabriela Cardenas, 35, is charged with child abuse. She was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on Tuesday. Cardenas' attorney could not be reached for comment. This is at least the second time this year that Albuquerque police have responded to a child left in a vehicle. On May 25, a 1-year-old child was found dead. On June 17, officers responded to a call around 6:15 p.m. from a Walgreens employee that a child was alone in a vehicle and "was screaming and was red in the face," according to the criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court. The car was off, the windows "only slightly cracked," and the child was strapped into a car seat, the criminal complaint states. Police said it was 97 degrees outside and the child was left in the car for roughly six minutes. APD posted body camera footage of the incident on their Instagram page. The boy was assessed by a medical team and deemed OK based on his vital signs. Court records show that the employee made a public announcement on the store's speaker before Cardenas identified herself as the mother. Cardenas continued to wait in line to complete her purchase, and told employees the child was "fine, and because the windows were cracked that he could be left alone inside the vehicle," according to the complaint. "For the next several minutes, Gabriela (Cardenas) argues with the Walgreens staff about going out to her child," the complaint states. The Walgreens employee instructed Cardenas to attend to her child, but Cardenas refused and stated that she needed to pay for her items first. The employee proceeded to ask other patrons if Cardenas could complete her purchase first to get back to her child, to which the customers agreed, according to the criminal complaint. The staff member added that she would be calling the police. Cardenas said she would take her business elsewhere and left the store. Officers arrived on the scene and Cardenas admitted to leaving her child in the car, but that it was "only for a few minutes," police said.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Three men guilty of repeatedly raping 12-year-old girl over three days
Three men are facing jail after being found guilty of rape after drugging a young girl and 'using her for their own horrendous gratification' over multiple days. Kevin Horvath, 26, and Ivan Turtak, 38, saw the 12-year-old victim in a supermarket car park in Dover and encouraged her to get in their car on August 11 2024, a Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) spokesperson said. She was then plied with drugs including crystal meth and amphetamine before she was raped and subjected to sexual acts by them and a third man, Ernest Gunar, 27, over a three-day period. The girl managed to escape from her captors after waking up before them on August 13. On Thursday, jurors at Canterbury Crown Court found the three men guilty of a series of sexual offences including rape of a 12-year-old girl after over 14 hours of deliberation. After trial, Gunar was convicted of two counts of rape against a child under 13; Turtak was convicted of one count; and Horvath was convicted of sexual assault. Horvath had already admitted three counts of rape against a child under 13, and one charge of assault by penetration of a child under 13, and Gunar, who is thought to be his cousin, had also admitted one charge of rape. Turtak initially denied rape but did admit taking indecent photos of a child. During the three-day period, whenever they went out in public, the girl was told that she would be killed if she tried to talk to anyone or tried to run away, a CPS spokesperson said. She was found by police on August 13 after escaping from the three men. Her phone had been taken from her and was later found in Horvath's car. Senior Crown Prosecutor Catherine Wear said: 'The three defendants took a 12-year-old from the street, took full advantage of her, plying her with drugs and using her for their own horrendous gratification. 'None of us can underestimate the impact this has had on her. When she was first found by police, she was unable to tell them what she had been put through, as she was so scared, and the details only came out gradually after that. 'Thanks to her courage in detailing what happened to her, despite the obvious distress that caused her, these three dangerous men have now been brought to justice for the appalling and callous crimes they committed against her. 'We hope these verdicts bring some small comfort to her as she starts to rebuild her life.' Horvath and Turtak, of Dover, along with Gunar, of Folkestone, will be sentenced on September 12.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Husband rearrested in the death of Suzanne Morphew, whose remains were found after 3-year search
DENVER (AP) — The husband of Colorado woman Suzanne Morphew, whose remains were discovered over three years after she was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020, was arrested again Friday on a first-degree murder charge, authorities said. Barry Morphew was arrested Friday in Arizona after a Colorado grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday, three years after the initial case was dropped because of prosecutorial issues with evidence. His bond was set at $3 million, cash only, according to court documents. The 12th District Attorney's office said in a statement that it is seeking to bring him back to Colorado. District Attorney Anne Kelly declined to elaborate beyond the indictment at a news conference, saying only that her office never gave up on getting justice for Suzanne Morphew. 'We have worked very hard to move forward in this case," Kelly said. A 2024 autopsy report said Suzanne Morphew died of 'unspecified means' but ruled it a homicide. While there was no indication of trauma in her remains, a drug cocktail used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of her bones, the report said. A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the Morphews' home, according to investigators. Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence since his wife disappeared, and his attorney David Beller blasted the new indictment. 'Yet again, the government allows their predetermined conclusion to lead their search for evidence,' Beller said in a statement. 'Barry maintains his innocence. The case has not changed, and the outcome will not either.' The first case was dropped in 2022 Morphew was first charged with murder in May 2021, but prosecutors dropped that case the following year just as Morphew was about to stand trial. A judge barred prosecutors from calling key witnesses for repeatedly failing to follow rules for turning over evidence in Morphew's favor. That included DNA from an unknown male that was found in Suzanne Morphew's SUV. At the time, prosecutors said they wanted more time to find her body. The judge agreed to drop the case against Morphew but allowed prosecutors the option of filing charges against him later. Barry Morphew filed a $15 million lawsuit against county officials, accusing them of violating his constitutional rights. His lawyers also filed a complaint asking that the prosecutors be disciplined for allegedly intentionally withholding evidence. Iris Eytan, who was Morphew's attorney in 2021 but no longer represents him, said prosecutors 'fumbled' the case. 'Not only is he is a loving father, but he was a loving husband,' Eytan told The Associated Press on Friday. The previous district attorney who oversaw Morphew's prosecution, Linda Stanley, was ordered disbarred partially because of her mismanagement of the case. Stanley, then-prosecutor in the 11th District where the Morphews lived, made inappropriate comments about the case to the media, a state regulatory panel concluded. Suzanne Morphew disappeared on Mother's Day The mystery surrounding Suzanne Morphew began when the 49-year-old mother of two daughters, who lived near the small town of Salida, was reported missing on Mother's Day 2020. Suzanne Morphew's mountain bike and helmet were found in separate spots not far from her home, but investigators suspected the bike had been purposefully thrown down into a ravine because there was no indications of a crash. A week after she went missing, Barry Morphew posted a video on Facebook pleading for her safe return. 'No questions asked, however much they want, I will do whatever it takes to get you back,' he said. When he was initially charged, the arrest affidavit laying out investigators' case against Barry Morphew said his wife insisted on leaving him. He later changed his statements as evidence developed. Morphew, an avid hunter, did not initially tell investigators that he went out of his way as he left for work on Mother's Day, driving toward the place where his wife's bicycle helmet was eventually found. Later, he said he went that way because he had seen an elk cross the road, according to the initial arrest affidavit. Suzanne Morphew's remains were found in 2023 Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents stumbled upon Suzanne Morphew's skeletal remains in September 2023 in a shallow grave during an unrelated search near the small southern Colorado town of Moffat, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of the Morphews' home. Most of Suzanne Morphew's bones were recovered, and many were 'significantly bleached,' according to the affidavit. Investigators removed a port through which Morphew could receive medicine to treat follicular lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, and found clothing similar to bicyclist clothes she was known to wear. Based on the status of the remains and clothing, a forensic anthropologist theorized that the body decomposed elsewhere, the affidavit says. Toxicology testing revealed all three drugs in a sedative used for wildlife called 'BAM' were in the bones. The presence of a metabolite for one of the drugs, butorphanol, suggested the remains would not have been contaminated with BAM after death, the affidavit says. The coroner's office determined the cause of death was 'homicide by unspecified means' through intoxication of the three drugs, butorphanol, azaperone and medetomidine. Investigators linked Barry Morphew to the drugs Barry Morphew obtained and filled several prescriptions for BAM while living in Indiana, shortly before the Morphews moved to Colorado in 2018. Barry Morphew was a deer farmer in Indiana and allegedly told investigators he used BAM to tranquilize deer in Indiana and Colorado, according to the indictment. In the area surrounding their home in Colorado, no private citizens or businesses, only Colorado Parks and Wildlife and National Park Service officials, had obtained BAM between 2017 and 2020, records show. No government officials reported missing BAM supplies. 'Ultimately, the prescription records show that when Suzanne Morphew disappeared, only one private citizen living in that entire area of the state had access to BAM: Barry Morphew,' the indictment concluded. ___ Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Associated Press reporter Jaimie Ding in Seattle contributed. Colleen Slevin And Mead Gruver, The Associated Press
