Child killer Jamie Varley, who is serving a whole-life order for the murder and sexual abuse of 13-month-old Preston Davey, has briefly returned to court after a technical error was identified in his original sentence. Varley appeared via video link from HMP Wakefield at Preston Crown Court on Monday for a short procedural hearing held under the “slip rule” – a legal mechanism allowing judges to correct accidental omissions or clerical errors in sentencing. His former partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, also appeared remotely from HMP Preston. The hearing related to an omission made during the pair’s original sentencing on 18 June 2026, when the court inadvertently failed to impose a sentence for Count 12, one of Varley’s 24 convictions, relating to the sexual assault of a child. To correct the oversight, the court formally imposed a seven-year prison sentence, to run concurrently with Varley’s existing sentences. The amendment does not affect Varley’s whole-life order, meaning he will continue to spend the remainder of his natural life behind bars with no possibility of release. The brief administrative hearing follows the conclusion of a harrowing six-week trial earlier this year, during which jurors heard extensive medical, forensic and digital evidence detailing the abuse suffered by toddler Preston Davey. Varley was convicted of murder, sexual assault, child cruelty, grievous bodily harm and offences relating to indecent images. McGowan-Fazakerley was convicted of allowing the death of a child and multiple child cruelty offences. Both men remain in custody, and no further court hearings have been scheduled.
