A monster in disguise: 'Petrified' Jamie Varley tries to hide his identity in prison as inmates put a bounty on his head and send him death threats

Published: 12:16, 8 July 2026 | Updated: 12:19, 8 July 2026 Jamie Varley has launched a desperate bid to save his skin and distance himself from his horrific crimes - by changing his name, the Daily Mail can reveal. The former school teacher assumed his new secret identity - now going by the name Harry Robb -  days after beginning a life sentence for the horrific abuse and murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey. It follows reports that fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield - the notorious jail known as Monster Mansion - have put a bounty on the head of the twisted killer who has been described as ‘a dead man walking’. It is thought Varley, 37, has officially applied to change his name  - also adding the middle name Jae - by deed poll, a relatively simple process which costs £53.05. One prison source told the Daily Mail: ‘He has changed his name to Harry Jae Robb in the hope of giving himself anonymity. ‘He’s absolutely petrified. There have already been threats against him and he thinks that by changing his name, people are less likely to recognise him and know who he is. ‘He knows he has a huge target on his back and he thinks his new name will make him safer and will help him escape vigilante attacks.’ Jamie Varley has launched a desperate bid to save his skin and distance himself from his horrific crimes - by changing his name Fellow inmates at HMP Wakefield - the notorious jail known as Monster Mansion - have put a bounty on the head of the twisted killer who has been described as ‘a dead man walking’. Varely fears he will end up like Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins who was fatally stabbed in the neck at the jail last October. Watkins, 48, was serving 29 years for child sex abuse offences when he was attacked with a makeshift blade. A month later, three convicted killers ambushed Kyle Bevan, who was being held at Wakefield after murdering his partner's two-year-old daughter. Chilling prison CCTV footage, released after the trio were convicted of Bevan's murder, showed them laughing and joking before they stormed his cell. They stabbed 33-year-old Bevan 25 times before tucking him up in his bed, leaving him to bleed to death. It is unclear how Varley came to choose his new alias but Jae has been his long-standing nickname that many of his close friends knew him by. The killer - described by police as an attention-seeking manipulator who lived a carefully curated ‘Instagram-ready’ lifestyle - now appears to be doing everything in his power to hide in the shadows. Varley was told he would spend the rest of his life in jail after he subjected Preston to a sickening campaign of physical, sexual and emotional abuse during the final four months of his life. His partner, financial sales manager and former public schoolboy John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars for sexual assault, child cruelty and allowing the death of a child. Varley's partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years behind bars for sexual assault, child cruelty and allowing the death of a child The pair had previously tried to reinvent themselves after moving into a five bedroomed £450,000 detached home just three weeks after Preston’s murder. They left neighbours shellshocked after cheerfully integrating themselves into life in their new community without showing remorse or betraying any clues as to the dark secret they were hiding. It has been reported that Varley was left 'sobbing and quaking' in his cell as the reality of his future life behind bars dawned on him. He is at the top of a ‘hit list’ for vigilantes because his sickening offences were committed against a defenceless baby. A source previously told the Daily Mail said: ‘There's a bounty on his head, everyone wants to be the one to hurt him first, and he was made very aware of that as he entered the prison. 'The other prisoners knew he was coming and they waited for him. They want him scared and they want to make his time inside as awful as they can - and now he knows he has a lot of time inside to serve. He is never getting out, there is no way out of this hell for him.' Varley was reportedly given a ‘bloodcurdling’ traditional welcome to the jail with prisoners hammering on cell bars as they queued up to ‘hurt him first’. Now the Daily Mail can reveal he has been held at the healthcare unit since his arrival at the high security Category A jail in West Yorkshire, after he was sentenced on June 18. The facility has four cells with camera observation so prisoners who are deemed to be at risk can be monitored round the clock for their own safety and to prevent them from harming themselves. Plans are being drawn up to move Varley to the jail’s D Wing - which has been specifically designated to accommodate the prison's most vulnerable inmates and those at the greatest risk of self-harm. It is known to fellow prisoners as ‘the nonces wing’ because of the number of sex offenders viewed as ‘the lowest of the low’ who are housed there. The unit holds around 185 prisoners in single-occupancy cells. The infant had been taken to hospital - including with suspicious bruises and a broken elbow - three times The infant had been taken to hospital - including with suspicious bruises and a broken elbow - three times Set over four levels in an old Victorian building, protective netting has been placed on landing to prevent inmates from plunging from great heights. Fellow inmates there include Sarah Payne’s killer Roy Whiting, and Mick Philpott, who killed six of his 17 children in a house blaze in 2012. Both prisoners have been attacked by fellow inmates with Whiting, 67, targeted a number of times. In 2011, Whiting was stabbed in the eye with a sharpened toilet brush handle by fellow inmate, twice-convicted murderer Gary Vinter. The latest attack where Whiting was stabbed happened two years ago. It is understood that Varley has previously been attacked while on remand. At a pre-trial hearing, last October, he was seen on a video link from prison with bruises to his face. He is said to have confided his fears to friends before his sentence. One said: ‘He will probably be killed in prison because that’s usually the outcome of a child abuser. ‘He will get life so won’t be coming out. The next time he comes out will be in a box.’ Highlighting the threats Varley faced, retired prison governor Vanessa Frake-Harris MBE, told the Daily Mail how the paedophile will face daily battles to avoid falling victim to a 'targeted execution'. She said: ‘He will be targeted by a wide cross-section of the prison population, from general population inmates looking for "street cred" to highly violent Category A offenders who view murdering child abusers as a form of distorted vigilante justice. 'At maximum security prisons such as Wakefield, many inmates are serving natural [whole] life or exceedingly long tariffs. Because they face no prospect of imminent release, the disciplinary deterrents are effectively nullified.' Ms Frake-Harris predicted Varley would face 'non-stop psychological warfare' at Wakefield. She said: 'There will immediately be loud, systemic chanting across the wings, constant death threats, and being loudly labelled a "nonce" or "beast" every time he is moved outside his cell. 'Though Wakefield historically houses a high concentration of sex offenders and child abusers, it remains a pressure cooker of extreme violence.' She added: 'If he is exposed to the main wings, the threat of physical harm is lethal. 'Common tactics include "jugging" [throwing boiling water mixed with sugar over an inmate to cause deep, melting burns] or makeshift shanks fashioned from everyday items like razor blades melted into toothbrushes. 'To keep him alive, prison authorities will likely have to place him on a Vulnerable Prisoner Unit or under strict Rule 45 segregation for his own protection. ‘This means spending 23 hours a day locked in a single cell, entirely isolated from human contact, as any integration into communal areas carries an immediate risk of death. 'Because Varley's sentence guarantees he will die behind bars, the threat to his life is a permanent, multi-decade reality.' Wakefield has been dubbed Monster Mansion because of its roll call of notorious inmates past and present. Of its 630 prisoners, two-thirds have been convicted of sexual offences, with many locked up for life. Serial killer doctor Harold Shipman served time there before he was found hanging in his cell on January 13, 2004 - the day before his 58th birthday. Until last year serial killer Robert Maudsley, Britain's longest-serving prisoner, was held in Wakefield where he murdered two inmates. Maudsley - who targeted child molesters and sex offenders - was such a security risk he was held in an underground glass and Perspex cell, which some believe was the inspiration for Hannibal Lecter's dungeon cage in film The Silence of the Lambs. Wakefield has been dubbed Monster Mansion because of its roll call of notorious inmates past and present. Of its 630 prisoners, two-thirds have been convicted of sexual offences Last year, the growing tensions at the jail were highlighted by an official inspection that warned violence 'had increased markedly', with serious assaults up by almost 75 per cent. Such was the concern that a follow-up inspection was carried out in April. It noted that certain changes had been made to the prisoner population, with younger inmates moved out and more sex offenders brought in. Previously, those convicted of sex crimes had been held alongside those convicted of other serious offences. That policy has now been reversed, with those at most risk being held in D and C wings. Exercise periods are now being delivered to groups from the same wing, rather than from mixed cohorts, and cell doors are locked during communal activities, enabling staff to supervise prisoners more effectively. The horrific circumstances of Preston's death were laid bare during an eight-week trial at Preston Crown Court. During the four months he lived with the same-sex couple Varley abused Preston for his own ‘amusement and gratification’. The infant had been taken to hospital - including with suspicious bruises and a broken elbow - three times. He was seen by a 'battery of professionals' and police were even called in the weeks before his death. Yet no one raised the alarm. A post-mortem found 40 external and internal injuries, including some consistent with sexual abuse. On the day Preston died, Varley had rushed the child to hospital claiming he had drowned. But Varley - who was head of Year 11 at South Shore Academy in Blackpool - helped condemn himself through trophy photographs he kept on his phone. There is no law preventing prisoners serving life sentences in the UK from changing their names and Varley is not the first to do so. Rose West famously changed her name by deed poll to Jennifer Jones to distance herself from her serial killer husband.