Ellie Goulding left 'sickened' by death of baby Preston as singer speaks out amid adoptive parents' sentencing

Ellie Goulding has spoken of her heartbreak and fury after former teacher Jamie Varley was handed a whole-life order for the abuse and murder of adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey.

The singer took to Instagram on Thursday to share a series of emotional messages after reading about the case, admitting she had been left unable to sleep.

"I am absolutely sick to my stomach hearing about the story of Preston Davy," she wrote.

"I have lost sleep and cried. I've never said this before about anyone (somehow) but I wish nothing but horrible, horrible things for JAMIE VARLEY and his partner John. Evil, evil human beings.

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"I hope their new inmates are aware of their crimes."

The mother-of-two continued: "That helpless child was completely failed by the adoption agency.

"Never ever can anything close to this happen again. Truly despicable." (sic)

Ms Goulding returned to the subject in a second Instagram Story, telling followers she had been overwhelmed by messages from others who were equally horrified.

"Judging from the response to my story yesterday, it seems many of you are feeling as heartbroken as I am about the heinous crimes committed by the disgusting excuse for a human being, JAMIE VARLEY," she wrote.

The 39-year-old questioned what more could be done to protect vulnerable children, adding: "How do we prevent this from happening again? How do we keep babies and children in care safe from these predators?

"Will a petition do something? It's all I can think about." (sic)

Ms Goulding went on to urge anybody working in adoption or fostering to be "extra vigilant and intuitive with people eager to adopt or foster".

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In a further post, the Love Me Like You Do singer welcomed news that Blackpool Victoria Hospital is being investigated following the case.

"Good," she wrote. "They could have intervened (since there were constant visits) but didn't. They failed that baby."

Her comments came hours after Varley, 37, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison at Preston Crown Court.

The former teacher was convicted of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child and multiple indecent image offences.

His partner, sales manager John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, was sentenced to 25 years for allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and cruelty.

Preston died in July 2023 after suffering weeks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

Varley initially claimed the toddler had drowned in a bath, but a post-mortem examination revealed the child had suffered around 40 injuries.

Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Turner told Varley: "The seriousness of your offending is exceptionally high and the appropriate starting point is whole life order.

"This is a case of extreme gravity... you will never be eligible for parole.

"You will stay in prison for the rest of your life."

Preston had been removed from his biological mother under an emergency care order before being adopted by Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.

An independent review into the circumstances surrounding the case has now been commissioned, with the Government saying the public would "rightly demand answers" about what went wrong.

The Government also vowed to ensure "anyone responsible for negligence faces consequences" as investigators seek to establish whether opportunities to protect Preston were missed.

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