Teacher said baby was 'dead meat', jury hears

Teacher said baby was 'dead meat', jury hears56 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLynette HorsburghNorth WestLancashire PoliceJamie Varley, 37, is accused of killing 13-month-old Preston DaveyA former teacher accused of sexually abusing and killing an adopted baby said the child was "dead meat" and that he had "murdered" him in the weeks before the infant died, a court heard.Jamie Varley, 37, and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, adopted 13-month-old Preston Davey, in April 2023, Preston Crown Court heard.For just under four months after his adoption he was allegedly routinely ill-treated and suffered 40 traumatic injuries at the defendants' home in Blackpool, jurors were told.He died in hospital on 27 July 2023. Varley denies murder and McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, as well as multiple other offences.Warning: The following court evidence contains information some readers may find distressingAfter undergoing an assessment and familiarisation process Preston was adopted and began living with the defendants on 1 April 2023.But just days later Varley, who took a year off work as head of year at high school to adopt a child, confessed he was struggling with a lack of sleep due to the baby constantly waking in the night, a jury heard.On 6 April, he texted his sister, a baby sleep trainer: "He's dead meat today. Didn't sleep last night after 11.30. Up every, one and a half hours."Four days later, Varley sent his mother Karen Graham, a video of Preston in his walker, and she replied: "Clever boy xxx"Varley then replied: "This was before he was murdered and put to bed."He texted his friend: "First sleep over. I wanted to put him in the field with the cows," but went on to describe Preston as a "ray of sunshine".Varley said the child was "refusing" to go to sleep, is "very needy" and texted another friend: "He&#...