Baby's injuries not caused by medics, murder trial told

Injuries to a baby who was allegedly sexually abused and murdered by one of his adoptive parents were not caused during attempts to save his life, a jury has been told.

Preston Davey, aged 13 months, was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital unresponsive by former teacher Jamie Varley and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley on 27 July 2023, Preston Crown Court heard.

Varley told police he had left Preston in the bath for three or four minutes and then found him submerged in the water.

Home Office pathologist Dr Alison Armour ruled out drowning as a cause of death, with a post-mortem examination revealing he had suffered about 40 injuries, including 30 external bruises, internal bruising and a fractured arm.

• Warning: The following court evidence contains distressing information

Medics worked for nearly an hour trying to resuscitate Preston before he was declared dead, the court heard.

During the four months Preston was at the defendants' Blackpool home, it is alleged he was routinely ill-treated and had indecent images and videos taken of him. The prosecution also say he was sexually abused and physically assaulted.

Armour described some of Preston's injuries as "most unusual", including what she thought was a bruise consistent with a human bite mark on his bottom.

But Nick Johnson KC, representing Varley, suggested an injury to Preston's pharynx - or the back of his throat - could have been caused by medical intervention to save his life as nurses and doctors put a breathing tube into his mouth.

Armour replied: "I find it very difficult to accept this bruise was caused by medical instrumentation."

Johnson pointed out that inserting a breathing tube involves a non-sharp instrument called a blade and that the medics were working in an emergency situation.

Armour: "It's nowhere near the pharynx."

Johnson: "Nowhere near, given the anatomy of a 13-month-old?"

Armour: "Anaesthetists are trained not to put the tube in the pharynx - it will kill the patient."

Armour told members of the jury any instrument would have injured the surface of the pharynx.

In Preston's case, she said the bruising was not visible and had only been revealed post-mortem.

The pathologist also said bruising only occurs in life, when the heart is pumping and blood is circulating around the body.

Johnson said the evidence showed there was heart activity for 13 minutes during the hour or so that medics had battled to save Preston.

But Armour said it would be insufficient to produce bruising since Preston had been admitted to hospital not breathing, while his heart had stopped.

She said this was why there were no bruises left around the needle marks and cannulas put into his body during the emergency resuscitation attempts.

Johnson said as the body tries to sustain life it will try to maintain blood flow to the heart and head, to preserve the brain, and suggested this could explain the bruise to the throat.

Armour said: "I can't accept the logic of that proposition."

Johnson then questioned the pathologist about some of what she described as "fingertip" bruising to Preston's head and chin.

He asked if the use of a breathing mask - and holding it in place - could explain the bruising.

Armour replied: "If medical staff have caused these bruises they are of excessive force and bruised a baby."

Johnson suggested bruises on Preston's leg, which Dr Armour said were consistent with a slap, could have instead been caused by somebody having a firm grip of the baby.

Armour said: "That's inconsistent with a grip. I have seen many grip marks in my career. The injury is actually inflicted in life.

"I deal with the dead, but the injury is inflicted in life.

"If this baby does not have a cardiac output, these bruises are not due to any handling or resuscitation.

"In relation to this, this is consistent with a slap and inconsistent with a grip."

Earlier, Armour concluded that the cause of Preston's death was an upper airway obstruction, leading to collapse, by a deliberate act of smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth.

She told the court some injuries were possibly caused by "forcible penetration" and post-mortem photographs had showed parts of the child's anatomy to be "abnormal".

Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of sexual assault, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photographs or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photograph of a child to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photograph.

McGowan-Fazakerley denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

Their trial will resume on Friday.

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