On July 27, 2023, Preston Davey’s adoptive parents rushed him to a hospital in Blackpool, England, with one of them telling doctors he found the 13-month-old unresponsive after he left him unattended in the bathtub.

Medical personnel worked for more than an hour trying to save Preston, who was in cardiac arrest, but the toddler died at 7:20 p.m.

A postmortem examination found that Preston actually died of acute upper airways obstruction, police in Lancashire said in a statement.

The exam also found that Preston had suffered 40 traumatic injuries over four months he had been in the care of his adoptive parents, Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, of Blackpool, police said in the statement.

The injuries included 30 external bruises; internal bruising to his mouth and throat; and internal bruising to his anus, bowel, and bladder, the post-mortem found, according to police.

Now Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley have been found guilty in connection to Preston’s murder and the horrific abuse they subjected him to during the last four months of his young life, authorities said.

On Monday, June 15, after a seven-week trial, Varley was found guilty of murder and two counts of sexual assault of a minor under 13, police said.

Varley, a teacher, was also found guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm; four counts of cruelty to a person under 16; ten counts of taking indecent images of a child; two counts of possessing indecent images of a child; and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child.

McGowan-Fazakerley, a financial sales manager, was found guilty of causing and allowing the death of a child; two counts of cruelty to a person under 16; and sexual assault of a male child under 13.

Calling the two men “pure evil,” DCI Andy Fallows, from the department’s Force Major Investigation Team said, “Almost from day one, they set about abusing Preston and making his short life a harrowing tale of misery and pain. It was this abuse that ultimately led to Preston’s death.”

“For the first nine months of his life Preston was a happy and healthy child but by the end he was a broken shell,” he said. “This was due to the sordid and wicked acts of Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley.”

Five days after Preston was born, he was placed into emergency foster care and spent the first nine months of his life “happy and healthy,” according to health professionals, police said.

On March 23, 2023, an adoption panel approved Preston’s adoption by Varley and McGowan-Fazackerley, according to the statement.

Eight days later, Preston spent his first night with them.

Just weeks later, Varley sent messages to a friend saying that he found the baby annoying, according to the statement.

Varley also began taking indecent pictures and videos of Preston that were recovered from his phone after his arrest, police said.

During the next few months, the two took Preston to the hospital several times with health issues including breathing difficulties, a seizure, bruising to the head, and a fractured arm, the statement said.

Varley harmed the child in non-physical ways, police said.

Varley videotaped himself keeping Preston awake and then spinning him on a playground teacup at excess speed, according to police.

During the ride, “Preston was in clear distress throughout the videos, with his eyes struggling to focus,” the statement said. Varley shared one of these videos with others, including McGowan-Fazakerley and set two of them to music.

On July 23, 2023, four days before Preston died, he was sexually assaulted by both men, which Varley recorded on his phone, police said.

At 4:45 p.m., on July 27, 2023, Varley recorded a video of Preston on a bed struggling to breathe and in obvious discomfort, the statement said.

Earlier that day, Preston, prosecutors pointed out during the trial, had been sexually assaulted by Varley. A second assault caused an obstruction to Preston’s airways.

Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley will be sentenced on Thursday, June 18.