The mother of 13-month-old Preston Davey, killed by his soon-to-be adoptive father, was once one of Britain’s most notorious teenage killers – convicted of torturing a 71-year-old grandmother and dumping her body in a canal.
Sarah, now 43, was just 14 when she and an accomplice befriended vulnerable pensioner Lily Lilley at her home in Failsworth, Greater Manchester. After being invited in for tea, they taunted her, squirted her with shampoo, slashed her legs with a knife, and choked her with a gag so tight that her false teeth were forced down her throat. Her body was placed in a wheelie bin, pushed through the streets, and tipped into a canal. A framed photograph of her baby son was discarded in the bin. The pair then took over Lilley’s home, making hundreds of calls from her telephone and spending her pension money on crisps and chocolate. Sarah was detained indefinitely in 1999 for what the judge called an “unspeakably wicked” murder.
“Baby Preston's mother was a teenage killer who tortured and dumped a pensioner in a canal.”
Now, as Jamie Varley faces a life sentence for killing Preston, the infant’s grandmother, Debra Davey, 66, has spoken of her heartbreak. She said her daughter had anticipated her past would re-emerge: “She’s worried about it all coming out again, but I’ve told her, it’s all about Preston, it isn’t about her.”
Debra was there when Preston was born in Wythenshawe. “It was wonderful,” she said. He was with Sarah for five days, then saw her every fortnight with foster parents. The plan was for Debra to look after him, but the arrangement collapsed when she received a breast cancer diagnosis the day after his birth. “That’s the reason I couldn’t have him. They said I couldn’t have him because of that.” His foster parents were “lovely people” who loved Preston, and Sarah got on with them.
Preston died in July 2023, four months after he was adopted by Varley and his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley. Debra recalled being “hysterical” when informed of his death. Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were arrested but released on bail as investigations continued.
Reflecting on her grandson’s death, Debra said: “I’ve had some bad things happen in my life, but this is by far the worst.”