The horrific murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey has once again surged back into public consciousness after a wave of unverified reports began circulating from behind prison walls. Following the June 2026 sentencing of Jamie Varley to a whole-life order and John McGowan-Fazakerley to 25 years, online forums, social media threads, and anonymous prison grapevine accounts have been flooded with claims that one of the two men is dead in custody. The rumours, which remain entirely unconfirmed by official sources, have ignited fresh scrutiny of the case and of the treatment of high-profile child killers inside Britain’s most secure prisons.

Preston Davey died on 27 July 2023 at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He had been placed for adoption with Varley, then a secondary school head of year, and McGowan-Fazakerley just four months earlier. What followed was a campaign of sustained physical and sexual abuse that left the toddler with more than 40 traumatic injuries. A post-mortem ruled out Varley’s claim that the child had accidentally drowned in the bath. Instead, pathologists found evidence consistent with smothering or the forced insertion of objects into the child’s mouth and airways. The jury at Preston Crown Court heard that Preston had been treated as a “plaything,” subjected to repeated sexual assaults, and left with fractures, internal bruising and chronic neglect. Varley was convicted of murder and a string of sexual and cruelty offences. McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and child cruelty.

On 18 June 2026, Mr Justice Turner handed Varley a rare whole-life order, telling him: “This is a case of the utmost gravity. You will stay in prison for the whole of your life. You will never be released.” McGowan-Fazakerley received a 25-year sentence. Almost immediately, reports emerged that Varley had been moved to HMP Wakefield, the Category A prison long known as “Monster Mansion,” where he allegedly spent his first night “sobbing and quaking” as other inmates screamed threats. Prison sources claimed the pair would be kept permanently apart and that both faced a high risk of retaliation because of the nature of their crimes.

It is against this backdrop that the latest unverified claims have taken hold. In recent days, anonymous accounts purporting to come from inmates or prison staff have alleged that one of the two men has died in custody. Some versions name Varley; others point to McGowan-Fazakerley. The stories range from claims of an attack by fellow prisoners to suggestions of self-harm or medical emergency. None of the reports has been substantiated with names, dates, locations or official documentation. They have spread rapidly across social media, amplified by accounts that specialise in true-crime updates and by members of the public still reeling from the original trial evidence.

The speed with which the rumours gained traction is unsurprising. Varley had publicly expressed fears about his safety in prison even before sentencing. During the trial and its aftermath, attention focused on the intense hostility reserved for those convicted of offences against children, particularly infants. Former inmates and prison officers have described in previous media interviews how such offenders are routinely ostracised, placed on vulnerable prisoner units, and live under constant threat. One ex-prisoner who served time at Wakefield told reporters that Varley’s whole-life sentence meant the danger would never diminish: “He is never getting out. There is no way out of this hell for him.” Similar warnings were issued about McGowan-Fazakerley, who was said to have a “bounty on his head” despite receiving a determinate sentence.

Yet the gap between rumour and verified fact remains wide. As of the most recent checks, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Prison Service has confirmed any death. Prison authorities routinely refuse to comment on individual inmates for operational and security reasons, a policy that itself fuels speculation. In high-profile cases involving child killers, the absence of official updates is often interpreted by the public as deliberate silence rather than standard procedure. That vacuum has allowed unverified claims to flourish.

The Ministry of Justice’s official status report regarding both inmates was released this week. It states that both men remain alive and are being held in secure conditions appropriate to their category and risk. No further details were provided about their precise locations, medical status or any incidents involving them. The statement is characteristically brief, offering neither confirmation of the circulating stories nor any narrative that would satisfy public curiosity. For those following the case, the report’s brevity has only intensified debate. Campaigners who have called for a public inquiry into the failures that allowed Preston to be placed with the couple now find themselves also demanding greater transparency about the prisoners’ ongoing safety and treatment.

The original case continues to raise profound questions. Preston was born to a mother with a serious criminal history and taken into care within days of birth. He thrived with foster carers before being moved to Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley in April 2023 after the pair were approved for adoption. During the subsequent four months he was taken to hospital on multiple occasions with injuries that, in hindsight, appear to have been warning signs. Social services oversight, hospital safeguarding responses and the adoption assessment process have all come under intense criticism. MPs and high-profile figures have backed calls for a full independent inquiry. A vigil held in Blackpool on the third anniversary of Preston’s death drew mourners from across the country and saw Blackpool Tower lit in his memory.

Against that backdrop of unresolved institutional questions, the latest prison rumours feel especially charged. For some members of the public, the idea that one of the men responsible for Preston’s suffering might already be dead carries a grim sense of rough justice. For others, it raises uncomfortable questions about the capacity of the prison system to protect even its most despised inmates and about the reliability of information that circulates from closed institutions. Unverified reports of this kind have a long history of proving false, yet they rarely disappear once they take hold.

What is not in dispute is the scale of the crime itself. A 13-month-old child who should have been safe in the care of adults entrusted with his future was instead subjected to months of calculated cruelty that ended in his murder. The whole-life order imposed on Varley was designed to ensure he never walks free. McGowan-Fazakerley’s 25-year term was intended to reflect his failure to protect the child and his participation in the abuse. Whether either man has since died remains, for now, a matter of rumour rather than record.

The official position is clear: both men are alive. The Ministry of Justice’s latest status report confirms as much. Until independent verification or further official disclosure emerges, the claims of a prison death must be treated with extreme caution. In a case already defined by horror and systemic failure, the public is once again left waiting for facts rather than speculation. Preston Davey’s short life ended in violence. The full truth about what has become of those responsible continues to unfold slowly, and only under the tightest official control.