Nursery Worker Convicted of Assaulting 21 Toddlers in Twickenham

Jamie Varley, a 36-year-old head of year at a secondary school in Blackpool, has been charged with the sexual assault and murder of 13-month-old Preston Davey, whom he was in the process of adopting. Alongside Varley, 31-year-old John McGowan-Fazakerley faces charges related to the case. Both appeared in court on June 13, 2025, following a police investigation triggered by Preston's death on July 27, 2023, at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. According to reports from the Blackpool Gazette, Preston had been taken into care shortly after his birth and placed with Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley on April 3, 2023. Tragically, he passed away just three months later. Varley has been charged with multiple offenses, including manslaughter, assault, child cruelty, and numerous counts involving indecent images. The Cidari multi-academy trust, which operates South Shore Academy where Varley was employed, stated its deep condolences to Preston’s family and emphasized that Varley had been suspended since his arrest in 2023. Both defendants are set to appear at Preston Crown Court on Monday.

A forthcoming documentary titled *Ghosts of Alderney* unveils chilling evidence of Nazi atrocities at the Sylt prison camp on Alderney during World War II. The documentary, directed by Piers Secunda, explores accounts indicating that SS guards used prisoners for target practice, shooting them for amusement on weekends, according to eyewitness testimony from Giorgi Zbovorski, a Ukrainian prisoner held there for 18 months. Zbovorski's daughter, Ingrid, recounts his harrowing experiences, noting that prisoners were bound and shot at random by the guards. Secunda's five-year research highlights a cycle of violence fueled by the head of the SS guards, Otto Hogelow, who incentivized his men to kill inmates by offering them additional leave and provisions for every five prisoners shot. Historian Gilly Carr from Cambridge University emphasized the need for further investigation into these accounts while acknowledging their significance in understanding the brutal conditions endured by over a thousand slave laborers who likely lost their lives on the island, as per last year's review led by Lord Pickles.

Historians at the University of Cambridge have revealed new details about the murder of priest John Ford in Salisbury in May 1337, attributing the execution to aristocrat Ella Fitzpaine. According to criminologist Professor Manuel Eisner, the killing was a calculated act of revenge ordered by Fitzpaine after she was publicly humiliated by the church for her alleged affairs, including one with Ford. The investigation, part of the "Medieval Murder Maps" project, utilized coroners’ rolls and church archives, uncovering a tale rife with power struggles and deception. Eisner noted that Fitzpaine's punishment, which included forced penance, was intended to reassert the church's authority over the aristocracy during a tumultuous period in medieval England. Evidence suggests that Fitzpaine’s brother, aided by two servants, executed the murder in a planned manner intended to challenge church influence. This episode highlights the violent undercurrents of power dynamics between the church and the elite in medieval society, as well as early forms of organized crime, according to Eisner.