Lancashire Police release video footage showing Preston Davey as a “happy and laughing” baby before he is later adopted and subsequently dies. Multiple outlets report that the footage captures Preston months before he is taken from foster care and moved into the Blackpool home of an adoptive couple. BBC News and the tabloid coverage describe the police message to “remember the victim” alongside the release of the video.
The reports also state that Preston spends a short period with his adoptive parents, with BBC News and the newspapers saying he is adopted by the man who later murders him. One outlet specifies that the child is in the adoptive parents’ care for about four months. The publications present the timeline as: placement in foster care, then adoption and moving to the couple’s home, followed by Preston’s death at the hands of his adoptive father.
Across sources, the common elements are the police release of the footage, Preston’s portrayal before the abuse and killing, and the stated connection between adoption and the subsequent fatal offence.
