Mother of Ten Found Guilty of Enslaving Vulnerable Woman for Quarter of a Century
Amanda Wixon, a 56-year-old mother of ten, has been convicted of holding a vulnerable woman as a "house slave" for an astonishing 25 years at her family home in Gloucestershire. The shocking case, heard at Gloucester Crown Court, revealed a pattern of sustained abuse and imprisonment that lasted from 1995 until 2021.
Decades of Abuse and Imprisonment
The victim, now in her mid-40s, was just 16 years old when she moved into Wixon's squalid home in the Priors Park area of Tewkesbury. Over the following quarter of a century, she endured what prosecutors described as a "Dickensian" existence, completely cut off from the outside world.
The court heard harrowing details of the abuse inflicted upon the vulnerable woman, who has learning difficulties:
- Regular beatings, including being hit with a broom handle so violently that it knocked out her teeth
- Washing-up liquid squirted down her throat as punishment
- Bleach deliberately splashed on her face
- Her head repeatedly shaved against her will
- Severe food restrictions, forcing her to survive on scraps
- Being forbidden from leaving the house under any circumstances
- Compelled to wash in secret at night when other household members were asleep
Squalid Living Conditions and Complete Isolation
The family home where this abuse occurred was described as overcrowded and dangerously squalid. Police officers who eventually visited the property in March 2021 reported mould covering the walls, plaster hanging from ceilings, and rubbish accumulating in the back garden.
The victim's bedroom was particularly disturbing, with officers comparing it to a "prison cell." Other bedrooms in the house were similarly untidy and dirty, creating an environment of complete neglect.
Perhaps most shockingly, the woman had effectively disappeared from official records for more than two decades. Despite social services being involved with the family in the late 1990s, there were no records of any contact since that period. The victim had no medical or dental records for twenty years and hadn't seen a doctor in all that time.
Prosecutor Sam Jones told the court: "By the late 1990s it appears the woman disappeared into a black hole. Not a single meeting that left a record or a single sighting of her outside the house."
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
Wixon faced multiple serious charges including:
- False imprisonment
- Two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour
- Four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm
Although the jury acquitted her of one assault charge, they found her guilty of all other charges. The prosecution successfully argued that Wixon had systematically controlled every aspect of the victim's life, using threats of violence to force her to work and preventing her from leaving the address.
Judge Ian Lawrie KC remarked on the "Dickensian quality" of the case, noting that the vulnerable woman had left her own dysfunctional family only to enter another abusive situation.
The abuse finally came to light when one of Wixon's sons contacted authorities in March 2021. When police arrived, the victim told them: "I don't want to be here. I don't feel safe. Mandy hits me all the time. I don't like it. I haven't washed for years. She doesn't let me."
Wixon has been released on conditional bail and will return to court for sentencing on March 12, where the full consequences of her 25-year campaign of abuse will be determined.
