Mother of 10 Jailed for 25-Year 'House Slave' Ordeal in Tewkesbury Horror

Mother of Ten Receives 13-Year Sentence for Quarter-Century Captivity Case

A woman who subjected another individual to a harrowing twenty-five-year imprisonment, treating her as a domestic slave under appalling conditions, has been sentenced to over a decade in prison. Amanda Wixon, a 56-year-old mother of ten from Tewkesbury, received a thirteen-year custodial term at Gloucester Crown Court today.

Decades of Abuse and Forced Labour Uncovered

Wixon was convicted in January on multiple serious charges, including false imprisonment, requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, and assault. The court heard how she took in her friend's daughter back in 1997, when the victim was just sixteen years old and still attending secondary school.

From that point until March 2021, Wixon kept the vulnerable woman captive in what prosecutors described as a "house slave" arrangement. The victim was forced to care for Wixon's numerous children, clean the overcrowded family home, and endure regular physical assaults.

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During sentencing proceedings, prosecutor Sam Jones presented disturbing evidence of the abuse inflicted over twenty-five years. The victim suffered beatings so severe they knocked out her teeth, had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and her head repeatedly shaved against her will.

"For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse," the victim wrote in a statement read to the court. "I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter."

Squalid Living Conditions and Systematic Isolation

The family residence in Tewkesbury's Priors Park area was described as overcrowded and squalid, with mould covering walls, plaster hanging loose, and rubbish accumulating in the garden. The victim slept in a damp, mouldy bedroom that resembled a prison cell.

She was forced to secretly wash at night, eat scraps, and remained completely confined to the property throughout her captivity. When police finally rescued her in 2021, she appeared timid and unwashed, telling officers she hadn't bathed in over a year.

The court heard the woman had no medical or dental records for two decades and her Body Mass Index was dangerously close to underweight when discovered. She displayed extensive physical damage including scarring on her face and lips, plus large calluses on her feet and ankles from constantly cleaning floors on her hands and knees.

One neighbour described her appearance as "looking like something out of a concentration camp," while another recalled seeing her "skin and bone" with a shaved head and witnessing beatings with a broom handle.

Investigation and Legal Proceedings

The ordeal finally ended when Wixon's own son contacted police in March 2021. Officers discovered the victim, now in her forties, bearing bruises and missing teeth from years of abuse. During the investigation, they learned the woman had recorded voice notes about her suffering on a hidden phone.

Wixon had denied all charges including false imprisonment, forced labour, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. A jury acquitted her of one assault charge but found her guilty on the remaining counts.

Prosecutor Sam Jones noted that social services had been involved with the family in the late 1990s but there were no records of subsequent contact. "The fact remains that nothing was done by social services," Jones told the court, highlighting systemic failures that allowed the abuse to continue undetected for decades.

The victim's statement concluded with a poignant reflection: "Nothing can give me back the 25 years I lost. But I hope the court recognises the deep and lasting harm this abuse has caused and delivers a sentence that truly reflects the seriousness of these crimes."

Wixon showed little remorse throughout proceedings. When leaving court after her conviction in January, she was asked what she had to say to her victim and replied simply: "Not a lot."