Police have released body-worn video footage showing the moment officers swarmed a plane at Heathrow Airport to arrest Janice Nix, 67, for the manslaughter of her five-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Bernard, in 1978. Nix, who had just arrived on a flight from Antigua, was taken into custody on February 18, 2025, after her passport and mobile phone were seized.
Conviction After Decades
Nix was found guilty of manslaughter and child cruelty at the Old Bailey on May 26, 2026, following a trial that heard how she forced Andrea into a scalding hot bath as a punishment at their home in Thornton Heath, south London. The little girl suffered severe burns to half her body and died in hospital on July 13, 1978, five weeks after the incident.
Her death was initially treated as an accident, but in 2022, Andrea's older brother, Desmond Bernard, now 56, approached police with a new account of what happened. He told jurors that Nix regularly beat the children for minor infractions, such as not folding clothes to her standards, and that he had initially described the death as an accident because he wanted the abuse to stop.
Arrest at Heathrow
The body-worn camera footage shows officers boarding the plane and asking Nix if she remembers them from years ago. She is then asked to hand over her passport and mobile phone before being escorted off the aircraft. In an airport corridor, she is read her rights and informed that her arrest was necessary to prevent her disappearance. Nix, who burst into tears upon the guilty verdict, removed her glasses and bag as she took in the news.
During the trial, prosecutor Kerry Broome said Nix gave a 'completely different' version of events in a voluntary police interview compared to what she told the coroner in 1978. Nix admitted to lying to the coroner, claiming she was 'in a panic' over failing to supervise Andrea. She told jurors, 'I was young and I was clearly not thinking. On hindsight now, I see my negligence as a teenager.'
Brother's Courage
Desmond Bernard, now 56, tearfully testified that Nix beat him with a belt, burned him with a cigarette, bit him, and made him eat cat food. He described Nix as physically 'strong' with a 'heavy-set build.' On June 6, 1978, Nix was 'furious' after Andrea ignored instructions to stay home and help clean. She shouted at Andrea in an 'extremely loud' voice before beating her, then forced her into a scalding bath. Bernard recalled hearing Andrea say, 'The bath is too hot, mummy,' followed by screams and splashing, then silence.
Aisling Hosein of the Crown Prosecution Service praised Bernard's courage, stating, 'This prosecution only came about after Andrea’s brother reported his stepmother’s actions to police in September 2022... It is thanks to him that we have been able to secure justice today on behalf of Andrea almost five decades on.'
