A woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for killing her five-year-old stepdaughter by forcing her into a scalding hot bath in 1978. Janice Nix, now 67, committed the act as punishment in Thornton Heath, south London, leading to Andrea Bernard's death from sepsis. Initially considered accidental, the case was reopened after Andrea's brother, Desmond Bernard, reported the incident to police in 2022.
Brother's Testimony
Desmond, now 56, recounted the events of June 6, 1978. He stated that Andrea had left the house instead of helping Nix clean. Upon her return, Nix beat her. Desmond then heard the bath running and Nix shouting, 'Get in the bath,' while Andrea protested, 'The bath is too hot, mummy.' He heard screaming and splashing, followed by silence, and then Nix calling for Andrea to wake up. Desmond entered the bathroom to find Nix cradling Andrea, who was limp and wrapped in a towel, with skin falling off her body. Nix asked him to claim it was an accident and say they were in the garden at the time, promising never to beat him again.
History of Abuse
Desmond described a childhood of fear under Nix's punishments, which included beatings with a belt, biting, cigarette burns, and being forced to eat cat food. He sobbed in the witness box at Isleworth Crown Court while recalling the abuse.
Conviction and Sentence
Nix, of Clapham, south London, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 12 years. She was also found guilty of cruelty to Desmond between October 1975 and June 1978, when he was aged seven to nine.
