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Stepmother guilty of killing five-year-old girl in scalding bath in 1978
Jurors found she punished Andrea Bernard with a scalding bath, and prosecutors said the case was reopened after her brother came forward nearly 50 years later.
- Janice Nix, 67, was convicted on Tuesday of manslaughter for forcing five-year-old stepdaughter Andrea Bernard into a scalding bath in Thornton Heath, south London, in 1978. She was also found guilty of cruelty to Andrea's brother Desmond Bernard between October 1975 and June 1978, when he was aged seven to nine.
- For nearly five decades, Andrea's death remained classified as an accident until Desmond Bernard approached police in September 2022 with a new account of events. The Crown Prosecution Service then reexamined the circumstances from that day in 1978.
- Desmond Bernard testified he heard Nix commanding 'get in the bath' while Andrea protested 'the bath is too hot mummy,' then found his sister limp with severe burns. He revealed Nix struck him with a belt, burned him with a cigarette, and beat the children for failing to fold clothes 'to her standards.'
- Detective Inspector Louise Caveen from the Met's cold case homicide team said 'It is thanks to his courage that Nix has now been found guilty and will finally be held responsible for her actions.' Nix was arrested at Heathrow Airport on February 18, 2025, after arriving from Antigua.
- Nix's conviction marks a stark reversal: from a major drug dealer dubbed 'Mama J' who served nine years in prison in 1992, to a probation officer who won the Probation Service's diversity award in 2015. Prosecutors described this as the oldest homicide case they could recall handling in London.
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Social media reacts after woman convicted in 1978 death of 5-year-old stepdaughter
Janice Nix was found guilty of manslaughter and child cruelty for the 1978 death of her 5-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Bernard, who suffered severe burns after allegedly being forced into a bathtub filled with extremely hot water.
Moment woman is arrested on plane over 1978 death of 5-year-old girl
Janice Nix, 67, has since been convicted of the manslaughter of her stepdaughter Andrea Bernard by forcing her into a scalding hot bath. The death had been treated as an accident until the victim's brother came forward with a new account.
·New Zealand
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources28
Leaning Left7Leaning Right4Center9Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
45% Center
L 35%
C 45%
R 20%
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