WOMAN CONVICTED OF KILLING HER STEPDAUGHTER IN 1978 HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS IN JAIL
In May, Janice Nix received a manslaughter conviction after fresh evidence prompted Metropolitan Police investigators to revisit the case surrounding the death of five-year-old Andrea Bernard.Nix, aged 67 (born 26 August 1958), residing on Rodenhurst Road, SW4, was sentenced today at Isleworth Crown Court.
During the same hearing, she was also convicted of assaulting and mistreating Andrea’s older brother, Desmond, between 1975 and 1978.
She was given a prison term of 15 months for these charges, to be served concurrently.
Nearly six weeks after entering hospital with significant burns covering half her body, Andrea died from complications related to her injuries.
Her burns had been inflicted at her family’s home in Thornton Heath following an immersion in an extremely hot bath.
During the initial coroner’s hearing, her death was attributed to sepsis caused by the burns, and it was declared an accidental death.
In 2022, Andrea’s brother Desmond, then only eight, contacted authorities alleging that his stepmother Janice Nix was responsible for her injuries and eventual death.
This led to a formal criminal investigation.
Police conducted detailed inquiries, examining numerous documents from local authorities and hospitals, and sought to identify residents who might remember the incident, though most leads were unfruitful due to the passage of time.
Still, parts of information pieced together a case against Nix.
In September 2022, Desmond revealed that Andrea died back in 1978 and insisted her death was not an accident but was caused by Nix intentionally inflicting the burns.
He kept this secret for years, telling others it was accidental because Nix, who frequently physically abused him, had promised to stop if he kept quiet.
As an adult, he began sharing the story with close relatives, explaining that Nix often beat both children.
On the day in question, Andrea was in trouble and barred from attending school.
She managed to leave home and meet her brother outside.
When she returned, Nix shouted at her and assaulted her before filling the bath and calling her in.
Desmond, who was in an adjacent bedroom, heard Andrea crying out about the heat and saw her being called into the bath.
Eventually, Andrea went limp, and Nix called Desmond into the bathroom, where he found her unresponsive.
This led to police investigations, which later involved the Met’s Cold Case team.
Most records from that era had been lost, and witnesses or participants had died, but a critical 16-page Coroner’s report was recovered.
It detailed her injuries, hospital treatment, and included a statement from Nix made after Andrea’s death.
During interviews in 2022, Nix was unaware her initial statement was available, and she gave a different version, claiming a boiler malfunction caused the bath to overheat a detail not found in the original report.
When questioned about these discrepancies, she refused to comment, citing her trauma.
Experts testified that a child in scalding water would instinctively try to escape immediately, suggesting Nix deliberately submerged her.
Throughout the trial, Nix denied abusing Desmond or being responsible for Andrea’s death, maintaining that her version of events was inaccurate and that Desmond’s account was mistaken.
