Stepmum jailed for 1978 killing of girl, 5

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Stepmum jailed for 1978 killing of girl, 5Just now Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleLuxmy Gopal ,Isleworth Crown CourtandAmy Clarke ,LondonMetropolitan policeJanice Nix was found guilty of Andrea Bernard's manslaughter and cruelty towards her brother Desmond BernardA woman who killed her five-year-old stepdaughter by scalding her in a bath in 1978 has been jailed for 12 years. Janice Nix, 67, punished Andrea Bernard by forcing her into the piping hot water in Thornton Heath, south London, nearly 50 years ago. Andrea suffered severe burns to half her body and died in hospital on 13 July 1978, five weeks later.

The jury heard her death had been treated as an accident until Andrea's older brother, Desmond Bernard, went to police in 2022. Nix was found guilty of Andrea's manslaughter. Sentencing her at Isleworth Crown Court, Judge Justice Lavender said: "I'm sure that you ran the bath, you knew how hot it was...

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You heard her screams. ""At the very least the risk ought to have been obvious to you," the judge added. Nix, of Clapham, was also convicted of cruelty to Desmond Bernard between October 1975 and June 1978, when he was aged seven to nine.

Bernard, now 56, read out a victim impact statement in court and addressed Nix directly, saying: "Your actions robbed me of my sister, and my sister of her life. "Nix was shaking her head and appeared to be mouthing words while he spoke to her. She will serve two-thirds of the 12-year prison sentence before she can be released on licence, the judge said.

Warning: distressing details are included in this articleJurors heard that on 6 June 1978, Nix was "furious" after Andrea ignored orders not to leave the house and to help with cleaning. Bernard said he later heard the bath running after Andrea had suffered a beating from Nix. He added: "I could hear Janice shouting 'get in the bath' and I could hear Andrea saying 'the bath is too hot mummy'.

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"'My stepmum killed my sister and made me lie about it but now we have justice'Bernard then heard screaming before Nix began calling for Andrea to "wake up". He entered the bathroom and saw Nix cradling Andrea, who was "limp" and wrapped in a towel. Family handoutUntil now, Andrea Bernard's death in 1978 had been recorded as an accidentAndrea died nearly six weeks after arriving at hospital with burns to 50% of her body.

A burns expert told the trial a child exposed to water hot enough to cause those injuries would instinctively try to stand up to escape, rather than remain seated. Prosecutors suggested that Nix must have forcibly held some of Andrea underwater. Bernard said Nix had asked him to say it was an accident and "to say that we were in the garden when it happened and that she would never beat me again".

"The last memories I have of my sister's life are piercing screams and lying about her death to survive," Bernard said in court. "Your contrived grief at Andrea's funeral, the lies, the tears. You fooled my family because they couldn't imagine the unimaginable.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.