A stepmother has been found guilty of killing her five-year-old stepdaughter by forcing her into a scalding hot bath as a punishment nearly 50 years ago. Janice Nix, 67, was convicted of the manslaughter of Andrea Bernard at Isleworth Crown Court on Tuesday, following a trial that relied on the courage of Andrea's older brother, who broke his silence decades after the crime.
The Crime and Conviction
Nix, of Clapham, south London, 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. She shook her head and wept in the dock as the verdicts were read. Prosecutors described the case as the oldest homicide they could recall handling in London, relying on surviving inquest notes, expert evidence, and witness testimony to secure the conviction.
Brother's Testimony
Desmond Bernard, now 56, tearfully told jurors that he initially described his sister's death as an accident because he wanted Nix to stop beating him. He said Nix beat him with a belt, burned him with a cigarette, bit him, and made him eat cat food. On June 6, 1978, Nix was furious after Andrea ignored instructions not to leave the house. Mr Bernard recalled hearing Nix shout at Andrea in an extremely loud voice before beating her, then the sound of a bath running.
He said: 'I could hear Janice shouting 'get in the bath' and I could hear Andrea saying 'the bath is too hot mummy'. I could hear Janice shouting 'get in the bath, get in the bath' and then I heard screaming and splashing. Then I heard the screaming stopped and I could hear Janice calling Andrea to 'wake up, wake up'.'
When he entered the bathroom, he saw Nix cradling Andrea, who was limp and wrapped in a towel. He added: 'I could see skin falling off her.' Nix asked him to say it was an accident and that they were in the garden when it happened, promising she would never beat him again. Mr Bernard lied, telling everyone that story because he lived in constant fear and wanted the abuse to stop.
Medical Evidence
Andrea died nearly six weeks after arriving at hospital with burns to 50% of her body. A burns expert testified that a child exposed to such hot water would instinctively try to stand up, not remain seated, indicating Nix must have forcibly held Andrea underwater.
Nix's Defense
During the 1978 inquest, Nix initially claimed Andrea took a bath on her own and later complained of itchy legs before fainting. But at trial, she admitted giving a false account because she was in a panic over failing to supervise Andrea. She claimed she did not realize the water was scalding hot and that her negligence was due to her youth. However, police noted that her 2022 interview differed significantly from her original statement, and she falsely claimed the coroner attributed the death to a faulty boiler.
Arrest and Aftermath
Nix was arrested at Heathrow Airport on February 18, 2025, after arriving from Antigua, and charged later that day. She had denied both charges. Detective Inspector Louise Caveen, from the Met's cold case homicide team, praised Desmond Bernard's bravery: 'It is thanks to his courage that Nix has now been found guilty and will finally be held responsible for her actions.' Aisling Hosein of the Crown Prosecution Service added: 'This prosecution only came about after Andrea's brother reported his stepmother's actions to police in September 2022, resulting in the circumstances being re-examined.' Nix was remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date.
