Janice Nix Jailed 12 Years for 1978 Scalding Death of Five-Year-Old Stepdaughter Andrea Bernard

A woman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 1978 killing of her five-year-old stepdaughter. Janice Nix, 67, was found guilty of manslaughter after forcing Andrea Bernard into a dangerously hot bath in Thornton Heath, south London, almost five decades ago.

Andrea Bernard sustained severe burns to half her body and succumbed to her injuries five weeks later, on 13 July 1978. The case, initially treated as an accident, was reopened in 2022 after Andrea's older brother, Desmond Bernard, approached police.

Sentencing Nix at Isleworth Crown Court, Judge Justice Lavender stated, "I'm sure that you ran the bath, you knew how hot it was... You heard her screams." The judge further emphasised that "at the very least the risk ought to have been obvious to you."