Nearly 50 years after her 5-year-old stepdaughter died after she was placed in a scalding hot bath, Janice Nix has been found guilty of manslaughter in connection to the killing.
A jury found Nix, 67, guilty of manslaughter in connection to the death of Andrea Bernard and of child cruelty in connection to the victim’s older brother, Desmond Bernard, during a hearing on Tuesday, May 26, according to a Metropolitan Police news release.
Andrea died from sepsis in July 1978, which was about six weeks after she was taken to a hospital with severe burns that covered half of her body. Police said she sustained the burns after she was placed in a scalding hot bath at the family’s home in Thornton Heath, London.
Her death was initially ruled accidental. However, Desmond, who was 8 years old at the time his sister died, told police in September 2022 that Nix had killed Andrea.
Desmond claimed to police that Nix told him to lie about what happened, according to the BBC. Additionally, he said that Nix frequently abused him and his sister. She would allegedly punish the children by beating them and forcing them to eat cat food.
After Desmond made the claims, police launched an investigation into the case and found that no hospital records had been retained. They also tried to trace other people who lived on the same street as the family, though they struggled to find leads.
“Dealing with homicide cases in the modern day is very, very different,” Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service in London David Malone said, per the BBC. “We look at all of the data we have in our telephones, CCTV, the audio. There’s that wealth of documentary evidence. And of course, when you go back such a long time, witnesses pass away.”
Police eventually noticed inconsistencies in Nix’s story. Detective Constable Fran Homer said that some of the claims Nix made, including that the bathwater had overheated due to a broken boiler, “didn’t make sense” and were discredited by experts, according to the BBC.
Nix was arrested at the airport in February 2025 when she was returning home from a trip to Antigua and Barbuda. She was charged that same day with Andrea’s manslaughter, as well as cruelty to Desmond that took place between October 1975 and June 1978.
Nix admitted giving a false account at the time that Andrea died, claiming she was “in a panic” because she was gardening instead of supervising the young girl in the bathtub, per the outlet.
However, Desmond claimed that Nix told him that Andrea was in trouble for not cleaning the house on June 6, 1978, per the outlet. He said that he heard Andrea tell their stepmother the bath was too hot, though Nix yelled at her to “get in the bath.”
Desmond went on to claim that Nix told him that “she would never beat me again” if he said Andrea’s death was an accident. He then said that he agreed to lie because he “didn’t feel protected” and “just wanted it to stop,” according to the BBC.
Nix will remain in custody until she is sentenced at a later date, according to police.
If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453.
