Janice Nix jailed for 12 years for killing Andrea Bernard in scalding bath in 1978

A woman who killed her five-year-old stepdaughter by scalding her in a hot bath as punishment has been jailed for 12 years.

Janice Nix, 67, was last month found guilty of the manslaughter of Andrea Bernard in Thornton Heath, south London, in 1978.

Andrea's death was treated as an accident until her older brother, Desmond Bernard, went to police in 2022 with a new account of what happened.

Nix, from Clapham, was also convicted of cruelty to Mr Bernard between 1975 and 1978, when he was between seven and nine.

She had denied the charges.

Mr Bernard, 56, told the trial he had initially described his sister's death as an accident because he wanted Nix to stop beating him with a belt.

He said she had also burned him with a cigarette, bit him and made him eat cat food.

Jurors were told that on 6 June 1978, a "furious" Nix shouted at Andrea and beat her after she ignored instructions not to leave the house and to help clean instead.

Mr Bernard testified that he later heard the bath running, adding: "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 stop and I could hear Janice calling Andrea to 'wake up, wake up'."

Mr Bernard said when he entered the bathroom, he saw Nix cradling his sister, who was "limp" and wrapped in a towel. "I could see skin falling off her," he said.

Andrea died nearly six weeks after being taken to hospital with burns to 50% of her body, Isleworth Crown Court heard.

Nix was arrested at Heathrow in February 2025 after arriving from Antigua and was charged the same day.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.

(c) Sky News 2026: Janice Nix jailed for 12 years for killing Andrea Bernard in scalding bath in 1978