STEPMOTHER DENIES MANSLAUGHTER AFTER GIRL, 5, DIED IN SCALDING BATH
A stepmum is accused of murdering a five-year-old girl by scalding her in a scorching bath in 1978, a court has been told.It was believed Andrea died after being accidentally submerged in a scalding bath, however her brother Desmond Bernard claimed in 2022 that it was no accident.
DailyStar reports Nix has denied manslaughter for allegedly killing Andrea by forcing her into the scalding bath in Thornton Heath, south London, on June 6, 1978.
The defendant, from Clapham, south London, has also rejected charges of cruelty towards Mr Bernard between October 1, 1975, and June 6, 1978, when he was seven to nine years old.
It was reported that Mr Bernard approached police with fresh information in September 2022 during Tuesday's trial opening.
Mr Bernard informed officers that the defendant's behaviour towards him "was not as it seemed at the time" and that Andrea's submersion in the bath was not accidental, prosecutor Kerry Broome stated.
The prosecution claimed that Nix's conduct represented "serious, violent, cruel, degrading and unacceptable forms of punishment – even by those standards of the late 1970s".
Nix was romantically involved with the children's father, also named Desmond Bernard, and effectively served as their stepmother, Ms Broome informed the court.
The defendant, then known as Janice Thomas and in her late teens, bore primary responsibility for their care as their father was frequently absent working as a chauffeur, jurors were told.
The accused is also said to have burned the boy's hand with a cigarette, and even drew blood by biting his hand for eating chocolate from the fridge, the jury was told.
Ms Broome informed the jury: "Desmond says Andrea received regular beatings from Janice, and was also hit with the belt, but it was him who 'got the worst of it'.
He did not see her being beaten around the head or with any other objects, and she wasn't burnt by the cigarette." Andrea died in hospital on July 13, 1978, due to complications from burn injuries.
The trial continues.
