Janice Nix, 67, is found guilty of manslaughter for the 1978 killing of her five-year-old stepdaughter, Andrea Bernard, in Thornton Heath, south London. Multiple reports say prosecutors alleged Nix forced Andrea to endure a scalding bath as punishment at their home, and that the injuries led to the girl’s death on 6 June 1978.
For decades, Andrea’s death was treated as an accident. The Guardian reports that the case changed after her older brother, Desmond Bernard, went to police in 2022 with a new account of what happened. BBC and The Independent also describe the conviction as manslaughter, while other outlets add that police and court heard evidence suggesting the incident was deliberate rather than accidental.
The Independent notes Nix has been convicted of manslaughter, and the Daily Mail reports that she faces a return to jail following the verdict. The reporting across outlets centers on the finding that Nix’s actions caused Andrea Bernard’s death, nearly 50 years after the incident.
