Mum-of-10 who kept woman as ‘house slave’ for 25 years and fed her scraps is jailed

A woman who kept a teenager with learning difficulties as a ‘house slave’ for 25 years has been jailed for 13 years.

The vulnerable victim, who is now in her mid-40s, was 16 when she moved into the squalid home of mother-of-10 Amanda Wixon, 56, in 1995 and remained there until 2021.

She endured regular beatings and was hit with a broom handle by Wixon, who she now refers to as ‘The Witch’.

Washing-up liquid was poured down her throat, bleach splashed on her face and her head was repeatedly shaved.

The victim lived off scraps of food and was not allowed to wash or leave the Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, home.

Her torment ended when she found a phone and called for help, Gloucester Crown Court was told.

When discovered by police she had calluses on her feet and ankles from constantly being on her knees to clean floors.

She was kept in a room more akin to a ‘prison cell’. There was mould and plaster hanging off walls, jurors heard.

Wixon denied a charge of false imprisonment, two charges of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, and four charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

She was convicted of all offences except one assault charge and jailed for 13 years today.

Judge Ian Lawrie KC said Wixon was in ‘permanent denial’ about the impact of her offending on the woman.

‘The gravity of your offending is so serious that I am imposing a significant period of custody,’ the judge said.

‘You are to be punished for a series of offences spanning 20 years. You cruelly and persistently held captive this woman. This false imprisonment ran from her later teens until early 40s.

‘The enduring persistent trauma of that slavery remains. This offending was not isolated and was persistent over many years.’

Prosecutor Sam Jones read a note the victim had written to the court, saying: ‘For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter.

‘Although my abuser has now been found guilty, the trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day.

‘I am now living with a wonderful family who show me kindness, patience and support.

‘Their love is helping me slowly rebuild the life that was taken from me and begin to feel safe again.

‘Nothing can give me back the 25 years I lost.

‘But I hope the court recognises the deep and lasting harm this abuse has caused and delivers a sentence that truly reflects the seriousness of these crimes.’

Earlier, Mr Jones said police went to the house in March 2021 in response to a report made by one of Wixon’s sons about the woman.

Officers described the woman’s bedroom as looking like a ‘prison cell’, with other bedrooms untidy and dirty.

She told police: ‘I don’t want to be here. I don’t feel safe. Mandy hits me all the time. I don’t like it.

‘I haven’t washed for years. She doesn’t let me.’

The court heard social services were involved with the family in the late 1990s but there were no records of any contact since.

‘The fact remains that nothing was done by social services,’ Mr Jones said.

There were no medical records or dental records for the woman, and she had not seen a doctor in two decades.

‘The lack of records from the hospital, the doctor and the dentist or any involvement with social services for 20 years provides further support of her never being allowed to leave the house,’ Mr Jones said.

‘By the late 1990s it appears the woman disappeared into a black hole. Not a single meeting that left a record or a single sighting of her outside the house,’ he added.

Like many in the house, including Wixon, the woman had lost many of her teeth due to poor dental hygiene.

Ex-neighbour, Kiran Atwal, recalled seeing the victim around a decade ago, but was unaware she still lived there. Another said the woman ‘looked like something out of a concentration camp’.

The victim now lives with a foster family and attends college but still has nightmares about her ordeal.

Judge Ian Lawrie KC said there was a ‘Dickensian quality’ to the case and warned Wixon she will face jail when sentenced in March.

‘I know that. Do you think I am stupid?,’ she replied.

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