The stepmum exposed as a young girl's killer almost 50 years on

In 1978, Desmond Bernard’s five-year-old sister Andrea died after being scalded in a hot bath at their home in Thornton Heath, south London. The death had long been treated as an accident, but Bernard later told police that his stepmother, Janice Nix, ordered him to lie about what happened. Bernard said the siblings lived in fear of punishments, including beatings and being forced to eat cat food. In November 2022, Bernard went to Croydon police station to reveal the secret he had carried for nearly fifty years. A jury at Isleworth Crown Court found Nix guilty of Andrea’s manslaughter and of child cruelty toward Bernard. Police said the case was difficult because few records survived.

"A man walked into Croydon police station and told officers he needed to reveal a terrible secret he'd carried for almost half a century. Desmond Bernard described how, in 1978, his stepmother had killed his five-year-old sister Andrea by scalding her in a hot bath at their home in Thornton Heath, south London. Her death had always been treated as an accident, but Bernard, who had been just eight at the time, told officers that Janice Nix had ordered him to lie about what really happened."

"Police who investigated the case are clear Nix would never have been brought to justice had it not been for Bernard's courage in coming forward decades later. Det Con Fran Homer, from the Metropolitan Police's cold case team, said it had been "heartbreaking" to hear how he had felt guilt over what happened, despite not being in any way to blame. She believes his decision to walk into the police station came from a place of wanting to be "the voice of Andrea she didn't have" and feeling he was unable to carry the burden of such a secret any longer."

"But proving Nix's guilt would be challenging in a case where very few records survived. PA Media Homer said that Nix had not appeared to be anxious when she arrived at the station for an initial police interview in November 2022. Initially, she replied "no comment" to each question. "I felt like she knew what she was doing," said Homer. "As the adult's word against a child's, she thought she'd be OK.""

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