Amanda Wixon, 56, was today jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of modern slavery offences, false imprisonment and assault against the woman after keeping her as a slave for 25 years
A mum-of-ten who forced a woman to work as a house slave for more than 25 years chillingly lied to people asking about the woman’s whereabouts as she was held “captive” in the home, a senior detective has revealed.
Amanda Wixon, 56, who was today jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of modern slavery offences, false imprisonment and assault, subjected the woman, now aged in her mid-40s, to years of abuse after she moved into her squalid home as a 16-year-old. Detective Superintendent Ian Fletcher said: “Over the years, we believe that the victim was originally allowed out of the property, and neighbours have reported having seen her previously.
“By the end, Wixon had actually lied to neighbours and family to say that she had moved to Scotland with a boyfriend and she was out of the location.
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“It was at that point that she was in essence kept captive inside the property, not even allowed out in the garden. The psychological impact and then the physical beatings that came meant that she felt that she could not ever leave that property.”
The woman, who now calls Wixon “The Witch”, was beaten and hit with a broom handle, knocking out her teeth causing abscesses. She had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face and her head was repeatedly shaved against her will, a court heard.
The woman’s food was limited by Wixon, and she lived off scraps, could not leave the house and was forced to wash secretly at night. The home in Tewkesbury, Glos, was overcrowded in a squalid condition with mould on the walls, but the victim’s room was the worst, Gloucester crown court was told.
Wixon was found guilty 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 acquitted of one of the assault charges.
The woman moved into the house in 1995. She was rescued by police in 2021 after a tip-off. Det Supt Fletcher said the abuse meted out by Wixon towards the woman was one of the worst cases he had seen in his near-30 year policing career.
He said: “I’ve been in the police now nearly 29 years, and this is probably the worst, one of the worst cases I’ve seen. The pure longevity of the harm that’s been caused throughout this time. She had abscesses in her teeth and calluses across her feet, was severely malnourished, and she was in a very, very bad state, and she had not left that house for a very, very long time. There were multiple assaults, she had her hair forcibly cut off, she was hit with a broom handle that knocked teeth out, which caused abscesses.
“She had been punched and kicked, she was pushed down the stairs, and she had washing-up liquid pushed into her mouth. She was totally dehumanised. I don’t think Amanda Wixon saw her as a human being. She saw her as slave to use for her own will to make her life better, and she was treated very, very differently to Amanda’s own children.”
Mr Fletcher said the house was filthy and cluttered, but the young woman’s bedroom was worse than the rest of the house. He said: “You look at the victim’s room, I describe as absolute squalor. It’s a horrific state of affairs for someone to be living in. She was expected to live in that squalor. But also was expected to clean up and make their lives better. It is absolutely horrific, the life that she’s lived.
“She’s missed the prime of her life, and she’s suffered huge psychological harm. I don’t think Wixon saw her as a human being. She saw her as a slave to use for her own will to make her life better.”
Mr Fletcher said Wixon had shown no remorse towards the woman, who had her head forcibly shaved by Wixon and since being rescued has grown her hair long. He said: “Even on the court steps after she was convicted, she still said that she had done no wrong.
“She’s shown no remorse whatsoever towards the victim. She’s dehumanised our victim. She doesn’t believe that the victim is a real person, she doesn’t feel that they have any rights, and she just treats them as an absolute slave for her. Only an absolutely wicked person could do that.”
