Mother-of-Ten Faces Imprisonment After Quarter-Century Enslavement Case
A mother-of-ten has been convicted of orchestrating what a judge described as a 'Dickensian' campaign of abuse, involving the enslavement of a woman for twenty-five years. Amanda Wixon, aged 56, now faces a certain jail term following a harrowing trial at Gloucester Crown Court.
Victim's Ordeal: From Weekend Stay to Decades of Captivity
The court heard that Wixon initially agreed to take in the victim, who was then of secondary school age, for a single weekend in 1996. However, this temporary arrangement turned into a nightmare of control and exploitation that lasted until 2021. The victim's escape only became possible when she used a mobile phone she had secretly hidden to finally raise the alarm with authorities.
Upon attending Wixon's address, police officers discovered the victim – now a woman in her forties – in a profoundly distressing state. She was found bruised, completely toothless, and sleeping in a mouldy, damp bedroom that investigators likened to a prison cell. Body-worn camera footage captured her appearing thin, timid, unwashed, and visibly fearful.
Systematic Abuse and Complete Social Isolation
Prosecutor Samuel Jones outlined a case of long-term domestic servitude where the vulnerable victim had effectively 'disappeared' from society. The court was told she was tightly controlled, rarely permitted to leave the two homes where she lived with Wixon over the quarter-century period.
The victim's existence was characterised by:
- Being required to ask for basic necessities like food
- Denied access to proper washing facilities and medical care
- Forced to perform extensive cleaning duties, often on her hands and knees
- Compelled to care for the defendant's children
- Subjected to frequent physical assaults
Much of this abuse occurred at a housing association property in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, where Wixon continues to reside. The victim described numerous violent incidents including being punched, stamped on, pushed down stairs, struck with a broom, forced to have her hair cut, and strangled.
Complete Medical Neglect and Social Erasure
Perhaps most shockingly, the jury heard that there were no medical or dental records for the woman as an adult, and she had not seen a doctor in two decades. Mr Jones told the court: '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.'
Neighbours provided disturbing testimony, with one describing the victim as resembling 'something out of a concentration camp.' Another resident recalled regularly seeing her in the garden two decades ago, hanging washing or tending the garden, before she seemingly vanished from view.
Defence Claims and Prosecution Evidence
Edward Hollingsworth, defending Wixon, rejected allegations of systemic abuse, describing the prosecution case as 'a tale of fantasy and lies.' He claimed the victim was 'highly suggestible' and argued that while Wixon may have been negligent, this did not constitute the systematic abuse alleged.
The defence pointed to evidence that the victim had been on the electoral roll and that the benefits agency knew she lived at Wixon's home. They also noted some limited outings to places like the beach or benefits office.
However, the prosecution presented compelling evidence including voice notes sent by the victim to one of Wixon's children, in which she expressed fear and stated she felt unsafe. These recordings helped build the case against the defendant.
Physical and Psychological Consequences
Medical professionals documented severe physical effects from the prolonged abuse. A doctor noted large, thick calluses on both ankles, which the victim attributed to long hours cleaning floors on her hands and knees. A dentist testified that she must have suffered extreme pain at times due to her rotting teeth.
Following her rescue, the victim initially suffered trauma symptoms and nightmares about Wixon's abuse. However, jurors were told her health has significantly improved since escaping captivity. After being fitted with dentures, she became highly emotional upon seeing herself with teeth for the first time in years.
Mr Jones asked jurors in his closing speech: 'She appears to be able to go out, eat well, put on weight, grow her hair in the way she says she always wanted to, even to return to college – how has she been able to achieve all those things, what does that tell you about her treatment by the defendant?'
Verdict and Sentencing
Wixon was found guilty of two counts of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour, one count of false imprisonment, and three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. She was cleared of one additional count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge Ian Lawrie KC granted Wixon conditional bail ahead of a sentencing hearing scheduled for March, but told her unequivocally that a jail term was 'a certainty.' The judge remarked that the prosecution case outlining allegations of long-term domestic servitude had an 'almost Dickensian quality.'
As she left the courthouse on foot with several family members, Wixon showed no remorse. When asked if she would like to apologise to her victim, she responded: 'Why would I say sorry for something I never did?'
The case has highlighted disturbing issues of modern slavery occurring within domestic settings, with the victim's quarter-century ordeal only ending through her own courageous act of secretly contacting authorities.
