Alleged killer of girl, 5, breaks down in court

A stepmother accused of killing a five-year-old girl by burning her in a hot bath in 1978 broke down in tears as she told jurors how she pulled the girl out of the water after hearing her scream.

Janice Nix, 67, is charged with the manslaughter of Andrea Bernard by punishing her with a hot bath in Thornton Heath, south London, on 6 June 1978.

Andrea's death was treated as an accident until her older brother Desmond Bernard went to police in 2022, Isleworth Crown Court previously heard.

Nix denies all charges against her.

• Warning: distressing details are included in this article

During the 1978 inquest investigation, Nix – who was in her late teenage years at the time – had initially claimed Andrea took a bath on her own and later complained of itchy legs before fainting, jurors heard.

Giving evidence on Monday, Nix became emotional as she admitted giving a false account of the events to the coroner because she was "in a panic" over having failed to supervise Andrea while she took a bath.

"I realised I had done something I shouldn't have done; I should have been with Andrea," she told jurors.

"I was young and I was clearly not thinking."

Nix told jurors she was busy gardening on the afternoon of 6 June 1978 when she "heard screaming from downstairs" and ran to the bathroom.

"I was in the bathroom within seconds," Nix said.

"I just panicked, I saw her (Andrea) struggling.

"She was naked and I pulled her out.

"I just grabbed her, I can't remember how I grabbed her, but I grabbed her and pulled her to me."

The defendant further told the court she did not at the time realise the bathwater was scalding hot, adding: "All I know is that she was in distress, her legs were red, they had bubbles on them… I didn't know how hot the water was."

The prosecution alleges Nix, who was then called Janice Thomas, was violent towards Andrea and her older brother, and that she killed Andrea when she tried to punish her with a hot bath.

The defendant, of Clapham, south London, has also denied cruelty to Andrea's brother Desmond between 1 October 1975 and 6 June 1978, when he was seven to nine years old.

The trial continues at the Old Bailey.

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