Amanda Wixon A mother-of-ten who kept a vulnerable teenager as a house slave for more than a quarter of a century has been jailed for 13 years after police uncovered one of the UK’s most shocking modern slavery cases. Amanda Wixon, 56, subjected the woman to decades of beatings, starvation and psychological control inside a filthy house in Tewkesbury. The victim, now in her mid-40s, was rescued only after a tip-off to police in 2021. A chilling lie to hide a prisoner As the years passed and neighbours stopped seeing the woman, Wixon offered a simple explanation: she had moved away. Detectives say the claim was a calculated lie. Wixon told neighbours and relatives the woman had gone to Scotland with a boyfriend, when in reality she had been locked inside the house and banned even from the garden. According to investigators, by that stage the victim believed escape was impossible after years of threats, beatings and psychological domination. Decades of abuse behind closed doors The woman moved into the home aged just 16 in 1995. What followed, prosecutors said, was more than 25 years of exploitation and brutality. She was beaten with a broom handle that knocked out her teeth, punched and kicked, and pushed down the stairs. Bleach was thrown in her face and washing-up liquid forced down her throat, while her head was repeatedly shaved against her will. Food was restricted to scraps and she was forced to wash secretly at night while carrying out domestic labour for the household. Rescue from ‘absolute squalor’ Police described the house as overcrowded and filthy, with mould on the walls. But the victim’s bedroom was worse — a cramped space detectives described as “absolute squalor”. Ian Fletcher, a senior detective who has spent nearly three decades in policing, said the case was among the worst he had ever seen. “She was totally dehumanised,” he said. “She lost the prime of her life.” No remorse from her abuser At Gloucester Crown Court, Wixon was convicted of false imprisonment, forced labour and multiple assaults. Investigators say she has shown no remorse, insisting even after the verdict that she had done nothing wrong. For the woman who survived 25 years inside the house, detectives say the long process of rebuilding a life has only just begun. Mum-of-ten's chilling lie before woman kept as slave for 25 years discovered
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