Woman who kept vulnerable victim as slave sentenced to 13 years

A mother-of-10 who kept a vulnerable woman captive as a slave for 25 years has been jailed for 13 years.

Mandy Wixon, 56, was found guilty of false imprisonment and forcing the woman to clean her squalid home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

The victim, who has learning difficulties and is now in her mid-40s, had washing-up liquid squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face and her head shaved against her will. She was also made to live off scraps.

Passing sentence at Gloucester Crown Court, Judge Ian Lawrie KC told Wixon: "You cruelly and persistently held captive this woman... The enduring persistent trauma of that slavery remains."

In a statement, the victim said: "For 25 years, I lived in fear, control and abuse. I was treated as though my life, my freedom and my voice did not matter."

WARNING: This story will contains material some people may find distressing.

Wixon was also found guilty of requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labour and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

She was acquitted of another assault charge.

During the trial in January, the court was told how the woman – who the BBC is calling K – was born into a troubled family.

In 1996, when K was about 16, she was passed into the care of Wixon, who had a loose connection to her family.

K was found by police on 15 March 2021 after one of Wixon's sons raised concerns for her welfare.

While K was in Wixon's care, she was regularly beaten and had her teeth knocked out with a broom handle, the court heard.

Like many others living in the house, K also lost teeth due to poor dental hygiene, and was forced to wash in secret at night.

She was found with large calluses on her feet and ankles from constantly being on her hands and knees cleaning floors.

Doctors said she was malnourished and a dentist noted that she would have been in agony for years due to untreated infections and abscesses.

During the trial, the court also heard that, for the length of K's captivity, Wixon claimed benefits on her behalf.

Sam Jones, prosecuting, said the amount she had been paid over 25 years was likely to be more than £100,000.

In an interview, Det Supt Ian Fletcher, from Gloucestershire Police, said Wixon had managed to keep K captive so long because she was "very, very manipulative" towards her own family.

He said K was initially allowed out of the house and neighbours remember seeing her.

But later on, when K was shut indoors, Wixon claimed she had moved to Scotland with a boyfriend.

"It was at that point that she was in essence kept captive inside the property, not even allowed out in the garden," Fletcher said.

"I think on one occasion, she went to put the rubbish out and was potentially spotted by a neighbour, and that led to a beating from Wixon."

In notes to herself, K wrote about dreaming of seeing sunshine again.

Wixon still denies she has done anything wrong, and has shown no remorse for her actions, Fletcher said.

K told police that sometimes Wixon's children would sneak her biscuits, but if she was caught eating them, she would get a beating.

Fletcher said K was treated "very differently" from Wixon's own children.

"Our victim was totally dehumanised, I don't think Amanda Wixon saw her as being a human being – she saw her as a slave to use for her own will to make her life better," he said.

Since being rescued, K has moved in with a foster family, started attending college, begun receiving therapy, and been on holidays abroad.

Her foster mother said that, although she thought K had little comprehension of the abuse she suffered, she was still traumatised by the ordeal.

"She didn't want me to hug her, so I used to say to her, 'When you're ready, I'll be here for you' and within a week she turned around and started being loving," she said.

She added that K called Wixon "the witch" and was "petrified" of her.

During the sentencing hearing earlier, prosecutor Sam Jones read the court a note the victim had written.

In the letter, K said she still carried "the trauma and the nightmares" with her every day.

"I am now living with a wonderful family who show me kindness, patience and support.

"Their love is helping me slowly rebuild the life that was taken from me and [I can] begin to feel safe again," she wrote.

However, she added: "Nothing can give me back the 25 years I lost."

K's foster mother said she would "support her all the time".

"I love her to bits and everything... I think she will be OK in time. But it's just going to take time."

She added that she did not think K would ever get closure, but would "feel safer" with Wixon in jail.

K's foster mother has called for an inquiry into how K was left living in Wixon's home for 25 years without the authorities knowing.

During the trial, the court heard that social services had been involved with the Wixon family in the late 1990s, but there were no records of any other contact since.

K's foster mother said: "If they had followed through, then half of what was going on would not have gone on.

"I hope that nobody else goes through what she's been through.

"I think they need to be more alert and to help other people."

Det Supt Ian Fletcher added: "This case serves as a reminder to us all of the vulnerability that can exist behind closed doors.

"It challenges us to remain vigilant, to question things that don't look or feel right and to speak up for those who may not be able to speak up for themselves."