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Wixon “needs to pay” for what she has done, the victim’s foster mother tells ITV News Investigations Editor Daniel Hewitt
Words by Georgia Ziebart, Deputy Content Editor
A vulnerable woman who was forced to work as a house slave for 25 years is “constantly living in fear”, her foster mother has told ITV News.
The woman, who ITV News is calling K, was 16 when she moved into the squalid home of Amanda Wixon from Tewkesbury in 1995, and remained there until 2021.
Wixon, aged 56, forced K to do manual labour, regularly assaulted her and deprived her of food and healthcare.
K was finally freed in March 2021 after police went to the house in response to a report made by one of Wixon’s sons.
On Thursday, Wixon was sentenced to 13 years in jail.
Amanda Wixon, 56. Credit: Gloucestershire Police
She had been found guilty of modern day slavery offences, including 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.
K, who is now in her 40s, has learning difficulties and now lives in the care of a foster family.
Her foster mother told ITV News that, when K first came to live with her, she was “very shy, very anxious”.
“She was underweight, they malnourished her,” she said, “She just wasn’t looking good at all.
“It was really hard even giving her hugs; 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 was terrified, petrified’
Wixon’s trial in January heard how K was regularly beaten and also hit with a broom handle, knocking out her teeth.
Washing-up liquid would be squirted down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and she had her head repeatedly shaved against her will.
“Even now, she’s got scars on her mouth,” K’s foster mother told ITV News.
“[Wixon] would lock her in her room, putting black bin bags over the window so she couldn’t get any light.
“She would be dragged down the stairs. I think she was locked in a cupboard.
“She wasn’t allowed to wash. The only time when she would get to wash was when [Wixon] was not there, or when she’d sneak in to have a wash at night.”
In a voice note that K had made during her imprisonment, she is heard saying: “I was in agony last night. I was crying.”
“[Wixon] said if I don’t have nothing to do, she’s going to f****** hit me more.
“I wish I could go out, take [the dog] for a walk. Wish I could do that, but I can’t.”
The foster mother said K is “terrified” of Wixon, who was released on bail ahead of her sentencing. She described an incident in which K “bumped into” Wixon in a supermarket.
“[K] was hysterical. She was terrified, petrified. She’s really scared of her.
“She was running around, it was horrible. Going through the aisles and she saw her, and that was it.
“She hated it. She said they shouldn’t allow her to walk around. I had to explain to her, but it was really hard. She couldn’t understand why they let her out.
“It’s not fair. It’s not fair at all.”
Questions for social services
K was 16 and still in college when she began living with Wixon. Her foster mother told ITV News the case raises questions for social services.
“I personally think it’s appalling,” she said, “I don’t know what happened, but there needs to be a shake-up and 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.
“It’d be a shame if other people go through what K has been through. It’s been horrendous.”
Neighbours of Wixon have previously said they’d contacted social services, but nothing was done. One neighbour described K as looking “like something out of a concentration camp”.
A police photograph showing the bedroom K was kept in in Wixon’s house. Credit: Gloucestershire Constabulary
Gloucester Crown Court heard social services were involved with the family in the late 1990s, but there were no records of contact since.
Officers described the woman’s bedroom as looking like a “prison cell”, with other bedrooms untidy and dirty. In police body-worn camera footage, an officer can be heard remarking upon the “filthy bedding” K was forced to sleep in.
“Other people went to the house as well and they’d ask K if she was alright and she’d say ‘no’,” K’s foster mother said.
“She’d say ‘no she’s not’, but nobody did anything. That’s what I don’t understand. They did nothing, they’d just leave her there to suffer.”
‘Deep and lasting harm’
In a letter written by K and read out by her foster mother ahead of Wixon’s sentencing, she said she hopes the court “recognises the deep and lasting harm” of her abuse.
She wrote: “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.
“Although my abuser has now been found guilty, the trauma and nightmares are something I still carry with me 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 begin to feel safe again.
“Nothing can give me back the 25 years I lost, but I hope the court recognises the deep and lasting harm this abuse has caused and delivers a sentence that truly reflects the seriousness of these crimes.”
K’s foster mother says she is ‘constantly living in fear’. Credit: ITV
Speaking ahead of the sentencing, K’s foster mother said she and K both feel Wixon “needs to pay” for her abuse.
“That’s what she’s hoping. That [Wixon] will go down and pay for some of what she’s done. She told me that she’ll feel safer if she knows she’s put away.
“If she doesn’t, I don’t think she’ll ever get closure from all of this.”
K’s foster mother told ITV News she was now “enjoying her life” and has been on several holidays with her foster family.
“She said she wants to go forward and there are lots of things she wants to do. She’s enjoying life now, because I’m trying to show her life what she didn’t have before.”
“She’s such a beautiful person. She’s got a lot of love to give. She’s kind and warm, she’s lovely.”
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire County Council said: “We would like to praise the person at the centre of this case for her bravery in reaching out for help. We first became aware of her tragic situation in 2021, at the start of the police investigation. Since then, the victim has been supported by our Adult Social Care services.
“Now that this case has concluded, we will be conducting a review to ensure that all agencies do everything possible to spot and prevent such abuse.”
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