Woman Convicted of 25-Year Enslavement and Abuse

A jury at Gloucester Crown Court has convicted Amanda Wixon, a 56-year-old mother of 10 from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, of enslaving a woman in her home for more than 25 years, subjecting her to repeated assaults and forced labor from 1995 until her rescue in 2021.

The victim, now in her mid-40s and with learning difficulties, was 16 when she left her own dysfunctional family and moved into Wixon's overcrowded house in the Priors Park area. Prosecutors described how the woman was confined to the property, unable to leave due to locked doors and windows, and compelled to perform household chores under threats of violence. She received limited food, often just scraps, and was forced to wash in secret at night. Court testimony detailed physical abuses, including beatings with a broom handle that knocked out her teeth, washing-up liquid forced down her throat, bleach splashed on her face, and her head shaved repeatedly against her will.

The family home was in squalid condition, with mould-covered walls, peeling plaster, and rubbish accumulating in the garden. Officers who entered the house in March 2021, following a report from one of Wixon's sons, found the woman's bedroom...