Scratch card addict dubbed ‘the witch’ who kept vulnerable woman as a house slave for almost 25 years is jailed for 13 years

A scratch card addict nicknamed ‘The Witch’ who imprisoned a defenseless woman as a house slave for 25 years has been jailed.

Amanda Wixon, 56, a former housekeeper and volunteer at Tewkesbury Priory, kept the woman in a filthy, moldy room, restricted her food and beat her if she failed. Complete chores around the house.

The victim, who cannot be named, was not provided with washing facilities or medical care and was forced to perform extensive cleanings, mostly on her knees.

He also had washing-up liquid squirted down his throat, bleach splashed on his face, and his head shaved multiple times against his will.

Describing her ordeal in court before Wixon’s sentencing on Thursday, the woman described how she had lost ’25 years’ of her life.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Sam Jones, the victim, who has learning disabilities, explained how she had come to be. ‘trauma and nightmares’ was something he carried with him every day.

‘I now live with a wonderful family who have shown me kindness, patience and support,’ she said.

‘Their love helps me slowly rebuild the life that was taken from me and feel safe again.

‘Nothing can bring back the 25 years I lost.

‘But I hope the court recognizes the deep and lasting damage caused by this abuse and imposes a sentence that truly reflects the seriousness of these offences.’

The woman was 16 when Wixon moved her to his home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, under the guise of looking after her in the mid-1990s.

But Wixson “pretty much” took him to the welfare office to have his benefits paid directly to him.

Police estimate the woman received around £100,000 (about £400 a week) which she set aside for the victim but never spent on herself.

When she was rescued by the police following a tip-off in 2021, the woman was in her early 40s at the time. they had no teeth; He was either decomposed or had fainted after being attacked with a broom handle.

The room where the victim slept in Amanda Wixon’s home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire

Wixon made no comment when he arrived in court and was asked if he wanted to apologize to his victim.

Wixon, who has 10 children with him, was found guilty in January after a trial of false imprisonment requiring a person to perform forced or compulsory labor and assault causing actual bodily harm.

The court heard how the woman was after moving into Wixon’s home. he had effectively ‘disappeared’ from society.

Secret voice notes recorded by the victim reveal that she would love to go outside and walk her family’s dog, Marley, but she placed trash cans in front of the window so he couldn’t see outside.

Wixon, who was wearing a jacket and scarf, sat with her arms crossed and showed no emotion as she was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday.

The victim watched the hearing via video link in the court next door.

Sentencing, Judge Ian Lawrie KC said Wixon was in ‘permanent denial’ about the impact of his crime on the woman.

The judge said, ‘The seriousness of your crime is so serious that I impose a significant period of detention.’

‘You will be sentenced for a series of crimes spanning 20 years.

‘You kept this woman captive cruelly and persistently. This false imprisonment lasted from his late teens until his early 40s.

‘The lasting trauma of this slavery remains. ‘This attack was not isolated and continued persistently for many years.’

Semi-detached house in Tewkesbury where the victim was held by Wixon for 25 years

Amanda Wixon in a video taken by police during her arrest at her home in 2021

Body camera footage released by Wixon Gloucestershire Constabulary is questioned by officers

Since her rescue, she has been living with a foster family, attending college, and on vacation.

Ian Fletcher, chief detective officer of Gloucestershire police, said he had been drawing, writing poetry and taking walks in the sunshine.

‘He’s living a better life now,’ he said, ‘but he’s still in a lot of pain, having flashbacks.

‘He is doing much better, he has a caring environment behind him, but he will suffer for the rest of his life. He has serious psychological trauma.’

Laura Burgess, senior prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service, added: ‘The progress he has made since being removed from this oppressive environment is a testament to his strength.

‘Our thoughts continue to be with him as he continues to rebuild his life, and I hope he can find some relief in seeing justice served.’

In mitigating action on behalf of Wixon, Edward Hollingsworth said there was no question of any damage to K’s hands. But he said she should be considered ‘somewhat vulnerable in her own right’.

‘He had a limited education… in my view he presents himself as someone of relatively low intellectual ability,’ he said.

Mr Hollingsworth added that the attacks were ‘heartless but unsophisticated’.

Hollingsworth added that Wixon’s first husband and the father of seven of her 10 children was an alcoholic and that her current husband has a learning disability.

Some of their children have their own sensitivities.

“Your honor will also remember the unkempt, neglected appearance of his home and his own appearance,” Hollingsworth added, asking the judge to note that he “had no teeth.”