The woman who spent 25 years of her life locked up as a slave under the control of Amanda Wixon has shared a heartbreaking letter about the abuse she faced.
Mum-of-10 Wixon forced the then-teenage victim to become her 'house slave' in 1995, and would keep her there for more than a quarter of century, living in what police described as a 'prison cell'.
She has now been locked up for 13 years for her heinous crimes, but her victim says she carries 'the trauma and the nightmares' with her everyday.
The woman, who is now in her mid-40s and has a learning disability, is now living with a foster family, who are helping her to come to terms with what she endured.
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"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," she wrote in the poignant letter.
“Although my abuser has now been found guilty, the trauma and the nightmares are something I still carry with me every day."
She continued: "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."
During her time under Wixon's enslavement, the victim was forced to take care of the 10 children, clean the home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, while living off scraps and only able to secretly wash at night.
She was also regularly on the receiving end of physical abuse, in one instance being hit so hard with a broom handle it knocked out her teeth.
'The Witch,' as she is known by her victim, regularly poured cleaning fluid into her mouth and shaved her head against her will.
Despite the severity of the abuse, the victim's foster mother believes she doesn't fully comprehend what happened to her.
“I don’t think she’s really got much understanding of it,” the foster mother said.
“She just knew that she’d been working hard, doing everything, looking after the children. I don’t think she realises the full extent of it, even though she was suffering.”
The victim was eventually freed in 2021 when one of Wixon's sons alerted police as to what was happening within the home.
Emma Rosemurgey