First of all: This is one of the most horrible crimes I have ever heard. There are graphic descriptions of abuse and torture. There are pictures of the crime. If you are sensitive to these topics, skip this one.
The Likens Family
Sylvia Likens was born in 1949 to Lester and Betty Likens, two carnival workers from Indiana. He is the middle of 5 children, between two sets of twin boys and girls.
They often leave Sylvia and her younger sister Jenny on their parents' trip to work. Lester thought it was unsafe for girls to get on the road and it would hinder their education. Lester only has an 8th grade education, so it makes sense that he wanted something better for his daughters.
In the summer of 1965, Betty sat in jail for shoplifting. Sylvia and Jenny finished their studies in Indianapolis and Lester was scheduled to go on the road with the carnival again. It was up to Lester to look after the baby for the carnival season, so he sent Gertrude “Gertie” Baniszewski, the mother of the girls' classmates, to take care of them until November.
Gertrude Baniszewski and her family
Gertie is a single mother of seven children. Jenny and Sylvia became friends with her children Paula and Stephanie last school year.
Gertie was unstable at their arrival. He witnessed his father die of a heart attack at just 10 years old. When she was 16, she dropped out of school to marry John Baniszewski. The two remained married for 10 years and had 4 children together, before the couple separated. After her first marriage, Gertie met Edward Guthrie, whom she married and had two children with. They separated, remarried, and then separated again in 1963.
A few weeks after he and Guthrie were married for the second time, he began dating a 22-year-old boy. Together they had a child, the youngest in Gertie's brood.
Gertie suffered from depression and her family lived in poverty. So why did Lester Likens offer him $ 20 per week to take care of his daughters, he accepted the offer.
Tension increases
At first, everything went well for Sylvia and Jenny. The discipline of the girls is very small. They helped and attended Sunday school with the Baniszewski children.
But then everything changed. Lester payments do not arrive on pre-arranged dates. They are often a day or two late. Gertie was angry and removed her frustration with the Likens girls. Gertie pulled on the girls' pants and broke their nudes under the instruments for the smallest thing.
Sylvia was tortured
Although Gertie initially pointed the tension at both girls, they primarily moved towards Sylvia. Gertie is jealous of Sylvia's appearance, even though Sylvia is only 16 and Gertie is close to 40 years old.
At first, Sylvia abuses him by beating him and denying him food. But things moved forward, and torture worsened. Notable incidents include:
Gertie forces Sylvia to admit that she has a boyfriend, then embarrasses her for it.
Paula Baniszewski (who is also jealous of Sylvia's appearance) accuses Sylvia of being pregnant, even though she is not. Paula then kicked Sylvia in the vagina. (Paula is 3 months pregnant at the time of this incident).
Gertie, Paula, and a neighbor force the child into feeding Sylvia a mustard-laden hot-dog. Sylvia vomited the hot dog, and was forced to eat regurgitation.
Sylvia who is falsely accused of starting rumors that both Paula and Stephanie Baniszewski are prostitutes. Stephanie's boyfriend Coy Hubbard is falsely accused of beating Sylvia.
Paula hit Sylvia hard so her wrist was broken. Paula uses a cast to defeat Sylvia.
Gertrude even forced Jenny to defeat her own sister at one point. If that wasn’t bad enough, Coy Hubbard often brought classmates to Baniszewski’s home to torture Sylvia verbally and physically. Gertie encouraged this cruel behavior.
Once, Gertie forced Sylvia to undress in front of a group of teenagers and Jenny. Gertie forced Sylvia to insert an empty bottle of Coke into her vagina to prove the "kind of girl" she was to her younger sister.
Why did nothing happen?
The girls were terrified to report Gertie to their parents or anyone at school. Jenny felt Gertie threaten to put up with the same torture of Sylvia if she had anything to say. Lester and Betty tried to visit their girls whenever schedules were allowed, but at the time of their last visit the girls did not show any visible signs of anxiety.
Once, the girl saw their older sister Dianna in the park and they told her the abuse, but she did not understand where the girls lived. Dianna thought the girls were raising, but in early October, Dianna found out where the girls were staying. He knocked on the door, but Gertie refused Dianna to visit the girls. Jenny ran into Dianna a few weeks later and Dianna asked about Sylvia's condition. Jenny said she would have a problem if she said something.
The Events Around Sylvia's Death
Earlier in the month, Gertie began tying up and locking Sylvia downstairs. Because of the abuse, Sylvia became impulsive, and this was her punishment. Gertie did not want to face the loss of Sylvia's bladder and bowel control. The original plan was to keep Sylvia locked in the basement until she died. On October 23, Gertie forced Sylvia to undress so a 14-year-old boy named Richard Hobbs could stab her with a hot needle. In his stomach, Richard labeled the words "I AM A PROSTITUTE AND I AM PROUD OF IT."
Gertie then asked Hobbs and 10-year-old Shirley Baniszewski to use an anchor bolt to burn an S under Sylvia's chest. They forced her to show the carving in the neighborhood, saying she got it at a sex party.
On October 25, a malnourished, dehydrated Sylvia attempted to flee in one last attempt to be free from her tormentors. But in her weakness, Gertie catches Sylvia before she can escape the property. He beat Sylvia unconsciously with a curtain rod and pulled her back to Coy Hubbard's basement. Sylvia tried to scream and hit the walls of the basement, but it was a failed attempt. The next morning, Sylvia was so bad, she didn't move properly. However, Sylvia and Paula continued to abuse.
They tried to feed Sylvia a glass of milk and donuts, threatened her with words, and forced Sylvia to clean herself after she soldered. Later in the day, many of Sylvia's abusers gathered around her to watch her die. John Jr. sprayed Sylvia with a garden hose to keep him clean. Sylvia tried to escape again, but collapsed before she could reach the door. Stephanie tried to perform CPR but Gertie failed and shouted that she had probably forged it. Sylvia was 16 when she died.
Next
Richard Hobbs found Stephanie holding Sylvia's body later that day. Gertie instructed Hobbs to use a payphone to call the police and under her instructions, Jenny would use a rehearsed story to talk to the police.
Jenny did not comply, she told the police to take her out there in exchange for the truth. Jenny's formal statement led to the arrest of Gertie, Paula, Stephanie, and John Jr. Later that day, police arrested Coy Hubbard and Richard Hobbs. They are holding the younger children Baniszewski and Richard without bail, while awaiting trial.
Two days later, police made five more arrests of youths in the neighborhood for participating in the abuse of Sylvia Likens.
Sylvia's body was immediately sent for an autopsy. The coroner found the following injuries:
150 wounds in various locations and severity throughout Sylvia's body;
Intense softening;
Fire-related injuries;
Severe bruises;
Extensive muscle and never hurt;
An extremely swollen cavity, though she is probably a virgin despite the lies of Paula and Stephanie;
Broken finger nails;
External layers of skin peeling or shrinkage on her face, breasts, neck, and right knee;
The official cause of death with a subdural hematoma in the right temple. Sylvia was probably dead eight hours before they found her.
Trial and Charges:
The case went to trial in 1966. The judge made the following sentences:
Gertie: Convicted for 1st degree murder. She spent her time at Indiana Women Prison. She was a model prisoner and was released on parole in 1985. She changed her name to Nadine Van Fossan and died in 1990.
Paula: Convicted of 2nd degree murder. She received 2 to 21 years in prison but was paroled in March 1972. Her parole ended in 1974. She changed his name to Paula Pace and now lives in Iowa. She has two children.
Stephanie: Although she participated in the crimes and admitted them, she lowered all the charges. Stephanie agreed to turn the evidence against her family. She changed her name and now lives in Florida. She worked as a teacher.
John, Jr.: Authorities charged John with manslaughter and spent two years in the Indiana State Reformatory. He was 12 at the time of the murder and he was the youngest person detained at the Indiana State Reformatory. He died in 2005 of cancer.
Marie is never charged. She still lives in Indiana. She was the only person crying during the trial.
Shirley did not face any charges, although she actively participated in the Sylvia brand.
Dennis Lee Wright, Jr., the youngest of Gertie's children was a baby at the time of the murder. Authorities placed him in custody and the family adopted Dennis. He died in 2012.
Coy Hubbard - Stephanie's ex-boyfriend served two years for murder. Hubbard never changed his name. He was tried for another crime in 1982, but was later acquitted. He died in 2007.
Richard Hobbs - The child branded Sylvia with Shirley served two years for murder. He served his sentence, then died of cancer at 21.
The Likens Family, Post-Death:
Jenny: The youngest girl of Likens died in 2004 from a heart attack. There is a rumor that Jenny’s heart attack is associated with trauma. He was on medication in distress until his death.
Dianna - Likens' oldest sister Dianna was 19 at the time of the murder. She married a man named Cecil. Cecil and I had an interesting event. Their car had been stranded for weeks outside a California wildenress site before they could be found. Cecil died. They were married 25 years before Cecil died.
Lester and Betty - The Likens separated in 1967. Betty was confused in the trial. Betty remarried after her death in 1999. Lester died in 2013.
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Sources:
Sylvia Likens: The Story Of A 16-Year-Old Tortured And Murdered By A Neighborhood