The Horrifying abuse and murder of Sylvia Likens
“I know you don’t want me to die, but I am going to die….I can feel it”
June 1965
Lester and Elizabeth left their daughters Sylvia Likens and Jenny Likens with Gertrude, promising to come back and pick them up in November of the same year. But that would be the last time they see Sylvia and they would come back to only pick up her body.
October 26, 1965
The most horrifying crime was committed in Indiana, and to date it still is. Police arrived at the home of 37 year old Gertrude Baniszewski and discovered 16 year old Sylvia’s mutilated body on a filthy mattress, covered with more than 150 burns and cuts.
Who is Sylvia Likens?
Sylvia Likens is the third daughter of Lester (1926–2013) and Elizabeth (1927–1998). She was born between two sets of fraternal twins — Daniel and Dianna (two years older than Sylvia) and Benny and Jenny (a year younger than Sylvia). Lester and Elizabeth were Carnival workers. They sell candies, soda and snacks at carnivals in Indiana in summer and keep moving frequently. They faced severe financial difficulties and they also had an unstable marriage. Their sons assisted them in the carnival works but Sylvia and Jenny were discouraged from working along them. Jenny suffered from Polio, causing a limp and she had steel braces on one of her legs. The parents wanted the daughters to be safe and study well. When their parents and brothers are away, Sylvia and Jenny stayed either with their relatives or grandmother.
During teenage years, Sylvia earned money by babysitting, doing ironing chores for friends and neighbours and small errands in the neighbourhood. She gave half of her earnings to her mother. She was called “cookie” by her friends. She was very friendly, lively and confident in whatever she did. She was very protective of Jenny. Due to her missing front teeth, she used to smile with her mouth closed.
Moving to Gertrude’s house
On July 13, Elizabeth was arrested for shoplifting. After this unfortunate event, Lester Likens decided to go back for carnival work. Sylvia and Jenny were studying at Arsenal Technical High School, where they got acquainted with Paula and Stephanie Baniszewski, daughters of Gertrude. Hence he planned to board his daughters at Gertrude’s house. As a boarding agreement, Lester promised to pay $20/week to take care of his daughters. Gertrude promised to take care of Sylvia and Jenny like her own daughters.
On July 4, the daughters moved to Gertrude’s house, as Lester Likens prepared to move to East Coast for Carnival work. The initial days were peaceful and the Likens sisters were treated well. Sylvia took part in housework and the Likens sister went to the Sunday school with Baniszewski children.
The Start and End of Abuse
Though Lester had promised to pay $20/week as boarding fees, after two weeks he was unable to send the money exactly on the decided dates, and sent it delayed by one or two days. The delay of the payment frustrated Gertrude and she started venting her frustrations on the Likens sister. She used different instruments, such as paddles, to hit the bare buttocks of the girls. Gertrude said, “Well, I took care of you two little bitches for nothing”, while she hit them. Even though the money arrived, the torture continued. One time the eldest daughter, Paula (17), complained to Gertrude that the Likens sisters ate too much at Church supper. On hearing this, Gertrude hit them with paddle 15 times.
Until August Gertrude abused both the sisters, but by mid-August, she started focusing her abuse on Sylvia. The initial abuse of Sylvia included, beating, starving, forcing her to eat leftovers or from garbage. Late August, while talking with Jenny and Stephanie (15, second daughter), Sylvia revealed that she had a boyfriend in Long Beach, whom she had met in Spring of 1965, while their family resided in California. Upon hearing this Gertrude, questioned Sylvia, whether she had done anything with the boy, though Gertrude asked whether she had sex with him, but Sylvia being innocent, replied that she went skating with him and had also once cuddled with him under the same covers. Gertrude started saying that her stomach has grown bigger and that she might be pregnant. Sylvia assumed she was teasing, and told that she had to start dieting. Gertrude got angry and started hitting her in the genitals. Paula, who was three months pregnant at that time, was jealous of Sylvia’s beauty and participated in the attack.
Sometimes the neighbourhood kids also participated in the abuse of Sylvia. One day during supper, Randy Gordon Lepper, a kid in the neighourhood, force fed three hotdogs filled with spicy and different condiments. When Sylvia puked everything, she was forced to eat whatever she puked. On one occasion, Paula punched Sylvia’s face with such force that Paula’s hand fractured. Paula focused on hitting Sylvia’s teeth and eyes. Gertrude was repeatedly accusing Sylvia of engaging in prostitution and forced Jenny to hit her sister, when she refused, Gertrude hit Jenny. Students from the school and neighbourhood came to physically and verbally abuse Sylvia. With encouragement from Gertrude, they used Sylvia as a dummy for violent judo practice. By the end of such sessions, she had lacerated, burnt fingertips, and more than 100 cigarette marks. One time she was forced to strip naked and insert a coca cola bottle inside her. Later, Gertrude didn’t allow Sylvia to attend school because she had stolen a swimwear, when Gertrude refused to buy swimwear for Sylvia. Sylvia was whipped with a police belt and Gertrude suddenly started talking about the evils of premarital sex, and started kicking her in the genitals. Stephanie shouted in support of Sylvia, saying she didn’t do anything, but it fell on deaf ears.
The Likens sisters were terrified to report the abuse to their parents or their teachers. Jenny wanted to report the abuse but Gertrude had threatened her that she too would go through the same as her sister. In July and August, whenever the parents (Elizabeth was released shortly after) had time, they would visit their daughters. When they visited in October (the last time they see Sylvia alive), Sylvia and Jenny looked normal without any visible wounds. Even if they wanted to tell their parents about the abuse they could not, because Gertrude and her children were present. In early September, the Likens sister along with 11-year-old Marie (Gertrude’s daughter) visited the local park, where they met Diana Shoemaker, their sister. When Sylvia told she was hungry, Diana had given her sandwich. In late September, Maries told about this incident to her mother, which resulted in Gertrude accusing Sylvia of gluttony and hitting her along with Paula. Then they forced her into scalding water to ‘cleanse her of her sins’ and Gertrude kept banging her head in order to revive her whenevr she lost consciousness. The second time the Likens sisters met Diana at the local park in September, they told about the abuse they are enduring in Gertrude’s house. But Diana thought they were exaggerating the abuse.
One of the neighbors, upon noticing Sylvia with open sores on her body, reported to the school. The school nurse then visited Gertrude’s home to check on Sylvia’s health. But Gertrude told the nurse that few days back Sylvia had ran away from home and was confused on how to return. She also said that Sylvia was out of control and refused to maintain good personal hygiene, hence the open sores. No one further investigated on the welfare of Sylvia. Though an old couple who were neighbors to Gertrude, visited the family twice and was witness to Paula abusing Sylvia and also them boasting about it, the couple never reported it. In the previous meetings with Diana the Likens never told the address of the residence. Around October, when Diana found out the address, she visited the house, but Gretrude refused to let her inside the property, saying she had the permission of the parents to not allow anyone to visit the sisters. Later when Diana by chance met Jenny, she asked about Sylvia’s welfare, Jenny refused to say anything and that she might get in trouble.
Due to high intensity of the torture, Sylvia developed incontinence and she was also refused to use the restroom, being forced to wet herself. Gertrude then decided she was not allowed to be near her children and put her inside the basement and given a single worn out mattress. When the family watched their favourite show on the TV was the only time the torture was paused. The neighbourhood children were paid five cents to watch, beat, humiliate, burn and mutilate Sylvia. Once Gertrude and her 12-year-old son, John Jr, rubbed feces and urine from the diaper of Gertrude’s one year old son on Likens mouth. They only provided her with a glass of water saying that’s all she could consume for the day. On October 22nd, John Jr, made Sylvia drink soup with her fingers and when she began to, he pulled away the bowl. By now Sylvia was extremely malnourished.
One day after punishing Sylvia for wetting herself, Gertrude called her to the kitchen. Somehow the topic moved to tattooing, and Gertrude ordered Sylvia to strip naked and said, “You have branded my daughters and now I am going to brand you”. She used a hot needle to carve the words: I am a prostitute and I am proud of it. Gertrude later mocked Sylvia saying she would never get married due to the words. Later that evening, Gertrude invited the neighbourhood children to watch the display of Sylvia, and said that she got the carvings at a sex party.
That night Sylvia told her sister, “Jenny, I know you don’t want me to die, but I’m going to die. I can feel it”.
Gertrude forced Sylvia to write a letter she dictated, to manipulate her parents into believing that Sylvia had run away. The letter tells how Sylvia had sexual relations with a local group of boys, and when they started abusing and torturing her, she ran away. After writing the letter, the next step of the plan was to make Jenny and John Jr to blindfold Sylvia and take her to the Jimmy’s forest, leaving her there to die. On October 25, upon hearing the plan of Gertrude, Sylvia attempted to escape the basement, but due to her extensive injuries she was unable to escape and was caught before she could exit the property. Gertrude then brought her back to the basement and forced her to eat crackers, but due to severe dehydration, Sylvia was unable to eat. Gertrude then hit her face using curtain rod violently, which led the curtain rod to bend in right angles at certain points. As a final and desperate attempt to escape, Sylvia screamed for help and banged on the walls of basement with a spade. A neighbour who heard the noise thought of reporting it to the police, but the noise ceased at around three am.
On October 26, Sylvia was incoherent and unable to coordinate her movements. She kept mumbling and moaning as Gertrude moved her to the kitchen and tried to feed her donuts and milk. But Sylvia was unable to hold the glass properly and bring it to mouth, which frustrated Gertrude and she pushed Sylvia to the floor. When asked to recite alphabets, Sylvia was unable to recite beyond the first four letters. Sylvia became delirious and when attempting to eat a rotten pear given to her, she told Jenny that she could feel looseness in her teeth, for which Jenny replied that she had lost her front tooth when she was seven years old. Sylvia tried to escape one more time but fell the moment she reached the stairs.
Around 5:30pm, Richard Hobbs went to the basement immediately after coming home, where he saw Stephanie crying and cuddling extremely malnourished and lacerated body of Sylvia, whom she was ordered to clean by Gertrude. Stephanie and Richard decided to give a warm, soapy bath to Sylvia and dressed her in fresh, clean clothes and lay her on one of the mattresses in the bedroom. Sylvia muttered that she wished her daddy was here and that Stephanie would take her home. Those would be the last words of Sylvia, because moments later Stephanie would find her not breathing and try to resuscitate her, while Gertrude was shouting that she was acting, but 16-year-old Sylvia had already succumbed to her injuries.
The Arrest
Gertrude was repeatedly hitting Sylvia’s body using a book calling her, “Faker! Faker!”, but the moment she realised Sylvia was dead, she immediately asked Richard Hobbs to call the police from the payphone. When the police arrived, they were led to the extremely malnourished, mutilated body of Sylvia laying on the soiled mattress. Gertrude gave police the letter and told she had ran away from home and came home almost naked with this letter clutched to her chest. She also told police that she spent the final moments trying to make her as comfortable as possible and cleaning her wounds. Paula stood there with a bible and told the police that “She was meant to die”, and looked at Jenny’s direction and told, “If you want to live with us, Jenny, we will treat you like our sister”. Jenny recited the events as taught by Gertrude to the police when questioned, and later whispered, “I’ll tell you everything if you get me out of here”. Based on the official statement of Jenny, the police arrested Gertrude, Paula, John Jr and Stephanie. They also arrested Richard Hobbs and Coy Hubbard charged with the same offenses. Everyone was held without bail and were awaiting arrest. The eldest children were placed in the juvenile centre and the younger ones were detained in the Indianapolis Children’s Guardians Home.
Who is Gertrude Baniszewski?
Gertrude was born on September 19, 1928 in Indianapolis to a working class family as the third child among six children. She dropped out of school at age 16 and got married to 18-year-old John Stephen Baniszewski. John was from Pennsylvania of Polish descent, and with whom Gertrude had four children. Though he had explosive temper and occasionally hot Gertrude, they stayed together for ten years before getting divorced. After the divorce Gertrude married Edward, with who, she had a short marriage lasting only three months. After divorcing him, she once again married John and had two more children and they divorced a second time in 1963. Few weeks after the divorce, she started dating 20-year-old Dennis Lee Wright, a welder, who was physically abusing her. She had a son, Dennis Lee Wright Jr and Dennis abandoned her the moment the son was born. She filed for paternity suit against Dennis for financial support but Dennis seldom cared or contributed to them. By 1965, she was living with her seven children, Paula (17), Stephanie (15), John (12), Marie (11), Shirley (10), James (8) and Dennis Lee Wright Jr (1). Though she was 36-year-old and 5'6" at that time, she weighed only 45 kg, giving her an appearance of a haggard, underweight women, who was also describes as asthmatic and chainsmoker, suffering from clinical depression due to three failed marriages, one failed relationship and a recent miscarriage. She received inconsistent financial support from her first husband, who was a former Indianapolis police officer and for more money she helped the neighbours and acquaintance with odd jobs, like sewing and cleaning.
Trial
Gertrude, Paula, John Jr, Richard Hobbs and Coy Hubbard were indicted with first degree murder by the Marion County Grand Jury, on December 30, 1965. They were charged with having repeatedly hit, kicked, abused, and fatally causing injuries based on premeditated malice. On May 19, 1966, Gertrude was found guilty of first degree murder and was recommended life imprisonment. Paula Baniszewski was found guilty of second degree murder and Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard and John Baniszewski was guilty of manslaughter.
On May 25, Gertrude and Paula received life imprisonment and others received between 2 and 21 years in Indiana Reformatory. In September 1971, Gertrude and Paula faced retrial, where Paula pleaded guilty for voluntary manslaughter instead of retrial and received between 2 and 21 years. Though she tried to escape prison twice she was released in 1972. While Gertrude was convicted of first degree murder again and sentenced to life imprisonment. Gertrude was a model prisoner and worked in the sewing shop. She was the ‘den mother’ to the younger female inmates hence received the name Mom. She received parole in 1985, by which she had changed her name as Nadine Van Fossan.
When the Likens family and other anti-crime groups heard of the parole news, they protested against her release. But due to her good conduct in the prison, she was released in 1985, through vote from the parole board. In her parole hearing Gertrude said: “I’m not sure what role I had in [Likens’s death], because I was on drugs. I never really knew her … I take full responsibility for whatever happened to Sylvia.” But Gertrude never took full responsibility for the prolonged abuse of Sylvia blaming everything on the drugs and asthma medications. She moved to Iowa after release and on June 16, 1990, she died due to lung cancer, aged 61.
After release Paula changed her name to Paula Pace and worked as a school counselor for 14 years. When the school discovered her criminal history (which she had concealed when applying for the job), they fired her in 2012. Paula was married and had two children. The baby girl she had during trial in 1966, was named after her mother and later adopted.
Stephanie was married and had many children, while living in Florida. The other younger children were taken into foster families. Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbards and John were released in just two years, in 1968. Richard Hobbs died of lung cancer, four years after release at age 21. Coy Hubbard stayed in Indianapolis and never tried to change his name. He was repeatedly arrested for various crimes, including the murder of two men. He died of heart attack at the age of 56. John changed his name to John Blake. He was a lay minister, hosting several counselling sessions for the children of divorced parents. Few years later he stated that they should have given severe punishment. He died of diabetes complications in May 19, 2005 at the age of 52.
Jenny Likens later married Leonard, an Indianapolis native, with whom she had two children. She was traumatized by the abuse she endured and witnessed, hence took anxiety medications till the end. She died of heart attack on June 23, 2004, at the age 54.
Sylvia child advocacy centre was opened in memory of Sylvia in Lebanon, Indiana, 2010.
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