House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

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On January 13, 1966, Paula Baniszewski gave birth to a baby daughter. She named her child Gertrude in honor of her mother. [109] a b c Mitchell, Dawn (October 26, 2018). "The 1965 Torture and Murder of Sylvia Likens". The Indianapolis Star . Retrieved April 14, 2019.

The injuries discovered upon and around Likens's fingernails would later be described as most likely having been inflicted via her "desperate scratching motions" at the trial of her tormentors and murderers. [60] In his eulogy, the Reverend Gibson stated: "We all have our time (of passing), but we won't suffer like our little sister suffered during the last days of her life." [9] The Reverend Gibson then strode towards Likens's casket before adding, "She has gone to eternity." [107]

“Every myth explains too much, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t truths to be found in the story.”

Section of Paula Baniszewski's psychiatric evaluation detailing her indifference to Likens's mistreatment, February 1966. [111] Elizabeth and Lester Likens died in 1998 and 2013, respectively. In the years prior to her own death, Jenny Likens Wade had repeatedly emphasized that no blame should be attributed to either of her parents for placing her and Sylvia in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski as all her parents had done was to naively trust Gertrude's promise to care for the sisters until their return to Indiana with the traveling carnival. [188] The granite memorial dedicated to the memory of Sylvia Likens and her legacy, formally unveiled in June 2001 Jury Convicts Torturers in Girl's Death". The Gettysburg Times. May 19, 1966 . Retrieved May 4, 2019. Local Man Charged with Murder Tells Court he Never Hurt Anyone". The Indianapolis Star. January 28, 1983 . Retrieved December 15, 2019.

The abuse escalated sharply, and Sylvia bore the brunt of it, most of it in the basement of a home described by the Indianapolis Star as "a rundown, gray frame rental house." Flowers, R. Barri; Flowers, H. Loraine (2001). Murders in the United States: Crimes, Killers and Victims of the Twentieth Century. North Carolina: McFarland and Company. ISBN 0-7864-2075-8. Paula Baniszewski was 17 years old in the summer of 1965 when a 16-year-old girl names Sylvia Likens and her sister came to stay with Baniszewski's family. In the months that followed, Likens was beaten, burned, malnourished and branded with a hot needle. Her body was found in the basement of the home in October of that year. On another occasion, in late August, Likens was subjected to humiliation when she claimed to have a boyfriend in Long Beach, whom she had met in the spring of 1965 when her family lived in California. [31] In response, Gertrude asked if Sylvia had "ever done anything with a boy" to which Likens—unsure of her meaning—replied, "I guess so," and explained that she had gone skating with boys there, and had once gone to a park on the beach with them. Continuing the conversation with Jenny and Stephanie, Sylvia mentioned that she had once laid under the covers with her boyfriend. Upon hearing this, Gertrude asked, "Why did you do that, Sylvia?" Likens replied, "I don't know," and shrugged. Several days later, Gertrude returned to the subject with Likens, telling her, "You're certainly getting big in the stomach, Sylvia. It looks like you're going to have a baby." Likens thought Gertrude was kidding with her and said, "Yeah, it sure is getting big. I'm just going to have to go on a diet." Sylvia Likens and "Indiana's Most Terrible Crime" ". Sylvia's Child Advocacy Centre. January 1, 2021 . Retrieved March 8, 2021.Whatever legal niceties might have been involved in determining the name of the accused woman, the courts and news organizations finally settled on Baniszewski as the name that met the standards of legitimacy. Thankyou so much Sweet Serene for taking time out of your own life to think of Silvia, above all you know how to put up pictures so Im honoured you allowed myself to help you here, not that you needed it. A compassionate brave individual, that is you. Boone County Child Advocacy Center to be Renamed in Honor of Sylvia Likens". WTHR. November 2, 2016 . Retrieved December 7, 2020.