visual effects producer.

Somehow, the conversation got around to tattooing.

For the remainder of her life, Jenny was dependent upon anxiety medication. They then laid her upon a mattress in one of the bedrooms[88] as Sylvia muttered her final wish that her "daddy was here" and that Stephanie would take her home. She was closer in age to Sylvia than any of the other children in that large dysfunctional brood.

On both occasions, however, the Vermillions witnessed Paula physically abusing Likenswho on both occasions had a black eyeand openly boasting about her mistreatment of the child to them. [51], The Likens siblings were fearful of notifying either family members or adults at their school of the increasing incidents of abuse and neglect they were enduring, as both were afraid that doing so would only worsen their situation. When he was 18, he married Gertrude Baniszewsk in 1945 and had four children with her. Webcompositing artist: Digiscope.

The older sister of Sylvia Likens, a 16-year-old Indianapolis girl who was tortured and murdered in 1965, was found Sunday after going missing for two weeks, authorities said.

Follow US news from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook.

[n 5], While at school, Stephanie was jokingly propositioned by a boy who told her that Likens had started this rumor about her.



Likens was increasingly neglected, belittled, sexually humiliated, beaten, starved, lacerated, burned, and dehydrated by her tormentors. [23] Both girls also regularly attended Sunday school with the Baniszewski children, with the pastor commending Sylvia's piety. Paula, Stephanie et John Baniszewski, Richard Hobbs et Coy Hubbard pour meurtre.

I said sure. [65][12], On one occasion, Gertrude and her twelve-year-old son, John Jr., rubbed urine and feces from Gertrude's one-year-old son's diaper into Likens' mouth[66] before giving her a cup half-filled with water and stating the water was all she would receive for the remainder of the day.

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Record information. [169] The baby daughter to whom she had given birth while awaiting trial in 1966, and whom she named after her mother, was later adopted.

She could have told neighbors, a teacher, police.

She made dinner every night," he said. ); m. Edward Guthrie (div.

Both Jenny and Sylvia informed Dianna about the abuse they were enduring at the hands of their caregiver, adding that Sylvia was being specifically targeted for physical abuse and almost always for things she had neither said nor done. Faker!"




It was children doing what they were told.. As a form of punishment for her incontinence, on October 6, Gertrude threw Likens into the basement and tied her up. ); lived with Dennis Lee Wright; children: 7, including Stephanie, Paula, John, Dennis. "[76], The following day, Gertrude Baniszewski woke Likens, then forced her to write a letter as she dictated the contents, which were intended to mislead her parents into believing their daughter had run away from the Baniszewski residence.

The Likens family continued to endure considerable hardship.

In Dawn Fieldss 2014 short drama film, The Dancer & the Boy, she played the character of Hanna. Paula Baniszewski was a teenage participant in one of the most heinous crimes of the 20th century. 16 Year old Girl Brutally Killed by Care Taker.

John Baniszewski and two other boys ages 16 and 15 were convicted of manslaughter.

It is not known whether or not she had contact with her paroled mother.

In response, Gertrude accused Likens of engaging in gluttony before she and Paula choked and bludgeoned her. Vernon, Indiana.

The torture and murder of Sylvia Likens is widely regarded by Indiana citizens as the worst crime ever committed in their state and has been described by a senior investigator in the Indianapolis Police Department as the "most sadistic" case he had ever investigated in the 35 years he served with the Indianapolis Police. Now, let's look at some of the responsibilities here. In the years between his release from the Indiana Reformatory and his death, he is known to have suffered at least one nervous breakdown.



Likens' gray casket remained open throughout the ceremony, with a portrait of her taken prior to July 1965 adorning her coffin. WebStephanie Baniszewski.

We [he and Gertrude] got to talking, and she said she would take care of the children and treat them like her own, he recalled at the trial.

Sidestepping the multiple instances of testimony delivered at trial describing Paula and her mother as by far the most enthusiastic participants in Likens' physical abuse, Rice claimed the evidence presented against his client did not equate to her actual guilt of murder. (An autopsy revealed burns across her body -- "Everyone but the baby" burned Sylvia, 12-year-old John told police, according to the Indianapolis Star). By the time of Gertrude's ultimate parole in 1985, she had changed her name to Nadine Van Fossan (a combination of her middle name and maiden name), and described herself as a devout Christian. She was born between two sets of fraternal twins Daniel and Dianna (two years older than her) and Benny and Jenny (one year younger). One of the reasons Dianna initially believed Sylvia and Jenny had been exaggerating the scale of abuse Sylvia in particular endured at the Baniszewski household was that their father had occasionally struck his five children with a belt as a form of discipline for misbehavior.

At the age of 16, she dropped out of school five years later to marry deputy John Baniszewski, who was 18 at the time and have six children together. Ex-CIA agent pleads guilty to leaking identity of covert operative, Arizonans to vote on taking Grand Canyon from federal control, Beard issue again delays military trial in Fort Hood shootings, Body found in N.J. is that of missing 12-year-old girl, uncle says, Pa. grandmother found dead, baby missing, police say, Denied dream wedding site, lesbian couple files discrimination complaint. "[185], Elizabeth and Lester Likens died in 1998 and 2013, respectively.



Neither sister mentioned the actual address where they resided and, initially, Dianna believed her sisters must have been exaggerating their claims regarding the scope of their mistreatment.

Jurors who expressed any opposition to the death penalty were excused from duty by Leroy New; any who either worked with children, expressed prejudice against an insanity defense, or repulsion regarding the actual horrific nature of Likens' death, were excused by defense counsels.

Copyright 2023 Indianapolis Monthly, All Rights Reserved. She kicked Likens in the genitals and accused her of being pregnant. WebStephanie Baniszewski, who voluntarily testified for the state, was granted a separate trial, found not guilty, and released. --Richard Hobbs, testifying as to Gertrude Baniszewski's decision to carve an insult into Likens' abdomen on October 23, 1965. Following her release from jail, Elizabeth Likens would immediately join her husband in their seasonal employment with the traveling carnival. Siscoe died on October 23, 1996, at the age of 44, already a grandmother. Although Hobbs testified this act of branding had brought blood to the surface of Likens' flesh and that Likens had begged him to stop, he remained adamant the section of branding he had inflicted had been light. [98], Lacking any remorse, Paula signed a statement admitting to having repeatedly beaten Likens about the backside with her mother's police belt, once breaking her wrist on Likens' jaw, and inflicting other acts of brutality, including pushing her down the stairs into the basement "two or three times," and inflicting a black eye. Managed [24] The wounds themselves varied in location, nature, severity, and the stage of healing. Baniszewski accused her of stealing candy she had bought from a grocery store and humiliated her when she admitted that she had once had a boyfriend. Through intimidation, her younger sister, Jenny, was occasionally forced to participate in her mistreatment.

[136], In reference to the premeditated nature of Likens' death, Wessner pointed the jury's attention to the notes Gertrude had forced Likens to write on October 24, stating: "[Gertrude] knew on [October 24] she was going to hold these notes until she and the rest of the defendants had completed the murder of Sylvia."

She denied any responsibility for Likens' prolonged abuse, torment, and ultimate death, claiming her children, and other children within her neighborhood must have committed the acts within her home, which she described as being "such a madhouse". During her years at the Indiana Womens Prison, she was considered a model prisoner and earned the nickname of Mom. In spite of widespread public outcry, she was paroled in 1985. Gertrudes other children were placed in foster care temporarily and then put in their

"[148], The trial of the five defendants lasted 17 days before the jury retired to consider its verdict. Paula, now 64, was released from prison in 1972.

[59] Approximately two weeks later, Dianna encountered Jenny, by chance, close to the home and inquired as to Sylvia's welfare. You'll have to live with your conscience the rest of your life if you send an insane woman to the electric chair.

Stephanie Baniszewski. [164] She never accepted full responsibility for Likens' prolonged torment and death, insisting she was unable to precisely recall any of her actions in the months of Likens' prolonged and increasing abuse and torment within her home.

Heres what happened to this tragedys principal players.



"[125], The following day, Gertrude Baniszewski testified in her own defense. Stephanie Serikstad currently lives in Florida. Five days before she died, according to a 1965 story by the Indianapolis Star, Gertrude Baniszewski ordered one of the neighbor boys to etch, with a three-inch, red hot needle, I am a prostitute and I'm proud of it into Sylvias stomach. The Hobbs boy,

Stephanie would be approximately 65/66 years old today, if she is still living.

Public Member Photos & Scanned Documents.

In 1965 then Paula Baniszewski helped aid in You know who I am!"



In Eva Yes 2014 crime short film, Oak Hill Silence she acted the role of Stephanie Baniszewski. Although, he emphasized that aside from the extensive swelling inside and around her genitalia,[120] Likens' body bore no evidence of direct sexual molestation.

November 2, 2022 at 11:01 PM Post a Comment Subscribe to: Total Pageviews Global Criminologist Search [153], The pair were retried in 1971.

A neighborhood kid and Stephanie Baniszewskis boyfriend, Hubbard was a full participant in Sylvias torture.

It wasnt children going wild.

I thought she was a downtrodden, mean woman.. Gertrude then ordered Likens, who had defecated, to clean herself.

At the defendants' trial, Deputy Prosecutor Leroy New described the case as "the most diabolical case to ever come before a court or jury" and Gertrude's defense attorney, William C. Erbecker, described Likens as having been subjected to acts of "degradation that you wouldn't commit on a dog" before her death. In 1966, Paula was convicted of second-degree murder, but when her conviction was overturned in 1971 on a technicality, she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter rather than face a retrial. [81] She attempted to flee to the front door; however, due to her extensive injuries and general weakness, Gertrude caught her before she could escape the property.



[68][69], When Gertrude was unable to finish the branding, she instructed one of the neighborhood children present, 14-year-old Richard Dean Hobbs,[70] to finish etching the words into Likens' flesh as she took Jenny to a nearby grocery store. Coy Hubbard then took the curtain rod from Gertrude and struck Likens one further time, rendering her unconscious. Physical and mental torment such as this would occasionally pause when the Baniszewskis watched their favorite television shows.



Sister: Paula Baniszewski, Marie Baniszewski, Shirley Baniszewski





Though she admitted to participating to some degree in Sylvias abuse, she was granted a special trial and then all charges against her were dropped, likely because she agreed to turn states evidence against her family.

The house itself was demolished on April 23, 2009. Titre original: An American Crime Popularit: 13.041 Dure: 97 Minutes Slogan:

Now they're gone?

On October 5, 1939, Baniszewski saw her 50-year-old father die from a sudden heart attack. Likens jerkingly moved her arms in an apparent attempt to point at the faces of the tormentors she could recognize, making statements such as, "You're Ricky" and "You're Gertie" before Gertrude tersely shouted, "Shut up! [55][n 7], Several weeks prior to this, Sylvia and Jenny had encountered Dianna in the same park, while in the company of 11-year-old Marie Baniszewski, and Sylvia had been given a sandwich to eat when she mentioned to her sister that she was hungry. Marie later married.



Originally found guilty of first-degree murder, Gertrude (or Gertie, as she was sometimes called) was sentenced to life in prisona judgment confirmed by a 1971 retrial. I can tell it!

[144] Outlining the catalog of mistreatment Likens had endured prior to her death at the hands of each of the defendants, New directly addressed criticism he had earlier received from Forrest Bowman in his closing argument regarding the prosecution "cross-examining children", stating: "The prosecutors' job is to present the evidence to the best of our ability. Todas las semanas tendris un episodio con dos nuevos crmenes. He changed his name to John Blake and drifted aimlessly before experiencing a religious epiphany that, he said, helped him see the error of his ways.