In July 1965, Lester Likens made arrangements with a woman who he had met only one day earlier, known to him as “Mrs. Wright,” to board two of his five children while he and his wife operated a concession stand for a traveling carnival. He did not bother to become acquainted with the woman or her household before leaving his children in her care. He figured that his daughters were in good hands since “Mrs. Wright” had many children of her own and was raising them by herself. He was gravely mistaken.
On October 26, 1965, the Indianapolis Police Department received a call from a teenage boy, reporting the death of a young girl. Officers responded to the call and arrived at 3850 East New York Street, completely unprepared for what they were about to find. In the basement of the house was the emaciated and bruised body of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. She had no less than 100 burns and contusions as well as several large patches of missing skin. The number “3” was burned on her chest and the words “I am a prostitute and proud of it” were carved across her stomach. All of her fingernails were missing and her lower lip was bitten to the point that it was partially severed. The slow and painful torture death of Sylvia Likens was caused by a group of children ranging in age from 11 to 17. The despicable acts were orchestrated and masterminded by the 37-year-old “Mrs. Wright.”
The woman known as Mrs. Wright was really Gertrude Baniszewski. Born in 1929 to a low-income family, Getrude was one of six children. She got along well with her father, but was constantly at odds with her mother. Her father passed away when she was 11 from a heart attack, leaving her devastated. At 16, she dropped out of high school and married John Baniszewski, a cop who frequently broke the laws he was supposed to enforce by beating his wife on a regular basis. The two had four children before divorcing a decade later. During this time, Gertrude was briefly married to another man. When that relationship failed, she re-married her first husband only to divorce him again seven years and two children later. She then cohabitated briefly with another man, Dennis Wright, with whom she had a son out of wedlock. Not wanting her youngest son to be considered illegitimate, Gertrude insisted on being called “Mrs. Wright” even after she and Dennis separated. By 1965, she had seven children and had endured six miscarriages. She was a chain smoker and had bronchitis. She also suffered from a nervous disorder.
Sylvia Marie Likens was a pleasant young girl. Those who knew her described her as outgoing and energetic. She was born to Betty and Lester Likens and had four siblings: two sets of twins. She was exceptionally close with her younger sister Jenny, 15, who was disabled and had to wear leg braces as a result of Polio. In July 1965, Sylvia and Jenny were out playing when they met one of Gertrude’s children, 17-year-old Paula Baniszewski who invited the two girls back to her home. The next day, Lester Likens arranged to pay Gertrude $20/week to board his two daughters: unbeknownst to him, an act that would lead to the abuse of both children and the tragic and untimely death of Sylvia.
Had Lester bothered to inspect the home where his children were staying, he would have found that there was no stove, less beds than people living there and a total of three spoons. The first week of the girls’ stay at the Baniszewski house passed without any incidents. During the second week, the abuse began. Gertrude had not yet received her payment from Lester Likens. In a rage, she screamed, “I took care of you two bitches for nothing,” at the two young girls, pulled down their pants and spanked them.
After attending church with the Baniszewski family, Paula told her mother that Sylvia had overeaten at the church picnic. Gertrude and her children came up with what they considered to be a fitting punishment. They loaded a hot dog with a variety of condiments and forced Sylvia to eat it. Sylvia vomited immediately after eating the hot dog and was then forced to eat her own vomit.
A couple of weeks later, Lester and Betty Likens visited the Baniszewski home, but both Sylvia and Jenny were too afraid to tell them about Gertrude’s abusive behavior. Soon after the Likens’ departure, Paula filled a glass with hot water and threw it at Sylvia giving her a black eye. She then beat the poor girl with a belt.
In August, Sylvia expressed romantic interest in a teenage boy from her class. Gertrude accused her of being promiscuous and kicked her in the crotch, a habit that she continued with great frequency. Sylvia’s autopsy later revealed extreme injuries in the pubic area.
As an attempt at revenge for Paula’s cruel treatment of her, Sylvia spread a rumor around school that Paula was a prostitute. When Paula’s boyfriend found out that Sylvia had done this, he beat her severely while Gertrude watched and ultimately joined. Gertrude also encouraged many of the neighborhood children to hate Sylvia and abuse her physically. Paula frequently heaved objects at Sylvia’s head. Several times Gertrude forced Jenny to hit her sister. When she refused, Gertrude beat her until she reluctantly complied, using her left hand so that she would not hurt Sylvia too much.
In early October, the horror escalated. Sylvia did not have money for a physical education uniform, a mandatory part of her class, and Gertrude would not give her money to buy one. Sylvia panicked and stole a gym suit. As punishment for her theft, Gertrude repeatedly kicked Sylvia in the crotch and burned her fingers with a lighted match. From that point on, the neighborhood children and Gertrude made a habit of burning Sylvia with matches and lit cigarettes.
The incidents continued to increase in both frequency and severity and Jenny was almost always forced to watch the cruel treatment of her sister. Convinced that Sylvia was stealing money, Gertrude forced her to strip completely nude and perform a strip tease for a co-ed group of the neighborhood and her own kids. She then forced Gertrude to insert a bottle into her vagina in front of everyone.
Several days later, Sylvia wet her bed. This was likely the result of anxiety or the frequent vicious kicks to the stomach inflicted by Gertrude. As punishment for her “lack of cleanliness,” Sylvia was sent to live in the basement and was denied any use of the bathroom facilities. In a sadistic attempt to “clean” her, Gertrude and the neighborhood kids often filled the bathroom tub with scalding hot water and forced Sylvia to sit in it. She was forced to remain nude most of the time and the neighborhood kids delighted in visiting the Baniszewski house and kicking, punching and assaulting poor Sylvia. They made a game of shoving her down the stairs and forcing her back up them only to push her down again. Sylvia was hardly ever fed and on one particularly disgusting occasion was forced by Gertrude to eat manure and drink urine.
During the last weekend before her tragic demise, Sylvia was tied to a bed in one of the upstairs bedrooms. She wet the bed that night and the following day was forced to perform a second strip tease for the neighborhood children. As payback for the rumor that Sylvia had spread about Paula, Gertrude and some of the kids used a heated sewing needle to carve the words “I’m a prostitute and proud of it” into Sylvia’s stomach. The kids then attempted to carve the letter “s” (for “slave) into her chest. They carved the second curve the wrong way and ended up cutting the number 3 into her chest. Gertrude then taunted Sylvia, telling her that she would never get married and never be able to undress in front of men without them knowing that she was a “slut.” When the others went to bed that night, Jenny visited her tied and bound sister who told her, “I’m going to die. I can tell.”
The next morning, Gertrude forced Sylvia to write a letter to her parents claiming that she had sex with a boy and he had carved the message into her stomach. Gertrude intended to eventually dump Sylvia’s body in an empty lot and give the note to the police in an attempt to absolve her of blame.
Soon before her death, Sylvia miraculously managed to muster enough energy to attempt an escape from the Baniszewski house. Unfortunately, she was caught before reaching the front porch. Later that day, Sylvia refused to eat a piece of toast because her throat was too dry. Gertrude punished her by hitting her across the mouth with a curtain rod. She was beaten severely with chairs and broomsticks that night by Gertrude and others. The next morning, she was dragged upstairs for a bath and died while she was in the tub.
Gertrude had one of the teenage boys phone the police. When they arrived, she gave them the note. Jenny, devastated by the torture and loss of her beloved sister whispered to one of the officers, “Get me out of here and I’ll tell you everything.
Gertrude, Paula and four of the older participants were arrested for murder. The younger participants were charged with injury to person. Appallingly, the latter charges were later dropped. The lawyer of one of the older participants was successful in getting the murder charge against his client dropped. Not surprisingly, Gertrude denied almost all of the accusations against her and her children backed up her lies and false claims.
Gertrude was convicted of first degree murder. She appealed, was convicted again and sentenced to life in prison. Paula was convicted of second degree murder. She appealed and the conviction was lessened to voluntary manslaughter. She was unfairly released from prison after just a few years. Three of the older participants were convicted of manslaughter and spent a mere year and a half in a juvenile correctional facility.
One of the most unfortunate things about this tragic story is the fact that several of Gertrude’s neighbors witnessed the abuse of Sylvia Likens and did nothing, feeling that it was not their place to interfere. Had even one of them alerted the authorities, Sylvia might still be alive today. Her tragic death serves as a reminder that suspicion of child abuse should be promptly reported to the authorities.
Sylvia’s story is told in the book “The Indiana Torture Slaying” by John Dean (not of the Watergate scandal) and “The Basement” by Kate Millett. These events were the inspiration for Jack Ketchum’s novel “The Girl Next Door” and its film adaptation by the same name.The film “An American Crime” starring Ellen Page and Catherine Keener is also based on these events.
