Oct. 24, 2012 — -- An Iowa teacher's aide has been fired from her job following the revelation that she was a member of an Indiana family notorious for torturing and killing a girl in their basement in 1965.

Nash, Jay Robert (1986). Look for the Woman: A Narrative Encyclopedia of Female Prisoners. United States: M. Evans Publishing. ISBN 978-1-461-74772-7. 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]

The Brutal Death Of Sylvia Likens

I was ten years old when Sylvia Likens died, the same age as Marie, the girl who lit the match to heat the poker they used to brand the naked Sylvia, who was tied up, gagged, and held down by Marie’s brother John and her sister, either Stephanie or Shirley. Marie lied stub Bowman, Forrest Jr. (2014). Sylvia: The Likens Trial. California: CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-502-58263-8. The following day, Gertrude Baniszewski testified in her own defense. She denied any responsibility for Likens's 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". She also added that she had been too preoccupied with her own ill health and depression to control her children. [16] Noe, Denise. "The Torturing Death of Sylvia Marie Likens: Foster Care". TruTV Crime Library. Archived from the original on August 25, 2008. What’s her name? You know, the monster woman with a Polish last name who murdered that girl in Indiana? Kate Millett wrote about her.

a b Dean, John (July 29, 2008). House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-429-94402-1.The Investigation Discovery channel commissioned a documentary focusing upon the abuse and murder of Sylvia Likens as part of its true-life crime documentary series Deadly Women. This 45-minute documentary, titled "Born Bad", was first broadcast on November 30, 2009. On May 10, a Baptist Minister named Roy Julian testified to having known a teenage girl was being abused in the Baniszewski household, although he had failed to report this information to authorities as, having been informed by Gertrude that Likens had "made advances to men for money," he had believed the girl was being punished for soliciting. The same day, 13-year-old Judy Duke also testified, admitting to having witnessed Likens once endure salt being rubbed into sores upon her legs until she screamed. [125] Duke also testified to one occasion where she witnessed 10-year-old Shirley Baniszewski rip open Likens's blouse, to which Richard Hobbs had made the casual remark, "Everybody's having fun with Sylvia." [126] Torture Death Jury Naming Gioes Slowly". The Indianapolis Monthly. April 21, 1966 . Retrieved June 8, 2019. Gertrude called [Sylvia] upstairs to the kitchen. Somehow, the conversation got around to tattooing. Gertrude asked Sylvia whether she knew what a tattoo was ... she said: 'You branded my children so now I'm going to brand you.' "

Regarding Gertrude Baniszewski's death and the issues raised pertaining to her sanity at both of her trials, John Dean, a former reporter for The Indianapolis Star who had provided extensive coverage of the case, stated in 2015: "I never thought she was insane. I thought she was a downtrodden, mean woman." [133] Dean has also likened the case to William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, although he has stated Likens's increasing physical and emotional abuse was not a result of "children going wild; it was children doing what they were told". [167] Of Baniszewski's actual motive for tormenting and ultimately murdering Likens, attorney Forrest Bowman opined in 2014: "She had a miserable life. What I think this was ultimately about was jealousy." [112] Investigating the Dark Side of Indianapolis". The Southside Times. January 21, 2021 . Retrieved July 9, 2021.Serene sent me these pictures to put up on here. So I'll title them as we go along. Serene's hard work and the fact that this is so time consuming just has to be said that what a professional lady we have here. We hope no one is too upset but its not anything too hard to look at but as I say this I just couldn't help but cry especially looking at her picture taken along side her Mother.~Her Mother~ R.I.P Silvia. Police Told of Tortured Girl's Last Days". The Indianapolis Star. October 28, 1965 . Retrieved June 4, 2022.

He is a former newspaperman, having worked for the Terre Haute Star, the Associated Press, the Indianapolis Star, the Chicago Sun-Times, the San Francisco Examiner, the Detroit Free Press, and the Detroit News. He has worked also for Western Union in San Francisco, the Golden Horse Shoe tavern in Oakland, Calif., and Musical Isle Record Corp. in Chicago. He wrote this book while a reporter for the Indianapolis Star, where he worked from 1963 to 1967.Every myth explains too much, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t truths to be found in the story. Girard’s grandiose explanation for human violence unearths part of the truth. Sylvia Likens was a scapegoat. In September 1970, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Gertrude and Paula Baniszewski on the basis that Judge Saul Isaac Rabb had denied repeatedly submitted motions by their defense counsel at their original trial, for both a change of venue and separate trials. [112] This ruling further stated that the circumstances regarding the prejudicial atmosphere created during their initial trial, due to the extensive news media publicity surrounding the case, impeded any chance of either appellant receiving a fair trial. [153] On May 25, Gertrude and Paula Baniszewski were formally sentenced to life imprisonment. [151] [152] The same day, Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, and John Baniszewski Jr. each received sentences of 2-to-21 years, to be served in the Indiana Reformatory. [152] Retrials [ edit ] Genzlinger, Neil (October 3, 2007). "A Neighbor's-Eye View of Deep Depravity". The New York Times . Retrieved April 20, 2020. Wilson, Colin (1985). Encyclopedia of Modern Murder: 1962–1982. Bonanza Books. ISBN 978-0-517-66559-6.