The murder of Sylvia Likens was a child murder which occurred in Indianapolis, Indiana in October 1965. Likens, a 16-year-old girl, was held captive and subjected to increasing levels of child abuse and torture, committed over a period of almost three months by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, many of Baniszewski's children, and several other neighborhood children, before ultimately succumbing to her injuries on October 26.
Baniszewski; her oldest daughter, Paula; her son, John; and two neighborhood youths, Coy Hubbard and Richard Hobbs, were all tried and convicted in May 1966 of neglecting, torturing, and murdering Likens, with counsels at the defendants' trial describing the case as the "most diabolical" ever to be presented before a court or jury and Likens having been subjected to acts of "degradation that you wouldn't commit on a dog" prior to her death.
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.
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Gertrude Baniszewski
Gertrude Nadine Baniszewski (née Van Fossan; September 19, 1928—June 16, 1990) was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Mollie Myrtle (née Oakley) and Hugh Marcus Van Fossan Sr., both of whom were originally from Illinois and were of American and Dutch descent. Baniszewski was the third of six children, and her family was working class. On October 5, 1939, Baniszewski saw her 50-year-old father die from a sudden heart attack. Six years later, she dropped out of high school at age 16 to marry 18-year-old John Stephan Baniszewski (1926–2007), who was originally from Youngsville, Pennsylvania, and to whom she bore four children. Although John Baniszewski had a volatile temper and occasionally beat his wife, the two would remain together for ten years prior to their first divorce.
Following her divorce, Baniszewski married a man named Edward Guthrie. This marriage lasted just three months before the couple divorced. Shortly thereafter, Baniszewski remarried her first husband, bearing him two more children. The couple divorced for a second time in 1963.
Weeks after her third divorce, Baniszewski began a relationship with a 22-year-old named Dennis Lee Wright, who also physically abused her. She had one child with Wright, Dennis Lee Wright Jr. Shortly after the birth of his son, Wright abandoned Baniszewski. Shortly thereafter, Baniszewski filed a paternity suit against Wright for financial support of their child, although Wright was seldom able to pay for the upkeep of their son.
By 1965, Baniszewski lived alone with her seven children: Paula (17), Stephanie (15), John (12), Marie (11), Shirley (10), James (8), and Dennis Lee Wright Jr. (1). Although 36 years old and 5 feet 6 inches (168 cm) in height, she weighed only 100 pounds (45 kg) and has been described as a "haggard, underweight asthmatic" chain smoker suffering from depression due to the stress of three failed marriages, a failed relationship, and a recent miscarriage. In addition to the sporadic checks she received from her first husband—a former Indianapolis policeman—which she primarily relied upon to financially support her children, Baniszewski occasionally performed odd jobs for neighbors and acquaintances, such as sewing or cleaning in order to earn money. Baniszewski resided in Indianapolis at 3850 East New York Street, where the monthly rent was $55.
