luciferlaughs:The abuse and murder of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens rightfully earned the title of
luciferlaughs:The abuse and murder of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens rightfully earned the title of ‘’the most terrible crime ever committed in the state of Indiana’’. Sylvia’s parents were carnival workers, meaning they were frequently on the road. Sylvia’s father arranged for her and her sister, Jenny, to live with Gertrude Baniszewski, who was already caring for seven of her own children. The sisters’ father agreed to pay Gertrude $20 per week, but when the payment arrived a day late, Gertrude took Sylvia and Jenny upstairs and beat them, telling them, ‘’Well, I took care of you two bitches for a week for nothing.’’ Gertrude began abusing Sylvia and Jenny with a paddle for small offenses, and once burned Sylvia’s fingers with matches when she suspected her of stealing. When Gertrude felt too weak to physically discipline the girls, her eldest daughter, Paula, gladly took over. She once beat Sylvia in the face so badly that she broke her own wrist. Sylvia was eventually thrown into the basement and locked in. It wasn’t long before neighbourhood children began crowding around the home to participate in the torture of Sylvia Likens, taking turns practicing their Judo on her. She was tied up, beaten, starved, forced to eat her own feces and drink her own urine, had over 100 cigarettes extinguished on her skin, and forced to strip naked and insert a Coke bottle into her vagina as everyone watched. After these torture sessions, Sylvia would be forced to bathe in scalding hot water to cleanse her of her sins. With a hot needle, Gertrude carved the words “I’m a prostitute and proud of it” into her stomach. Sylvia Likens died on October 26, 1965, after three harrowing months of abuse. Her death was caused by brain swelling, internal hemorrhaging of the brain, and shock induced by her extensive skin damage. One year later, Gertrude was convicted of first-degree murder, her daughter, Paula, was convicted of second-degree murder, and some of the other children who took part in the torture were convicted of manslaughter. -- source link