The Abuse, Torture, and Murder of Sylvia Likens (Part II)

Indictments

On December 30, 1965, the Marion County grand jury returned first-degree murder indictments against Gertrude Baniszewski and two of her three oldest children: Paula and John Baniszewski Jr. Also indicted were Richard Hobbs and Coy Hubbard. All were charged with having repeatedly struck, beaten, kicked, and otherwise inflicting a culmination of fatal injuries to Sylvia Likens with premeditated malice.

Three weeks prior to the filing of the indictments against the five defendants, Stephanie Baniszewski had been released from custody upon a writ of habeas corpus bond, with her attorney successfully contending the state had insufficient evidence to support any murder or culmination of fatal injuries charges against her. Stephanie waived her immunity from any potential impending prosecution while agreeing to testify against her family and any other individuals charged with abusing and murdering Likens.

"She (Paula) represented the situation as one in which the girl Sylvia had become quite withdrawn and negativistic in her behavior to the extent that she refused to eat and showed no response to pain."--Section of Paula Baniszewski's psychiatric evaluation detailing her indifference to Likens' mistreatment, February 1966.

At a formal pretrial hearing held on March 16, 1966, several psychiatrists testified before Judge Saul Isaac Raab as to their conclusions regarding psychiatric evaluations they had conducted upon three individuals indicted upon Likens' murder. These experts testified that all three were mentally competent to stand trial.

Trial

The trial of Gertrude Baniszewski, her children Paula and John, Richard Hobbs and Coy Hubbard began on April 18, 1966. All were tried together before Judge Raab at Indianapolis' City-County Building.

Initial jury selection began on this date, and continued for several days. The prosecution consisted of Leroy K. New and Marjorie Wessner, who announced their intention to seek the death penalty for all five defendants on April 16. They also successfully argued before Judge Raab that all the defendants should be tried together as they were ultimately charged with acting "in concert" in their collective crimes against Likens and that as such, if each were tried separately, neither judge nor jury could hear testimony relating to a "total picture" of the accumulation of offenses committed.

Each prospective juror was questioned by counsels for both prosecution and defense in relation to their opinions regarding capital punishment being a just penalty for first-degree murder and whether a mother was actually responsible for the "deportment of her children". 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.

Gertrude Baniszewski was defended by William Erbecker; her daughter Paula was defended by George Rice.   Richard Hobbs was defended by James G. Nedder; John Baniszewski Jr. and Coy Hubbard were defended by Forrest Bowman.  The attorneys for Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, Paula and John Baniszewski Jr. claimed they had been pressured into participating in Likens' torment, abuse, and torture by Gertrude Baniszewski.  Gertrude herself plead not guilty by reason of insanity.

Testimony

One of the first witnesses to testify on behalf of the prosecution was deputy coroner Charles Ellis, who testified on April 29 as to the intense pain Likens had suffered: stating that her fingernails were broken backwards, numerous deep cuts and punctures covered much of her body, and that her lips were "essentially in shreds" due to her having repeatedly bitten and chewed upon them.  Ellis further testified that Likens had been in an acute state of shock for between two and three days prior to her death and that Likens may have been in too advanced a state of shock to offer much resistance to any form of subjected treatment in her final hours, although he emphasized that aside from the extensive swelling around her genitalia, Likens' body bore no evidence of sexual molestation.

Jenny Likens watching the proceedings of the Baniszewski trial, she instigated the investigation and the subsequent arrest of her sister's torturers and murderers.

On May 2 and 3, Jenny Likens testified against all five defendants, stating that each had repeatedly and extensively both physically and emotionally abused her sister, adding that Likens had done nothing to provoke the assaults and that there had been no truth in either the rumors she had been falsely accused of spreading or the slurs each had made against Likens' character. During her testimony, Jenny stated the abuse her sister and, to a much lesser degree, herself endured began approximately two weeks after they had begun to live in the Baniszewski household, and that as the abuse her sister was forced to endure escalated, Likens had occasionally been unable to produce tears due to her acute state of dehydration. Jenny burst into tears as she recalled how, just days before Likens died, she had said to her: "Jenny, I know you don't want me to die, but I am going to die. I can tell it!"

Sections of Jenny Likens' testimony were later corroborated by that of Randy Lepper, who stated he had once witnessed Likens crying, but that she had shed no actual tears. Lepper then visibly smirked as he confessed to having beaten Likens on anywhere between 10 and 40 separate instances.

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", and 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.  Duke also testified to one occasion where she witnessed 10-year-old Shirley Baniszewski rip open Likens' blouse, to which Richard Hobbs had made the casual remark, "Everybody's having fun with Sylvia."

The following day, Gertrude Baniszewski testified in her own defense. 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." She also added that she had been too preoccupied by her own ill health and depression to control her children.

In response to questioning relating to whether she had physically abused the Likens sisters, Gertrude claimed that although she had "started to spank" Likens on one occasion, she was emotionally unable to finish doing so, and had not hit the child on any further occasions.  She denied any knowledge of Likens having ever endured any beating, scalding, branding, or burning within her home.

Two days later, Richard Hobbs testified in his own defense, describing how Gertrude had called Likens to the kitchen on October 23 and stated to her: "You have branded my children so now I'm going to brand you." Hobbs testified Gertrude had begun etching the insult into Likens' abdomen before asking him to finish the task. 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.  Hobbs further testified that he had initially believed Likens would not be at the Baniszewski household on 26 October, as Gertrude had informed him she intended to "get rid of" Sylvia the day prior.

When Marie Baniszewski was called to the stand as a witness for the defense, she broke down and admitted that she had heated the needle which Hobbs had used to brand Likens' abdomen. Marie also testified as to her mother's indifference to Likens' evident distress in relation to the physical and mental abuse she had increasingly suffered with her mother's full knowledge, stating that on one occasion, Gertrude had simply sat upon a chair and crocheted as she watched a neighborhood girl named Anna Siscoe attack Likens.  Marie added that although all five defendants had repeatedly physically and mentally tormented Likens, she had most often witnessed her mother and sister committing these acts  before her mother had forced Likens to live in the basement where the abuse had further escalated and she had ultimately died.  Another witness to testify on behalf of the prosecution, Grace Sargent, stated how she had sat close to Paula on a church bus and had heard her openly bragging about breaking her own wrist due to the severity of a beating she had inflicted to Likens' face on August 1. Sargent testified Paula had finished her boasting by stating, "I tried to kill her!"

On May 16, a court-appointed doctor named Dwight Schuster testified on behalf of the prosecution. When questioned by Leroy New as to the exhaustive interviews and assessments he had conducted with Gertrude, she had been evasive and uncooperative. Dr. Schuster testified as to his belief that Gertrude was sane and fully in control of her actions, adding that she had been sane in October 1965, and remained sane to this date.  Dr. Schuster was subjected to over two hours of intense cross-examination by Gertrude's lawyer, William Erbecker, although he remained steadfast that Gertrude was not and had never been psychotic.

Closing arguments

Prosecution

Deputy Prosecutor Marjorie Wessner delivered the state's closing argument before the jury on behalf of the prosecution. As each defendant except Richard Hobbs (whose head dropped into his lap) remained impassive, Wessner recounted the continuous mistreatment Likens had endured before her death, emphasizing that at no point had Likens either provoked any of the defendants, or received any medical care beyond occasionally having margarine rubbed into scalded sections of her face and body.   Referencing specific forms and means of abuse and neglect at the defendants' hands and their collective failure to either help Likens or deter each other from mistreating her, Wessner described Likens' abuse as "stomach-wrenching" and compared her treatment at the hands of all five defendants as being the equivalent in severity to that committed against prisoners in Nazi concentration camps.

"There was practically no fat on [Sylvia's] body. She hadn't eaten for a week! We'll never know the pain and suffering that Sylvia endured ... the best evidence of that was the picture of her lips—lips that were bitten into shreds!"--Section of Deputy Prosecutor Marjorie Wessner's closing argument at the trial of Gertrude Baniszewski.

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." Holding aloft a portrait of Likens taken before July 1965, Wessner added: "I wish she were here today, with eyes as in this picture—full of hope and anticipation."

Defense

William Erbecker was the first defense attorney to deliver his closing argument before the jury; he attempted to portray his client as being insane and thus unable to appreciate the severity or criminality of her actions, stating: "I condemn her for being a murderess, that's what I do, but I say she's not responsible, because she's not all here!" Erbecker then tapped his head to emphasize his reference to her state of mind, before adding: "If this woman is sane, put her in [the electric chair]. She committed acts of degradation that you wouldn't commit on a dog ... She has to be crazy, or she wouldn't have permitted that. You'll have to live with your conscience the rest of your life if you send an insane woman to the electric chair."  Holding aloft an autopsy photograph of Likens, Erbecker instructed the jury to "look at this exhibit", adding: "Look at the lips on that girl! How sadistic can a person get? The woman [Gertrude] is stark mad!" Erbecker then referred to the earlier testimony of a psychiatrist who had called into question Gertrude's sanity before concluding his argument.

Forrest Bowman began his closing argument in an openly critical manner as he attacked the decision of the prosecution to seek the death penalty for juveniles, stating: "I would like to have an hour of [the jury's] time to explain why 16-year-olds and 13-year-olds should not be put to death." Refraining from acknowledging the catalog of atrocities each had inflicted upon Likens, Bowman repeatedly emphasized his clients' age, stating each was only guilty of assault and battery before seeking a verdict of not guilty for each youth.

George Rice began his closing argument by decrying the fact Paula and the other defendants had been tried jointly. 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. He then ended his closing argument with a plea for the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on a girl who had "gone through the indignity of being tried in an open court".

James Nedder began his closing argument in defense of Richard Hobbs by referring to the loss of Likens, stating: "She had a right to live. In my own heart I cannot remember a girl so much sinned against and abused." He then referred to Hobbs' courage in opting to testify in his own defense and the "savage and relentless cross-examination" to which he had been subjected by Leroy New. Nedder attempted to portray his client as a follower-type personality who had acted under the control of Gertrude Baniszewski, suggesting that had he not carved part of the profane insult into Likens' abdomen at Gertrude's request, Hobbs could well have been a state's witness as opposed to Stephanie Baniszewski. Nedder ended his closing argument by requesting a verdict of not guilty, stating Hobbs was guilty of “immaturity and gross lack of judgement", but not of the crime of murder.

Rebuttal

Leroy New rebutted the defense counsels' closing arguments by promising to "speak through the mangled and shredded lips of Sylvia Likens". 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. Now, let's look at some of the responsibilities here. Each one of [the] five defendants had first and foremost the responsibility to leave Sylvia Likens alone; we had the responsibility to bring all the evidence we could find that could explain this crime."

Referring to the sentimental closing arguments made by various defense counsels regarding reasoning and motivation for their clients' actions, their attempts to divert responsibility to other defendants or participants, and their clients' collective failure to either help Likens or to notify authorities, New added: "All we hear is whining appeal, anything but blame where the blame belongs." He then speculated as to the reason Likens did not try and escape from the Baniszewski household prior to the abuse increasingly escalating in the final weeks of her life, stating: "I think she trusted in man ... I think she did not believe these people would do this and continue to do it."

New concluded his closing argument by emphasizing the defendants' unison in their collective mistreatment of Likens, before asking the jury to dismiss arguments made by various defense counsels regarding who may have actually inflicted the "fatal blow" to Likens' head, stating: "Every mark on that girl's body contributed directly to her death, and that was testimony. The subdural hematoma was the ultimate blow. This is the most hideous thing Indiana has ever seen and, I hope, will ever see."  Stating that "not a shred of evidence" had been produced indicating any defendant was suffering from a form of mental illness, New again requested the death penalty for each defendant, stating to the jury: "The issue here is not about the electric chair, or a hospital, but about law and order. Will we shy away from the most diabolical case to ever come before a court or jury? If you go below the death penalty (in your verdicts) in this case, you will lower the value of human life by that much for each defendant. The blood of this girl will forevermore be on their souls."

Convictions

The trial of the five defendants lasted 17 days before the jury retired to consider its verdict.  On May 19, 1966, after deliberating for eight hours, the panel of eight men and four women found Gertrude Baniszewski guilty of first-degree murder, recommending a sentence of life imprisonment. Paula Baniszewski was found guilty of second-degree murder, and Hobbs, Hubbard, and John Baniszewski Jr. were found guilty of manslaughter. Upon hearing Judge Raab pronounce the verdicts, Gertrude and her children burst into tears and attempted to console each other, as Hobbs and Hubbard remained impassive.

On May 25, Gertrude and Paula Baniszewski were formally sentenced to life imprisonment.  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.

Retrials

In September 1970, the Indiana Supreme Court reversed the convictions of Gertrude and Paula Baniszewski on the basis that Judge Saul Isaac Raab had denied repeatedly submitted motions by their defense counsel at their original trial, for both a change of venue and separate trials.  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.

The pair were retried in 1971.  On this occasion, Paula Baniszewski opted to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter rather than face a retrial; she was sentenced to serve a term of between two and twenty years' imprisonment for her part in Likens' abuse and death.  Despite twice unsuccessfully having attempted to escape from prison in 1971, she was released in December 1972.  Gertrude Baniszewski, however, was again convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Over the course of the following 14 years, Gertrude Baniszewski became known as a model prisoner at the Indiana Women's Prison. She worked in the prison sewing shop and was known as somewhat of a "den mother" to younger female inmates, becoming known to some within the prison by the nickname "Mom". 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.

Parole

News of Gertrude Baniszewski's impending parole hearing created an uproar throughout Indiana.  Jenny Likens and other immediate family members of Likens vehemently protested against any prospect of her release. The members of two anti-crime groups also traveled to Indiana to oppose Baniszewski's potential parole, and to publicly support the Likens family. Members of both groups initiated a sidewalk picket campaign. Over the course of two months, these groups collected over 40,000 signatures from the citizens of Indiana, including signatures obtained from outraged citizens too young to contemporarily recollect the case. All signatures gathered demanded that Gertrude Baniszewski remain incarcerated for the remainder of her life.

Within her parole hearing, Baniszewski stated her wish that Likens' death could "be undone", although she minimized her responsibility for any of her actions, stating: "I'm not sure what role I had in [Likens' death], because I was on drugs. I never really knew her ... I take full responsibility for whatever happened to Sylvia."

Taking Gertrude's good conduct in prison into account, the parole board marginally voted in favor of granting her parole. She was released from prison on December 4, 1985.

 Aftermath

Following her 1985 release from prison, Gertrude Baniszewski relocated to Iowa.  She never accepted full responsibility for being the ultimate architect in Likens' prolonged torment and ultimate 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.  She primarily blamed her actions upon the medication she had been prescribed to treat her asthma.  Gertrude Baniszewski lived in relative obscurity in Laurel, Iowa until her death due to lung cancer on June 16, 1990, at the age of 61.

Reflecting upon the news of 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, would state in 2015: "I never thought she was insane. I thought she was a downtrodden, mean woman."  Dean has also likened the case to William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, although he has stated Likens' increasing physical and emotional abuse was not a result of "children going wild; it was children doing what they were told".

In reference to Gertrude 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."

Following her 1972 parole, Paula Baniszewski assumed a new identity.  She worked as an aide to a school counselor for 14 years at the Iowa Beaman-Conrad-Liscomb-Union-Whitten school district, having changed her name to Paula Pace and having concealed the truth regarding her criminal history to the school district when applying for the position. She was fired in 2012 when the school discovered her true identity.  Paula reportedly lives in a small town in Iowa. She is married and has two children.  The baby daughter to whom she had given birth while being tried in 1966, and whom she named after her mother, was later adopted.

The murder charges initially filed against Gertrude Baniszewski's second-eldest daughter, 15-year-old Stephanie, were ultimately dropped after she agreed to turn state's evidence against the other defendants.  Although prosecutors did re-submit their case against Stephanie before a grand jury on May 26, 1966, the decision to later prosecute her in a separate trial never materialized.  Stephanie Baniszewski assumed a new name and became a school teacher. She later married and has several children. Stephanie Serikstad currently lives in Florida.

Following the arrest of their mother, the Marion County Department of Public Welfare placed Marie, Shirley, and James Baniszewski in the care of separate foster families. Dennis Lee Wright Jr. was later adopted. His adoptive mother named him Denny Lee White. He died on February 5, 2012, at the age of 47.

Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, and John Baniszewski Jr. each served less than two years in the Indiana Reformatory before being granted parole on February 27, 1968.

Richard Hobbs died of lung cancer on January 2, 1972, at the age of 21—four years after his release from the Indiana Reformatory. In the years between his release from the Indiana Reformatory and his death, he is known to have suffered at least one nervous breakdown.

Following his 1968 release from the Indiana Reformatory, Coy Hubbard remained in Indiana, and never attempted to change his name. Throughout his adult life, Hubbard was repeatedly imprisoned for various criminal offenses, on one occasion being charged with the 1977 murders of two young men, although largely due to the fact the chief witnesses to testify at his trial had been a convicted criminal acquaintance of Hubbard's who admitted to having been in his company at the time of the murders, he was acquitted of this charge.  Shortly after the January 2007 premiere of the crime drama film An American Crime, Hubbard was fired from his job. He died of a heart attack in Shelbyville, Indiana, on June 23 of that year at the age of 56.

John Baniszewski Jr. lived in relative obscurity under the alias John Blake. He became a lay minister, frequently hosting counseling sessions to the children of divorced parents.  Several decades after his release from the Indiana Reformatory, John Baniszewski Jr. issued a statement in which he acknowledged the fact he and his co-defendants should have been sentenced to a more severe term of punishment, adding that young criminals are not beyond rehabilitation and describing how he had become a decent and productive citizen.  He died of diabetes in the Lancaster General Hospital on May 19, 2005, at the age of 52. Prior to his death, he had also occasionally spoken publicly about his past, readily admitting he had enjoyed the attention Likens' murder brought upon him.

The injury to person charges brought against the other juveniles known to have actively physically, mentally, and emotionally tormented Likens: Anna Ruth Siscoe, Judy Darlene Duke, Michael John Monroe, Darlene McGuire, and Randy Gordon Lepper, were later dropped. Siscoe ultimately married. She died on October 23, 1996, at the age of 44, already a grandmother. Lepper—who had visibly smirked[ as he testified to having hit Likens on up to 40 separate occasions—died at the age of 56 on November 14, 2010.

A granite memorial was dedicated to the memory of Sylvia Likens and her legacy and was formally unveiled in June 2001.

Jenny Likens later married an Indianapolis native named Leonard Rece Wade. The couple had two children. She died of a heart attack on June 23, 2004, at the age of 54. At the time of her death, Jenny resided in Beech Grove, Indiana.  Fourteen years prior to her death, Jenny Likens Wade had viewed Gertrude Baniszewski's obituary in a newspaper; she clipped the section from the newspaper, and then mailed it to her mother with an accompanying note simply reading: "Some good news. Damn old Gertrude died. Ha ha ha! I am happy about that."

Elizabeth and Lester Likens died in 1998 and 2013 respectively. In the years prior to her own death, Jenny Likens Wade had repeatedly emphasized no blame should be placed upon either of her parents for placing her and Sylvia in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski; stating all her parents had done was trust Gertrude's promise to actually care for them until their return to Indiana with the traveling carnival.

I see a light/Hope/I feel a breeze/Strength/I hear a song/Relief/Let them through, for they are the welcome ones!--Poem inscribed upon the granite memorial formally dedicated to Sylvia Likens' life and legacy in Willard Park, Indianapolis.

The house at 3850 East New York Street in which Likens was tortured and murdered stood vacant for many years after her death and the arrest of her tormentors. The property gradually became dilapidated. Although discussions were held in relation to the possibility of purchasing and rehabilitating the house, and converting the property into a women's shelter, the necessary funds to complete this project were never raised. The house itself was demolished on April 23, 2009. The site where 3850 East New York Street once stood is now a church parking lot.

In June 2001, a six-foot-tall (1.8 m) granite memorial was formally dedicated to Sylvia Likens' life and legacy in Willard Park, Washington Street, Indianapolis. This dedication was attended by several hundred people, including members of the Likens family. The memorial itself is inscribed with these words: "This memorial is in memory of a young child who died a tragic death. As a result, laws changed and awareness increased. This is a commitment to our children that the Indianapolis Police Department is working to make this a safe city for our children."

Media

Film

The 2007 film An American Crime is directly based upon the life and murder of Sylvia Likens. Directed by Tommy O'Haver and distributed by First Look Studios, the movie casts Ellen Page as Sylvia Likens and Catherine Keener as Gertrude Baniszewski.

The Girl Next Door is loosely based upon the murder of Sylvia Likens. Released in 2007 and starring Blanche Baker, The Girl Next Door is largely inspired by a 1989 novel penned by author Jack Ketchum.

Books

Dean, John (1999). The Indiana Torture Slaying: Sylvia Likens' Ordeal and Death. Kentucky: Borf Books. ISBN 0-960-48947-9.

Dean, John (2008). House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying. United States of America: St. Martin's Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-312-94699-9.

Millett, Kate (1991). The Basement: Meditations on a Human Sacrifice. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-72358-3.

Television

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.