Sylvia likens autopsy

Reader discretion is advised. In Octoberyear-old Sylvia Likens died after being held captive for nearly three months. Her death sparked action across police departments, sylvia likens autopsy, prosecution, and the halls of the Indiana General Assembly, plus movies and books.

Sylvia Likens died at the hands of Getrude Baniszewski, a woman who was supposed to take care of her. A post mortem on her body revealed more than wounds on her body, allegedly inflicted by Getrude and her children. Her death was described as the most enduring nightmare in the State of Indiana. What happened to Sylvia Likens? Where were her parents when all that happened?

Sylvia likens autopsy

Sylvia Likens. John Jr Baniszewski and Gertrude Baniszewski. Via Wikimedia Commons. The autopsy of the sixteen-year-old girl from Indiana read like that of a horror movie. Her skin had receded, and she had open wounds nearly down to the bone. Sylvia and her sister Jenny were sent to live with Gertrude Baniszewski in July Their parents, Lester and Betty, were in desperate need of money and had joined the travelling carnival, which was no place for children. After all, she already had seven of her own children; what difference would two more make? Fifteen-year-old Jenny had polio and wore a leg brace, so Sylvia offered to help around the Baniszewski house, making sure the chores were done for both of them. Gertrude began beating the girls with a paddle when the payments failed to arrive on their pre-agreed day. Paula once struck Sylvia in the face with such force that she broke her wrist in the process, and once the cast was dry, she used it as a weapon.

On Sunday… webcache. The following day, Gertrude Baniszewski testified in her own defense.

Sylvia always smiled with her mouth closed, because she had a missing front tooth. Sylvia was a normal, healthy sixteen-year-old girl prior to her final nightmarish sojourn in the Baniszewski house. By all accounts, she was a kind, helpful young lady with a deeply spiritual side. She enjoyed roller-skating, singing, and the music of the Beatles. She managed to make a life for herself after the horrors of , but understandably, the memories haunted her always.

It has been the most enduring nightmare in Indianapolis True Crime history — the Oct. Other crimes have involved a greater number of victims, often including children, but the villains in those stories were hardened criminals or madmen, and their acts of violence played out rapidly within a span of minutes or hours. In the aftermath of grief and anger, good people could at least comprehend the chain of events that had just unfolded. On the surface, the Likens murder is not much different from any number of heinous crimes. It was a Cinderella story without the happy ending — a teenage girl left under the care of a strict authoritarian whose idea of discipline is physical abuse that escalates until the abuse victim dies. If that was the extent of it, this case would likely have been lost to history long ago like so many other long-forgotten murders. For weeks, even months, the torture of Sylvia Likens was casual entertainment, something to do in the afternoon before dinner and favorite TV shows. At least a dozen children participated or at least watched, and none felt sufficiently disturbed to tell their own parents.

Sylvia likens autopsy

It was called the most terrible crime ever committed in Indiana, and half a century later, that title still holds. The details of her demise, revealed at the trial, defy belief. But when one of their checks arrived late, Baniszewski took out her frustration by beating the girls.

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What I think this was ultimately about was jealousy. The abuse lasted for three months, occurring incrementally, before Likens died from her extensive injuries and malnourishment on October 26, , in Indianapolis , Indiana. It really makes you think about life in general. Coy went on to a life of further crime. They were both released on parole in By the time of Gertrude's ultimate parole in , 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. As a teenager, Sylvia babysat, hung out with friends, did chores and small jobs, loved the Beatles, and lived an otherwise typical life. Retrieved October 17, Mrs Baniszewski was also released from prison on parole in December Several days later, Gertrude returned to the subject with Likens, telling her, "You're certainly getting big in the stomach, Sylvia. While down there, she was given little food or water and was forced to wet herself and use the corners of the dark room as a toilet. Sharon Rose Black says:. January 19, May 27,

Movies have been made about her.

Let them through, for they are the welcome ones! We'll never know the pain and suffering that Sylvia endured ISBN 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. Coy practiced his judo moves on Sylvia, throwing her into walls and down the basement stairs. Read also Samantha Lewes: Tom Hanks' divorce story and her cause of death. The teenager endured months of sickening abuse before she was killed by the people who were supposed to look after her. Retrieved April 13, What are you going to do? United Press International.