Gertrude Baniszewski: The Torture Queen

Gertrude Baniszewski: Murderer

Gertrude Baniszewski was a woman from Indianapolis Indiana, who became infamous for her involvement in the torture and murder of a young girl named Sylvia Likens in 1965.

Gertrude was born in 1929 and had a troubled childhood. She dropped out of high school and married at the age of 16. She had several children but had a difficult time supporting them financially. Gertrude's marriage ended in divorce, and she moved to Indianapolis with her children in search of a better life.

In 1965, Gertrude was living in a small house with her seven children, her eldest daughter Paula, and two other teenage girls, Stephanie and Shirley. Gertrude agreed to take in Sylvia and her younger sister, Jenny, as boarders, for a fee of $20 a week.

Sylvia and Jenny were from a poor family, and their parents were carnival workers who could not afford to take care of them. Gertrude was initially friendly towards the sisters but soon began to physically and mentally abuse them.

Gertrude and her children beat Sylvia and forced her to do household chores for hours on end. They also locked her in the basement and denied her food and water. They burned Sylvia with cigarettes and heated needles and forced her to eat her own feces.

Gertrude also invited her neighborhood children to join in the abuse, and they frequently beat and humiliated Sylvia. The children were encouraged to think of Sylvia as a "prostitute" and to treat her as such.

Sylvia's younger sister, Jenny, was also abused, but to a lesser extent. Gertrude threatened to kill Jenny if she told anyone what was happening in the house.

On October 26, 1965, Sylvia died of a brain hemorrhage caused by a severe beating. Gertrude and her children attempted to hide the body by placing it in a basement crawl space and covering it with blankets and garbage.

The police were eventually tipped off about Sylvia's death and discovered her body in the crawl space. Gertrude, her children, were arrested and charged with murder.

During the trial, it was revealed that Gertrude had a history of mental illness and had previously been hospitalized for depression. She claimed that she had not intended to kill Sylvia but had only wanted to discipline her.

Despite her claims, Gertrude was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

The story of Sylvia's brutal murder shocked the nation and became known as the "Worst Crime Ever Committed in Indiana." It remains a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked abuse and the importance of reporting suspected abuse to authorities.

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