In July 1965, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens and her younger sister Jenny were left in the care of Gertrude Baniszewski, a divorced mother of several children, in Indianapolis, Indiana, while their parents worked as traveling carnival concessionaires. What began as temporary boarding quickly escalated into three months of horrific, incremental torture inflicted by Baniszewski, several of her children (notably Paula and John Jr.), and neighborhood youths. Sylvia endured severe beatings, starvation, malnourishment, burns from cigarettes and scalding water, cuts, branding, sexual humiliation, and mutilation—including the words “I’m a prostitute” carved into her abdomen—before she died on October 26, 1965, from a combination of subdural hematoma (brain injury from blows to the head), shock, and extensive injuries. Police discovered her emaciated, battered body in an upstairs bedroom, describing the case as one of the most sadistic crimes in Indiana history. Baniszewski and several accomplices were convicted in 1966.

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Channel art and audio & video editing by Jenny Ashford. Music & sound effects courtesy of freesound.org users jamespotterboy, corsica-s, enjoypa, capturedlv, luffy, kiddpark, and justkiddink. Video clips courtesy of Videezy & Videvo.