Sylvia Likens death remains a harrowing tale of the unimaginable torment and abuse she endured at the hands of her caretaker, Gertrude Baniszewski, in 1965.

The Netflix series, ‘An American Crime,’ tells the narrative of one of the most horrible crimes ever committed against a single victim and is based on a true story that horrified the country in 1965. 

The two daughters of traveling funfair workers, Sylvia and Jennie Fae Likens, are left in Indianapolis with single mother Gertrude Baniszewski and her six kids for an extended period of time. 

Gertrude agrees to this arrangement because she needs the money in these hard times, but she has no idea how much stress it will put on her already fragile mental state. 

The events that take place over the next three months are both horrifying and captivating.

What happened to Syliva?

Sylvia’s parents, Lester, and Betty Likens, had to work at a fair, so they entrusted Gertrude to take care of Sylvia and her sister, Jenny.

Even though Gertrude wasn’t the best choice to look after them, the Likens felt they had no other options.

At first, Gertrude treated Sylvia and Jenny relatively well. But when the Likens’ payment was late, Gertrude was angry, and the abuse began.

With the help of her oldest daughter, Paula, Gertrude started to physically abuse Sylvia and Jenny using things like a heavy paddle and belt.

Soon, Paula became the expert in hurting them, while Gertrude forced Jenny to join in.

Sylvia became the main target, enduring extreme violence and cruelty.

Moreover, Sylvia suffered various forms of torture, like having her fingertips burned, being forced to eat until she vomited, and then being made to eat her own vomit as punishment.

The abuse even included s*xual acts, with Paula hurting Sylvia’s private parts while Gertrude spoke about immoral behavior.

End of the horrific abuse

The torment escalated further, with Sylvia being forced to undress and insert an empty Coke bottle into her private parts while the Baniszewski children watched. 

After that, she locked Sylvia in the basement without food or a bathroom.

Gertrude recruited other neighborhood kids to join in the beatings by lying about Sylvia.

They willingly hurt Sylvia even more.

Sylvia tried to escape, but Gertrude soon grabbed her and severely beat her till she passed out with a heavy rod. 

Gertrude stomped on Sylvia Likens’ skull as she awoke, resulting in a brain hemorrhage, shock, and hunger, which led to her death. 

In order to defend herself, Gertrude told the police that Sylvia escaped her home.

She added that someone must have murdered Sylvia after she left her house.

When a policeman asked about Sylvia’s death, Jenny replied, “Please, get me out of here, and I’ll tell you everything.”

The police arrested Gertrude, her children, and some neighbors involved in Sylvia Likens death. 

Where is Gertrude now?

In spite of Gertrude’s known mental health issues and insanity, she was indicted blameworthy for first-degree murder and given lifelong incarceration.

The authorities found Paula guilty of second-degree murder, and her sentence was somewhat appropriate.

Gertrude served quite a long while in jail prior to her conviction and waiting on the post-trial process.

The authorities granted parole and a new name to Paula after almost eight years. 

Moreover, they also released Gertrude some years later.

When Gertrude died of lung cancer five years later, Jenny, Sylvia’s alive sister, felt some comfort.