In The Memory Of Sylvia Likens
On October 26 1965 a 16-year-old girl was brutally murdered, due to the prolong torture by her guardian Gertrude Baniszewski and other children. It astonishes me every time I hear about poor Sylvia Likens story because the neighborhood knew what was happening to her but didn’t do anything about it, even the neighborhood children participated in the torture and brutal murder of Sylvia. I guess child abuse laws were a little different back then.
Here’s a report of what happened to Sylvia (Warning: Graphic)
Neighborhood children began to crowd the home to participate in the torture. The children took turns practicing their judo on Sylvia, hurling her against a wall. Some began kicking and beating her. Others extinguished their cigarettes on her skin. As Gertrude and a gang of teen-agers watched, Sylvia was forced to undress in the living room and insert an empty Coke bottle into her vagina.
After the beatings, Sylvia was forced into a scalding hot bath so she would be “cleansed of her sins.” She was severely beaten and burned for wetting her mattress while asleep and Gertrude decided that Sylvia was no longer fit to live with her children.
Near the end, Sylvia was no longer permitted to leave the house. She was thrown down the cellar stairs and locked in, given crackers for food and refused the right to use a bathroom. Gertrude Baniszewski announced to her children that Sylvia was a “prostitute, and she’s proud of it; so we’ll just put it on her stomach.” She took a large needle and began to carve the words “I’m a prostitute and proud of it!” into Sylvia’s stomach. Richard Hobbs, a neighbor boy, finished the etching.
When Baniszewski realized Sylvia might be dying, she forced her to write a note saying a gang of boys beat her. The plan was to blindfold her and dump her in nearby woods with the note. Sylvia tried to escape but Gertrude and one of the boys stopped her, beating her again and throwing her back into the basement.
Sylvia Likens died Oct. 26, 1965. Cause of death was determined to be brain swelling, internal hemorrhaging of the brain and shock induced by Sylvia’s extensive skin damage. Sylvia also suffered from extreme malnutrition. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lebanon.
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The trial was very unjust, only Gertrude Baniszewski really served any time for Sylvia’s death when there was a hell of a lot of participants.
They are making a movie about the story of Sylvia’s murder and the script is base on the actual crime/trial reports. Stars Ellen Page as Sylvia. I doubt they are going to put the really brutal stuff in the movie though, at least I hope not because I don’t think I would be able to watch it.
I knew of the name but I didn’t know the story that went with it. That’s horrible. I wouldn’t be able to watch a film like that :/
Mon Dieu! Disturbing, alright. Poor girl. O_O
But what’s more disturbing is that child abuse is a lot more prevalent here in the Philippines and as much as there are laws against it, it’s just… unstoppable, I guess.
I was so… surprised and nauseated at this. I read another article on this crime on Wikipedia, and I think it was really unfair that Gertrude got free even though so many were against her. The evidence is presented in awful clarity, but she still manages to worm her way out… Poor Sylvia. She was tortured whilst she still went to school and for every unsaintly thing she did that atrocious woman tortured her. That woman, is, insane.
I believe the movie is actually going to be harsh, because it’s rated R. There is just no way I’m going to watch it, because I got frightened by even a piece of text. Visual graphics? I’m going to faint.
wow, thats so incredibly horrible. I dont understand how a person can enjoy hurting another person. Its so sick and twisted =/
Thats so awful. I doubt I could watch that film without crying…its even worse that Gertrude got away with it.
aww. horrible.
that was too harsh.
i can’t take that kind of crime.
Knowing how the story went and ended of course makes it difficult to watch. But I’ll still watch it.
Oh, gosh, that’s brutal. I can’t believe Gertrude was even fit to be a guardian and that everyone basically took part in killing the girl. It’s so sad. Just a few days ago, my class and I were talking about how it’s human nature to sort of want to watch someone else die and not really care, because it’s not happening to us.
But wow. That was really graphic and horrible about what happened to Sylvia.
Omg, that is SO freaking sad. How horrible can someone be to do that? I’d be interested in seeing the movie since it’s based on a true story, but I agree, I don’t think I’d want to see the really brutal/gross stuff. I cannot believe that happened though, I am seriously astonished although not surprised.
That is awful. It is sad to know that there are such sick-minded people out there who actually enjoy hurting others.
oh my god. i don’t care about the movie, all i want to know if she got the justice she deserved?
Wow. That’s really sad. I might watch the film. It’s awful that something like that happened, in real life.
God, is this true? that was so rude. It’s like the time of the Gladiators, I can’t immagine that it was only in 1965, that is so barbaric.
It’s similar to what happened to David J. Pelzer [The writer of A child called it], he didn’t die though, but he was tortured and really abused when he was still young and sort of affected her until he grew up into an adult. He’s lucky though coz her survived. While I was reading A child called it, I couldn’t imagine the things that he experienced, it was all horrible, you wouldn’t think that a mother could do those things to her own son. *sad face*
What happened to Sylvia Liken was really harsh and the trial was indeed unfair. How did Sylvia end up with that guardian anyway? A movie? I don’t think I can stomach the torture scenes also. ;[
That made me want to cry. Child abuse laws were definitely different back then. My parents used to get hit for everything and with anything: belts, wooden spoons, etc. Now a days, something would hopefully be different. I can’t believe the whole neighborhood knew about it as well.
Oh my god, that is terrible. What the heck is the matter with people? Why would anyone want to torture a person like that? =(
While I was reading this, I had difficulty breathing. It felt like my heart stopped - I don’t understand why people could be so mean (no, the word is EVIL). I couldn’t understand why that Gertrude-woman did all those evil things to Sylvia & why she had to recruit others to do the same (other children?!). Why? What for? What’s with the coke bottle? What’s with the etching? I really don’t get it. How could they do such things? why didn’t anyone stop them?
On May 19, 1966, Gertrude Baniszewski was convicted of first-degree murder, but spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison. Her daughter Paula, who had given birth to a daughter named Gertrude during the trial, was convicted of second-degree murder and also given a life term. Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, and John Baniszewski were convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to two-to-21-year terms.
The boys would spend two years in prison. In 1971, Paula and Gertrude Baniszewski were granted another trial. Paula pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was released two years later. Gertrude, however, was again convicted of first-degree murder. She came up for parole in 1985, and despite a public outcry and petitions against her release, the parole board took her good behavior into account, and she was set free.
Gertrude Baniszewski changed her name to Nadine van Fossan and moved to Iowa, where she died of lung cancer in 1990. When Jenny Likens, who was then married and living in Beech Grove, Indiana, saw her obituary in the newspaper, she clipped it out and mailed it to her mother with the note: “Some good news. Damn old Gertrude died. Ha ha ha! I am happy about that.” Jenny Likens Wade died on June 23, 2004 at the age of 54.
Wikipedia contributors. Sylvia Likens. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. October 16, 2007, 22:00 UTC. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sylvia_Likens&oldid=165049769. Accessed October 28, 2007.
justice?
That is just disgusting. To put someone through that.. it’s just horrible. And to have so many people take part in it is worse. I hate the fact that people like this are set free back into the world. I don’t even know how anyone could live with themselves after doing something so inhuman to a child. They should rot for what they do.
I’ve never actually heard of this story before until now. Was Sylvia Gertrude’s actual daughter?
I’ve heard of this horrid case before & it sickens me every time. When things like this happen it’s really, really hard to see the kinder side of man. I’m not sure if I’ll see the film. These types of film usually stick with me far too long and I get depressed and feel hopeless.
i was watching clips from “hostel” the other day, so i think when this becomes a movie, it’ll definitely have the really graphic scenes in it, too… at least if it’s american made.
it’s really gross what they include in movies now; don’t worry, i wouldn’t be able to watch it either.
this is a really disturbing article, and it just makes me misunderstand people even more. i don’t get it. what is wrong with them?
This is the first I’ve heard about it and I’m glad you blogged about it. I’ll be watching this when it comes out in theaters.
oh my. sad how the poor little girl was murdered.
im scared now. =3
By the way, I linked you up in my RR site. ;]
You know what’s sad? Stuff like this still happens =/
This is SOOO SADD!!! Honestly, I”m really disturbed (even though this was in the mid 1900s), that there were adults like Gertrude B. I also think its upsetting that many people contributed to Sylvia’s murder. 16 isn’t an age to die. I honestly didn’t know about it. The trailer is sad tooo, though the description is much sadder. I feel sorry for those that had to suffer under GB.
Wow… I didn’t hear anything about this. It’s horrible!
I went ahead and stopped reading at “insert an empty Coke bottle into her vagina”
I can’t believe more people weren’t convicted!
They’re making a movie about it? Ugh… Anything for a buck. I mean it’s not like it’s a documentary or anything. It’s a scripted drama to put money in people’s pockets.
What an amazing bad situation to be forced in. Gives you a lot to be thankful for.
oops… sorry. i totally forgot about that. maybe i’m a bit shocked and overwhelmed with her story.
That’s really sad what they did to that poor girl. Looks like an interesting movie. I’d like to see it.
This is quite disturbing! Not sure if I’d be able to watch the film! My heart is breaking as I know there are people out there,somewhere hidden may have the same case:(
my, that video was just sad and disturbing! interesting story, though.
Oh my gosh, that’s horrible what happened to that girl. There are a lot of sickos in the world. The movie looks interesting, but I probably wouldn’t watch it. Seems too intense for me.
That made my stomach turn. ._.
Poor girl.
thisis the most horriblething ive ever heard, i feel so bad, im haunted by this, i cant stop from almost crying, this is the most terrible thing ever heard, that gertrude deserves the worse, paula is alive and out there somewhere, that little girl was robbed, pala should be robbed, once u hear this story it stays with u
This is a very tragic story, of a nice girl being turned over to a seriously disturbed woman. Jack Ketchum’s a girl next door, made me sick to my stomache about half way through. I couldn’t see all of it. I hope all those teens who participated have lived a tragic life, they are scum of the earth. Very,very sick what some people can do to others, I believe they were jealous of her cause she was very pretty. Rest in peace, sylvia…you are loved by many. I hope to see you in heaven some day and give you a hug.
Ever since i saw the jack ketchum version of this story on a dvd, I haven’t been able to sleep right, and i feel like crying alot of the time,I feel sick to my stomache,I don’t know if i can watch the an american crime movie but I want to see the court case about it, I can’t believe prosecutors couldnt get these people for more, no justice was done in this case not even close. I think it brings back my own child abuse issues, is why I am so sad now.I just can’t fathom this how can someone an adult be so cruel to a child? and how can other children participate in something like this? very very sick people if you ask me. I heard one of those sicko’s are a teacher now, can you imagine that. The reason why I am blogging on this is to get it out, cause it affected me deeply.
Nadine Van Fossan.. That’s that freaking murder’s new name. Can you believe that the horrid son and daughter of that freak became a pastor and a school teacher? What is wrong with this community? Don’t they do any background check on these freaks? She was not mentally ill to deserve the reason of insanity. She was an evil who knew what exactly she was doing. That Hobbs boy was died of cancer..but my guess is the poor girl’s spirit took him… I don’t think this kind of child abuses happen in any Asian coutries let alone the Phillippines.
I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE ENRAGED IN MY LIFE AS I WAS WHEN I WATCHED THE
GIRL NEXT DOOR. THAT POOR SWEET CHILD WHAT SHE WENT THROUGH IS UNSPEAKABLE.THAT WITCH SHOULD OF FRIED IN THE ELECTRIC CHAIR.
I HAVE BECOME OBSESSED WITH FINDING WHO SHE RALLY WAS. AND THE ACTUAL
TRUE STORY. I DON’T KNOW HOW A JUDGE IN HIS RIGHT MIND COULD NOT HAVE GIVEN THE DEATH SENTENCE. SYLVIA YOUR DEATH HAS NOT GONE UNPUNISHED
EVERYONE INVOLVED WILL SUFFER AT GODS HANDS MAY YOU REST IN PEACE
AND KNOW YOU ARE LOVED BY MANY.
i haven’t seen this movie but just watched “The girl next door”. i was shocked and appauled, but not at the fact the movie was made, but how so many could do this and that no one helped her. no one stood in, and up to this woman. i understand that this happened in the 60’s, and that people didn’t openly talk about these kinds of things,{child abuse, sexual abuse, torture} but you would have thought that common sense from someone would have kicked in. visable brusies, malnutrition, the condition of this household. after watching this movie i went online and found a site to read about the facts surrounding this case. you can to on “crimelibrary.com.” there were several visits from family and neighbors that at any point could have stopped this. but my point and my opinion is this, as harsh of a reality as this is, this kind of story makes us all smarter, more watchful, on what and how these kinds of things can happen. maybe after reading or watching a story of this magnitude, we can all help someone in the future. be able to see something we may not have put much credence or thought into normally. to think that someone who has watched or read this, may think about the kid next door or down the street, or a friend of your childs. it could save their life. i am not saying that we can all be heroes, but if you could help someone, wouldn’t you?
I just watched The Girl Next Door and it was deeply disturbing. To quote a review I read ” …It will leave you speechless, it will leave you angry and it may leave you in tears. BUT it will not LEAVE YOU. You will NEVER forget this movie….”. I would never watch it again BUT I think it’s important for people to know this kind of stuff happens. It is important to know so that when someone tells you something that seems to wretched to believe you will think hard and long about how to handle it.
Gertrude Banizewski burns in hell. Richard Hobbs burns in hell. Coy Hubbard, Paula Banizewski, Stephanie Banizewski, and John Banizewski (now John Blake) will always be remembered as depraved, abusive muderers. Their names life in notoriety.
Dear Sylvia, may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
I live in Indianapolis and remember reading about the murder of Sylvia when I was about 15. I am now 44 and I still cannot wrap my brain around how an adult could have allowed this to happen let alone participate in the torture. The fact that Gertrude was the only one that served any prison time (too short in my opinion) for the crime is even more appalling.
Rest in peace Sylvia. There are some in Indianapolis (and around the world) have not forgotten you.
The evil demon Gertrude is in hell and burning just like poor Silvia did. Absolutely horrific story and I feel that the parents should have been jailed for abanding there two daughters.
I just finished watching “An American Crime”. I had no idea this had gone on. This was the most horrific thing I ever saw. This poor innocent little girl. What bothered me the most was that this animal of a mother was released at all. She should have been tortured herself along with all the “children” who killed this little girl. Her natural mother and father should have been punished also, for leaving their two daughters in the care of someone they knew nothing about. They didn’t even check to see that this woman had no means of support, six kids of her own, living in squalor and yet they felt their daughters would be safe. To me, it seemed they had no right to even have children if they felt they couldn’t take care of them by joining a circus and travelling without them. You parents are just as guilty as this murderer. God will judge you all accordingly.
I watched the movie tonight. They told half truths, leaving out so many things. Not to mention that they kind of placed Sylvia in the back ground and tried to make the viewer feel sympathy for the killers. Very sad, I had hoped that this would be her voice…instead it was like a slap in the face to her.
Truly a sad story and still widely talked about in the neighborhood today. I live nearby and was told this story at age 10. I’m now 35 and I’ve shared it with my children, because Sylia’s memory must not be forgotten.
The house still stands. I wish it were gone. Everytime I see it, I think of what Sylvia went through. Some residents of this neighborhood have refused to ever live in that house.
What kind of person does these things, and where was justice for this girl? In my opinion Sylvia didn’t get it. Gertrude got to live and so did everyone else involved in the torture and torment of Sylvia Likens.
Nowadays the mother would be in jail, and dad too. I understand that the families occupation required travel, but I would’ve looked at this woman’s background a little more. I wonder if Sylvia’s mother and father ever thought of that. Guess not.
And what about the neighbors? What kind of person sits around and does nothing while another person is repeatedly abused? Why didn’t school officials get involved? I guess I’ll never know the answers to these questions.
One thing I can say, at least the torture finally ended for Sylvia and her sister. It’s terrible that it had to end with her death.
I watched a movie called, The girl next door recently. It was based on a true story of Silvia Liken. The book is written by Jack Ketchum. Names and other things in general was changed. The torture was not. In the movie the girl was only 12. The ending is so horrific, I cried, and I couldn’t understand why these thing happen to people, let a lone children. I believe everyone who participated in that abuse should’ve been punished, and if not in this life time they will in the next when they meet there Maker. There’s no other explaination other than pure evil resided in them. Silvia Liken is with Jesus now. How I wish she was spared this horrible experience. And at times I say to God HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN! We must remember what the Jewish People suffered also. Most people can’t even imagine the HELL they were put through. There’s a lot of evil in this world, and a lot of people just turn a blind eye to it. You have peace now my dear child.
i’m 54, a lifelong resident of Indianapolis & i was 11 years old when the trial occurred…. when the murder of Sylvia was uncovered & later when the details of her life & death @ the hands of Gertrude were brought to light, those of us who were/are decent people were appalled & outraged. according to what was revealed during the trial, it was certainly & still is the most bizarre, disgusting, & insidiously evil thing ever to have occurred. yes it is a true story, & when i was 12 i read the the book “Indiana Torture Slaying”, by the reporter @ the local paper. there are truly evil people in the world–Gertrude, her offspring & the others were/are truly examples of such people.
to force someone to eat & drink their own waste, to deny them medical attention, to brutalize their body & spirit, to sodomize a young girl w/ foreign objects. to force your own children to beat & brutalize another child, to force her own sibling to beat her, to make it neighborhood entertainment–it remains the single most despicable, horrible act of violence ever to be perpetrated on a person.
truly, if there is a God & if there is a Hell, then most certainly those responsible for the brutalization of Sylvia Likens will burn for eternity as their entrails are gnawed on by rats & their eyes plucked at by vultures.
the movie doesn’t begin to convey the horror & graphic violence visited upon Sylvia & nowhere near the degree of emotional & spiritual trauma her sister endured. the book is more much more graphic in it’s presentation of the horror these girls suffered, how can moths of such brutalization be conveyed in the span of a couple of hours. although i must say the actors delivered quite good performances-Mss Keener & Page were given a very difficult roles & the make-up was good.
wow, I just saw this movie last night, American Crime - I was shocked to find out it was a true story, I don’t usually remember names but I remembered Silvia’s - my heart hurts for this poor litle girl, I can imagine her not wanting to leave to protect her sister but I can’t imagine them both not just running away or telling someone - how sick do you think the entire neighborhood was getting involved in the torture? children torturing children……I can’t even imagine. I have a beautiful 17 year old daughter and two boys, I couldn’t imagine having to ever leave them, I feel for her parents and I pray for all those sick people who didn’t think anything of hurting that poor child. - Rosie
im wanting to know what her sis paula’s new name is how i could go about getting it. losing too much sleep over this. she needs to be exposed. she needs to do more time there needs to be more justice than what was done. cant stand this .
I saw the movie “An American Crime” last night and I can’t stop thinking about it. I knew nothing about this story so I ‘ve been on the intranet reading more about this story and see that alot of things were left out of the movie for good reason. I gotta say that I cried and then I said a prayer for her. It’s hard to imagine a child enduring all of those things. I hope the old saying holds true, “every dog has their day,” pastor, teacher or not. I live in Iowa and am also curious what the childrens names are and what city they live in.
i just recently watched the movie and i cried the whole time. i decided to do some research and the movies and the actual story are pretty much the same. i just cant believe that the neigborhood children participated. how can you do that to another human being?
I’VE BEEN FOLLOWING UP ON THIS CASE SINCE I WAS 10, I’M NOW 36. THIS WAS IN MY HOMETOWN SO IT REALLY BOTHERED ME. I ALSO WENT DOWN TO THE PRISON TO SIGN A PETITION TO KEEP GERTRUDE IN PRISON , BUT WE SEE THAT DIDN’T WORK. SHE WAS LATER RELEASED AND WAS ABLE TO CHANGE HER NAME, WOW !!!!! I OFTEN THINK OF SYLVIA AND FEEL SO BAD FOR HER AND HER FAMILY. HOW COULD SOMETHING LIKE GO ON AND NOT BE NOTICED BY ANYONE. SILVIA HAD AN OLDER SISTER WHO WAS NOT LIVING AT HOME, WHY WASN’T SHE ABLE TO LIVE WITH HER UNTIL HER PARENTS RETURNED. I HAVE A LOT OF UNANSWERED QUESTION. BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET SILVIA LIKENS THAT’S FOR DAMN SURE !!!!!
I grew up in Indiana and signed the petitiion to keep Gertrude in prison. Reading about what she had done to that girl made me sick. I hate to think of how her daughter, Paula, raised her own kids. Paula even named her 1st child after her evil mother. So that says something about how she felt about her mother even after they went to prision. I hope that the grandchildren are not damaged mentally and are not abusiving others. I think that they need to be followed up on by the authorities to keep a check on them for the safety of others.
The movie is out on Showtime this month “An American Crime”. The movie does not show how Sylvia had to sleep in and eat her own feces. What animal would make someone do that? Seeing this movie once is enough because it makes you so upset that you want to go and snatch up Gertrude and those kids and hurt them. It is not a movie I want to see a 2nd time because I know it is a true story.
This is the most horriable child abuse crime I ever heard of .May all the participants of this horriable crime rot and be tortured forever and ever in hell.What kind of boy would want to ever hit a girl any way makes my stomach turn and is a loser . Too bad for any woman that may be married to the loser now , since he did not pay his time for this horriable crime I feel sorry for the woman who may be married to this loser jerk.Too bad he can,t just be tortured to death.But maybe in hell .
Paula is a loser to begin.We can see that she was brought up on the wrong side of the tracks compared to her evil mother who was the whore that had been married more than once.Sylvia was the innocent victim.In my opinion she deserved to be treated with respect.But people like the Banzewskis are like animals that have no respect for other people.And in my opinion Paula,s old hag mother had to be a dirty whore after failing marriages. But at least the old hag did not live so long after being released from prison.
The Banizewski will pay for this terriable crime along with the other participants of this horriable crime, they will pay if their children don,t first.
I watched the video a few nights ago. This is one of the most severe cases of child abuse I have read about. However, it is true that child abuse was tremendously kept under wraps during that era. I really wonder more often why our society doesn’t impose more severe punishments for child abuse. The only good thing about the end of the story is that Sylvia finally got peace when she passed on, as she sure did not have it while she was with that twisted and sick family.
One of the reasons I’m an opponent of the death penalty is because it is not given to the worst of criminals as it should be. The woman who tortured Sylvia Liken day after day and took pleasure in watching her suffer before she finally died is intrinsically evil. This type of person is not capable of remorse or rehabilitation, and Gertrude never did express remorse for her heinous crime. An 18 year old who shoots a store clerk in a split second would get the death penalty. There was no justice for Sylvia Liken in the court system. God will mete out justice to the church going demons who brutalized this girl. I’m sure Gertrude and Richard Hobbs are probably sizzling in hell. Strange, they put Sylvia in the basement to stay with the dog because she was “too dirty to be around them”. That dog was better than all of those people.
I too just saw the movie. We don’t need to conduct experiments to see how Nazi Germany could have happened–this is an example right here. The similarities are frightening. As I watched the movie, I wondered how you can discern who would be capable of following the pack, and who would stand up for what’s right. I would have turned them in, in a second.–even as a child, I stood up to bullies, and couldn’t bear them torturing someone smaller or less capable, even if it put me in the line of fire. Unfortunately, that is the minority. What are we, beasts? I’d also like to comment that it is comforting to believe in heaven/hell and the religious figures, because how else can you be comfortable with the injustice here? We ought to conduct ourselves here as if this is IT, because we don’t know. Let’s not rely on Hell to punish such cruelty, because it likely won’t happen. Which means, they all should have been punished accordingly, and in the same manner they doled upon this poor young woman. Each one.
It is so sad her daughters, Paula and Stephanie, are living free. They should live under the scrutiny of others and forever be called murderers. They should not be allowed to change their names to hide their identities. Do these people feel any guilt??
Unbelievably sickening
I recently watched the new movie An American Crime. Since then i can’t get sylvia out of my head. A person really has no idea what she could have possibly went threw without watching the movie. There is no reason that no one including Jenny likens reported this.
hello everyone. just watched it. cant sleep. . have a headache out of tears and rage. at one point alone in the middle of my living room in the dark said outloud. . will someone help her! then that dream trick and gertrude supposedly being reformed. . sickening. . i want to go back and save her but i cant. god help us all as we look around and see subtle forms of this sickness in its clever romances.
Hi. I watched the movie. Even brought it on dvd. Finally that wasnt enough so I read the book. So many questions to this tragic story that leaves me grasping for answers. I just want to know what type of relationship Jenny & Slyvia had with their parents for neither of them to tell them what went on in that house. How could the sister live with the fact that she watched her sister die in that basement? Dont get me wrong Im not blaming them but Im questioning what really happened. Why didnt that social worker talk to Slyvia? why didnt she question a missing child report if the child had been tossed out the home ( Gertude house)? and again where was the sister and brothers? how come they didnt come to the rescue of Slyvia? this crime bothers me the most becasue I cannot believe that children who could be so cruel could go to school everyday and know that there was a girl locked in the basement?? I have a daughter of that age and I cant imagine her partaking in those henious events. Im sure like all memories this will fade too but for the moment I want to remember this innocent girl who didnt have a chance at life and died in the most horriable way. The state of Indianaoplis should be ashamed of themselves and all involved.
I just watched this movie last night. I guess what I want to say is that it is a ashame that this kind of hatred and angre lives in people. What I am most disappointed in is that people knew what was going on and did nothing to help this poor child. This just goes to show that silence is a deadly crime. I take sweet comfort to know that those who did not pay for thier pay for participation in this horrible crime, will pay for it in their next life.