Gertrude Baniszewski

American murderer (1929–1990)

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Lived 1929–1990, aged 61United States

United States

Wikipedia
15 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1929–1990
Aged 61

Summary

Updated 2026-07-18

Sylvia Marie Likens was an American teenager who was tortured and murdered by her caregiver, Gertrude Baniszewski, many of Baniszewski's children, and several of their neighborhood friends. The abuse lasted for three months, occurring incrementally, before Likens died from her extensive injuries and malnourishment on October 26, 1965, in Indianapolis, Indiana.