It has been the most enduring nightmare in Indianapolis True Crime history — the Oct. 26, 1965, torture-murder of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. Other crimes have involved a greater number of ...

Sylvia Likens, 16, died in October 1965 after months of torture at the hands of her caregiver and multiple others Sylvia's Child Advocacy Center Content warning: The following article contains ...

Sylvia, 16, the daughter of circus workers, was left for several months in the care of neighbor Gertrude Baniszewski, who took out her anger on Likens. Baniszewski kept Sylvia hostage and tortured ...