Once Upon A Crime

Part 2 of the Sylvia Likens case examines the heartbreaking final hours of Sylvia Likens, one of the most horrific child abuse and murder cases in American history.
On October 26, 1965, after months of unimaginable torture inside a home in Indianapolis, Indiana, 16-year-old Sylvia was carried upstairs for a bath before she was discovered unresponsive. As Gertrude Baniszewski scrambled to cover up the abuse with a fabricated confession letter, investigators immediately recognized the devastating evidence of prolonged torture. Including severe burns, starvation, countless injuries, a fatal subdural hematoma, and the chilling message carved into Sylvia's abdomen.
The investigation took a dramatic turn when Sylvia's younger sister, Jenny, courageously told police, "Get me out of here, and I'll tell you everything." Her testimony unraveled Gertrude Baniszewski's lies and led to the arrests of Gertrude, several of her children, and neighborhood teenagers who participated in or witnessed the abuse.

Sources:
https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/longform/likens-looking-back-indianas-infamous-crime-50-years-later
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2013/10/24/sylvia-likens/3178393/
House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying - John Dean
Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation, and Murder - Ryan Green, 2018.
The House from Hell: The True Story of Gertrude Baniszewski, Genoveva Ortiz, Sea Vision Publishing, 2024.
https://www.history101.com/sylvia-likens-the-family-she-left-behind/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sylvia_Likens#Gertrude_Baniszewski
https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/baniszewski.htm
https://www.history101.com/sylvia-likens-the-family-she-left-behind/
https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/35446-lawyers-book-retraces-indys-infamous-sylvia-likens-murder-case

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Police arrived at the New York Street house and quickly realized the story didn’t add up. Within hours, Gertrude Baniszewski, her children, and neighborhood teens were arrested in the torture of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. In court, everyone pointed fingers—mother against children, children against mother.
Leaving one question: who was lying?

Subscribe and listen to Once Upon a Crime for part two.
Episode drops Monday July 13, 2026.

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Some crimes are so shocking that they force us to ask a question that seems impossible to answer. Not 'Who did it?' We know who did it. Not even 'Why?' Though we'll spend this series trying to understand that. The question is this:
How did an entire neighborhood watch a teenage girl disappear in plain sight?
Over three months in the fall of 1965, dozens of people entered a small house on East New York Street in Indianapolis. Children played there. Teenagers gathered there. Neighbors stopped by. A minister visited. Police responded to the home. A public health nurse knocked on the door.
Yet sixteen-year-old Sylvia Likens remained trapped inside…starved and tortured.
By the time anyone finally listened, it was too late.
Sources:
https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/longform/likens-looking-back-indianas-infamous-crime-50-years-later
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/history/retroindy/2013/10/24/sylvia-likens/3178393/
House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying - John Dean
Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation, and Murder - Ryan Green, 2018.
The House from Hell: The True Story of Gertrude Baniszewski, Genoveva Ortiz, Sea Vision Publishing, 2024.
https://www.history101.com/sylvia-likens-the-family-she-left-behind/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sylvia_Likens#Gertrude_Baniszewski
https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/baniszewski.htm
https://www.history101.com/sylvia-likens-the-family-she-left-behind/
https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/35446-lawyers-book-retraces-indys-infamous-sylvia-likens-murder-case

Sponsors:
See a list of our sponsors and discount codes on our website:
https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/sponsors/

Links:
Patreon - www.patreon.com/onceuponacrime
Our Website - www.truecrimepodcast.com
OUAC Merchandise Shop - https://onceuponacrime.dashery.com
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@OnceUponACrimePodcast
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

How does an ordinary home become the scene of extraordinary evil, and how does a community fail to save a sixteen-year-old girl?
This week on Once Upon a Crime, we begin a two-part series on the murder of Sylvia Likens, examining the heartbreaking facts of the case and the psychological forces that turned one Indianapolis home into an innocent girl’s torture chamber, drawing seemingly ordinary children into unimaginable cruelty.

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In the summer of 1965, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was left in the care of a mother of seven while her parents traveled for work. What should have been a temporary arrangement turned into one of the most horrifying child abuse and torture cases in American history. As the abuse escalated behind closed doors, an entire neighborhood witnessed signs of cruelty, manipulation, and neglect. Yet Sylvia’s suffering continued in plain sight.

Next week, Once Upon a Crime takes a deep dive into one of the most infamous true crime cases of the 20th century. A story of abuse, torture, manipulation, and the tragic death of Sylvia Likens that continues to haunt America decades later.

Subscribe to Once Upon A Crime so you don't miss this gripping two-part series. New episodes drop every Monday
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