Post by Gone Baby Gone on Apr 26, 2009 18:46:46 GMT -5
More than 44 years after one of the most horrific crimes in Indianapolis history, neighbors hope the spirit of a murdered girl is finally at peace.
The East New York Street home where 16-year-old Sylvia Marie Likens was brutally tortured and killed in 1965 was torn down late last week to make way for a church parking lot.
Although few remain, neighbors that lived on the street at the time still talk about the events leading up to the murder. Sylvia and her younger sister, Jenny, were staying with neighbor Gertrude Baniszewski while their parents worked at a carnival in Florida. Over the course of several months, Baniszewski, her children and a handful of neighbor youth tortured Sylvia. When she was found dead in an upstairs bedroom Oct. 26, 1965, Sylvia’s body was covered with sores, burns and bruises, with the words “I am a prostitute” carved onto her stomach.
Baniszewski was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1966, while her daughter and three neighborhood children were sentenced on lesser charges. After serving 20 years at the Indiana Women’s Prison, Baniszewski was paroled and moved to Iowa. She died of lung cancer in 1990.
The infamous murder has been the inspiration behind several books and movies, the latest being “An American Crime,” which aired on Showtime last year.
Fellowship Baptist Church Pastor Gary Pitcock said the church, which owns the lot and the adjoining two, plans to build a parking lot and basketball court on the site.
Mary Weaver, 54, lives down the block from the site. She said she was acquainted with Sylvia, who went to high school with her brother.
“I’m glad they leveled it,” she said. “Maybe now she’ll be at peace.”
“The place has had a stigma for a lot of years,” said Pat Vernon, who has lived a block away from the Likens home for all of her 70 years. “They should have gotten rid of it a long time ago. The neighborhood is glad it’s finally down.”
In the decades since the murder, the house has remained vacant for years at a time. Several pastors have blessed the home, Weaver said, but tenants never seemed to want to stay. Weaver’s son, Thomas Weaver, 26, said the home has been a magnet for neighborhood kids seeking a scare and morbid curiosity seekers.
“People were constantly kicking in the door to get a look inside,” he said.
The Likens home wasn’t the only home in the neighborhood with a violent path. Down the block on Denny Street, 89-year-old Icie Roberts was beaten to death by burglar Michael S. Johnfauno, 23, in October 2001. A few doors down, Tasha Reynolds, 39, despondent over the possibility of her home being foreclosed, killed her 11- and 14-year-old daughters and then herself in 2002.
The East New York Street home where 16-year-old Sylvia Marie Likens was brutally tortured and killed in 1965 was torn down late last week to make way for a church parking lot.
Although few remain, neighbors that lived on the street at the time still talk about the events leading up to the murder. Sylvia and her younger sister, Jenny, were staying with neighbor Gertrude Baniszewski while their parents worked at a carnival in Florida. Over the course of several months, Baniszewski, her children and a handful of neighbor youth tortured Sylvia. When she was found dead in an upstairs bedroom Oct. 26, 1965, Sylvia’s body was covered with sores, burns and bruises, with the words “I am a prostitute” carved onto her stomach.
Baniszewski was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1966, while her daughter and three neighborhood children were sentenced on lesser charges. After serving 20 years at the Indiana Women’s Prison, Baniszewski was paroled and moved to Iowa. She died of lung cancer in 1990.
The infamous murder has been the inspiration behind several books and movies, the latest being “An American Crime,” which aired on Showtime last year.
Fellowship Baptist Church Pastor Gary Pitcock said the church, which owns the lot and the adjoining two, plans to build a parking lot and basketball court on the site.
Mary Weaver, 54, lives down the block from the site. She said she was acquainted with Sylvia, who went to high school with her brother.
“I’m glad they leveled it,” she said. “Maybe now she’ll be at peace.”
“The place has had a stigma for a lot of years,” said Pat Vernon, who has lived a block away from the Likens home for all of her 70 years. “They should have gotten rid of it a long time ago. The neighborhood is glad it’s finally down.”
In the decades since the murder, the house has remained vacant for years at a time. Several pastors have blessed the home, Weaver said, but tenants never seemed to want to stay. Weaver’s son, Thomas Weaver, 26, said the home has been a magnet for neighborhood kids seeking a scare and morbid curiosity seekers.
“People were constantly kicking in the door to get a look inside,” he said.
The Likens home wasn’t the only home in the neighborhood with a violent path. Down the block on Denny Street, 89-year-old Icie Roberts was beaten to death by burglar Michael S. Johnfauno, 23, in October 2001. A few doors down, Tasha Reynolds, 39, despondent over the possibility of her home being foreclosed, killed her 11- and 14-year-old daughters and then herself in 2002.