Sylvia Likens
(1949 - 1965)

It can be a very hard for a person dealing with loss. You can leave a touching message for the creator of this memorial.

Message Creator

Request Friendship

Add To Favourites

Reach Out To Creator

Lay a Flower

Lay a Stone

Light a Candle

Give a Heart

Light Incense

Offer Rice Wine

Make a Comment

Add Memory

Dedicate a Song

General Details

Name:	Ms Sylvia Likens
Nick Name:	Cookie
Maiden Name:	Marie
Gender:	Female
Age:	16 years old
Lived:	Monday, 3 January 1949 - Tuesday, 26 October 1965

My Story

Sylvia Marie Likens (January 3, 1949 - October 26, 1965) was an American murder victim from Indiana. She was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski (née Van Fossan), Gertrude's children, and other young people from their neighborhood. Her parents, carnival workers, had left Likens and her sister Jenny in the care of the Baniszewski family three months before her death in exchange for $20 a week. Baniszewski, two of her children, Paula and John, and two neighbor youths, Coy Hubbard and Richard Hobbs, were charged and convicted of the crime. Her torture and murder were described by the prosecutor in Baniszewski's trial as "the most terrible crime ever committed in the state of Indiana." Sylvia Likens was the third child of carnival workers Betty and Lester Likens. She was born between two sets of fraternal twins, Diana and Daniel (two years older), and Jenny and Benny (one year younger). The Likens' marriage was unstable and the family moved many times. Sylvia was often boarded out.