Aahana Swrup
In Indianapolis, Indiana, Sylvia Marie Likens — a young 16-year-old girl — died a brutal death on October 26, 1965, after experiencing weeks of torture and abuse. When the police found her malnourished body at the Baniszewski house, it was bearing numerous injuries from burns to cuts and bruises. Worst of all, the words, “I’m a prostitute and proud of it,” were carved on her abdomen like a brand. The young girl had been living as a boarder under Gertrude Baniszewski’s care, a single mother of seven, who convinced the parents of the Likens that she’d look after their two girls — Sylvia and Jenny — in her care for $20 a week while they traveled for work.
Although the girls’ experience with Gertrude was ordinary at first, the woman soon began violently abusing Sylvia. It got to the point where she kept her tied up in the basement to be abused by her, her kids, and other children from around the neighborhood. Despite her refusal to confess, Gertrude was convicted for Sylvia’s death, with others — including the older Baniszewski kids, Paula, Stephanie, and John also receiving sentences. The 2007 film ‘An American Crime‘ recounts the events of this grotesque real-life tragedy, compelling people to wonder what became of the Baniszewski children after their trials.
Paula Baniszewski Was Fired From Her Job Upon Discovery
Paula Baniszewski was 17 when Sylvia and Jenny Likens were at the Baniszewski house under Gertrude’s care. During the trials, it was discovered that she would often partake in abusing Sylvia, even during the early days. Furthermore, as the latter’s abuse grew more dire, Paula remained an active participant in her torture. As per reports, the oldest Baniszewski kid’s statement during the trial read: “In three months, I beat Sylvia Marie Likens about 25 times [with a police belt]. I have pushed her down the stairs several times and knocked her down once. I have seen my mom beat Sylvia, burn Sylvia with a cigarette, and also push her down the steps several times.”
Paula’s statement was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the reality of Sylvia’s abuse at the house. At the end of the trial, in 1966, the court convicted Paula of murder— alongside her mother, Gertrude— with a lifetime imprisonment sentence. Nonetheless, in 1971, a technicality resulted in the conviction’s overturn, leading to a retrial. This time, Paula pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter, which gave her two to twenty-one years sentence. She unsuccessfully attempted a prison break-out but still managed to get parole in March 1972. By 1974, she saw a complete release.
Afterward, Paula went off the public’s radar for a few years. However, as per a conversation between an anonymous man and NBC, she lived in Iowa throughout the mid-1980s. Furthermore, he also claimed that Gertrude Baniszewski also moved in with her daughter after her own release in 1985. The Baniszewski daughter’s whereabouts in Iowa remain confirmed due to a scandal that broke out in 2012. As it would turn out, Paula had changed her name to Paula Pace and was living in Marshalltown, Iowa. She had a husband and three sons and a job as a teacher’s aide at a high school in the neighboring Conrad town.
However, after a tip-off revealed Paula’s real identity to the establishment, the school district suspended her for falsifying information. Afterward, the woman vanished from the public eye again. Even the anonymous man who told NBC about the woman distanced himself and his family from her after receiving a Facebook message about her past. Consequently, no current information is available about the woman, who would be in her late 70s now.
Stephanie Baniszewski Testified Against Her Family
Stephanie Baniszewski, Gertrude’s second oldest child and fifteen at the time of Sylvia Likens’ death— retained a more complicated role in the latter’s case. She was an active participant in the young girl’s abuse— as per her own admission—while under the Baniszewski roof. Even so, she received a special trial after she decided to testify and turn state’s evidence against her family. As a result, while other Baniszewskis received various sentences, Stephanie saw all her charges dropped.
Still, Stephanie’s name remained inextricably tied to Sylvia Likens for all the horrible things she had put the young girl through. Therefore, like her older sister, she changed her name, too. Reportedly, she took on the name Stephanie Serikstad and became a schoolteacher. Furthermore, she also got married and had multiple kids. Although some sources suggest she moved to Florida, little is concretely known about her current life.
John Baniszewski Became a Lay Minister and Died in 2005
John Baniszewski, only twelve years old when he partook in Sylvia Likens’ abuse, which led to her death, was the youngest inmate in the history of Indiana State Reformatory. Unlike his family, he was only convicted of manslaughter and served two years before being released from imprisonment. Afterward, the Baniszewski son changed his name to John S. Blake, Jr. While he went under the radar for a few years, he returned to the public’s eye after becoming a lay minister at the New Life Assembly of God Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Reportedly, John expressed remorse over his involvement in Sylvia’s brutal death. Likewise, he also told a reporter years later that he enjoyed being on trial, sharing, “I took a kind of delight in it. What I really wanted was love, but I took the attention instead.” Eventually, he married Lois Charles Blake in the mid-1970s. However, after battling illness for several years, he passed away in Lancaster General Hospital on May 19, 2005. At the time of his passing, John was retired on disability. He’s survived by his wife, grandchildren, and other family.
Marie, Shirley, and James Were Sent Into Foster Care
The other Baniszewski children, Marie, Shirley, and James, also participated in Sylvia’s abuse— though not to the extent as some others who were convicted. Yet, since they were too young at the time of the trial, at eleven, ten, and eight years old, respectively, none of them received any convictions or sentencing. Instead, in the 1960s, the authorities gave all three their father, John Stephan Blake Sr’s last name, and put them in the foster system.
Marie Blake went on to become a sales clerk at L.S. Ayers before joining the U.S. Army. She also got married, changing her name once again to Marie Shelton, and had three children: two sons, Doug and Brian, and one daughter, Angela. Eventually, she also became a grandmother to six grandchildren. She remained a fixture in Indianapolis and led a quiet life away from public scrutiny. At the age of 62, on June 8, 2017, she passed away due to unknown causes. On the other hand, her siblings, Shirley and James, remain complete mysteries, with no information available to the public regarding their current lives.
Dennis Lee White Jr. Passed Away in 2012
Born on May 4 1964, Dennis Lee White Jr. was the youngest Baniszewski and only a newborn when Sylvia Likens died in 1965. He probably remained the only member of his family to have no involvement in the young girl’s abuse and death. Born to Gertrude and her lover, Dennis Lee Wright Sr., the kid reportedly saw abandonment from his veteran father when he was only a baby. Shortly after, his mother was also convicted for her crimes, leading him to arrive at the foster care system. The White family adopted him there and gave him his new last name.
Dennis, nicknamed “Denny,” understandably led a private life, keeping his personal and professional affairs to himself. However, some information about him was revealed to the public in 2008 after his wife, Kathe Mendelsohn-White, joined a message board. As per her comments, Dennis had bipolar disorder and felt the blame for what his biological family did to Sylvia. In fact, with the release of ‘An American Crime’ in 2007, he decided he could not watch the film. Furthermore, his upbringing with his adoptive family remained less than pleasant, pushing him to leave home at eighteen. By 1992, he got married to Kathe, and the couple built a beautiful life together, welcoming a son, Dustin, to their family.
Eventually, in the late 2000s, Kathe was able to connect Dennis with two of his biological siblings, Stephanie and Marie, who helped him understand his background. Reportedly, Dennis had a deep bond with the latter and exchanged letters and phone calls with her. Sadly, on February 5, 2012, he passed away at the age of 47 in California’s Woodland Hills, Los Angeles County. Although Kathe had previously disclosed Dennis’ experience with medical conditions, such as COPD and asthma, the circumstances surrounding his passing were not made public by the family.
Read More: Jenny Likens: What Happened to Sylvia Likens’ Sister?
