Tragically, this sixteen-year-old girl became a victim of homicide at the hands of her temporary guardian, Gertrude Baniszewski, and two of Baniszewski's children (along with two neighborhood boys who assisted in the killing). The contributing factors in her death were shock, malnutrition from intentional starvation, and a traumatic brain injury.
Before she was murdered, Likens was tortured and starved by Baniszewski on numerous occasions. The abuse began when Likens' father was late on a babysitting payment to Baniszewski.
A prosecutor in Baniszewski's murder trial called the death of Sylvia Likens the worst violent crime in Indiana's history.
She and her siblings Diana, Danny, Jenny, and Benny were born in Lebanon, Indiana, to Betty Grimes Likens and Lester Cecil Likens. The children's parents were unhappily married, traveling carnival workers; as a result, Sylvia Likens and her siblings were often cared for by neighbors and friends.
She was portrayed by Actress Ellen Page in the 2007 film An American Crime.
