Torture Mom: A Chilling True Story of Confinement, Mutilation and Murder (True Crime)
The Baniszewski household was overrun with children. There were few rules and ample freedom. Sadly, the environment created a dangerous hierarchy of social Darwinism where the strong preyed on the weak.
What transpired in the following three months was both riveting and chilling.
In October 1965, the body of Sylvia Likens was found in the basement of the Baniszewski home, where she had been imprisoned. She was starved, beaten, burned and had the words "I am a prostitute and proud of it" carved into her stomach.
Gertrude Baniszewski oversaw and facilitated the torture and eventual murder of Sylvia Likens. While she played an active role in Sylvia's death, the majority of the abuse was carried out by her children and other neighbourhood youths.
The case shocked the entire nation and would later be described as "The single worst crime perpetuated against an individual in Indiana's history".
[CAUTION: This book contains descriptive accounts of abuse and violence. If you are especially sensitive to this material, it might be advisable not to read any further]
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Community Reviews
While I think the author has great writing skills, it seems he took a lot of liberties in this story and doesn't cite his sources for the narrative. As other people mentioned, the phrasing was subjective/opinionated as though he has some compassion or empathy for this horrible women, rather than just stating facts. Quotes like she bears "some of the blame" is an injustice to the victims. Not sure where he got the details from, maybe include acknowledgment s or sources so it doesn't seem like a dramatization or fabrication of actual events.
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