In response to the immigration enforcement operations that have taken place over the last several months, some blue state Democrats have tried to fight back by pushing for or backing laws they believe

Our nearest neighbor, the Moon, is still something of a mystery to us. For decades, scientists have wondered why it appears so lopsided, with dark volcanic plains on the near side (the side we see) and rugged, cratered mountains and a thicker crust on the far side. Now we might be closer to knowing why.

Miguel Hermoso Cuesta/Wikimedia CommonsAncient baths in Pompeii did not meet the high hygienic standards usually attributed to the Romans. Before the Roman city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E., it was a thriving colony with roads, restaurants, and, of course, bathhouses. But a new study of the water supply in Pompeii has revealed that these baths were filled with heavy metals and that the quality of drinking water in the town was poor. Ultimately, the city built an aqueduct. But before that point, its water for both bathing and drinking was supplied by deep wells that contained mineralized groundwater connected to volcanic deposits. Far From Ideal: A Study Of Pompeiis Water QualityAccording to a new study published in the journal PNAS, researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University studied the water quality in Pompeii by taking a look at the citys ancient carbonate deposits. They sought to understand how water quality in the city changed when Pompeii transitioned from wells to an aqueduct during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 B.C.E. to 14 C.E.).Cees Passchier/Johannes Gutenberg UniversityCarbonate samples from Pompeiis pre-Roman Republican Baths, which date back to 130 B.C.E.To learn more, researchers used isotope analysis to study the carbonate deposits that had formed over time in the citys aqueduct, water towers, well shafts, and the pools of the public baths. They found that the citys water quality was particularly poor during the period when Pompeiis water came from wells.The baths were originally supplied by deep wells with water-lifting devices, and the hygienic conditions in them were far from ideal, Dr. Gl Srmelihindi of the Institute of Geosciences at Johannes Gutenberg University, the lead author of the study, said in a university statement. We found completely different patterns of stable isotopes and trace elements in the carbonates from the aqueduct and in those from the wells.The researchers also found evidence of heavy metals in Pompeiis bath water, including lead, zinc, and copper. The bathhouses seemingly underwent renovations in the first century C.E. that replaced boilers and pipes, causing heavy metal levels to increase (and making the bath water warmer).So, what made the water quality in Pompeii so terrible? The Cause Of Pompeiis Poor Water QualityIn the so-called Republican Baths the oldest public bathing facilities in the city, dating back to pre-Roman times around 130 B.C.E. we were able to prove through isotope analysis that the bath water was provided from wells, and not renewed regularly, Srmelihindi explained. She added, Therefore, the hygienic condition did not meet the high hygienic standards usually attributed to the Romans.Cees Passchier/Johannes Gutenberg UniversityRuins of the oldest public baths in Pompeii, which date back to 130 B.C.E.Specifically, Srmelihindi believes that the bath water was probably changed just once a day, which makes sense, because changing the water was an arduous task undertaken by enslaved workers. After all, she noted, the baths were supplied by a water-lifting machine, powered by slaves via a kind of treadwheel. Whats more, when Pompeii used water from wells, it was using highly mineralized groundwater from volcanic deposits under the city. This water was not suitable for drinking. But during Roman times under Emperor Augustus, the city built an aqueduct, which increased the amount of water available for bathing and provided better drinking water. However, Pompeii wasnt able to enjoy the improvement of its water quality for long. In 79 C.E., Mount Vesuvius catastrophically erupted, burying Pompeii and the nearby town of Herculaneum in deadly volcanic ash and killing some 2,000 people in Pompeii (as well as an estimated 16,000 in the region). The eruption horrified the ancient world at the time, Romans didnt even have a word for volcano and the destruction was unthinkable. In fact, researchers found cyclical patterns in the level of carbon isotopes that may reveal fluctuating levels of volcanic carbon dioxide in the citys water supply leading up to the natural disaster. While tragic, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius also preserved much of Pompeii as if in amber. Today, researchers can walk its streets, examine its mosaics and even test its water supply.After reading about the horrendous quality of Pompeiis water supply, go inside the story of the Roman Empires Pax Romana period, an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. Or, look through these photos of Pompeiis vivid frescoes.The post New Analysis Has Revealed The Water Of Pompeii Was Dense In Heavy Metals And May Have Foretold Mount Vesuvius Eruption appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Marlize LombardBoth sides of one of the prehistoric arrowheads analyzed in the new study.Archaeologists have found the worlds oldest direct evidence of poisoned arrowheads, revealing that hunter-gatherers in modern-day South Africa were using sophisticated weapons to hunt prey as far back as 60,000 years ago. A new study, published in the journal Science Advances, details how researchers detected traces of toxic compounds on tiny quartz arrow tips excavated from the Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in South Africas KwaZulu-Natal Province. The findings pushed back the earliest confirmed use of poisoned arrows by tens of thousands of years.The Oldest Evidence Of Humans Using Poisoned ArrowsThis is the oldest direct evidence that humans used arrow poison, study co-author Marlize Lombard said in a press release. It shows that our ancestors in southern Africa not only invented the bow and arrow much earlier than previously thought, but also understood how to use natures chemistry to increase hunting efficiency. The research team analyzed 10 microliths small, quartz-backed stone points used as arrow tips that came from a layer of sediments dated to 60,000 years ago. Using gas chromatographymass spectrometry, they identified plant-derived, toxic alkaloids on five of the microliths. The two toxic compounds discovered were buphanidrine and epibuphanisine.Researchers believe the toxic compounds were probably collected from a plant called Boophone disticha, or the Bushmans poison bulb. This plant is known locally as a gifbol or a poisonous onion, and its long been used by the regions Indigenous hunters. Some traditional hunters in the area, like the San and Khoe peoples, still use this poison to slow down their prey as opposed to delivering a knockout blow.Wikimedia CommonsA lone bulb of Boophone disticha.To authenticate their find, the scientists compared the traces on the ancient tools with those from 250-year-old poisoned bone arrows collected by European explorers and extracts from modern Boophone disticha bulbs. The results were a match.Finding traces of the same poison on both prehistoric and historical arrowheads was crucial, said co-author Sven Isaksson of Stockholm Universitys Archaeological Research Laboratory, who helped carry out the analyses. By carefully studying the chemical structure of the substances and thus drawing conclusions about their properties, we were able to determine that these particular substances are stable enough to survive this long in the ground.Its also fascinating that people had such a deep and long-standing understanding of the use of plants, he added. More Evidence That Prehistoric Humans Were Advanced ThinkersThis discovery is about more than just ancient hunting methods it serves as a window into the minds of our early human ancestors. Crafting and using a poisoned arrow requires a certain level of cognitive abilities, and the hunter-gatherers must have used advanced planning and causal reasoning when preparing and using their arrows.They would also need to have a deep understanding of local plants and animal behavior. Early hunters had to identify the correct toxic plant, extract its poison, and apply it to an arrow tip so it could be delivered into the preys wound. They then needed patience and foresight to track the wounded animal afterward, knowing the poison would eventually take effect.Using arrow poison requires planning, patience, and an understanding of cause and effect, explained Linnaeus Universitys Anders Hgberg. It is a clear sign of advanced thinking in early humans.Previous research has identified the use of plant-based poisons in other ancient weapons, such as 7,000-year-old poison arrowheads, but even following those discoveries, researchers suggested that the practice probably stretched much further back into prehistory. These new findings confirm that suspicion.This is the result of a long and close collaboration between researchers in South Africa and Sweden, Sven Isaksson said. Being able to identify the worlds oldest arrow poison together has been a complex undertaking and is incredibly encouraging for continued research. Next, read about the infamous Aqua Tofana poison used by 17th-century Italian women to kill their husbands. Or, learn why the manchineel tree is often called the tree of death.The post Scientists Uncover Evidence Of The Oldest Known Arrow Poison On 60,000-Year-Old Arrowheads appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Nupur Talwar (left) and her husband Rajesh (right) attend a memorial for their mysteriously slain daughter, Aarushi Talwar.When 13-year-old Aarushi Talwar was found dead with her throat slit in her bedroom in Noida, India on May 16, 2008, authorities immediately turned to her parents for answers. And because suicide by throat-cutting is rare, police were certain they were dealing with a homicide.But the ensuing investigation turned out to be anything but simple. In fact, it took so many sharp turns over such a long period of time that it became a sensational whodunnit of nearly unparalleled proportions.At first, the primary suspect was 45-year-old Hemraj Banjade, who was hired help at Rajesh and Nupur Talwars home that is, until he too was found dead just one day after Aarushi Talwar. His body was found partially decomposed on the terrace of the Talwar home.With two murders now on their hands, the authorities began to bungle the investigation, including by not securing the crime scene after Aarushi Talwars death and for allowing the media and a curious public alike to venture into the home hours after the murder. Nevertheless, the investigation quickly found its target, those with the most access and potential motive for the two killings: Talwars parents themselves.Aarushi Talwars Body Was Found Lying In A Pool Of BloodBorn on May 24, 1994 to two dentists, Aarushi Talwar was a student at the Delhi Public School and lived in Noidas Sector 25 with her parents at the time of her death.Rajesh and Nupur Talwar practiced at a clinic in Sector 27 as well as at Fortis Hospital where the former headed the dental department. Anita and Praful Durrani, close friends with the Talwars, shared the Noida clinic with the couple. Rajesh and Anita took the morning shifts from 9 a.m. to noon while Praful and Nupur had the evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.TwitterThe 13-year-old girl was bludgeoned in the head with a golf club before her throat was slit with a kukri blade.At 6:01 a.m. on the morning of May 16, the doorbell rang. Housemaid Bharti was usually let inside by Banjade, but he was strangely missing in action. She rang the bell three more times and was finally greeted by Nupur, who was on the balcony. This was extremely unusual, as Aarushi Talwars parents were known to sleep in because they worked the evening shifts at the office. Banjade was the one who took care of letting servants or guests in. The gate at the entrance was locked from the outside, so Nupur had to throw Bharti a set of keys. When the maid walked into the home, she noticed Rajesh was awake too.Both parents were in their daughters room, crying. Look what Hemraj has done, they said. It was then that Bharti saw Aarushi Talwar motionless in a puddle of blood, her throat slit by a kukri knife. She rushed to get the neighbors and some medical assistance. Of course, it was already far too late to help the girl. A memorial tree in commemoration of Aarushi Talwar in Noida.When the police arrived at 7:15 a.m., a crowd of 15 people that the Talwars had called was already in the living room while five or six others were in the Talwars master bedroom. In terms of crime scene tampering, having dozens of people taint the integrity of DNA evidence and move things around was fairly egregious. Most of the 28 fingerprint samples police lifted from the crime scene were smudged and useless.Oddly enough, Rajesh told the police not to open the locked terrace door and offered them Rs 25,000 ($365) to track Banjade down. The narrative that it was the live-in servant took root almost immediately. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) later mentioned how actively the Talwars were pushing this story. Rajesh and Nupur furthermore claimed not to have heard a single sound while the murders took place. They said that their closed door and air conditioning unit blocked out the sounds of bludgeoning and laceration. Wikimedia CommonsA bloodstained kukri knife was found in the home of Krishna Thadarai, an assistant of the Talwars. He was released by the CBI after a court found the bureau had used excessive interrogation techniques.The Night Of Aarushi Talwars MurderThe night Aarushi Talwar was murdered, her friend Anmol called the Talwars landline. It was around midnight and Anmol couldnt get through to his friends cell phone. Aarushi Talwar typically stayed up after midnight talking to her friends and otherwise using her phone. On May 15, however, her phone was inactive after 9:10 p.m.Anmols call to the house was left unanswered so he sent her a text message at around 12:30 a.m. The message was never received by her phone as it had already been shut off. It would later be found on a dirt track near Noidas Sadarpur area by a maid. The memory had been wiped clean.The CBI closure report found that the Talwars got home from work at 9:30 p.m. the night of their daughters death. They apparently had dinner with her and gave her a new digital camera as an early birthday present. After taking a few photos together, the family retired at 11 p.m., at which time they later said they saw their daughter reading a book. The last photo of Aarushi had been snapped at 10 p.m.Its important to note that Aarushis bedroom door was routinely locked at bedtime. The keys were usually left on Nupurs night table but the mother later told police she couldnt remember whether she locked her daughters door that night or not. Rajesh, meanwhile, was on the internet to catch up on emails and the fluctuating state of his stock portfolio. He sent his last email at 11:57 p.m. after receiving a call on the landline. He then went to bed, as far as anyone knows, though the last internet usage was clocked in just after midnight.Both Aarushi and Banjade are believed to have been killed between midnight and 1 a.m. It was discovered that Aarushis internet router was turned off at 3:43 a.m., which suggested that whoever had walked into her bedroom to turn it off either didnt notice a blood-soaked bed and dead girl lying in it or was responsible for her death.The next day, keys to the apartment and terrace were reportedly found by Nupur on Banjades bed. The keys to Aarushis bedroom were in the living room. There was no other set of house keys even though the propertys gate was locked from the outside. Clearly, somebody else had a spare set. But who? Sakib Ali/Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesThe press was all over the Talwar case, particularly the day the guilty verdict came down. The couple was charged with murder, destruction of evidence, and common intent. Ghaziabad, India. Nov. 25, 2013.Discovering The Body Of Hemraj BanjadeWhen doctors came to visit the Talwar residence to check up on the distraught parents, they noticed bloodstains on the handle of the terrace door which was still locked. They also noticed smudged, bloody footmarks on the floor and bloodstains on the staircase. Rajesh was asked for the terrace keys but didnt produce them and instead went inside after he noticed the blood on the door handle. He remained inside for an entire day, with police unable to access the terrace.Banjades body was discovered the following day, on May 17. The telephonic loop from the day before was coincidentally repeated twice between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. that morning he was discovered. Gautam called journalists he knew to arrive at the house before the terrace gate was opened.On May 17, the police broke the terrace lock open as the keys were still missing and found Banjades decomposing body.There was evidence that both dead bodies were moved around the apartment. The new narrative was that Banjade had been dragged to the terrace in a bedsheet. The terrace door was then locked, and the killers then re-entered the house and drank whiskey. The liquor cabinet was fairly well hidden behind a wooden panel. A bottle of whiskey found on the kitchen table had bloodstains of both victims on it. The police, however, had failed to collect proper samples from it.The crime scene also appeared to be dressed up and scrubbed of any evidence that would point toward the Talwars. The Talwars told their servants to clean up the floor and walls of her room with soap and water. Her bloody mattress was tossed out onto the terrace of a neighbor.Meanwhile, phone records show that between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on May 16, Rajeshs older brother Dinesh, his family friend Sushil Chaudhury, the retired deputy superintendent of police K.K. Gautam, and someone at an unidentified number all began to communicate while the autopsy report was being written.Dinesh called Chaudhury who would then call Gautam. Gautam would call the unidentified number. This would then repeat but in reverse order six whole times.The CBI later said these communications may have been attempts by the family to use their connection to Gautam to erase references to rape from the autopsy report. The theory goes that Rajesh may have caught his daughter having sex (perhaps consensual, perhaps not) with Benjade and killed them both in a fit of rage and so he wanted any references to intercourse out of the report.At this point, with Benjade discovered dead, the Talwars became prime suspects. They knew where the liquor cabinet was, they had keys to the house, and they were in the house when the murders took place. Rajesh was arrested by police on May 23.Initial Theories About The Noida Double Murder CaseOne expert who first inspected the crime scene said that the killings were done by somebody very close to Aarushi. Evidence that shed had sex and that her vagina had been penetrated and subsequently cleaned by someone was also present, but there was no semen found.Wikimedia CommonsA detailed map of the Talwar residences second floor.As the aforementioned phone calls may have suggested, the police suspected Rajesh Talwar found his live-in servant and young daughter engaged in sexual activity and murdered his daughter as an honor killing and Banjade for raping her. Another theory was that Rajesh himself had been engaged in extramarital relations and was confronted by his daughter and blackmailed by Banjade.These allegations werent taken lightly by the Talwar family. They claimed the police were trying to frame them as the killers to cover up how badly theyd handled the investigation before turning it over to the CBI. The CBI actually exonerated the two parents at first. Their new suspects became the Talwars assistant, Krishna Thadarai, and two servants, Rajkumar and Vijay Mandal. What seemed clear to the CBI from the outset was that this was an inside job. Whoever killed Aarushi and Banjade had access to the home as there were no signs of forced entry and the propertys gate was locked from the outside. The CBIs interrogation of the three new suspects led them to believe that Aarushi was killed after a failed sexual assault and Banjade fell victim to those responsible for the act. Because of the unethical interrogations conducted to arrive at that point, however, all three were released after no concrete evidence was found. What confused everyone, though, was why the killer would leave Banjade rotting on the terrace, particularly if those responsible lived there.One theory the CBI posited was that the body was hidden there in order to dispose of it after the investigation of Aarushis crime scene had been completed. With so much media attention and persons wading through the home, however, that was no longer an option. Though there just wasnt enough evidence because the crime scene had been so extraordinarily tampered with, the CBI also then began to suspect that Aarushis parents were involved. In 2010, however, the CBI handed its investigation over to another team that recommended closing the case. Nonetheless, it named Rajesh as the only credible suspect even while refusing to charge him, since the actual proof was nonexistent.The Talwar family opposed this accusation to no avail. The bureau reopened the investigation in 2011 and designated Rajesh and Nupur as the primary suspects. When the CBI changed its status of the closure report to a charge sheet in February 2011, the Talwars petitioned this at the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court but failed.They were now going to trial for their daughters death.The Trials Of The TalwarsThe trial began on May 11, 2013 and concluded with a guilty verdict for both defendants on Nov. 25, 2013. According to NDTV, the prosecution posited this explanation for the murder of Aarushi Talwar:On the night of the murders, Rajesh heard a noise and assumed it had come from Banjades room. He didnt find anyone in there and picked up the golf club from Banjades room before entering Aarushis. There he saw the pair engaged in sexual activity.Rajesh clubbed the 45-year-old servant over the head. When he tried to hit him again, Banjade moved leading the father to accidentally strike his own daughter instead. By the time Nupur was awakened by the noise and rushed into the room, both Banjade and Aarushi were near death.The injured Hemraj had fallen from the bed, said special prosecutor AGL Kaul. Both checked Aarushis pulse and found her near-dead which scared them and they decided to kill Hemraj so no one discovered the incident.Imtiyaz Khan/Anadolu Agency/Getty ImagesNupur (right) and Rajesh Talwar (left) leave Dasna Prison after being acquitted by the Allahabad High Court on October 16, 2017. Ghaziabad, India.The married couple realized theyd have to fabricate a scenario in order to get away with the double-murder of their daughter Aarushi Talwar and their servant. They wrapped Banjades body up and took him to the terrace to get rid of his corpse another time. They slit his throat and decided to do the same to their daughter. They also cleaned her vagina.Rajesh and Nupur then cleaned the crime scene bloodstains on the floor, any stained clothing, whatever they could see was tainted by the violent act was mopped up and disposed of. The couple then left the house, locked the gates from the outside, and entered the residence from Banjades room to fool the authorities.Thats when the father sat himself down and drank some whiskey.The Talwars Go To PrisonIn November 2013, after years of trials and legal proceedings, Rajesh and Nupur Talwar were sentenced to life in prison. The decision was heavily criticised for being based on circumstantial and unconvincing evidence, and the Talwars took their appeal to the Allahabad High Court. According to India Today, the Allahabad High Court overturned the CBIs court judgment in 2017 due to a lack of direct evidence. There were no eyewitnesses, said the judges. The CBI had also failed to provide a strong motive, in their opinion. The judges also noted that the Supreme Court has previously established that if theres no direct evidence, reasonable doubt should override suspicion. It took four years, but the parents did manage to get acquitted on Oct. 12, 2017 and have remained free ever since. The case remains legally unsolved and the family points fingers at the CBI, local police, and the media for ruining an investigation that shouldve resulted in their daughters murderer being identified.The Talwar case was almost immediately a magnet for the press, and remained that way until the Talwars were acquitted in 2017.The CBI was not content with this decision. Former CBI Director AP Singh, particularly, felt his bureau had been dealing with a highly manipulated environment and scarce opportunities for evidence. Only weakness we found [with our investigation] was that scene of [the] crime had been badly tampered [with] on the first day itself, said Singh. As a result, after that, we got nothing of value from the scene of the crime. That was the major lacuna in the entire investigation.The parents were initially convicted of murder but were acquitted in 2017 for a lack of evidence.It was Singh himself who famously stated in court that though they lacked enough evidence, the CBI believed the parents were involved. When he wanted to close the case, the court didnt allow it and instead ordered the Talwars to stand trial on charges of murder.But in the end, more than a decade after the bodies of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade were found in a double-murder that stunned Noida, India, the case remains unsolved.After reading the macabre story of the Aarushi Talwar double murder case, learn about the murder of Sylvia Likens by her caretaker and the whole neighborhood. Then, read about how 15-year-old Zachary Davis bludgeoned his mother to death.The post Inside The Still-Unsolved Murder Of 13-Year-Old Aarushi Talwar appeared first on All That's Interesting.

Wikimedia CommonsSixteen-year-old Sylvia Likens before staying with Gertrude Bansizewski and after being tortured to death.In 1965, 16-year-old Sylvia Likens was sent to the home of a family friend, Gertrude Baniszewski, while her parents were traveling. But Likens never made it out alive.Gertrude Baniszewski and her children tortured Sylvia Likens to death. The perpetrators even managed to involve an entire neighborhood of kids to help them commit this brutal murder. As the autopsy in the Sylvia Likens case later showed, she endured unimaginable torment before she died. Nevertheless, her killers faced almost no justice at all.How Sylvia Likens Came Under The Care Of Gertrude BaniszewskiBettmann/Getty ImagesGertrude Baniszewskis police photo, taken shortly after her arrest on Oct. 28, 1965.Sylvia Likens parents were both carnival workers and were therefore on the road more often than not. They struggled to make ends meet as her father Lester had only an eighth-grade education and a total of five children to care for.Jenny was quiet and withdrawn with a limp from polio. Sylvia was more confident and went by the nickname Cookie and had been described as pretty though she had a missing front tooth.In July 1965, Lester Likens decided to take up with the carnival again while his wife was jailed for shoplifting that summer. Sylvias brothers, Danny and Bennie, were put into the care of their grandparents. With few other options, Sylvia and Jenny were sent to stay with a family friend named Gertrude Baniszewski.Gertrude was every bit as poor as the Likens and had seven of her own kids to support in her run-down home. She made little cash by charging her neighbors a few dollars to iron their laundry. Shed already been through multiple divorces, some of which resulted in physical abuse against her and dealt with a crippling depression through heavy doses of prescription drugs.She was in no condition to take care of two teenaged girls. The Likens, though, didnt think they had any other choice. Lester Likens cryptically requested that Baniszewski straighten his daughters out when he placed them in her care for $20 a week.What Happened To Sylvia Likens Inside Her New HomeFor the first two weeks at the Baniszewskis, Sylvia and her sister were treated kindly enough, though Gertrudes oldest daughter, 17-year-old Paula Baniszewski, seemed to butt heads with Sylvia often. Then one week their fathers payment came in late.I took care of you two bitches for two weeks for nothing, Gertrude spat at Sylvia and Jenny. She grabbed Sylvia by the arm, dragged her into a room, and closed the door. Jenny could only sit outside the door and listen as her sister screamed. The money arrived the following day, but the torture had just begun.Gertrude soon began to abuse both Sylvia and Jenny in broad daylight. Though a frail woman, Gertrude used a heavy paddle and thick, leather belt from one of her husbands who had been a cop. When she was too exhausted or too weak to discipline the girls herself, Paula stepped in to take her place. Sylvia, however, soon became the focus of the abuse.Gertrude Baniszewski demanded that Jenny join in, lest she take her sisters place as the brunt of the abuse.Gertrude accused Sylvia of stealing from her and burned the girls fingertips. She took her to a church function and force-fed her free hot dogs until she was sick. Then, as punishment for throwing up good food, she forced her to eat her own vomit.She allowed her children in fact, encouraged her children to partake in the abuse of Sylvia and her sister. The Baniszewski kids practiced karate on Sylvia, slammed her into walls and onto the floor. They used her skin as an ashtray, threw her downstairs, and cut open her skin and rubbed salt into her wounds. After this, she would often be cleansed in a scalding hot bath.Gertrude gave sermons on the evils of sexual immortality while Paula stomped on Sylvias vagina. Paula, who herself was pregnant, accused Sylvia of being with child and mutilated the girls genitals. Gertrudes 12-year-old son John Jr. delighted in forcing the girl to lick his youngest siblings soiled diapers clean.Sylvia was forced to strip naked and shove an empty Coca-Cola bottle into her vagina while the Baniszewski children watched. Sylvia was so beaten that she was unable to use the bathroom voluntarily. When she wet her mattress, Gertrude decided that the girl was no longer fit to live with the rest of her children.The 16-year-old was then locked in the basement without food or access to the bathroom. An Entire Neighborhood Joins Gertrude Baniszewski In The TortureBettmann/Getty ImagesRichard Hobbs, a neighbor boy who helped beat Sylvia Likens to death, Oct. 28, 1965.Gertrude spread every story she could imagine to get the local kids to join in on the beatings. She told her daughter that Sylvia had called her a whore and got her daughters friends to come over and beat her up for it.Later during the trial, some of the kids were open about how Gertrude had recruited them. One teenage girl named Anna Siscoe recalled how Gertrude told her that Sylvia had been saying: She said my mother went out with all sorts of men and got $5.00 for going to bed with the men.Anna never bothered to find out if it was true. Gertrude told her, I dont care what you do to Sylvia. She invited over to her home and just watched as Anna threw Sylvia down to the ground, beat her face, and kick her.Gertrude told her own children that Sylvia was a prostitute. Then she had Ricky Hobbs, a neighborhood boy, and her 11-year-old daughter Marie carve the words Im a prostitute and proud of it into her abdomen with a heated needle.At one point, Sylvias older sister Diana attempted to see the girls under Gertrudes care but was turned away at the door. Jenny later reported how Diana snuck food into the basement in which Sylvia was hidden. A neighbor had also reported the incidents to a public health nurse who, upon entering the home and not seeing Sylvia for she was locked in a basement, concluded that nothing was wrong. Baniszewski had also managed to convince the nurse that she had kicked the Likens girls out.Other next-door neighbors allegedly were aware of how Sylvia was abused. They had seen Paula strike the girl in the Baniszewski home on two separate occasions but claimed not to report the abuse because they feared for their own lives. Jenny was threatened, bullied, and beaten by the Baniszewskis and neighbor girls alike should she go to the authorities. The abuse of Sylvia continued unhindered, in fact, aided by all those around her. The Brutal Death Of Sylvia LikensThe Indianapolis Star/Wikimedia CommonsJenny Likens, Sylvias sister, photographed during the trial.Im going to die, Sylvia told her sister three days before she did. I can tell. Gertrude could tell too and so she forced Sylvia to write a note in which she told her parents that shed run away. Sylvia was also forced to write that shed met up with a group of boys and given them sexual favors and afterward, theyd beaten her and mutilated her body. Shortly after this Sylvia overheard Gertrude Baniszewski tell her children that she was going to take Sylvia to a forest and leave her there to die.A desperate Sylvia Likens attempted one final escape. She managed to get out the front door before Gertrude caught her. Sylvia was so weak from her injuries she could not have possibly gotten too far. With the assistance of a neighbor boy named Coy Hubbard, Gertrude beat Sylvia with a curtain rod until she fell unconscious. Then, when she came back to, she stomped on her head.Welkerlots/YouTubeSylvia Likens body is carried inside of a closed casket, 1965.Sylvia was dead by Oct. 26, 1965, from a brain hemorrhage, shock, and malnutrition. After three months of torture and starvation, she could no longer form intelligible words and could barely move her limbs. When the police came, Gertrude stuck with her cover story. Sylvia had been out with boys in the woods, she told them, and theyd beaten her to death and carved Im a prostitute and proud of it into her body.Jenny, though, took her chance. As soon as she could get close enough to a police officer she whispered, Get me out of here and Ill tell you everything.The police arrested Gertrude, Paula, Stephanie and John Baniszewski, Richard Hobbs, and Coy Hubbard for murder. Neighborhood participants Mike Monroe, Randy Lepper, Darlene McGuire, Judy Duke, and Anna Siscoe were also arrested for injury to person. These minors would blame Gertrude for being pressured to partake in the death of Sylvia Likens.Gertrude herself pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. Shes not responsible, her defense attorney told the court, because shes not all here.There were several more children involved who proved just too young to be charged.Ultimately though, on May 19, 1966, Gertrude Baniszewski was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. She was spared the death penalty despite her own lawyer admitting that, In my opinion, she ought to go to the electric chair. Paula Baniszewski, who had given birth to a daughter during the trial, was convicted of second-degree murder and was also sentenced to life imprisonment.Richard Hobbs, Coy Hubbard, and John Baniszewski Jr. were all convicted of manslaughter and given two 2-to-21-year prison sentences based on the fact that they were minors. The three boys were all paroled just two years later in 1968.How Gertrude Baniszewski And Her Children Eluded JusticeWikimedia CommonsGertrude Baniszewski, photographed after being granted parole in 1986.Gertrude spent 20 years behind bars. There was no question about her guilt. The autopsy backed up everything Jenny told the police: Sylvia Likens had died slowly and painfully over several months. In 1971, both Gertrude and Paula were retried to the result that Gertrude was again found guilty. Paula pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to two to 21 years. She once even managed to escape despite being recaptured. After about eight years behind bars, Paula was released and she moved to Iowa where she changed her name and became a teachers aide.She was suspended from her position when in 2012 an anonymous caller tipped off the school district that Paula was once convicted of the death of 16-year-old Sylvia Likens. Gertrude Baniszewski was granted parole on good behavior on Dec. 4, 1985. Jenny and a whole crowd of people picketed outside the prison to protest her release, but it was no use. Gertrude Baniszewski was set free.The only relief Jenny received came five years after Gertrudes release when the murderess died of lung cancer. Some good news, Jenny wrote to her mother with a copy of the womans obituary. Damn old Gertrude died! Ha ha ha! I am happy about that.Jenny never did blame her parents for what happened to her sister. My mom was a really good mom, Jenny has said. All she did was trust Gertrude.After this horrific look at the case of Sylvia Likens, find out about the California parents who kept 13 children shackled to their beds or the gruesome story of the acid bath killer.The post Sylvia Likens, The 16-Year-Old Who Was Tortured And Murdered By Caretaker Gertrude Baniszewski appeared first on All That's Interesting.

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