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This Is Monsters

Gertrude Baniszewski : The Torture Mom

This Is Monsters

Jiles

True Crime

4.81.8K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Gertrude Baniszewski thought that she could make some money by agreeing to take care of two teenage girls for a few months. Instead, she began to hate one of them and ended up causing her nothing but pain and suffering.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:30.6

On October 26th, 1965, the Indianapolis police were called to a house on the corner of East New York street and North Denny street.

0:41.6

When officer Melvin Dickson arrived at the house, he was shown the dead body of a teenage girl named Sylvia Lykins.

0:49.6

Her caregiver, who had stated her name was Gertrude Wright, told the officer that Sylvia was a troublemaker and she often went out with boys to wild sex parties.

0:59.6

She explained that the previous night Sylvia had left with a group of juvenile delinquent boys who must have taken her somewhere, sexually assaulted her, beat her up and then dumped her back on the lawn at her house.

1:12.6

Gertrude said she had found the girl half naked and badly beaten and she tried to care for her but she died soon after being found outside.

1:21.6

Before she died though, she was able to give Gertrude a letter she had written to her parents.

1:27.6

The officer read the letter and Sylvia had conveniently described exactly what had happened to her the night before and in it she confessed to being a problem for her caregiver Gertrude.

1:39.6

Not finding this oddly specific deathbed letter strange, the officer took Gertrude at her word and when the other people in the house corroborated her story including Sylvia's own sister, Jenny, there wasn't much else he could do but call the coroner.

1:54.6

When the doctor arrived about an hour later, he inspected the body and when it was ready to be transported to the coroner's office, the police started to leave.

2:04.6

That's when Jenny tugged on one of the officer's sleeves and whispered, quote, get me out of here and I'll tell you everything.

2:11.6

This is Monsters.

2:34.6

Gertrude Van Fossen was born on September 22, 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana to Hugh and Molly Van Fossen.

2:48.6

Gertrude was the third of six children and despite her mother showing love and affection for her five siblings, she had a dislike of Gertrude.

2:57.6

It was said that Gertrude was Hugh's favorite child which just headed more hostility toward her from her mother in siblings.

3:04.6

When she was 11 years old while reading with Hugh, he suddenly got sick and collapsed.

3:10.6

He had had a sudden heart attack which had nothing to do with Gertrude but when Molly ran into the room she screamed at her, what did you do?

...

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