Read House of Evil: The Indiana Torture Slaying (St. Martin's True Crime Library) for Free Online Page B

bordered on the west by Oriental Street and on the east by the antique neighborhood WoodruffPlace. The address is 1500 East Michigan Street. That places it two blocks north and two miles, three blocks west of 3850 East New York Street, where two pretty teenage girls with lovely long hair set out nervously for the first day of school early in September 1965.
    Stephanie Baniszewski loved school. At a habeas corpus hearing four months later, when she was trying to get out of jail and back into school, she told a judge, “If school were a man, I’d marry it.” Her brothers and sisters called her “Einy” (for Einstein) because she brought home A’s and B’s on her report cards. Her narrow, plastic-framed glasses gave her radiant face an intelligent look.
    Stephanie wanted to be a lawyer. Whenever her mother visited her lawyer, in hopes of dragging some more support money out of one of her ex-husbands, Stephanie went along. But Stephanie was not studying law at this time, nor did she have any idea she would soon have a need for legal advice. She was at present concerned with English and biology.
    Her companion was Sylvia Likens, who by this time had become her good friend. At home they sang to one another. Stephanie would sing her favorite song to Sylvia, and Sylvia would reciprocate. Sylvia’s favorite was Shirley Bassey’s “Reach for the Stars.” She looked upward with hopes and dreams.
    Sylvia did not share Stephanie’s love for school; she had been enrolled in Tech before and had dropped out on her 16th birthday. But she had agood reason for going back. Both she and Stephanie had jobs in the school cafeteria, and that meant a free hot lunch every day, something they did not get at home.
    The Baniszewskis lived on the borderline of the Tech district. Richard Hobbs, who lived just around the corner, went to Thomas Carr Howe High School, a mile to the east. Stephanie’s boyfriend also went to Howe, where he was a troublemaker. Six feet tall and carrying 170 pounds, Coy Hubbard had found at the age of 15 that he did not have to take any lip from anybody, and that included teachers.
    Sylvia had no reason to fear Coy at that time; in fact, he was one of her friends. She had met him before school started, had accompanied Stephanie to Coy’s house on Linwood Avenue twice. In turn, Stephanie had accompanied Jenny and Sylvia to visit their Grandmother Grimes, who lived not far away.
    Paula also re-entered Tech that fall, as a sophomore in the evening division. She worked at a drug store in the daytime.
    Johnny Baniszewski, who had been living with his father, also returned to his mother’s home that September so that he could resume his education at Public School No. 78, where the other Baniszewski children and Jenny Likens were enrolled. Johnny, at 12 years, was large for his age. His straight brown hair drooped slightly over his forehead, and he showed signs of becoming a handsome young man. His quick, round eyes gave him an impish look.
    When Lester Likens visited his daughters the lastday of September, he was pleased to learn that both were back in school. He was confident he had done the right thing in leaving them with Mrs. Wright. Had he checked with the Tech High School administration, he would have seen a different picture. Sylvia’s attendance record was spotty. Her last day there was October 6, one day after Mr. and Mrs. Likens’ last visit to the Baniszewski home.
    In a school so large as Tech, one would think that one quiet, retiring girl might not be missed. That is not true. The school sent repeated notices to Mrs. Wright inquiring about Sylvia’s absences. Mrs. Wright answered some of the notices and even made visits to the schools to talk to Sylvia and Jenny’s teachers. The teachers, impressed by the woman’s apparent concern for the girls, were saddened to learn they had no great interest in school.
    Even Stephanie was surprised at Sylvia’s poor attendance. She was puzzled when Sylvia eventually