Lester decided to take a job with the carnival because he needed the extra money because his wife was in jail for shoplifting. This meant he had to get some type of daycare for the kids. Danny and Benny (the brothers) were put into the grandparents’ care. That left Sylvia and Jenny, with the short amount of time to find someone to watch them. A family friend stood up and said they would take care of them. Her name was Gertrude Baszewski’s. Gertrude had 7 kids of her own with very low cash. She had many divorces leading to having very hard depression with heavy doses of prescription drugs. Lester placed them in her care for 20 dollars a week. For the first two weeks her and her sister were treated nicely. Sylvia and Gertrude oldest daughter, Paula, butt heads often, (Paula always starting it). Then one week their dad’s money didn't come in and that made Gertrude very angry and aggressive. She called them very awful names before grabbing Sylvia and taking her to a room and beating her. Jenny just had to listen; she couldn't intervene. This was just the first beating. In the beginning Gertrude (sometimes Paula would do the beatings) would beat Sylvia and Jenny; but sooner or later it just became Sylvia. Gertrude used a heavy paddle, a thick leather belt to beat Sylvia. One-time Gertrude accused Sylvia of stealing from her, so she decided as a punishment to burn the poor girls’ fingertips and take her to church and forced her to eat many free hot dogs until she got sick and threw up. Gertrude then made her eat her own throw up. Gertrude encouraged her kids to partake in Sylvia's abuse. Her kids did karate on Sylvia and slammed her against walls and used her as an ashtray. They threw her downstairs and cut her in many places before putting salt in her wounds. After all this torcher they then put her in scalding hot water to be "cleansed." One-time Sylvia was forced to get naked and had to force a whole Coca-bottle into her vagina while Gertrude and her lovely kids watched. After this she couldn't use the bathroom right anymore. When she wet the bed Gertrude now thought Sylvia was no longer fit to live with the rest of the children, she put Sylvia in the basement with no access to food, water, or a bathroom. A guy named Hobbs was also part of this horrendous abuse, he was the one that carved the words, "I'm a prostitute and I'm proud of it" into Sylvia's abdomen. They did so much more to this poor little girl but sadly on October 26, 1965 Sylvia passed from brain hemorrhage, and shock. People that contributed to Sylvia's abuse was Gertrude, Paula, Stephanie and John Baniszewski, Richard Hobbs, and Coy Hubbard, Mike Monroe, Randy Lepper, Darlene McGuire, Judy Duke, and Anna Siscoe. Some were arrested for murder and some were arrested "injury to person." Most of the minors blamed Gertrude to being pressured to partake in the death of Sylvia. Gertrude's Lawyer even said that she should have gotten the death penalty, but she instead got charged with first-degree murder and was sentenced to life of imprisonment. Paula was charged with second-degree murder and was also sentenced to life of imprisonment.