lacerating her body, burning her skin with lit cigarettes in excess of 100 times, and severely injuring her genitals. To entertain Gertrude and her teenage accomplices, Likens was forced at one point to strip naked in the family living room and masturbate with a glass Pepsi-Cola bottle in their presence, with Gertrude stating to all present that this act of humiliation was for Sylvia to "prove to Jenny what kind of a girl you are." Gertrude eventually forbade Likens from attending school after she confessed to having stolen a gym suit from the school due to Gertrude having refused to purchase the clothing for her. For this act of theft, Gertrude whipped Likens with a police belt. Gertrude then switched her conversation to the "evils" of premarital sex before repeatedly kicking Likens in the genitals as Stephanie rallied to Likens' defense, shouting, "She didn't do anything!" Gertrude then burned Likens' fingertips with matches before further whipping her. A few days later, Gertrude repeatedly whipped Jenny with the police belt after she reportedly stole a single tennis shoe from the school to wear on her strong foot. Turmoil The Likens siblings were fearful of notifying either family members or adults at their school of the increasing incidents of abuse and neglect they were enduring, as both were afraid that doing so would only worsen their situation. Jenny, in particular, struggled against the urge to notify family members, as she had been threatened by Gertrude that she would herself be abused and tortured to the same degree as her sister if she did so. Jenny was also subjected to bullying by girls in her neighborhood, in addition to occasionally being ridiculed or beaten whenever she alluded to Sylvia's situation. In July and August, both Lester and Elizabeth Likens would occasionally return to Indianapolis to visit their daughters, whenever their travel schedule afforded them the opportunity. The last occasion Lester and Elizabeth visited their daughters was on October 5. On this occasion, neither girl exhibited any visible sign of distress about their mistreatment to their parents. This was likely because both were in the presence of Gertrude and her children. Almost immediately after Lester and Elizabeth had left the Baniszewski household on their final visit, Gertrude turned to face Likens and stated: "What are you going to do now, Sylvia? Now they're gone?" On one occasion in September, the girls encountered their older