She was tortured for three months by Gertrude Baniszewski ( nÃ e Van Fossan ) , Gertrude 's children , and other young people from their neighborhood , and eventually murdered on October 26 , 1965 . She was tortured to death by Gertrude Baniszewski ( nÃ e Van Fossan ) , Gertrude 's children , and other young people from their neighborhood .