Portrait of Sylvia Likens

Sylvia Likens was the daughter of a carnie, and their family was constantly moving. Eventually she and her younger sister, Jenny were taken in by the mentally ill Gertrude Baniszewski. Gertrude gradually abused, tortured, and ultimately murdered Sylvia.She was constantly beaten, had over 150 burns on her body, and was even branded "I'M A PROSTITUTE AND PROUD OF IT" on her stomach.

What's really awful about the whole thing is that there were neighbors that kept on witnessing signs of abuse, but they never did anything. :( You can read Sylvia's story at http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/young/likens/1.html

Sylvia's story is just so...shocking. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. So I guess I wanted to draw her, just to maybe get it out of my mind. I've never really done a drawing for this kind of reason before.

And, problems with this: I know that I made her look too young. God, that annoys me. The problem is that I did the nose too short. But once I get past a certain point in a drawing, I'm too scared to drastically change what I've already done. If you see any other problems, PLEASE feel free to tell me :)