An American Crime Page #6

Did you ever see her

do anything, to Paula?

No.

Did you ever see her do anything,

to Johnny Baniszewski?

No.

Jennie, you saw your

sister being hit...

...beaten, struck.

Why did you not call the police?

Well, uh, Gertie threatened me,

that if I told anybody...

...I'd get the same treatment,

Sylvia was getting.

You could have told anyone,

up and down on the street.

I was scared and I guess,

I just...

...did what she told me to do.

I wish, I hadn't.

Did you ever see Sylvia cry?

They said, she didn't

have any feelings...

...but I knew better.

I've seen her cry before.

I imagine, the reason

that she didn't cry was...

...she didn't

have enough water.

The trial lasted 24 days.

Gertrude was the last

one to take the stand.

What was your physical condition

in July and August of last year?

Pretty run down, physically.

Pretty upset, mentally and emotionally.

What do you mean?

If you have as many children...

...around your home,

all the time, as I did...

...arguing and carrying on...

...you'd be pretty upset,

mentally and emotionally too.

What medicine did you take?

Phenobarbital Sulfate,

and Coricidin.

I was trying to take

care of myself...

...because I could not

afford to go to a doctor.

Well, then, getting to

the 1st week of September...

...was there any change in your

physical condition...

...or in the condition of that house?

No, Sir.

What about the 3rd. week

of September...

...do you remember that?

You mean anything specific that

might happened in September?

Yes, anything specific.

The kids were fighting a lot.

The kids were fighting a lot?

My children and the

neighbor children...

...were coming in,

and fighting Sylvia.

My children fighting with other

children, so on and so fort.

What did you do,

when that was happening?

I did not see this fighting then.

I was barely able to stay up at all.

I did not even feel

like getting up.

Did you have any knowledge,

of any mistreatment...

...going on with Sylvia?

No, Sir.

Did you commit any indignity,

making marks on that girls body?

No, Sir.

Do you know, how those

wounds got on her body?

No, Sir.

You're telling the Jury,

you don't know who did it?

No.

Did you hear the testimony of Jennie?

Yes, I did.

Did you hear, some of

your children state...

...that before Sylvia died,

you started branding this girl?

Yes, I heard that.

Did they all lie?

That is right.

The fact is you're lying,

isn't it?

No, Sir.

Did you hear John Baniszewski state...

...that you burned her,

with matches and cigarettes?

Yes, I heard that statement.

Did he tell the truth?

He was not telling the truth.

No.

You're saying, you did not do it?

That's right.

You were in bed,

a great deal of the time...

...when the children were doing things,

you did not know, they were doing.

I imagine they were doing

a great deal of things...

...that I did not know.

Why did Johnny lie?

I imagine, he is a pretty

scared little boy.

Are you scared?

I've been scared by a lot

of things, for a long time.

She sacrificed me,

to protect her children...

...and sacrificed them,

to protect herself.

Will the defendant please rise!

We, the Jury,

find Gertrude Baniszewski...

...guilty of 1st. degree murder...

...sentencing her to life in prison.

The case got a lot of attention.

It even made Time Magazine.

And most people started talking...

...about things, they used to ignore.

Thank you.

The others, were tried later.

Paula was found guilty

as an accomplice...

...and served a couple of years.

She had that Baby,

and named it, Gertrude.

Johnny was convicted too.

He became the youngest inmate...

...in the history, of the

Indiana State Reformatory.

He would later become

a real Minister..

...one way of telling

the story, I guess.

Ricky Hobbs, was found

guilty of man-slaughter...

...he served time at the reformatory.

He died at age 21,

of lung cancer.

Coy, also served a couple of years.

He went on with a life of crime...

...after he got released from prison.

I don't know, what happened,

to any of the rest of them.

Mom und Dad, went back on Tour...

...and left Jennie, with the

District Attorney and his Family.

They helped her get back on her feet.

Gertrude served 20 years

of her life sentence.

She was released on parole in 1985.

Before she died,

five years later...

...she took responsibility,

for everything that had happened.

I'm so sorry.

And me.

I returned to the carnival.

The only place, I always felt save.

Reverend Bill, used to say:

"For every situation,

God always has a plan".

I guess, I'm still trying

to figure out, what that plan was.

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