I have to say that I appreciate the opportunity to step into this thread, series of essays or commentaries, or whatever they are, and finally express a dissenting view. I won’t even respond to the big picture, or Gestalt, for whatever that means. Personally, I’m not impressed by fancy words. No matter how tempting it is to be a troll, I won’t, at least for now. I don’t feel that I’m in quite the position to comment on everything. The presentation of the information about John Baniszewski’s occupational pursuits was interesting, and I am at a loss at finding an explanation for the stunning contradictions. I wouldn’t comment on anything, except that the reference to the vacant other-half of the duplex was stimulating. Thinking about it, I suddenly thought that many parts of this so called “canonical story” can be linked to this.

Gertrude was asked how she came to know that 3850 East New York was for rent. I thought that was a good question. Did she see an advertisement in the local paper? Did she go looking for available rentals? No, her daughter Paula told her. I thought that had some relevance. Did Paula see an advertisement in the local paper? Did she go looking for available rentals? Surely there were any number of available rentals. I’m surprised that a 17 year old would pay attention, much less care, about noting which houses she saw were available for rent. Yet she told her mother about 3850 East New York Street. She must have been there, for whatever reason, and saw a “for rent” sign. Did she want to live there? It’s an interesting question, I think. There are so many possible elements in something like this. Did she simply mention it, or did she “sell” it to Gertrude?

Now I feel compelled to agree with the owner of the website, and she was very hard to contact (I appreciate the collaboration), that the photos are problematic. The little bit with the altered photo, this so called Person Photo, specifically as to the alterations that obscured the hands, was great. The fingernails, which can only be seen as one of the most important clues to the whole thing, were hidden, and mentioned only in passing when Ellis was on the stand, and the only kid asked about Sylvia’s fingernails was Ricky, and he didn’t notice anything unusual. The greasy substance under the nails wasn’t identified? A rare lubricant on the floor of some place in an abandoned industrial location, machine shop, auto place or whatever the author on this site thinks the source of it was, she might well be wrong. Here’s my thing: if the body ended up in Gertrude’s house, then how did anyone get it back to her house. This “gang of boys” or “gang of five men,” thugs, hoods, or whatever you read on this site, may not have existed at all. I went back and looked at Kaiser’s testimony, but he dropped all kinds of untruthful and meaningless details. So what about this Gang of Five, why ever in the world should I not see that as anything but untruthful and meaningless too?

The issue is a fundamental one. Wherever she was, if she wasn’t in Gertrude’s house, she would have to be taken there. Tektonikus thinks that. Although the call was received by Dixon at 6:27 pm, the coroner gave an earlier time of death. So it was light outside when she was brought back to the house. The neighborhood was full of children running all over the place, and no doubt plenty of adults about, walking, mowing their lawns, raking leaves (sorry, Jenny and Marie), or doing some such thing. 3850 East New York is on the corner of the intersection of New York Street and Denny Street. I was allowed to upload a good picture of this house, and it also shows the intersection. Now, whoever you think brought Sylvia, (I’m not trolling by the way) was taking a big risk in my mind. If they did this, I think that they would bring her back late at night when they are less likely to be seen. Did you think of that? I guess that means that Sylvia was always in the house, just as this “canonical story” says she was. Last night that occurred to me after I read your “Interstitial” installment. You said something at the end that made me think. As it stands, I don’t want to sound like your approach, but I too was struck by the “Sylvia was gone” part of the story. I agree that this is probably a reflection of reality, but not like you do. I think that Sylvia could have been gone, but then be brought back to Gertrude’s house without any chance of being seen at all. There’s a twist though, at the end.

I found myself also agreeing with the suggestion that the two incidents involving the police and this Handlon guy were important. No matter how hard I tried, I end up saying “yes” to the suggestion that he wasn’t a burglar. Instead, he went to Gertrude’s house to see someone. Since he was arrested, twice actually, it must have been very important in his mind to see that person. I don’t believe that person was Paula. I was surprised to find how open to this possibility you were. Like I said, I think that he may have been there looking for Sylvia. I know the rule is to discuss the facts, possible interpretations and such, without making direct accusations, or claiming any inherent truth is any of those things. So that is what I’ll do.

One of the lesser “threads in the tapestry of lies” as you said it, is that Judy Duke said: “Anna Siscoe took her foot and kicked Sylvia Likens, in the stomach, and Sylvia, said "oh and was screaming.” I will also quote Stephanie, following the style used elsewhere for quotes (I don’t know why its important, but I’ll do it anyway):

Q. Now, do you ever recall any other conversation your mother might have had during the months of July or August, with Sylvia?
A. Well, Sylvia seemed to be getting big in the stomach and started talking about having a baby, and she said Sylvia looked like she was going to have a baby.
Q. When was that?
A. About - either the end of August or the beginning of September.
Q. Did you hear the conversation?
A. All they said was Mom said, "You are certainly getting a big stomach, Sylvia", and she said, "It looks like you are going to have a baby".

What did Gertrude say about a strange thing that happened at her house?

A. Well, this was in July, the first part of July, my daughter Stephanie had gone on a trip with her father. She was not there. There was a neighbor girl - her name is Darlene MacGuire, she came over quite frequently to play with Paula and some of the other children and there was a young girl knocked at our door and wanted to talk to Darlene and I went to the door with Darlene and she related to Darlene - she wanted to know whether she knew where she could get hold of Sylvia Likens. Darlene said she had been to her home but did not know exactly where she lived. A day or so later, Sylvia, I suppose, came over to Darlene's and the reason this woman was hunting for Sylvia was supposed to have been Sylvia had been out with her husband. That is the reason she was hunting for this girl. Darlene said she would tell her if she saw her. Darlene brought Sylvia Likens over to her home two days later and introduced her as the girl this other girl was looking for. That is how I first became acquainted with Sylvia Likens.

Marie gave this story a slight twist:

Q. What was the occasion for the MacGuire girl bringing Sylvia in the house?
A. There was not no occasion.
Q. Was there any conversation about someone looking for Sylvia?
A. Yes.
Q. What was the conversation? Who was present and where did it happen at?
A. Well, it happened on our porch.
Q. Your porch?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What time of day or night?
A. I think it was 6:00 o 'clock at night.
Q. Before Sylvia started living there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who was present?
A. A lady came up to - I mean every one of us were out on the porch.
Q. All of you were out on the porch?
A. Yes. This lady came up and pointed to Sylvia and said, "There is that girl that tried to take my husband away".

So who was this woman? I’m required to say that I can’t say for sure, but can only state possibilities based on information from the case. I wonder if she isn’t Karen Handlon. Sylvia pregnant? I know what Ellis said, but I don’t trust him. If I were the father, of let’s say, Paula’s baby, I wouldn’t need to go to her mother’s house to see her. She’s a teenager, and she probably hangs out wherever, so I would probably be able to locate her at some point if I wanted to see her. It beats getting busted for showing up at her mother’s house and tossed into a police car. If I were the father of Sylvia’s baby (if, if, if true, I proclaim), then a scary thing happened. I couldn’t find her. I think that’s because she disappeared after October 5th. She wasn’t in school, and I guess that other kids wouldn’t know anything either, just that “she disappeared,” or something like that. Then I would panic, and might show up at her house to see her. I hear that I’m not allowed to see her, and told to go away or the cops will be called. I’m too worried to go away, so I argue with this Gertrude, and then another time actually enter the house. If that’s me, I wouldn’t have a tough time finding Paula, but now I can’t find Sylvia, and I’m possibly getting worried. 

There are a couple other things that may be important. First, the only real fight in the case involving Sylvia was with Paula. That lady on the bus heard Paula making drastic threats against Sylvia. Also, Marie cut herself pretty badly on some wire. I guess it’s just me, but I don’t think it was self-inflicted, just saying. Then there’s that photo that Tektonikus keeps going on about. What I noticed was that the author was wrong. This was taken in the house. You can tell where. The reason for why her feet were so dirty is the reason for all the black in the corner. I think that it’s coal dust. And the thing visible back toward the feet has something to do with a coal shoot. This is important. I mean, the picture wasn’t taken in the bedroom, or even a bedroom, and that is what was said about this picture in court. No picture of Sylvia was said to have been taken in the basement. It also means that Tectonikus is wrong about where she thought the picture was taken. I think that’s important.

Then there’s the cops. And your so-called mystery cop is not a mystery cop at all. I thought, she must have missed something important! The timeline is important, everyone should know that. Timeline- step 1; Dixon:

Q. You were aware of any other cars in that particular area - you testified you were at Ritter and North?
A. Ritter and St. Clair.
Q. You reached the address at 6:30?
A. I said three minutes approximately.

He received the call at 6:27. I guess you could be there around 6:30, especially if you take the logical route. If you do that, then something interesting happens. Timeline step 2; Harmon:

Q. What was the occasion of you going there?
A. I was sent with the District Car.
Q. What district car?
A. I believe it was Boy 8.
Q. Do you know the officer's name in that car?
A. Boy 8 or Boy 7, I am not clear on that.
Q. What was the name of the officer?
A. I believe Officer Dixon.
Q. Is Officer Dixon the one who just testified?
A. Yes.
Q. Who got there first, you or he?
A. He did, sir.
Q. He was there naturally when you got there, right?
A. That is right.

Harmon got there after Dixon. Timeline step 3:

Q. Did you in that capacity go to 3850 East New York Street, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana?
A. I did, sir.
Q. How did you happen to go there?
A. I was radioed to go there?
Q. Ordered to go there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What time did you arrive there?
A. Approximately 6:30.

I guess that means that Harmon arrived right after Dixon, almost in his wake. Now we have this 3 minute window (I won’t make fun of all this enigmatic number stuff! Another 3!). Dixon stated that when he got there, another cop was there. The author thinks he’s there to help Gertrude. She said that he was John’s friend, and told Gertrude to write a note. Then someone switched notes. Kind of cool, but I don’t think so. I think that this mystery cop was there to bust Gertrude.

There’s no mystery. I think that it's important to pay more attention to Harmon. Timeline step 4:

Q. How did you happen to go there?
A. I was radioed to go there?
Q. Ordered to go there?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What time did you arrive there?
A. Approximately 6:30.
Q. Was any one other than police officers there when you arrived?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who was that?
A. The District Car was there and - let's see - the district sergeant was also there.

I promise not to gloat. There’s your “mystery cop” or enigmatic cop or whatever you call him. He was the district sergeant. So it’s clear. Who was that guy?  You should ask Kaiser who was at the scene:

Q. While you were there did any other police officers arrive on the scene?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Who?
A. Inspector Euliss, Dilk, Sgt. Derrickson, Lt. Cline.

Who is Dilk? You should ask Harmon:

Q. You went back to the house there, did you?
A. At a quarter of 10:00.
Q. Yes, all you had was an oral order from whom to get this stuff?
A. Lt. Dilk.
Q. Dilk - he verbally told you to get the following property named here in this report, right?
A. He verbally ordered me to search the basement.
Q. Did you have a search warrant?
A. I did not.

You didn’t notice that one. So in the list of cops from Kaiser, Derrickson is the only sergeant. He might be George Derrickson, later Lt. George Derrickson. Kaiser clearly stated that this police sergeant was at the scene. That statement is in the publicly available trial transcript. You should also notice what Dixon said about him:

Q. Now, Officer, who was the first police officer who was there before you?
A. I could not answer that because I don't know for certain.
Q. Was he a uniform man?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was it a motorcycle man?
A. No, I assume he had a patrol car.

Why did he assume? I think I know why. Like I said, you should look at the picture of the house I found. The reason why this Dixon assumed the district sergeant had a patrol car was because it wasn’t parked on East New York Street. I think it was parked in front of the other house on the other side of the double. Seems to make sense to me. Now you will like this. Dixon was the first policeman to get dispatched to 3850 East New York. The district sergeant was the first cop to get dispatched to North Denny. Get it? The first report to the police about a dead girl or possible dead girl involved the Denny street side of the double. Get it now? Sylvia Likens was found in the other side of the double! Someone found the body there and called the cops. They got there and found her. The house was vacant, I think. So he did a logical thing and walked around to Gertrude’s side of the double and asked them about this girl, or whether they heard something over there, or maybe a strange car was parked over there, or something. Another quote from Harmon:

Q. Where was he at the time you got there, downstairs or upstairs or outside, where?
A. I don't have that information. I got to the front door and I was asked by the superior officer to guard that door on New York Street.

 Get it? The district sergeant told Harmon to guard the door on New York Street. That’s because there were already cops at the door on Denny Street. Then, somebody said something or the cops saw something that led them to believe that Gertrude’s family was involved in Sylvia’s death. You will find this interesting. One possibility is that they moved the body from the Denny Street side of the double, to Gertrude’s side. You’ll say, no, because the cops would be seen moving the body. I bet you didn’t think of this: there was a passage, some kind of hole in the wall somewhere, and you could pass from one side of the double to the other side. Now you can move Sylvia’s body  without ever being seen. Still not getting it? All the time Sylvia Likens was being held, she was being held on the other side of the double! Someone was holding her there, and abusing her terribly. Where was she being kept? In the basement. I mean, the basement of 304 North Denny. That is where the picture was taken. Someone from Gertrude’s side of the house was able to pass through to the other side of the house without leaving the house, and so she was never seen entering or leaving 304 North Denny. If so, Phyllis Vermillion would never have heard Sylvia scraping the floor with a shovel. I mean, I have to agree that what she heard in Gertrude’s basement was Paula and Stephanie shoveling coal into the furnace. Any noise that could be made out from the basement of 304 North Denny would have been heard by Clay McKinley who lived at 306 North Denny. The next house down was 308 North Denny, where Ray Beatty lived. Then came 310 North Denny, where the family of Woodrow Hobbs lived. Thinking about it, Clay McKinley did not testify, but that would be understandable since the case about the murder of Sylvia Likens was being made against Gertrude. Then anything that Mr. McKinley might say about noise coming from 304 North Denny would only complicate the case.

I will say something some might find distressing, although Tektonikus might not, I think. She pointed out that the photograph of Sylvia on the mattress has been altered to hide the hands, and thereby hide the fingernails. I say, no doubt. Here it goes…it has been altered far more importantly than that, and I’m surprised you didn’t see it. Kebel commented on how clean the clothes were relative to the room. The claim was made that this was the bedroom in Gertrude’s house. I have shown up above for sure that this picture was taken in the basement. 

There is no way that the body was hosed off in the basement, then taken upstairs and bathed, and then brought down into the basement. Credit where it is due, the feet are clearly filthy, and this is coal dust. Dixon said that Gertrude claimed that Sylvia returned home bare-chested. If you look at the blouse, the “funny blouse,” the pattern on the fabric is a striped one, but the stripes go in different directions. Then you see the sudden circular pattern below the bust line on the right. I think that when the picture was originally taken, she was completely naked. How could the pants be so nice and clean and the feet so dirty? Can’t! She was naked when the cop found her in the basement of 304 North Denny. A picture was taken. Then maybe the body was moved into 3850 East New York through the passage way that allowed someone in Gertrude’s house to move back and forth, so that she could continue to abuse Sylvia. The story line that popped up was that Sylvia was tormented and killed in Gertrude’s side of the double. The picture is a problem now. They said the body was washed in the bathtub, and then she was dressed. Sylvia, in the picture from the basement, still has dirty feet because of coal dust, so the picture was snapped before she was washed, if she ever was washed. I think that when they took the picture, they still didn’t know who she was, or where she belonged. So someone who could do something like this, some photography guy or something, altered the picture later to make the body look it was dressed.

You don’t know how important it is to study the pictures? You would know all about the mattresses, if you did, I think. The mattresses are very interesting. Start with the best known mattress:

This is a pretty filthy mattress. There are stains from blood drops near Sylvia’s head. I’ll call this mattress 1. Now for mattress 2:

If Sylvia is lying, or anyone, is lying on this mattress, it seems to be rather firm. Compare that to the other one, where the same girl is supposed to be lying on the same mattress, but it’s practically smashed. This I’ll call mattress 3:

That guy with his foot on the evidence is Leroy New. I would think he’d know better than to compromise evidence. Maybe he is standing on the mattress for a reason. A sneaky one. What is missing from the mattress 3 that is present on mattress 1? Blood-drop stains; the ones besides Sylvia's head. New has put his foot where those stains should be to hide the fact that it's not the same mattress. Also, this is a twin mattress. The mattress in the basement is a queen. I had another thought. Surely the mattress Sylvia was on would have been important evidence. It would have DNA on it, and who knows what else. Why isn’t the mattress with the police wherever they kept evidence? You mean that a very important piece of evidence like the mattress was left in Gertrude’s house after everybody was gone? Just sitting there? Then dunderhead (I like the word) Leroy New brings a reporter to the house to show him the mattress that should be with the cops, and then stands on it? Compare the two mattresses. Just look. It is impossible that Leroy News’s mattress is the mattress that Sylvia was found on. Tektonikus will like this: it’s not the mattress, but someone has attempted to make it seem like it is by attempting to he re-create the stain on the side of the real mattress.

Finally! The Ultimate falsification: mattress 4:

See it? The other mattress was clearly a twin. The twin mattress doesn’t have the dark, round stain that the queen mattress has. Mattress 4 appears to be the cleanest mattress of all of them. I think that mattress 4 was the one Gertrude and Stephanie slept on. Notice the odd round-thing on the floor and the curled piece of paper on the floor. Then compare the location of these items in the previous picture. They have moved. Why? One possibility is that these items moved when the twin mattress was pulled out of the room and the large mattress was moved into the room. How many mattresses were there in Gertrude’s house? In the back bedroom, there was one for the bed and one on the floor. There was one for Gertrude and Stephanie. There would have been one for Johnny, and one for James. Then there would have been one for Paula. I think that’s at least six mattresses. I’m sure that none of these mattresses are the mattress from the basement of 304 North Denny, and it looks a lot like various different mattresses from Gertrude’s house were being used at different times to claim as the one in the basement on the other side of the double.

Who would have found the body? I think that maybe workmen found her. One clue is the kitchen. I agree that there was a fight in the kitchen, and it is a mess. Chairs are broken, and so is the table. There looks like there is a woman’s black shoe under the table. Did Gertrude really keep the saltines on the floor? I think that this was the kitchen in 304 North Denny, and not Gertrude’s kitchen:

See the black shoe? I think it is a black shoe. And then I remember something that Gertrude said about shoes:

Q. Did she have sores on her body you were aware of?
A. She had a sore on her foot one time from the shoes she was wearing.
Q. Did you treat it?
A. Yes, with peroxide and merthiolate.

Lester Likens said this about Sylvia's shoes:

Q. Now, during the period of time they lived with Mrs. Wright, did you buy clothing for them?
A. Yes.
Q. Did you ever give them any money?
A. Yes, I give - I don't know who took the money. I give money for a pair of shoes for Sylvia.

So could this be one of Sylvia's new shoes? The ones that caused the sore on her foot that Gertrude treated so that it would heal? It makes more sense than thinking that Gertrude kept her shoes strewn about the kitchen floor.

There is nothing said whatsoever about a fight in the kitchen on the night of October 26th. Ricky said that he found Sylvia lying on the kitchen floor when he arrived. I guess I have to say that the little scene in some essay on this sight included a fight in the kitchen involving Sylvia, Jenny and Stephanie. That fight was about Sylvia wanting to go home, but Jenny didn’t want that. Stephanie didn’t want Jenny to leave. This part I’m not sure about, but maybe Tektonikus would be willing to comment, but I get the idea that she thought that Gertrude was zonked out in the dining room from popping pills. Then the fight woke her up. She tried to break it up and got knocked out. Then Sylvia got knocked into the basement, hit her head on the wall, and it was all an accident. That’s pretty good, but it didn’t happen. The kids testified that they all ate together at the kitchen table. Get it? Look at that table! How many of Gertrude’s kids could you get around that table? It’s too small, so, Tektonikus, you’re not so clever. That table is big enough for two adults to eat at, like Robert and Karen Handlon. There were two babies too, but the whole family could fit at that table. There is also a thing that might be what Tektonikus said somewhere is a gas pipe that goes into the stove. If she’s right, then where’s the stove? Marie looked at this picture and said that they didn’t have one. Look at this picture! Gertrude’s kids ate at this destroyed table? How many sat on the smashed chairs? There are too many people in her family to live without a stove. 

Q. Now, did you ever do any harm to your own children, Mrs. Baniszewski?
A. No, sir.
Q. No harm at all?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever burn them with a match?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever burn Shirley over the stove?
A. No, sir.

That’s a stupid question if there was no stove. I think there is an explanation. Oh, Marie cut herself on some wires. That wasn’t done on purpose. It could be that when the Handlon’s left, the owner of the rental house decided that 304 North Denny needed some work. Look at the outside! One thing he wanted to do is replace the stove. So he had some guys cart off the old one. He also wanted them to fix the wiring, so there was a bunch of wires left there. I guess Marie had been on that side of the house, fell or something and got cut on the wires. I hope that she and whoever else didn’t use them to hurt Sylvia, like to bind her hands. If they did, then Marie got what she deserved. Then I think that for some reason, who knows why, that the work guys, who took away the stove and left some construction stuff, didn’t go back. Until late in the day on October 26th, and found Sylvia in the basement. That could be, I guess. Tektonikus said there was no ambulance, and I think she’s right that if a call about a girl who might be dead was made, an ambulance would have been sent. I have a twist for that one later! What if the police got a call saying that a dead girl was found in the basement of 304 North Denny? What if the caller sounded very sure, and not like a kid? That might be very different.

This is one of the best parts, I think. It’s been made very clear that Robert Bruce and Karen Kay Handlon lived in 304 North Denny in 1965, being there before Gertrude and her family. Jenny was asked about the occupation of the house, and she said this:

Q. Now, at the Likens house out on East New York Street, is that near another street intersection there?
A. You mean the Baniszewski house?
Q. I mean the Baniszewski house, excuse me.
A. What did you say about the house?
Q. Is it near a street intersection?
A. Denny Street.
Q. Where is Denny Street?
A. Catacorned from New York.
Q. In terms of feet, how far is the Likens house from that intersection, would you say, using the courtroom an a measuring distance?
A. From Denny to New York?
Q. From Denny to the Baniszewski house?
A. It is just around the corner.
Q. Is there a house next door to the Baniszewski house?
A. Yes.
Q. How far away?
A. Well, it was sort of like a double.
Q. From the time you first went in the Baniszewski house, till the day of your sister's death, was there people living in that double, the other side?
A. Yes, when we first started living with them. I believe there was. I did not pay much attention.
Q. Somebody lived there all the time from the time you first started living there till your sister's death?
A. Yes, there was always someone living there.

I think this is sneaky. The lawyer guy starts by asking about 304 North Denny. Then he suddenly asks about the house next to Gertrude’s house, and that would be the double where Darlene Macguire lived, with Phyllis Vermillion (nosy Phyllis) on the other side. Of course both sides of that double were occupied, Darlene is Jenny’s friend, so Jenny knows that. However, the names aren’t used. Get it? The lawyer asked the questions in such a way as to create the impression that it was the other side of Gertrude’s house that was occupied all the time. Sneaky!

How about the other side of the double Gertrude lived in? How about 304 North Denny?

Q. Mrs. Vermillion, in response to Mr. Nedeff's question, did you say that Mrs. Baniszewski argued with the police on her front porch?
A. No, she was arguing with this boy she had locked up.
Q. Do you know the boy's name?
A. No, I never did know who he was. He lived next door to her in the other half of the double, in her house.
Q. He lived next door?
A. He had and had moved out.
Q. When was this she argued with him?
A. I don't really know, maybe September.
Q. In September?
A. I don't know. I would have to guess. I called him and they came out and asked me if I had seen anything.
Q. Then you interceded for the boy down at police headquarters?
A. Yes, they told me they were going to give him twenty years for it and I said, "I don't know what for, he did not do it".

Cool! The man arguing with Gertrude on her porch had been the man who lived next-door; in the other side of the double. Then he moved out. He tried to get into Gertrude’s house. Unless I’m wrong, this man was Robert Handlon. Vermillion also said something else important about this man:

Q. Did you ever call the police?
A. No, not till I found out Mrs. Wright had a boy locked up and he did not do it. I called down and talked to Sgt. Kaiser.
Q. What boy was that?
A. She had a boy locked up for breaking and entering and he did not do it.
Q. How do you know he did not do it?
A. Because we were sitting right in the car and saw it.
Q. On New York Street?
A. Yes, we got home from work and the boy was not there and we went to the White Castle and came back and we were just coming around the northeast side of the building off Denny and he was arguing with her on the front porch. She told the police he tried to get in her house and he did not do it.
Q. You said you saw Paula Marie's boyfriend there?
A. That is who she said it was, her boyfriend.
Q. Was he a neighbor boy?
A. I don't know. I seen him over there and did not know who he was till I went over in September. She said that was her boyfriend.

Vermillion's statements are clear, as are certain possibilities. Vermillion did not name Paula's boyfriend. It was the case that the name Robert Handlon was suddenly thrown out when Gertrude was on the stand. We also know that Robert Handlon lived in the other side of the double until sometime in September. Then he moved out, and Tektonikus said where he was living in 1966. He came back and wanted to see someone in Gertrude’s house, and got arrested. He went back later on October 20th, and got in the house. He was arrested again. Then on October 26th, of all days, Gertrude swears out her complaint against this man in the morning, and Sylvia was dead by that evening. Be careful! I AM NOT SAYING THAT EITHER OF THE HANDLONS HAD ANYTHING TO DO IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM WITH THE DEATH OF SYLVIA LIKENS. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THEY DID NOT. I think that the reason Handlon made at least two attempts to get into Gertrude’s house was to see Sylvia, because she had vanished, and he was worried about her. Tektonikus said that in 1966, 304 North Denny and 3850 East New York Street were vacant. So it seems pretty much certain that after Robert and Karen Handlon moved out of 304 North Denny, no one else moved in. I think the sneaky trick when Jenny was asked about the houses was meant to throw the hounds off the scent (I might get in trouble for creating more animals) that should have led to the other side of the double, which was vacant. Jenny told another whopper. If 304 North Denny Street wasn’t vacant, though it was, then Sylvia couldn’t have been kept there or killed there, although there is another little twist to that. Everybody knows that Jenny accused Paula of hurting Sylvia and in all kinds of ways! Then she did something remarkable. She threw Paula an acquittal, so she could be innocent in court. Contrast this with Gertrude, who said all kinds of nice things about Paula, but then insisted that Paula was in the basement talking to Sylvia before she died. That’s too bad! That’s the worst place to be on October 26th! Jenny said that Paula wasn’t there:

Q. Did you leave then?
A. Yes.
Q. Where did you go?
A. To rake leaves.
Q. When did you come back?
A. I'd say around 7:00 or 7:30.
Q. When you came back what did you see?
A. Well, I seen a police car pull up and I said, "I am going in and see what happened". As I ran up to the sidewalk someone said Paula or Stephanie might be hurt. I ran in the door and they said Sylvia was dead.
Q. Who said that?
A. I don't know. I asked the police officer if he would let me see my sister. They told me they would but they did not. I was there a while and Paula came in the door and Stephanie said, "Sylvia is dead". She said, "You are kidding" or something like that. They were trying to calm me down. Then the policeman - I was sitting in the living room a good while and Paula got out the Bible and started reading the Bible to me, about people dying and things like that and said, "This was meant to happen" and things like that.
Q. What else did she say to you?
A. She said, "Do you want to live with us, we will treat you like our own sister".
Q. Did she say anything else about dying?
A. She just kept reading chapters in the Bible and then the police officer called me in the kitchen.

Get it? I have my view, though I liked “Say You Are My Sister” pretty much. But I’m on a roll. Jenny says that Paula arrived after she did, and that when Jenny arrived, Stephanie was already bleating (sorry, sheep do that) about Sylvia being dead. So she couldn’t have been in the basement! So her mom was wrong! So she couldn’t have been involved in killing Sylvia that night. I think Jenny was lying again. I will quote Marie:

Q. I want to show you this, State's Exhibit No. 11. I want you to look at it. Have you see it before?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What is it?
A. A hook.
Q. Did you ever see that heated up?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever see anyone put that to the paper you said Paula lit?
A. No, sir.
Q. Where did you see that iron?
A. Downstairs on - in the basement, hanging up on a nail.
Q. Did you ever see anybody put it in their hands?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you ever see anybody put it to Sylvia's stomach?
A. No.
Q. When was it you actually saw Paula light the paper?
A. Before I went out to rake leaves.
Q. Why did she light paper in the sink?
A. Because they were going to heat that thing and put it on Sylvia's stomach.
Q. They were going to heat the iron marked State's Exhibit No. 11, this iron, is that what you are saying, she was going to heat it?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did you see the fire actually lit, see the paper burn?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. How long did you see it burn?
A. I was only down there a couple of minutes.
Q. Did you see anybody put the iron in the paper?
A. Yes.
Q. Who?
A. Paula.

How did Marie get so out of sorts? The story was going to be that Ricky and Shirley did the branding. Ricky will admit it on the stand. So why did she say Paula did it? Did Paula brand Sylvia? Who was going over, through some passage somewhere in the house, into the other side of the double, and abusing Sylvia in the basement over there? Did Marie know about it? Did she see something? Did she follow someone over there and maybe get cut on some wire that workmen left or something? Then, she would know what was going on over there. I think she knew and did nothing. Maybe she was threatened. Maybe by the person who was doing such horrible things.

It is interesting when you bring up Sylvia’s fingernails. They couldn’t figure out what the stuff under them was? I think cops do that all the time. Whatever it was obviously was in the basement. Stuff left by workmen? I thought it was interesting that Robert Handlon was a tile worker. Maybe when he moved out, he left some kind of chemical stuff in the basement, something he used for his job. It was on the floor and Sylvia got it under her fingernails trying to escape. That’s not Robert’s fault at all, and I am not saying it was. I think it might explain why something was in the basement and so it was under Sylvia’s fingernails. Whatever it was wouldn’t be something you’d find in Gertrude’s basement, so they lied and said that they couldn’t tell what it was. Then they immediately dismissed the whole fingernails thing, and everybody let them. Even now. I guess that all possible links to 304 North Denny would be wiped out. Of course, if the cops found this passage between the two sides of the double, and figured out that someone had been going back and forth, then they would be sure that someone on Gertrude’s side of the double was behind what happened to Sylvia. Gertrude was protecting someone during the trial. Maybe the guilty person, deciding to kill Sylvia, wrote a stupid Gang of Boys note. There was no gang, that person made them up. It might have occurred to them that the body would be found sooner or later, and the trail would lead back to 3850 East New York. So that person panicked, and wrote the note thinking they were clever. Then she gave it to Gertrude, who gave it to the cops. No, not Stephanie.

What about Gertrude’s complaint against Handlon? That is a super important question. I am supposed to believe that Gertrude swore out her complaint against Robert Handlon, that Sylvia was involved, and then she was dead that evening, and it was a coincidence? No way! I wonder whether the person who was abusing Sylvia did not want that complaint filed. Sort of like, it would reveal something very important, maybe why he was so intent on seeing Sylvia. Then, when Gertrude resolved that she would make this complaint, Sylvia’s enemy, probably in a rage, went over to the other side of the double and killed her, or tried to, by hitting her over the head. That wouldn’t stop the truth being known, I would think, but it would be the final revenge. As it turned out, maybe it did stop the truth from being known.

Now I would like to say something clever. When I thought about all of this, I suddenly said to myself, “Hey! Why would the cops do this?” I’ll bet that moving a dead body from a murder scene gets you in big time trouble! It seems like those cops, whoever did it, would be taking a huge risk in moving the body. For what? To get Gertrude? I say no way. You can get Gertrude easy enough. Can’t think of it? How about this? Cops get a call about a body found in 304 North Denny. When the cops get there, they find her in the basement. They check around and find a passage between the houses, and maybe that someone was going back and forth or something. Then what happens? An ambulance comes with the cops. But Sylvia is dead, so the ambulance guys leave. A coroner arrives. Not Dr. Kebel! Some other guy did, and he did his examination. Then they talked to Gertrude and the kids over at the 3850 East New York side. Then the cops bring them over to identify the girl. Who else can? Maybe a bunch of the kids came over. Then the cops took away the body. Get it? Sylvia’s dead body was never in Gertrude’s house! So, no moving the body. They took their pictures of the basement, the kitchen, and even the bathroom, like photos you take at crime scenes. These were in 304 North Denny, not Gertrude’s house. Then they said that they were from Gertrude’s house. Later, that night, Harmon returned and fiddled around in the basement. He took stupid things back downtown like things to smack naughty kids with, some shorts in a bag, and other stupid stuff. By then, the basement of Gertrude’s house was going to be the new crime scene. I like the stuff about the ghost-puppy. I agree with Tektonikus, that Gertrude maybe didn’t have a puppy. Maybe the Handlon’s had one! That’s why people said that they saw dog food in the basement. Maybe Handlon had another dog too, a shrinking dog. So all the photos were taken in 304 North Denny. Except the one Tektonikus calls the Room Photo. I think they needed one picture of the inside of Gertrude’s house to be with the other pictures in case someone got wise about it. So they took a picture of the back bedroom of Gertrude’s house. The body is the most important thing, I think, but they obviously were hiding the body in the picture. It might be right that it’s not a body at all. Get it? The pictures were taken in 304 North Denny. Then the crime scene was processed. Then they took Sylvia’s body away. Later, it was decided that Gertrude’s house was to be the crime scene. But it’s too late for a picture of Sylvia in the back bedroom. The crime scene changed, so now they needed to have cops dispatched directly to 3850 East New York. That was Dixon and Harmon, although a cop from the other side was there to talk to the new cops. The coroner was dispatched too, but there was no body to examine. Or maybe he just said later that he was there. Get it? He didn’t see the body, so he made a bunch of mistakes on the stand, like Tektonikus showed. Kaiser couldn’t decide if he was there at 6:35 or 6:55. What if he was at the Denny Street house at 6:35? Then at Gertrude’s side at 6:55? So both times are right. Why didn’t Gertrude plead innocent? And why didn’t Paula testify? Like I said, Jenny gave Paula a great shot to be innocent, so I wouldn’t testify either. Gertrude wouldn’t plead guilty because she was protecting one of her kids. Ok, but she still didn’t want to go to jail, so she went for the insanity plea. It didn’t work. Gertrude and Paula both went to jail. 

I thinks that’s pretty cool. I looked up this Occam guy, and he was someone from history who said that the right explanation is usually the simplest one. I agree, pretty much. I think that my explanation is the simplest I’ve seen on this website. I’ll check back later to see if there are any responses to what I have written. (user Abilene65)