David Letterman Fan

Erotomania:

What is It?

And Who Ever Had It?

By Lynn A. Granata

Margaret Mary Ray. She was an American woman who suffered from both schizophrenia and erotomania. She received media attention in the late 1980's early 90's because she became a "celebrity stalker." Not only did she target the late night TV host David Letterman, but she then targeted retired astronaut Story Musgrave.  She believed that she was married to these guys.

What is erotomania? It is a delusional disorder classed along the paradigm of schizophrenia-like mental health disorders. Erotomaniacs think that the object of their stalking is truly "in love with them." They become so convinced of the delusion that they begin acting it out in very flagrant ways. For instance, they believe falsely that the love object of their desires loves them back from a distance. For an explanation as to how and why they believe the delusion, they think that he sends them messages through the media such as via airwaves through the TV and internet.

These are called delusions of reference. Delusions of reference is when the love object does something such as give a press conference, the erotomaniac construes it as a message or meaning of their love. When in reality, he doesn't even know who the stalker is or has never even met them! Nonetheless, despite all evidence to the contrary she will still believe that they are destined to be together, or are soul mates. She will stop at nothing to prove their love, like sending the target of her affection unwanted cards and gifts. Women are not the only gender that can become afflicted with erotomania, but the known fact is that the disorder itself afflicts just as many men. They are the ones who will make the news, such as what Margaret Mary Ray has done.

They will get arrested and charged with a another crime in progress, such as speeding and or trespassing. That is how Margaret Ray was originally captured. Ray was later sent to an asylum where she received treatment for her illness. She improved and was released back into the community by the late 1990's. Unfortunately, she lost the battle with the disease and committed suicide by standing on railroad tracks with the intention to die by becoming mutilated by an Amtrak train.

Ray would go to the home of David Letterman, break into it, and leave notes and other novelties.  He actually made a joke out of it on a show that he taped back in 1993.

David Letterman did send his condolences to the family of Margaret Mary Ray after she died from committing suicide in 1998.

Far-Fetched Movie The Girl Next Door 

Bears no Relation To Sylvia Likens Case

By Lynn A. Granata

Aunt Ruth is the film's arch villain

I thought that after a fair amount of thinking that it would be a good idea to write about this fictionalized version about the Sylvia Likens Case.

The movie in comparison to An American Crime tears at your heart. It was credited to a famed horror novel author, Jack Ketchum. Released in 2007, it was a box office bomb.

The time setting takes place in the late 1950's, the Dwight Eisenhower years.

 Two adolescent girls, Meghan and Susan are sent to live with their Aunt Ruth in the suburbs. Because they lost both of their parents to a car accident.

Meghan is an attractive 15 year old girl and her sister Susan is 12 years old, and Susan has to wear leg irons on both legs because she broke both of her legs in this accident. Meghan, however escaped with only a couple of minor lacerations. She was very lucky.

The movie opens with the narration of David Moran, who reminisces about that time in his life when he met both helpless sisters. He tells his side of the story about how his life was changed forever after the events which took place in Aunt Ruth's home unraveled.

Young Meg meets David, then 12, on a sandy river bed and strikes up a friendly, if not flirtatious conversation. David is showing Meg the crayfish he caught Meg tries it and she catches the two larger crayfish that Dave tried to catch but couldn't.

Meg tells David that she had just moved in next door with the Chandler's. David exclaims "hey we're neighbors!"

The next day David finds out about Meg and her sister Susan through his best friend and next door neighbor Donny Chandler. He is Meg and Susan's second cousin.

Enter Aunt Ruth

She is supposed to set the example of the super strict authoritarian disciplinarian who doesn't tolerate any adolescent high jinks' and she most certainly lays down the law to Meg and Susan very early on in their boarding arrangement with herself and her young sons.

The trouble doesn't start until Aunt Ruth discovers that Meg has painted a water color portrait for David. David inappropriately shows up at Ruth's house that evening and tells Ruth that the painting was from Meg and meant for her.

Ruth immediately scoffs at the painting, proudly announcing that she knows that it wasn't meant for her, telling David that she painted it for him.

Ruth stands up and walks over to Meg and tells her to take it back. Ruth then lectures her troupe, and especially Meg about the evils of being a slut and warns Meg that she will not stand for any slutting going on in her house.

Ruth thinks that Meg isn't well you guessed it, unchaste.

About a day later, David goes over to their house and finds his 3 pals upstairs tickling Meg. Meg slaps Ralphie, the youngest boy of the depraved lot across the face because he pinched her in the wrong place. Ralphie runs out of the bedroom to let his mother know. Willie, the eldest and meanest of the trio hollers you b@@*h! at Meg. Willie then pulls Susan out of the closest and throws her seated on the bed. Willie shouts "look what your sister did to Ralphie!"

Ruth comes storming into the bedroom once she hears all the commotion going on and asks, "what in God's name is going on in here.?"

Now to make the rest of this long story short, Susan is punished for being in connivance with Meg. She is paddled with a toilet bowl cleaning brush about 18-20 times. Meg, who is fiercely protective of her sister, tries to stop the corporal punishment but can't because her 3 male cousins hold her back.

 Ruth demands that Meg give her the diamond ring necklace she wears around her neck that was her mother's. When Meg protests, Ruth violently yanks it off her neck.

Later on and from here on out, the abuse of Meg gets worse and worse. She is bound and gagged in the basement. She is refused food and water. She makes a feeble effort to escape, is caught, and then beaten again more severally than ever.

Ruth and company eventually and slowly murder Meg, they rape and brand her, and then finally burn her in her most sensitive part of her body. It is too gruesome for me to tell you what it is, but all I could do is give you a hint, it is a practice that some third world countries do to young women so that they lose their desire for human coitus. The End.

 Meg dies and David tried to save her and Susan's lives, but he ends up only saving his own. Susan is rescued, when the cops come after a fire was set by David earlier to grab the attention of the neighborhood for an SOS.

Conclusion

It is now the present. David is a Wall Street Bigwig. He looks back and remembers that summer in his life and how it changed him forever. He admits that what Meghan taught him was "it's what you do last that matters."

The Hollies

50 Years Since

"On A Carousel"

Was Recorded at Abbey Road Studios

By Lynn A. Granata

In 1966, the British Invasion had produced numerous acts that made this era in music great.  In London, England, at the famous Abbey Road studios is where 2 great English Rock Bands were established, The Hollies, and The Beatles. But the Hollies, unlike the Beatles are a much tighter group of 4-6 good friends who formed the wonderful three part harmony style of vocalese in a popular English Rock and Roll group. The original members consist(ed) of: Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Terry Sylvester, Bern Calvert and Bobby Elliott, respectively. They were from Blackpool, Manchester England UK. that is far north almost near the Welsh border. 

The Hollies pictured in the mid-1960's.
L-R, Bobby Elliott, Graham Nash, Allan Clarke, Tony Hicks, Bern Calvert.

Liverpool, where the Beatles are from is still quite far away from Blackpool. 

Just happened to be finding a lot of videos and information about a group from a much more enchanted time in musical history and I'm really loving it! I wanted to share this with you all, and give Global Criminologist a little break from the "heavy" subject matter to a much lighter note for a change, so hope you enjoy it!

Gertrude Couldn't Get Off On Insanity

By Lynn A. Granata

Mother of Sadism

After her arrest, Gertrude wanted to wipe her hands completely free of the crime.

On an old newscast broad casted from Radio Indy from 1965,

Gertrude blamed some of her minions for what happened to Sylvia Likens.

She was quoted as vehemently denying all charges of assault and battery, which later lead to Sylvia's murder.

She vigorously stated that:

 "I ain't never done anything to that girl, never!"

"I was too sick to know what was going on!"

"My children were the ones beating up on Sylvia."

"One girl from the neighborhood came over and bloodied her nose, I think."

"It was just getting too much for me to handle all the kids plus I have asthma."

"I told these girls it's just getting too much for me to handle, and that they were going to have to call their daddy to come pick them up."

Gertrude obviously didn't have no great command of the English language. She was pure trailer white trash.  Illiterate as well, plus the statements were all orchestrated or fabricated.  Her asthma apparently didn't keep her from exerting paddle and belt punishments on Sylvia, as well as hard kicks to the most delicate parts of her body, which we won't get into.

Gertrude was not declared insane.  She was given a battery of tests while she was awaiting trial. Her psychological evaluation results were that she was suffering from dependent personality disorder, hysterical personality disorder, with psychotic features, and finally anti-social personality disorder with sadistic tendencies. She was asked to draw a self-portrait of herself, as well, it was a very telling image of herself as a large woman with large claw-like hands, it must have been how she perceived herself quite accurately after her conviction for the torture and murder of young Sylvia Likens.

Why didn't Sylvia Just Leave?

By Lynn A. Granata

Sylvia Likens in her class portrait.
This angelic picture was taken long before the Baniszewski's got a hold of her.

The best years of a young woman's life is when they are in their mid-late teens.  Health is at an all time high. I wish I could be sixteen again! The energy that you have at sweet sixteen is monumental. You can get up early in the morning and go to classes that start at 7:30 a.m.  Then go to track meetings after classes and still not be tired.

I am not sure about Sylvia's development, but it appears that she may have had stunted growth. She repeated a grade at school because her parents were constantly moving from place to place. So instead of starting 10th grade, she was only repeating 9th grade over when she started school in September with the Ban Clan.

 Didn't she ever learn how to drive? It's too bad that she never did. When I was her age, high schools had after school driver's ed classes. They required 30 hours of theory training about the rules of the road, etc. How to park, how to drive in bad weather, those types of things. Nonetheless, I don't know if driving would have saved her from her fate.  Her parents appeared to be very dirt poor, and if they had at least one family car, it must have been used solely for that purpose. They would have needed it to get to their carnival engagements.

Another thing, a lot of women didn't learn how to drive until they got married back in this era. Eventually she would have learned how to drive though, but she never got the chance, whatever would have happened in her life, I believe that Sylvia would have been successful in any career or endeavor.  But, only if she didn't get scarred and multilated by the Baniszewski Clan. Once those letters were seared into her delicate flesh that is when all hope was gone for her.  

Even if she had received prompt medical treatment, according her trial transcripts a physician who had examined her post mortem stated that she had suffered from systemic shock from the letters being carved into her skin.

She was branded as well with
 a 3 below her ribcage. She had so many sores, burns and cuts that she lost her will to survive. But, if she did survive she would had to have been cared for in a medical facility long-term. Somewhat like being placed in a veterans hospital for war trauma victims.

Why Did She Stay?

Sylvia may have been mistreated by members of her own immediate family long before she met the Baniszewski family. Her father Lester Likens may have dished out some harsh paddlings to his daughters when they did something that was perceived as wrong. However, those disciplinary measures were never intended to be overkill or life theatening. Back at that time in American history, parents believed in corporal punishment. Today, parents have changed and think that corporal punishment is wrong and emotionally, psychologically, and physically damaging for life. Sylvia  might have felt she deserved the abuse, she came from a sad family situation, where there were  constant fights leading to domestic violence, marital problems, parental discord and poverty. She got too entrenched into becoming a human punching bag, and it flew so far out of control that she couldn't leave.  

She wasn't being fed filet mignon and lobster everyday, thats for sure, or there'd be a possibility that she'd have some physical strength to fight for both herself and Jenny to run away. Her jailors didn't want Sylvia to eat or go to the restroom. They were insanely jealous of her. Jealousy may have been the central motivator in Sylvia's death. She was starved to death, and could have passed for a victim of anorexia. Anorexia is a common eating disorder with young women, but not in Sylvia's situation. Because Sylvia was no queen by no means, being fed good and fattening foods was something Sylvia never had while she was staying with the Baniszewski's. So, she was not worried about losing weight unlike anorexics who deliberately starve themselves because they want to be thin.  They think they are (delusionally) fat when they are not.

How did Paula B. Pace Get Fired From Her Teaching Job in Conrad, Iowa?

By Lynn A. Granata

Paula Baniszewski age 17 at Sylvia's trial in 1966.

The Paula saga continues.   I will keep on digging up information about the Likens Case, because it is still a hot topic even 50 years after it happened.  Did you know that this author was only a year old when all this rift-raft was taking place? Neither one of my parents have ever heard of the Likens case. I know my dad would have been appalled and would have wanted to save Sylvia. 

Unfortunately, we lived miles away from where this grisly crime occurred. Rhode Island is quite a-ways from Indiana, and news media outlets weren't like they are today. If you lived in RI, there was a good chance you would have never known about news taking place half way across the country, but other notable news at the time, such as the Vietnam War, you would hear about simultaneously. International news stories were globally covered by the large news consultants like the Associated Press. But local news going on in another state was handled by that particular area of the country's own local news channels. 

They went by order of notoriety.  Today, of course you have 24/7 news conglomerates such as CNN which goes constantly. Cable television and the internet have made it possible to know what is going on in even the most remote areas of the world. And as far as myself is concerned, I didn't even know about the case until at least 2011. So, news can be become viral in the flick of an instant.  50 years after the Likens case proves that it can.

Paula was fired from the Beaman-Conrad-Liscomb-Union-Whitten school district.  There she was employed as a teacher's aid living in Marshalltown, Iowa. The consolidated school district's board unanimously voted at their monthly meeting to fire Pace, 64, for  lying under false pretenses about information reported on her job application.

"She was a sweet lady (who) helped out any student she could that came into her classroom," recalled Thaddeus Lawler, 27, who was tutored by Pace while he was a student at BCLUW High School. "She'd changed a lot from her past. She was a totally different person." http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/24/teacher-aide-secret-past-unearthed/1654301/

The Grundy County Sheriff's office received an anonymous tip on October 17, 2012.  The school district promptly reviewed the tip and decided that Pace had to go. Pace was employed as a teacher's aid since 1998. At the time, Pace was able to fly under the radar only because back in 1998, they didn't conduct background checks on teacher's aids. Various comments were made in regard to her termination by parents and peers that knew her during her teaching tenure. 

 Most have expressed gratitude that she was a good and caring teacher who would help any student who came into her classroom. Others wondered how she could have landed a career as a teacher's aid if she had murder on her record. But the vast majority does still think that she shouldn't be employed around children.  I AGREE.

Reference

Retrieved from:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/10/24/teacher-aide-secret-past-unearthed/1654301/

Here is a Great Video by The Hollies It Is a Timeless Classic

"On A Carousel"

I know You'll All Love It!

By Lynn A.Granata

Uploaded from 

youtube.com

I never knew that Graham Nash was once a member of the Hollies.  I am a big fan of his. So that's who the really great looking guy on the far left is. The guy in the middle, he was great too. His name is Allan Clarke.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

Grisly 16th Century Torture of Young Women

Bears An Ironic Resemblance to Sylvia Liken's

Modern Day Slaying

By Lynn A. Granata

In comparison to the puppet masters of the 1965 Sylvia Likens murder, one can't help but wonder if Gertrude, Paula, and Stephanie Baniszewski are reincarnations of the Hungarian Torture Queen Countess Elizabeth Bathory?  It's a funny coincidence because if you research the Eastern European Balkan States, like Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, and Hungary you will find that in that culture paganism ran rampant.  In more looser terms these areas of the world invented what we call today the "Goth" or Gothic culture. By the way, I am in no way discriminating against any particular culture.

Gothic Culture

  I know some things about Goth culture, but I'm no participant of it by any means. Not every Gothic culture is evil, as you know, there are good and bad in every culture on earth. 

Bleeding Edge Dolls

I do have a collection of Bleeding Edge Goth Dolls they are fashion dolls, like Barbie.  Except they are a little more avant gard in their design and make-up, and their clothing and let's not forget their hair colors. They have pierced noses and lips as well as tatoos.  Some have purple hair, most have black hair with green or white or purple streaks, there also is one that has fuscia colored hair and she's called "Lolitta."

Buy them on e-bay today and you'll see they can go as high as $400. And that's being modest. Because they no longer are making them and those that are retired can be bid on starting at $50-$1000. I was lucky though, because I bought my collection back when they first were issued about 10 or 12 years ago. Now they need some dusting. When they first came out they were regularly priced at around $40 or $50 dollars, some were as low as $25. I wouldn't sell them though, not even if I were at the end of my rope! I enjoy combing their beautiful long locks of hair.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory

Now back to what I originally intended to discuss-Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She lived between 1560-1614, so she was approximately 54 years old when she died. She lived in a remote Bavarian Castle nestled in the thick thistled Hungarian forest. But it's what when on inside that castle that gives you the eerie creeps. Inside these castles, she had according to all testimony, Báthory's victims were adolescent daughters of lowest untouchable or peasant class, they were recruited to go to the castle or were set up by abatement to go there to find high-paid work, which was rare at that time in history. Daughters of inferior gentry, were sent to Bathory's gynaeceum by their parents to learn  etiquette. The atrocities consisted of severe beatings, burning or mutilation of hands, biting, freezing and starving to death.

Countess of Evil, Elizabeth Bathory.

Last years and death

Báthory was imprisoned in Čachtice Castle and placed in solitary confinement. She was locked up in a bricked set of rooms, with small slits left open for air and to hand food. She lived there for the remainder of her life until she died. On August 21, 1614, Báthory complained to her bodyguard that her hands were cold, whereupon he replied "It's nothing Maam. "Please go lie down." She went to bed and was found dead the next day. She was buried in the church of Čachtice on November 25,  according to some sources because of the villagers' hatred of "The Tigress of Čachtice" buried in the cemetery, her body was later transferred to her place of birth  Ecsed, then interred at the Báthory family crypt. The location of her body is unknown.

Conclusion

Notice how her life, outcome of her crimes and aftermath are so similar to Gertrude Baniszewski's?

Gertrude's heritage may have evolved from a long line of Polish/Hungarian/Dutch ancestry as well. Is it any wonder that if you could go way back in time to trace her ancestors, that you are almost 100% certain to come up with some fascinating facts? The monsters of our time don't merely vanish at death, but if there is an afterlife they will return again some way somehow to repeat their fury all over again.

Reference

Retrieved from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory

Who was Stephanie Baniszewski? How did Her Role In the Sylvia Likens Murder Affect her Mother and Siblings?

By Lynn A. Granata

Oh no not again! You must be thinking. Another Baniszewski tale again.
Only these tales are true crime events of our time.

But, so many of you must be wondering who was Stephanie?
And what role, if any did she play in participating in one of the most disgusting murders ever?

Well, now I'm going to introduce you all to:

Stephanie Fay Baniszewski.

Stephanie Baniszewski at the time of Sylvia's murder trial in 1966.

Stephanie Baniszewski when she was in 1st grade

Stephanie would be approximately 65/66 years old today, if she is still living. She was closer in age to Sylvia than any of the other children in that large dysfunctional brood. She was considered to be (probably) the most attractive and intelligent of the children in that family back then.

What was her role in the murder?

Stephanie sold her mother and siblings literally down the river, and she was never indicted on any murder charges against Sylvia. Instead she struck up a deal with her attorney which cleared her from any culpability because she testified that she either was unaware of the abuse and shenanigans taking place, that she never witnessed any abuse, or that she wasn't home when it happened. It has been speculated that Stephanie got up on the stand and committed perjury for she wasn't telling the truth under oath and we all know that's a crime in and of itself. Supposedly all because she wanted to wash her hands clean from her family and move forward with her own selfish interests.

However, she did participate in the cruelty and torture of her friend Sylvia.  I know that's not the news you would like to hear. So many of you figured that she was the only decent person in the household, perhaps the one who would have even saved Sylvia from the The Lord of the Flies.
Wrong.

Stephanie's boyfriend, Coy Hubbard killed Sylvia when he administered the very last fatal blow to her head with a wooden broomstick handle, which resulted in the immediate cause of death, a subdural hematoma to the brain.  In addition to that, Sylvia's body was riddled with more than 150 burns, cuts, lacerations and blisters from being immersed in scalding hot water on a regular basis. Stephanie, you guessed it was the task master of the scalding baths in order to "cleanse" Sylvia of her filthiness.

The Baniszewski's all declared her a "dirty little slut." Stephanie was in all likelihood nothing more than an ambivalent observer to Sylvia's intense pain. She shifted between a love-hate relationship with Sylvia, more or less depending upon the place and time she caught Sylvia being forced to strip naked and perform a strip tease that was instigated by her own mother, Gertrude.

Stephanie in real life walked into the house right as Sylvia was inserting the coke bottle, but instead of stopping the incident like as shown in An American Crime, she actually made the situation worse by going up to Sylvia and slapping her across the face, ordering her to go up into her room. Another time Stephanie caught Sylvia wearing her brassiere; she then slapped Sylvia and called her a name.

Coy hated Sylvia because he believed that she was spreading lies about his sweetheart Stephanie in school, saying she was a prostitute. Coy would judo flip Sylvia and beat her.  Stephanie was oblivious to his violence toward her supposed friend, it has been theorized because Stephanie was subconsciously jealous of Sylvia for making up the lie about her "chastity" being infringed upon. Coy acted on this presumption, for he was deeply angered by Sylvia's rumors that his girlfriend wasn't a virgin.

Where was Sylvia's prince?

 She could have been saved if she were only fortunate enough to have had someone around who really cared about her.
Some things are really just not fair-and this certainly is one of them.

Reference

Retrieved from:

murderpedia.org/gertrudebaniszewski