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The wealthy Republican businessman is suspected of killing up to 25 young men and boys before he died by suicide after police discovered human remains on his estate in 1996.
Investigators in Indiana could potentially use DNA testing to identify all the remains found on the property of suspected gay serial killer Herb Baumeister, but only if they receive samples from relatives of the victims, the Associated Press reports.
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Baumeister, a wealthy Republican businessman who was married with three children, was suspected of killing up to 25 boys and young men he met at or around gay bars during the 1980s and ’90s. Baumeister died by suicide in 1996 at a public park in Canada after police searched his 18-acre Fox Hollow Farm estate in Westfield outside of Indianapolis and issued a search warrant for his arrest.
Related: 25 gay men could have been murdered by Indiana serial killer
During the original investigation in the 1990s, investigators discovered over 10,000 charred bones and fragments on the estate, as well as empty shotgun shells and handcuffs. Using dental records and DNA testing available at the time, investigators were able to match and identify eight suspected victims. Funding for further testing was cut, however, and the investigation lay dormant for years.
The investigation received new life in 2022 when Eric Pranger sent a Facebook message to Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison. Pranger believed his missing older cousin, Allen Livingston, was among Baumeister’s suspected victims. The 27-year-old bisexual man went missing in August of 1993 after he was seen entering the car of an unidentified man in Indianapolis.
Livingston’s mother, Sharon, was suffering health problems, and Pranger asked if Jellison could help bring closure to the case before she passed.
“How do you say no to that?” Jellison told the AP. “That’s our job as coroners by statute, to identify the deceased.”
Sharon provided a DNA sample, which Jellison and a team of investigators including the FBI, Indiana State Police, and the Human Identification Center used to identify Livingston’s remains amongst those found on Baumeister’s estate.
Related: Investigators identify remains of an additional victim, Alan Livingston, on the estate of gay serial killer Herb Baumeister
The renewed investigation last year resulted in the identification of another potential victim, Jeffrey A. Jones, who was also reported missing in August of 1993.
“Because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging,” Jellison said in a post to Facebook last year. “However, the team of law enforcement and forensic specialists working the case remain committed.”
According to investigators, Baumeister was leading a deadly double life. While he appeared to be a loving husband and father and a successful businessman, he’s also suspected of cruising local gay bars for young men he’d lure back to his estate and strangle to death.
Related: Suspected gay serial killer Herb Baumeister's 12th potential victim identified by police
Police also believe Baumeister was the I-70 strangler, a serial killer who killed 11 young men and boys and dumped their bodies throughout Indiana and Ohio between June 1980 and October 1991. Investigators noted the discovery of bodies from the I-70 Strangler stopped when Baumeister bought his estate in Fox Hollow Farm, leading them to believe he continued killing but used the estate as his new dumping ground.
In 1994, Baumeister’s 13-year-old son Erich found a human skull and a collection of bones while playing on the family’s Fox Hollow Farms estate. According to a 1996 interview with People, Baumeister’s wife Julia said her husband explained the bones were from an old medical skeleton used by his late father, an anesthesiologist. She also revealed the couple had engaged in sexual intercourse only three times in their marriage and that she had never seen him fully naked. The couple ran the successful Sav-A-Lot chain of stores, allowing them to move into the exclusive Fox Hollow Farms.
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Julie said she forgot about the incident until November of the following year when police asked for permission to search the property as part of their investigation into a string of killings targeting young gay men in the area. Police said a young man had identified Baumeister as the man who had suffocated him to the brink of death during a sexual tryst at the estate. The Baumeisters refused the request, but Julie later consented while Herbert was out of town in June 1996. His body was found with a single gunshot wound to the head on July 3, 1996, at a public park in Ontario, Canada.
The investigation into Baumeister and the remains found on his property continues. Relatives of missing men they suspect may have fallen prey to Baumeister and wish to provide DNA samples are encouraged to contact the Indiana State Police missing persons hotline at (833) 466-2653 or the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office at (317) 770-4415.
If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 is for people of all ages and identities. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The lifeline also provides resources to help with other crises, such as domestic violence situations. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or text START to 678678.
