What Happened to Herbert Richard Baumeister?

Herbert Richard Baumeister, born April 7, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, led a seemingly normal life as a businessman, husband, and father of three, but harbored a dark secret. From an early age, Baumeister exhibited antisocial behaviors, including an interest in dead animals and disturbing outbursts, leading to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and antisocial personality disorder in his teens, though he received no further psychiatric treatment [2, 6, 21]. He married Juliana Saiter in 1971, and six months later, his father committed him to a psychiatric hospital for two months due to severe depression [1, 2, 6]. Baumeister later founded the successful Sav-A-Lot thrift store chain in Indianapolis in 1988 and purchased the sprawling 18-acre Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield, Indiana, that same year [2, 6].

Between the early 1980s and mid-1990s, numerous young men, many from the Indianapolis LGBTQ+ community, began disappearing. Investigators suspect Baumeister was responsible for these disappearances, luring victims from gay bars to Fox Hollow Farm, where he would murder them, often by strangulation, and dispose of their remains [1, 3, 7, 13]. He is also a prime suspect in the 'I-70 Strangler' murders, a series of at least eleven killings of gay men along Interstate 70 in Ohio and Indiana between 1980 and 1991, with the pattern of these murders seemingly ceasing after Baumeister acquired Fox Hollow Farm [1, 2, 6, 7, 15]. His crimes at Fox Hollow Farm often occurred when his wife and children were away [1].

The horrific extent of Baumeister's activities began to unravel in 1994 when his 13-year-old son discovered a human skull on the property. Baumeister dismissed it as a medical skeleton from his father's collection and reburied it [1, 6, 8]. However, suspicions grew, particularly after a man named Tony Harris, who had a near-fatal encounter with a man calling himself 'Brian Smart' (later identified as Baumeister), reported his suspicions to the police [3]. By January 1996, Juliana Baumeister filed for divorce, and in June 1996, while Baumeister was out of town, she consented to a search of Fox Hollow Farm [1, 3, 6]. Investigators uncovered over 10,000 charred and decomposed human bone fragments, along with other evidence, belonging to at least eleven individuals [1, 3, 6, 7].

With a warrant issued for his arrest, Baumeister fled to Ontario, Canada. On July 3, 1996, he committed suicide in Pinery Provincial Park, leaving a three-page note that expressed remorse over his failing marriage and financial issues but made no mention of the remains or the murders [1, 3, 6, 13]. In the immediate aftermath, eight of the eleven sets of remains found were identified, some through dental records [3, 6, 19]. However, the sheer volume and fragmented nature of the remains, coupled with limited forensic technology at the time, left many victims unidentified for decades [3, 7].

In recent years, renewed investigative efforts, particularly since 2022, have leveraged advancements in forensic science, DNA analysis, and genetic genealogy to identify more victims. In October 2023, Allen Lee Livingston was identified, followed by Manuel Resendez in January 2024 [6]. Daniel Thomas Halloran was identified in April 2025, bringing the total identified victims to ten [5]. In November 2025, Roger Goodlet's identity was confirmed through DNA, supporting an earlier dental record identification [3, 8, 20]. The Hamilton County Coroner's Office partnered with GenGenies, a nonprofit genetic genealogy firm, in August 2025 to accelerate victim identification [4]. As of February 2026, officials announced the discovery of a new unidentified DNA profile from the Fox Hollow Farm remains and are seeking public assistance [13, 14]. The ongoing investigation and the stories of the victims continue to be highlighted in new media, including a 2026 documentary, 'Return to Fox Hollow: New Victims, Darker Secrets,' which debuted on Hulu in July 2026, providing new leads and details [16, 18]. The case remains active, with the goal of identifying all victims and providing closure to their families [7].