House of horrors where Indiana's worst serial killer hid remains (2024)

A new investigation into one of Indiana's most notorious serial killers has led to the identification of a 12th victim - with cops warning there could be at least 25 in total.

The chilling case began in 1996 when the 15-year-old son of businessman Herbert Baumeister discovered a human skull near the family's estate Fox Hollow Farm.

Now dubbed 'The Killing Field', cops ultimately unearthed around 10,000 charred bone fragments on the sprawling Indianapolis-area property.

Baumeister - a married father of three and then the owner of two Sav-A-Lot thrift stores - quickly became the subject of an investigation and was believed to have snared victims at gay bars.

But the 49-year-old fled to Ontario after an arrest warrant was issued and shot himself in a park before he could be tried.

Previously, nine victims had been identified. But a new investigation launched in 2022yielded two more IDs - Allen Livingston, 27, and Manuel Resendez, 34. Now a third new victim - Jeffrey Jones, 31 - has been named, CBS News reported.

The remains are the third to be identified in a new investigation after over 10,000 bone fragments were unearthed at Fox Hollow Farm - the old home of Herbert Baumeister.

Baumeister - then the owner of two Sav-A-Lot thrift stores - quickly became the subject of an investigation, which within months culminated with a warrant for his arrest. Authorities believed Baumeister frequented gay bars, lured men to his home and killed them

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison revealed in an update on the case that the remains found on the property could represent at least 25 people.

'We know that we have at this point 13 victims found on the Fox Hollow Farm property,' he said.

'Because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging.

'However, the team of law enforcement and forensic specialists working the case remain committed.'

He added that the most recent man identified, Jeffrey Jones, went missing in 1993, in Indianapolis - a timeline that coincides with the young men who vanished between the mid-1980s and the mid-90s already named asBaumeister's victims.

MoreDNA samples are now set to be analyzed, which, according to Jellison, remains'the most efficient way that we'll be able to identify these remains.'

So far, that effort has garnered IDs on three new victims,Jones,Livingston, andResendez.

Two of those turned out to be already among the eight men whose remains were found during the initial probe in the 90s - Resendez and now Jones.

By 1999, Baumeister had been linked to the disappearance of at least 16 men - with a new investigation starting in 2022 since naming more. The most recent victim identified was31-year-old Jeffrey Jones, bringing the number of Baumeister's presumed victims to 13

The new search has also yielded IDs on two more victims - Allen Livingston, 27, and Manuel Resendez, 34 - both of whom went missing in Indianapolis in 1993

Other confirmed victims include John Lee 'Johnny' Bayer, 20; Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr., 20; Steven Spurlin Hale, 28; Allen Wayne Broussard, 28; Roger Allen Goodlet, 33; Michael Frederick 'Mike' Keirn, 45; and 34-year-old Jerry Williams-Comer.

All were named after DNA was extracted from bones found on Baumeister's expansive compound.

The former home and suspected scene of up to 25 murders still stands today, with eerie images showing the first crime scene search.

Cops, meanwhile, have alreadyidentified twenty additional locations that might yield more excavations in the currently vacant home, with an additional three sets of remains still unidentified. All are believed to be male and thevictims of homicide.

Hamilton County Coroner's office is appealing to the public to come forward if relatives went missing during the killer's reign of terror across greater Indianapolis.

They are being urged to complete a DNA test as the search effort continues.

Jones' remains were identified earlier this month through advances in forensic genetic genealogy, and analysis performed by the FBI and Jellison's office.

Resendez's remains were identified using the same method in January, after vanishing from the Indianapolis area in 1993.

Other confirmed victims include that of John Lee 'Johnny' Bayer, 20; Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr., 20; Steven Spurlin Hale, 28; Allen Wayne Broussard, 28; Roger Allen Goodlet, 33; Michael Frederick 'Mike' Keirn, 45; and 34-year-old Jerry Williams-Comer

All were named after DNA was extracted from their bones found on Baumeister's expansive compound

Cops have identified twenty additional locations that might yield more excavations in the currently vacant home

Hamilton County Coroner's office is appealing to the public to come forward if relatives went missing during the killer's reign of terror across greater Indianapolis

A few months earlier, more bone fragments were named as belonging to Livingston, who also went missing in 1993, in Indianapolis.

His remains were recovered in the initial search of the farm in 1996, but remained unidentified until October 2023.

The initial investigation saw police scour all eight acres of land on the estate.

However, due to the sheer scale of the operation, there were some oversights - with a man named Joe LaBlanc finding a bone while walking the dog on the former Baumeister property in 2011, after renting an apartment attached to the main house.

At the time, Baumeister attempted to explain away the skull found by his son, claiming it was part of his late father's medical practice.

Then, two weeks after the bones were discovered and a warrant was sent out for Baumeister's arrest, he killed himself in Toronto,Canada.

Authorities believed Baumeister frequented gay bars, lured men to his home and killed them. By 1999, he had been linkedto the disappearance of at least 16 men missing since 1980.

This included several whose bodies were dumped in shallow streams in rural central Indiana and westernOhio.

They are being urged to complete a DNA test as the search effort continues, during which even more remains could be brought to light

A replica of the original sign at Fox Hollow Farm is seen here on Tuesday October 16, 2012

The farm is the suspected scene of up to 25 murders of young men in Indianapolis, officials this week claimed

The 1977 Tudor style mansion is no longer owned byBaumeister, and still stands today

Joe LaBlanc, shows the Star where he and his dog found a human leg bone during a walk on the property in 2011, while renting an apartment on the property from its then owners

He went on to give the star a tour of the Monon rail way tunnels which run along the edge of the property

The tac room in Fox Hollow Farm horse stables, as it was Tuesday October 16th, 2012

An air vent where it was alleged suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister, kept a hidden camera above a couch in the basem*nt, uncovered by subsequent homeowners

The farm was 'an unusual spot to find bodies,' then-Sheriff Joe Cook told The Indianapolis Star following the discovery of a human skull in June 1996

Authorities believed Baumeister frequented gay bars, lured men to his home and killed them. By 1999, he had been linked to the disappearance of at least 16 men missing since 1980. It is now nearly a dozen more

Those who believe they may be a relative of a missing person connected to the case are urged to contact the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.

House of horrors where Indiana's worst serial killer hid remains (2024)

FAQs

How many bodies were found at Fox Hollow Farm? ›

The coroner's office identified his remains in May 2024 among the 10,000 bone fragments recovered at Fox Hollow Farm, bringing the total number of victims to 12. Jones is the third person to have been identified after the coroner's office renewed investigation into the killings.

Who was the serial killer in Westfield Indiana? ›

They were originally recovered in 1996 from Fox Hollow Farm, the home of suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister in Westfield, Indiana. It's believed Baumeister targeted gay men, luring them from bars to his home in the 1980s and 1990s, before killing them and disposing of their bodies on the property.

Who was the serial killer in the Indiana mansion? ›

Nine men were previously identified as presumed victims of Herb Baumeister, who killed himself in Canada in July 1996 as investigators sought to question him after about 10,000 charred bones and bone fragments were found at his sprawling estate, Fox Hollow Farm.

What serial killer is from Gary Indiana? ›

Christopher Peterson (serial killer)
Obadyah Ben-Yisrayl
BornChristopher Dwayne Peterson 20 January 1969 Gary, Indiana, U.S.
Other namesThe Shotgun Killer
Conviction(s)Murder (4 counts) Attempted murder Armed robbery
Criminal penaltyDeath; commuted to 120 years imprisonment
8 more rows

How many bodies have been found in the killing fields? ›

However it's called the "Highway to Hell" because of the 30 females from near there who were murdered. Those who have been found there were between the ages of 10 and 25 years old. Over 30 bodies have been found across four decades.

What happened on Fox Hollow Farm? ›

Investigators believe Baumeister, a businessman and married father of three, lured gay men to his home in the mid-80s and mid-90s before killing them and dumping their bodies at the Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield about 16 miles north of Indianapolis.

Who was the worst serial killer? ›

7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers
  • Jack the Ripper. We call him “Jack the Ripper,” but we don't really know who the person behind one of the older and most notorious murder sprees was. ...
  • Jeffrey Dahmer. ...
  • Harold Shipman. ...
  • John Wayne Gacy. ...
  • H.H. Holmes. ...
  • Pedro Lopez. ...
  • Ted Bundy.

Who was the female serial killer in history? ›

There was also an English nurse, known as “Jolly” Jane Toppan, who killed more than 31 of her patients by poison between 1880 and 1901. Similarly, Genene Jones, a licensed vocational nurse, injected 60 infants and children in her care with a deadly co*cktail to induce medical crises leading to their deaths.

Who lives in Fox Hollow Farm now? ›

The current homeowners, Rob and Vicki Graves, believe Herb's presence is here – they think he wants to be close to his victims.

Who was the interstate serial killer in Indiana? ›

Larry Eyler
BornLarry William EylerDecember 21, 1952 Crawfordsville, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMarch 6, 1994 (aged 41) Pontiac Correctional Center, Pontiac, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesThe Highway Killer The Interstate Killer
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
14 more rows

What American serial killer had a mansion? ›

View of the World's Fair Hotel but also known as the 'Murder Castle,' on W. 63rd Street in Chicago, Illinois, mid-1890s. The structure was designed by serial murderer Herman Webster Mudgett, better known by his alias H.H. Holmes.

Which serial killer was the most charming? ›

Ted Bundy, The Charming Serial Killer.

Who was the famous female serial killer in Indiana? ›

Gunness is thought to have killed at least 14 people (most of whom were men she enticed to visit her rural Indiana property through personal advertisem*nts), while some sources speculate her involvement in as many as 40 murders making her one of the most prolific female serial killers in history.

Who was the serial killer in i65 in Indiana? ›

Harry Edward Greenwell (December 9, 1944 – January 31, 2013), known as The I-65 Killer and The Days Inn Killer, was an American serial killer and rapist who committed at least three murders along Interstate 65 in Indiana and Kentucky between 1987 and 1989.

Who is the serial killer in Hammond Indiana? ›

Darren Deon Vann (born March 21, 1971) is an American serial killer. He was arrested on October 18, 2014, for the murder of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy at a Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana and has confessed to the murders of six other female victims in Indiana.

What is Westfield, Indiana famous for? ›

With the development of Grand Park, Westfield has become a renowned sports destination playing host to national tournaments and home of the Indianapolis Colts Training Camp.

Who is serial killer Van Indiana? ›

Darren Deon Vann (born March 21, 1971) is an American serial killer. He was arrested on October 18, 2014, for the murder of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy at a Motel 6 in Hammond, Indiana and has confessed to the murders of six other female victims in Indiana.

Who was the serial killer in Plainfield Indiana? ›

Popularly known as the Butcher of Plainfield, Ed Gein is one of the most infamous serial killers in the world. Although he only confessed to committing two murders, authorities suspect him of several others. Mary Hogan, who was reported missing in 1954, was his first victim.

Who was the bathtub killer? ›

Dale Devon Scheanette, 35, was executed by lethal injection on 10 February 2009 in Huntsville, Texas for the rape and murder of a woman in her apartment. On 17 September 1996, the body of Christine Vu, 26, was found lying face down in a half-filled bathtub in her Arlington apartment.

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