HAMILTON COUNTY, Ind. (WXIN) — The investigation into an Indiana serial killer has gained renewed attention after more remains found on the suspect’s farm have been positively identified.
The remains belonged to Jeffrey Jones, officials said in May. 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.
He was under investigation for about a dozen deaths when he died by suicide in 1996. The investigation began when Baumeister’s 15-year-old son stumbled upon bones on the family’s 18-acre estate.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s office has been working to give names to the remains of victims found on the sprawling estate.
Officials say more than 10,000 pieces of remains have been recovered, including bones, fragments and body parts. However, identifying who they belong to is difficult. “Because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging,” said Jeff Jellison, the Hamilton County Coroner.
Investigators believe there are at least 12 victims – possibly more – though they have only positively identified three.
Here is what we know about the case and its developments.
Grisly discovery
On June 24, 1996, Herbert Baumeister’s 15-year-old son stumbled onto bones while on the family’s 18-acre property in a remote wooded area of Hamilton County. The discovery took place about 60 yards away from the home.
The Dayton Daily News reported that the 15-year-old found a skull on the property and showed it to his mother. At the time, Herb Baumeister explained away the skull, saying it was part of his dead father’s medical practice. It didn’t seem out of character, as Baumeister collected and kept everything.
While the discovery at the time would only merit a brief mention in the staff reports for the Indianapolis Star, it started an investigation.
Three days after the boy discovered the bones, they were identified as human remains. More remains were discovered by Hamilton County firefighters. At the time, the discovery perplexed investigators.
“It’s an unusual spot to find bodies,” then-Sheriff Joe Cook is quoted as telling The Indianapolis Star.
Trouble at home
The investigation began amid divorce proceedings between Herbert and his wife of 24 years. The day after the teenager found the bones, Baumeister’s wife was granted an emergency protective order and custody to keep Herbert away from her and the three children.
“She did not know how he’d react to discovering the bones and the investigation that was unfolding,” Bill Wendling Jr., the woman’s divorce attorney said at the time.
The divorce records indicate that the Baumeisters accused the other of mismanaging the family business. They operated two Sav-A-Lot thrift stores, which had judgments and lawsuits filed against them.
Less than two weeks after the discovery, Herb Baumeister died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Toronto. He skipped out on a divorce hearing the Tuesday before he died.
After his suicide, the Indianapolis Star reported that Baumeister mentioned several regrets in his note, but did not mention the bones.
However, it would not be long until prior allegations came to light, connecting him to the mysteries surrounding the deaths of young gay men and male prostitutes missing from Indianapolis.
Double life
After Herbert Baumeister’s suicide, a confidential source told Nexstar’s WXIN that Herbert may have been leading a double life.
The source said that in 1994, Baumeister picked up a man in the neighborhood of an Indianapolis gay bar. He brought the man to his Westfield home for a sexual encounter that the man says he is lucky to have escaped from alive.
The man contacted the police, who were investigating the disappearance of several gay men in the area. Baumeister’s widow said she knew nothing about her husband’s apparent double life.
In November 1996, The Indianapolis Star reported that Baumeister used two aliases at downtown Indianapolis gay bars that he frequented. One alias he used was the name of a man who had gone missing.
Hints at a larger case
The Dayton Daily News reported that the case tantalized an investigator with the Preble County, Ohio, prosecutor’s office. Between 1980 and 1991, the bodies of a dozen men were found strangled and dumped in rural areas. All the men were missing from a three-to-four-block area frequented by gay men in Indianapolis.
The last of the victims was found shortly before Baumeister moved into his secluded 18-acre estate. The investigator speculated no more bodies were found after that point because he had room to dispose of them.
Of the remains on the estate initially identified by police at the time, three had been previously arrested for prostitution. All the victims disappeared when Baumeister’s wife and children were out of town while he remained home.
The man that WXIN learned about told police that during his encounter with Baumeister, he was choked with a hose.
If Baumeister was behind the men’s deaths, it was a secret he took to the grave with him. With his suicide, he took away the police’s ability to definitively solve the cases.
DNA could help identify more victims
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office has been redoubling its efforts to identify the remains of what could be 25 people found on the estate.
The office said in 2022 that improvements in DNA technology make them hopeful that they can provide families with the answers they have been searching for.
“DNA was a relatively new tool for law enforcement 26 years ago. It was very expensive and often took months to complete,” said Jellison. “Now, DNA profiling has become faster and more user-friendly.”
Investigative genealogy has helped crack several cold cases, including identifying the I-65 killer after 30 years. Investigators can turn to labs to sequence samples of DNA that were collected during the initial processing of the crime scene. Those samples are run through online genealogical databases to try to find a relative.
How genealogical investigators are using your DNA to solve cold cases
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office is working with a group of investigators in an effort to identify the remains found on the Baumeister estate. For the investigation, they need comparison samples.
“If anyone is a family member of a male individual that went missing in the mid-80s to mid-90s, we need you to step forward and provide us with a DNA sample,” said Jellison. “The process is quick, simple, and only involves swabbing the inside of the cheek.”
With nearly 10,000 bones and bone fragments, the office has a long way to go to get answers for families.
“We have a huge job in front of us; however, I have confidence this team of police officers and forensic specialists will exhaust all efforts to identify the individuals that were brutally murdered and discarded on Herb Baumeister’s property,” said Jellison.
Anyone who believes they are a relative of a missing person who may be connected to this case is asked to contact the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office at (317) 770-4415.
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