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 2022 yielded 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 as Baumeister’s victims.
More DNA 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, and Resendez.
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 was 31-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 already identified 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 the victims 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 linked to 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 western Ohio.
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 by Baumeister, 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 basement, 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.