Herbert Richard Baumeister (April 7, 1947 – July 3, 1996) was an American businessman and suspected

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. A resident of the

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

suburb of Westfield,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Baumeister was under investigation for murdering over a dozen men in the early 1990s, most of whom were last seen at

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

s. Police found the remains of eleven men, eight identified, on Baumeister's property. Baumeister committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

after a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was later linked to a series of murders of at least twelve men along

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

, which occurred in the early to mid-1980s.

Early life

Herbert Baumeister was born in

, the oldest of four children born to Herbert and Elizabeth Baumeister. His childhood was reportedly normal but he began exhibiting

anti-social behavior Antisocial behavior is a behavior that is defined as the violation of the rights of others by committing crime, such as stealing and physical attack in addition to other behaviors such as lying and manipulation. It is considered to be disrupti ...

by the onset of adolescence, playing with dead animals and urinating on a teacher's desk. In his teens, Baumeister was diagnosed with

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

but did not receive further psychiatric treatment. In 1965, Baumeister attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

for a semester before dropping out, but returned in 1967. In 1972, he attended a semester at

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study in six colleges: the Lacy School of Business, College of Communic ...

. As an adult, Baumeister drifted through a series of jobs, marked by a strong work ethic but also by increasingly bizarre behavior. Baumeister married Juliana "Julie" Saiter in November 1971, a union that produced three children. Julie later said they had been sexually intimate only six times in over 25 years of marriage. In the 1970s, Baumeister was committed to a psychiatric hospital by his father; his wife said he was "hurting and needed help." Baumeister founded the successful Sav-A-Lot thrift store chain (two stores total) in Indianapolis in 1988.

Investigation

By the early 1990s, investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Department and the

Indianapolis Police Department The Indianapolis Police Department (IPD) (September 1, 1854 – December 31, 2006) was the principal law enforcement agency of Indianapolis, Indiana, under the jurisdiction of the Mayor of Indianapolis and Director of Public Safety. Prior to ...

began investigating the disappearances of gay men of similar age, height, and weight in the Indianapolis area. In 1992, they were contacted by a man named Tony Harris claiming that a

patron calling himself "Brian Smart" had killed a friend of his, and had attempted to kill him with a pool hose during an

erotic asphyxiation Erotic asphyxiation (variously called asphyxiophilia, hypoxyphilia or breath control play) is the intentional restriction of oxygen to the brain for the purposes of sexual arousal. The term autoerotic asphyxiation is used when the act is done b ...

session. Harris eventually saw this man again in August 1995, following his car and noting his license plate number. From this data, police identified "Brian Smart" as Herb Baumeister. Investigators approached Baumeister, told him he was a suspect in the disappearances, and asked to search his house. Both Baumeister and his wife, Julie, refused to allow a search of their property. By June 1996, however, Julie had become sufficiently frightened by her husband's erratic behavior that, after filing for divorce, she consented to a search. The search of the estate, Fox Hollow Farm, was conducted while Baumeister was on vacation. It turned up the remains of eleven men, eight of whom were identified. The eight identified victims were John Lee Bayer, Richard Douglas Hamilton, Steven S. Hale, Allen Wayne Broussard, Jeffrey A Jones, Manuel Resendez, Roger Allen Goodlet, and Michael Frederick Keirn. With a warrant out for his arrest, Baumeister fled to

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, where he committed suicide at

Pinery Provincial Park Pinery Provincial Park is a provincial park located on Lake Huron near Grand Bend, Ontario. It occupies an area of 25.32 square kilometres (6,330 acres). It is a natural environment-class Provincial Park created to help preserve oak savannah and ...

Lake Huron Lake Huron ( ) is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrology, Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as Lake Michigan, to which it is connected by the , Strait ...

by shooting himself in the head. In his

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...

, he described his failing marriage and business as his reason for killing himself. He did not confess to the murders of the men found in his backyard. Hamilton County Coroner's office has requested anyone with missing family members from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s to complete a DNA test in an effort to help identify victim remains.

Death and posthumous investigation

Baumeister would posthumously be suspected of killing twelve other men, the bodies of whom were found in rural areas along the corridor of

between Indianapolis and

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, during the early to mid 1980s. One eyewitness identified Baumeister as the man seen leaving a bar in 1983 with Michael Riley, who was later found dead. Like the other victims, Riley was strangled to death and deposited nude or semi-nude in a river.

Media coverage

The A&E television series ''Investigative Reports'' aired an episode about Baumeister titled ''The Secret Life of a Serial Killer'' in 1997.

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

featured the case in their ''Perfect Crimes'' series. The case was also featured on ''The Investigators'' on

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows. The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that focu ...

in 2008, ''

Behind Mansion Walls ''Behind Mansion Walls'' is an American documentary television series on Investigation Discovery that debuted on June 6, 2011. The series, hosted by Christopher Mason, tells the stories of crime and investigation that are unveiled in wealthy fam ...

'' on

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

(ID), ''

Paranormal Witness ''Paranormal Witness'' is an American paranormal documentary television series made by a British production company which described itself as "true tales of supernatural hauntings and explanation-defying paranormal experiences, which are brought ...

'' on

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

in 2012, and ''

Ghost Adventures ''Ghost Adventures'' is an American paranormal and reality television series that premiered on October 17, 2008, on the Travel Channel before moving to Discovery+ in 2021. An independent film of the same name originally aired on the Sci-Fi Chann ...

'' in May 2014. An independent documentary film titled ''The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm'' also explores the crimes and the possibility of

haunting The list of reportedly haunted locations throughout the world, that are locations said to be haunted by ghosts or other supernatural beings, including demons. Reports of haunted locations are part of ghostlore, which is a form of folklore. Ar ...

s on the grounds of Baumeister's former estate. ID featured the case again on the series ''True Nightmares'', in October 2015. The ''Crime Junkie'' podcast released an episode on Baumeister on March 4, 2018. The ''Monster Presents: Insomniac'' podcast released a two-part episode about the case on June 27, 2019. The

All Things Comedy William Frederick Burr (born June 10, 1968) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, filmmaker, and podcaster. He has released multiple stand-up comedy specials, most notably ''Why Do I Do This?'' (2008), ''Let It Go'' (2010), ''You People Are A ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

podcast ''Leyendas Legendarias'' released an episode where they talked about the case on October 14, 2020.E85: Los Fantasmas de Fox Hollow Farm - YouTube
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Georgia Hardstark Georgia Hardstark (born June 8, 1980) is an American television host and podcast personality. She is the co-host of the true crime-comedy podcast ''My Favorite Murder'' along with comedian Karen Kilgariff. In 2018, Hardstark and Kilgariff co-found ...

covered the case on the podcast, ''

My Favorite Murder ''My Favorite Murder'' is a weekly true crime comedy podcast hosted by American comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. The first episode was released in January 2016. The podcast debuted at #25 on the iTunes podcast charts and peaked at ...

,'' in episode 67, "Live at the Egyptian Room", during a live performance in Indianapolis.

References

External links

Crime Library: "HERB BAUMEISTER: SKELETONS BEYOND THE CLOSET"
(story archived on December 13, 2007)
Herb Baumeister "The I-70 Strangler"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baumeister, Herb 1947 births 1996 deaths 1996 suicides 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American criminals 20th-century American LGBT people American male criminals American serial killers Businesspeople from Indiana Crime in Indianapolis Criminals from Indiana LGBT people from Indiana Murder in Indiana People from Westfield, Indiana People with schizophrenia Suicides by firearm in Ontario Violence against gay men in the United States Violence against men in North America