Indiana serial killer’s victims could be identified thanks to renewed investigative push | Global News Avenue

Decades later, investigators found thousands of human bones and bone fragments in the body of a possible suspect. Indiana serial killer’s estatea new quest is underway in the lab to unravel a long-standing mystery: Who are they?

A new team working to identify the unknown dead says the key to their success is getting relatives of men who disappeared between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s to come forward with clues their own DNA samples.

The samples can then be screened against DNA profiles that scientists extracted from the remains, which were discovered starting in 1996 on Herbert Baumeister’s vast property in suburban Indianapolis.

Initial investigators believed at least 25 people were buried at Baumeister’s 18-acre Fox Hollow Farm estate in Westfield, based on evidence that included 10,000 bones and bone fragments as well as handcuffs and shotgun shells.

Baumeister, a 49-year-old thrift store owner, married father of three, committed suicide in July 1996 before being interrogated by Canadian police, taking with him many secrets, including those of the presumed victim name.

Investigators believe that while Baumeister’s family was traveling, he frequented gay bars in Indianapolis, luring men to his home and then killing and burying them.

By the late 1990s, authorities used dental records and available DNA technology to identify eight men. But those efforts have since stalled, although at least 17 remains may remain unidentified.

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said the re-identification efforts revealed that county officials decided not to fund additional DNA testing at the time, which “essentially halted further efforts to identify the victims and moved the homicide investigation to The costs are passed on to the families of the missing persons.”

“I can’t speak for those investigators, but it’s game over,” Jellison said.

unfinished work

Decades passed, and the bones and fragments were placed in boxes at the University of Indianapolis’ Center for Human Identification, where staff helped exhume the remains.

That changed in late 2022 after Eric Pranger sent Jellison a Facebook message. The Indianapolis man’s family has long believed his cousin Alan Livingstonwas one of Baumeister’s victims. according to U.S. Department of Energy NetworkLivingston and Resendez disappeared on the same day.

Livingston was 27 when he disappeared in August 1993 after getting into someone else’s car in downtown Indianapolis. Three years later, after hearing about Baumeister, his mother, Sharon Livingston, and other relatives began to suspect that Allen, who was bisexual, was among the dead.

As Jellison was about to take over, Pranger asked if he could help find some answers for his aunt, who was suffering from serious health issues.

“How do you say no to that? By law it’s our job as coroners to identify the deceased,” Jellison said.

In late 2022, police collected DNA samples from Sharon Livingston and one of her daughters. Jellison began working with a team that included the Indiana State Police, the FBI, the Center for Human Identification, local law enforcement and a private company specializing in forensic genetic genealogy.

A family finds some closure

Staff at the Center for Human Identification, which stores the remains in a temperature- and humidity-controlled space, selected some of the most promising bones for DNA analysis.

At the Indiana State Police lab, scientists cut off portions of the bone, frozen it in liquid nitrogen and crushed it into a fine powder. They then used heat and chemicals to break up the bone cells, the first step in extracting a complete DNA profile.

Nearly a year after Jellison heard from Pranger Announced October 2023 A ninth Baumeister victim has been identified: Allen Livingston.

Sharon Livingston is finally getting some form of closure. She died in November 2024.

“It makes me happy to be able to do this for my aunt,” Pranger, 34, said. “I feel honored that after 30 years I was the first person to bring her son home.”

“I was so excited when Allen was identified, and afterwards I asked myself, ‘What now? I got the answer, but what about all the other families?'” Pranger added.

other victims

Jellison said about 40 DNA samples were submitted from people who believed a missing male relative might have been killed by Baumeister. The data is entered into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) but is used only to identify missing persons, he said.

The coroner and his partners hope to obtain more DNA samples from relatives of men who disappeared across the United States from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s. They noted that these people may be traveling and stopping in Indianapolis to visit friends or experience its nightlife.

So far, scientists have extracted eight unique DNA profiles (all male) from more than 70 of the 100 bones sent to the Indiana State Police lab by Dr. Krista Latham, director of the Center for Human Identification. ).

Livingston’s mother and sister provided a matching DNA sample. Four matched four of the eight first identified in the 1990s: Jeffrey Jones, Manuel ResendezJohnny Beyer and Richard Hamilton.

Three other DNA profiles have yet to be determined, two of which are still being tested. The three men bring Baumeister’s number of presumed victims to 12.

‘Unusual location where body was found’

cbs affiliate WTTV report The case began in June 1996, when Baumeister’s 15-year-old son discovered a human skull about 60 yards from his home.

Baumeister and his wife of 24 years were in the midst of divorce proceedings when the investigation began, WTTV reported. The day after their son discovered the bones, Baumeister’s wife obtained an emergency protective order and custody to keep him away from her and their three children.

Baumeister explained the discovery at the time, saying it was part of his late father’s medical practice, the station reported.

Three days after the boy’s remains were discovered, Hamilton County firefighters discovered more remains, confusing investigators, the station reported.

“This is an unusual place to find a body,” then-Sheriff Joe Cook told the Indianapolis Star.

What to do next?

Jellison and his partners say their identification work may still be several years away.

Most bones are crushed and burned, reducing their potential to produce usable DNA. Latham, a professor of biology and anthropology, said bone fragments deemed to be in poor shape are being held back from destructive testing in the hope that future DNA technology will unlock their secrets.

She noted that some of these men may be estranged from relatives or ostracized because of their sexual orientation. When they disappear, no one may notice.

“These are people who are marginalized in life. We just need to make sure that doesn’t continue in death,” Latham said.

For ongoing work, Jellison obtained DNA reference samples from relatives of seven of the eight men originally identified in the 1990s. An eighth man, Steven Hale, was adopted and efforts to find biological relatives have so far been unsuccessful, the coroner said.

Relatives of the missing man who would like to provide a family DNA reference sample to identify the remains can contact the Indiana State Police Missing Persons Hotline at 833-466-2653 or the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office at 317-770-4415.

As the remains are identified piece by piece, the family will have the option of having them cremated and buried at a memorial service in Westfield in August. It includes a plaque with the names of nine confirmed victims, with room for more.

Linda Znachko, whose Indianapolis-based nonprofit He Knows Your Name funded the monument, said at the dedication ceremony: The identification event “will bring honor to those who lost their lives in the Fox Hollow tragedy.” The remains belonging to Livingston and Jeffrey Jones were added to the monument’s ossuary, and a white dove was released at the dedication ceremony.

Livingston’s sister, Shannon Doughty, was in attendance, along with several relatives, including Pranger. She said she was relieved to finally know what happened to her brother, despite his tragic end.

“At least you know,” said Doughty, 46, “that fear of the unknown is the worst, right? So just knowing, there’s a range of emotions. You want to know, but you don’t want to know. But you need to know Know.”