Honestly, the sheer scale of what happened at Fox Hollow Farm is something that still catches people off guard. It's not just a "cold case" anymore. For decades, the name Herb Baumeister was tied to a vague, horrific number of missing men in the Indianapolis area. But recently, things have changed. Since 2022, there’s been this massive, grueling effort by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office to finally put names to the thousands of bone fragments left behind.
We are talking about nearly 10,000 charred, crushed pieces of human remains.
It’s heavy stuff. Baumeister was a successful businessman, a family man, and the owner of the Sav-A-Lot thrift store chain. He lived on a gorgeous 18-acre estate in Westfield, Indiana, with his wife and three kids. But while his family was away at their lake house, the property became a graveyard.
The Men We Finally Know by Name
For the longest time, the list of victims of Herbert Baumeister was short. In the 1990s, investigators were only able to identify eight men. The rest of the remains sat in boxes, essentially forgotten by the system until a new coroner, Jeff Jellison, took office and decided that "good enough" wasn't going to cut it for these families.
One of the most emotional recent breakthroughs was the identification of Allen Lee Livingston. He was 27 when he vanished in 1993. His mother, Sharon Livingston, spent thirty years wondering. Because of new DNA technology and the work of a lab called Othram, they identified him in late 2023. His mother actually got to know the truth just before she passed away. That’s the kind of closure we’re talking about here.
Then there’s Daniel Thomas Halloran. He was identified in early 2025. He hadn't even been on the "official" list of missing persons linked to Baumeister. Think about that. A man disappears, his family grieves in the dark, and thirty years later, a DNA match with a blood stain card from his late mother’s coroner file finally brings him home.
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Other men identified through this renewed effort include:
- Jeffrey Allen Jones, who went missing in July 1993.
- Manuel Resendez, a 31-year-old who disappeared in 1993.
- Roger Goodlet, whose identity was recently re-confirmed with advanced DNA testing in late 2025.
Why it Took Thirty Years to Get Answers
You might wonder why it’s taking until 2026 to figure this out. Basically, the original investigation in 1996 was a nightmare. When police finally searched the property, they found a literal "bone yard" behind the house. But back then, DNA testing was incredibly expensive and not nearly as sensitive as it is today.
The fragments were burnt. They were small. Some were the size of a fingernail.
After the initial eight identifications—men like John Lee "Johnny" Bayer and Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr.—the investigation stalled. Baumeister had already killed himself in a park in Ontario, Canada, before he could be handcuffed. He left a suicide note, but he didn't apologize. He didn't list names. He just complained about his failing marriage and business.
Kinda pathetic, right? He left the families to do the detective work for him.
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The I-70 Connection
There is a whole other layer to the victims of Herbert Baumeister that most people forget. Before he moved to Fox Hollow Farm, there was a series of murders known as the "I-70 Strangler." Between 1980 and 1991, young men were being found dead along the interstate in Indiana and Ohio.
Most were gay men or runaways.
While Baumeister was never officially charged (dead men can't stand trial), investigators are almost certain he was the one. The bodies stopped appearing along the highway right around the time he bought the Westfield estate. He didn't stop killing; he just started burying the evidence in his own backyard. This means the total number of victims could easily be over 25, though we may never identify them all.
Forensic Science is the Only Hero Here
We’ve reached a point where "forensic genetic genealogy" is doing what detectives couldn't do in the 90s. This isn't just checking a database; it’s building entire family trees from a single tooth or a shard of bone.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s office has been working with the University of Indianapolis and the University of North Texas to process these remains. It’s a slow, expensive grind. Each identification costs thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Case
A common misconception is that the victims were all "drifters." That’s just not true. Many were beloved sons, brothers, and fathers. They were part of the vibrant gay community in Indianapolis, often disappearing after visiting bars like the 501 Tavern or the Varsity Lounge.
The stigma of the era played a huge role in why these disappearances weren't taken seriously at first. If a young man went missing from a gay bar in 1993, the police often just assumed he "ran away" or "didn't want to be found." That delay gave Baumeister years of cover to continue his spree.
Current Status of the Investigation
As of right now, investigators still have thousands of fragments to sort through. They are looking for "reference samples." Basically, if you had a male relative go missing in the Midwest between 1980 and 1996, the coroner wants your DNA. It doesn't matter if you think they weren't involved with Baumeister.
If you or someone you know is looking for a missing relative from that era, here is what you should do:
- Contact the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office in Indiana directly. They have a specific program for Fox Hollow Farm identifications.
- Provide a DNA sample. It’s usually a simple cheek swab. They use this to compare against the profiles they’ve pulled from the bone fragments.
- Don't assume it's too late. As we saw with Daniel Halloran, many victims weren't even on the police radar until the DNA match happened.
The work continues. It’s a race against time as the relatives of these men age and pass away. Every new name identified is a small victory against the silence Baumeister tried to leave behind.
Stay informed by following local Indiana news outlets like WTHR or FOX59, which provide live updates whenever a new identification is confirmed. The goal is simple: no more anonymous fragments. Every man deserves his name back.