Herbert Baumeister was a notorious serial killer and businessman who primarily targeted gay men between 1980 and 1996. After his crimes were revealed, Herbert died by suicide before he could be brought to trial.
Herbert Richard Baumeister was born on April 7, 1947 in Indianapolis, Indiana. During his childhood, Herbert displayed behavior characteristic of antisocial personality disorder, such as playing with dead animals and urinating on his teacher's desk. Herbert was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his teens, but he received no treatment for it.
Herbert Baumeister attended Indiana University in 1965, later dropping out and attending Butler University in 1972. During his career, Herbert was known to have a strong work ethic, but he displayed some strange behavior. Herbert founded a successful chain thrift store called Sav-A-Lot in 1988.
In November 1971, Herbert married Jauliana Saiter and they had three children. After Herbert's affair became public, Juliana revealed that she had only been intimate six times in the 25 years of her marriage. During the 1970s, Herbert's father admitted him to psychiatric hospitals several times after his wife insisted that Herbert was sick and needed help.
In the early 1990s, Indianapolis was in turmoil as gay men of similar height, weight, and age frequently disappeared from the area. Detectives began investigating the disappearance and received a tip from someone. In 1992, a man named Tony Harris claimed that another man, who identified himself as “Brain Smart,” murdered his friend and attempted to kill him during an erotic asphyxiation session. Tony met the man again in August 1995 at the same gay bar. He followed the man and got his license plate number. According to license plate information, the man's real name was Herbert Baumeister.
Investigators wanted to search the Baumeister farm and interview Herbert, but Herbert refused and did not want to cooperate. Despite initially being uncomfortable with her investigators searching her property, Juliana Baumeister later told her detectives that in December 1994 she had found what she thought were human remains on one of the properties. They said they found it in the area. These remains include skulls and bones. She informed her husband, but his husband insisted that the skull belonged to her father, a doctor. Juliana never saw the remains again after that, she said.
Based on this information, investigators began excavating the Baumeister estate. Through this investigation, the bodies of 11 men were discovered, eight of whom were John Lee Byer (20), Richard Douglas Hamilton (20), Stephen S Hale (26), Alan Wayne Broussard (28), and Jeffrey A Jones (31). It was confirmed. ), Manuel Resendez (31), Roger Allen Goodlet (33), Michael Frederick Kiern (46). The remaining two bodies have not yet been identified.
A few days after the body was discovered, a warrant was issued for Herbert's arrest. Herbert then fled to Ontario, Canada, where he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head at Pinery Provincial Park on July 3, 1996. He left a suicide note claiming that he committed suicide due to the failure of his marriage and business. However, his notes did not reveal a confession to the murder of a man found on his own property.
After his death, Herbert was also suspected of being the I-70 Strangler, a murderer who killed 12 young men along Interstate 70 between Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio, between 1980 and 1991. One witness claims to have seen Herbert leaving a bar in 1983 with 22-year-old Michael Riley, who was later found strangled to death in a river. Despite Herbert's alleged involvement, the I-70 murders remain unsolved. As of 2022, investigators are searching Herbert Baumeister's estate as new remains continue to be discovered.
Herbert Baumeister's crimes don't seem to get as much media coverage as the cases of other serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. I personally had never heard of the name Herbert Baumeister until just a few days ago. Although he has not been formally convicted of his crimes, I believe that the evidence and circumstances surrounding this incident indicate that Herbert was the clear perpetrator. I believe it is important to bring cases like this to light to help and solve other cases, such as returning the names of the two remaining victims or finding the identity of the I-70 Killer. Do you think Herbert Baumeister is responsible for more murders? Do you think he's behind the I-70 murders? Please leave your thoughts below.
resource-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herb_Baumeister
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-70_Strangler
https://youtu.be/nK92FM8Ffj8
https://youtu.be/0zT9HlM28Mk