Herb Baumeister: The Serial Killer Hidden in Plain Sight

Herbert Richard Baumeister seemed to have it all. Born in Indianapolis on April 7, 1947, the businessman built a comfortable life—a successful career, a wife, three children, and an 18-acre property in Indiana known as Fox Hollow Farm. By the early 1990s, however, Baumeister was leading a devastating double life as a serial killer who preyed on young men in Indianapolis's gay community.

Baumeister's victims typically disappeared after being last seen at the 501 Club, a gay bar in central Indianapolis. The young men vanished without explanation, and their families were left without answers. For years, these disappearances went largely unconnected—until one crucial encounter changed everything.

In August 1995, a man using the alias "Brian" reported an encounter with Baumeister at the 501 Club. The witness, who would later provide the breakthrough that cracked the case, managed to obtain Baumeister's license plate number. This single piece of information would eventually set off the investigation that would unravel the killer's operation.

The major breakthrough came in June 1996 when police finally obtained consent to search Fox Hollow Farm. Baumeister's wife agreed to the search while he was away from the property—a significant detail, given that both Baumeister and his wife had initially refused law enforcement access. What investigators discovered on those 18 acres would horrify the nation: remains of 11 men scattered across the property, along with thousands of charred and crushed bone fragments in burn pits where Baumeister had attempted to destroy evidence of his crimes.

Of the 11 sets of remains found, eight were successfully identified. The confirmed victim count made this one of the most prolific serial cases in American history, but authorities suspected the true number was far higher. Investigators believed Baumeister may have killed between 12 and 25 additional victims, with some suspected murders dating back to the early 1980s.