Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
In January 2024, CBS News reported that nearly 10,000 charred bones and bone fragments had been found at Fox Hollow Farm, an estate that belonged to accused serial killer Herb Baumeister. The remains are believed to belong to at least 25 different people. The identification of the remains continues as families of young men who disappeared in the 1980s and 1990s are being asked to submit DNA samples.
Nine of the victims have been positively identified so far. In 1996, authorities in Indiana started digging up the property which was worth $1 million. They even found bone fragments belonging to several missing men. Initially, they identified seven victims whose remains were found there but the number increased, according to People Magazine. While Herb Baumeister has been accused of the murders, he was never proven guilty.
Herb Baumeister was 49 years old when he died by suicide in Canada. He died just nine days after they found remains on his 18-acre estate. Therefore, the accusations of him being a serial killer were never proven. According to The New York Times, authorities suspect that Baumeister might have picked up his victims at gay bars before he murdered and buried them.
As reported by The New York Times, no one witnessed the murders. They occurred in a community that was reportedly well-known for the kind of safety it offered to its residents. The Baumeisters were also well known in the community and neighborhood. Moreover, Herb Baumeister’s frequent visits to the gay bars were allegedly kept separate from his family life with his wife, Julie Baumeister, and their three children at the Fox Hollow Farm.
How was Herb Baumeister caught?
Two years before authorities found the bone fragments on Fox Hollow Farm, Herb Baumeister’s 13-year-old son reportedly found a human skull on the property. He revealed this to his mother, Julie Baumeister. She reportedly confronted Herb. However, he claimed that the fragments were from a medical school skeleton that his father, an anesthesiologist had given him, People Magazine reported.
However, authorities found numerous bone fragments in 1996 on the same property. Julie then filed for divorce and suspected that he husband could be a serial killer. An elaborate search of the Fox Hollow Farm followed. The Indiana authorities then granted Julie an emergency protective order.
They found most of the fragments in two very dense parts of the woods. The first bone they found was a wrist. After that, authorities then went on to find thighbones, jawbones, fingers, ribs, and vertebrae. However, none of the fragments had any flesh attached to them as they were likely eaten clean over time. Meanwhile, authorities also could not determine the cause of death of any of the victims. There were no obvious bullet holes or any other indications.
Allen Livingston’s family reported him missing in 1993. He was the last person to be identified as one of Herb Baumeister’s victims. He was 27 when he disappeared. His family submitted DNA samples which then matched the DNA on one of the bone fragments on the Fox Hollow Farm. The identification by the state laboratory offered a much-needed closure to Livingston’s family, The Guardian reported.
The Haunting of Fox Hollow Farm is a documentary that explores the mysterious case of Herb Baumeister’s double life and probes into the finds at the Fox Hollow Farm. It is currently streaming on Prime Video.
