Skeletons of Fox Hollow Farm
Skeletons of Fox Hollow Farm
The Hunt for Herb Baumeister
Unearthing the Dark Secrets of Fox Hollow Farm
Tucked deep in the shadowy woods of Indiana, Fox Hollow Farm carries a weight far heavier than its trees and grounds. Once a serene estate, it became the chilling playground of serial killer Herb Baumeister in the 1990s. The air here feels thick with the past—an uneasy energy that seems to hum beneath the surface. In a cruel twist of fate, animals scattered the remains of Baumeister’s victims across the property, leaving behind fragments of lives unjustly stolen. Today, this place remains haunted not just by death, but by something far more active.
Investigators frequently report unsettling encounters with a dark figure lurking in the woods, watching from the shadows, as if still guarding the secrets of Fox Hollow Farm. The estate has since become a chilling beacon for those who dare to seek answers about the spirits trapped here—spirits that seem far more aware than residual echoes of the past.
Baumeister’s Grisly Legacy: Hauntings Beyond the Grave
In the late 1980s, young men began vanishing from Indianapolis’s gay bars. Behind the facade of a seemingly ordinary life, Herb Baumeister hid a monstrous secret. Authorities eventually linked him to over 20 murders, but by the time the truth emerged, Baumeister had fled to Canada, taking his own life. His evil, however, seems to have left an indelible stain on Fox Hollow Farm, where the remains of many victims were unearthed.
This investigation, thanks to the support of No Nonsense Paranormal and the generosity of the Graves family, allowed me to step into the thick of that dark history. Special thanks to Tiny, Marlena, J.S., and Brad for their invaluable help in exploring this eerie location.
Chilling Encounters: Ghosts of Fox Hollow Farm
Paranormal investigators and psychics report supernatural phenomena at Fox Hollow Farm, from temperature drops to disembodied voices. EVPs captured near the pool, where many of Baumeister’s victims perished, reveal chilling whispers and faint cries for help. The responses seem conscious, reacting to investigators in real time, hinting at something beyond residual hauntings.
My personal experience at Fox Hollow Farm left me speechless. After years of investigations, the sheer intensity of the paranormal encounters here was undeniable.
The Paranormal Evidence Unfolds
From the moment we arrived, we felt an overwhelming sense of something unseen surrounding us. Investigators frequently report temperature drops and disembodied voices, but near the pool, where many of Baumeister’s victims died, we captured chilling EVPs. These voices didn’t merely linger—they responded directly to us, as if they were aware of our presence.
I’ve visited many haunted locations, but this experience was uniquely unsettling. The energy at Fox Hollow Farm was unlike anything I’ve encountered—gripping, intense, and unquestionably real.
Reflections on the Haunting: Lessons from Fox Hollow Farm
Fox Hollow Farm is more than just a haunting—it’s a place where violence and loss left a permanent scar on the landscape. The lingering energy here seems to beg for answers, for closure, as if Baumeister’s darkness still grips the souls of those who suffered at his hands. But are these spirits seeking justice, or simply unable to leave the place where their lives ended?
One thing is clear: Fox Hollow Farm’s dark legacy will continue to intrigue and haunt our psyches for years to come.
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Historic Timeline:
• 1970s: Alleged serial killer Herbert Baumeister resides at an 18-acre horse farm in Indiana. The property includes an 11,000-square-foot Tudor-style home, surrounded by horse pastures and dense woods.
• 1980s-1990s: Baumeister, a businessman, is believed to have strangled young men he met at gay bars. He allegedly buried their bodies in a mulch pile on the property, burned them out back, and pulverized the bones. Some reports suggest he even used the bones as gravel in his yard (Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2012).
• 1994: Baumeister’s teenage son discovers a human skull on the property, which Baumeister claims belonged to his anesthesiologist father as a specimen (Noblesville Ledger, 24 Feb. 1997; 20 Mar. 1997).
• 1995: The Baumeister family is in the process of buying the estate. When authorities begin investigating the disappearances of missing men in Indianapolis, Baumeister refuses interviews and denies police access to the property. His wife, Juliana (Julie), says her husband’s attorney advised that police could not enter without a warrant (Indianapolis Star, 24 Nov. 1996).
• June 1996: As the Baumeisters are divorcing, Juliana consents to a search of the property while her husband is on vacation. Someone at the residence reportedly discovered a bone. Juliana, still residing at the home with her children, tells authorities she was unaware of her husband’s activities (Noblesville Ledger, 24 Feb. 1997; 5 July 1996).
• Late June 1996: Authorities discover bones and teeth from three human bodies scattered over a half-mile area in the woods and creek bed on the property, about 60 yards from the residence. Some bones show signs of having been exposed to fire (Indianapolis News, 28 June 1996).
• July 1996: A thorough search yields the remains of five adults, remnants of shotgun shells, and a pair of handcuffs. These were found in three separate areas on the property. It is believed that some of the remains had been buried for nine to 18 months (Journal and Courier, 4 July 1996).
• July 1996: Baumeister is found dead in Ontario, Canada, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, less than two weeks after the discovery of the bones on his property. His three-page suicide note apologizes for spoiling the park scenery but does not mention the bones or include a confession (Indianapolis Star, 6 July 1996).
• 1996-2012: Authorities identify the remains of nine male victims, concluding that the bones belonged to at least 12 people and possibly as many as 25. Identified victims include Roger Alan Goodlet, Manuel M. Resendez, Steven S. Hale, Richard D. Hamilton, Johnny Bayer, Allen Wayne Broussard, Jeff Allen Jones, and Michael Keirn (Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2012).
• Reportedly used the alias of victim “Michael Keirn” at Indianapolis bars (Indianapolis Star, 24 Nov. 1996).
• Mid-2000s: The property is sold to Rob and Vicki Graves, along with a silent partner, at a reduced price due to its “psychologically affected” status. Indiana state law requires sellers to disclose such information if directly asked (Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2012).
• 2023 Update: Allen Livingston added to list of identified victims.
Herbert ‘Herb’ Baumeister
(aka Brian Smart, Bryan Stats, “The I-70 Strangler”):
• Born: 1947, the oldest of four children of Herbert and Elizabeth Baumeister.
• Adolescence: Exhibits antisocial behavior and is diagnosed with schizophrenia, possibly with more than one personality.
• 1971: Marries Juliana (Julie) Saiter. Six months later, Baumeister is admitted to a state psychiatric facility for nearly two months and is diagnosed with compulsive personality disorder (Indianapolis Star, 24 Nov. 1996).
• 1980s: The couple founds Thrift Management Inc., operating the Sav-A-Lot thrift store chain in Indianapolis. The stores file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in August 1996 (Indianapolis Star, 15 Sept. 1996).
• 1980s-1990s: Baumeister is believed to be responsible for the deaths of dozens of men and teenage boys, most commonly by strangulation. Authorities later connect him to slayings in Indiana and Ohio during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Victims are typically found nude or partially nude in shallow streams across central Indiana and western Ohio (The Tribune, 28 Apr. 1998).
• 1995: Baumeister writes a letter to a judge falsely claiming that his wife is dead and that he is a single parent in an attempt to avoid a two-day drunken-driving sentence (Noblesville Ledger, 6 Jan. 1997).
• July 1996: Less than two weeks after the discovery of human remains on his property, Baumeister is found dead at age 49 in a park in Ontario, Canada, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the forehead. At the time of his death, victims’ remains were still being unearthed, and authorities had yet to question him. His suicide note, while lengthy, fails to mention the bodies or confess to any crimes (Indianapolis Star, 6 July 1996).
• Posthumous Investigations: Investigations continue posthumously, and forensic experts collect over 6,000 bone fragments from Baumeister’s property, concluding that the remains could belong to as many as 25 individuals. The identified victims include men who were last seen in or around Indianapolis gay bars (Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2012).
• Believed responsible for the deaths of dozens of men and teenage boys over two decades, most commonly by strangulation. Authorities later connected him to the slayings of nine to 16 individuals in Indiana and Ohio in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Victims were between the ages of 15 and 29 and had ties to the gay community in Indianapolis. Their nude or partially nude bodies were found dumped in shallow streams across central Indiana and western Ohio (The Tribune, 28 Apr. 1998).
• Suspected victims include: Michael S. Petrie (Petree), 15; Maurice A. Taylor, 22; Michael Andrew Riley, 22; James B. Robbins, 21; Thomas R. Clevenger Jr., 19; Eric Allen Roetiger, 17; Michael Allen Glenn, 29; Steven L. Elliott, 26; Clay Russell Boatman, 32 (Indianapolis Star, 28 Apr. 1998).
• Authorities question the similarities in the death of John Talbot, 27, found in a creek in Ohio in 1989. This could bring the total number of suspected victims to 17 (Indianapolis News, 1 May 1998).
• The remains of an unidentified man were exhumed from a New Albany cemetery to determine if they were those of Jerry Williams-Comer, another potential victim (Courier-Journal, 29 Apr. 2008).
• Unidentified Victims and Potential Accomplices: Authorities suspect that Baumeister might have had an accomplice or could have been an accomplice himself to Larry Eyler, another convicted murderer who was sentenced to death for the murder and dismemberment of a 15-year-old boy. Eyler, who confessed to 21 additional homicides, died of AIDS-related complications in 1994. There is also speculation that Baumeister’s first murder may have been accidental, but it unleashed a propensity to kill that led to further crimes (Noblesville Ledger, 6 Jan. 1997).
• Mid-2000s and Beyond: Despite Baumeister’s death, speculation around his crimes continues. Authorities still uncover new connections, and unidentified remains are exhumed in attempts to identify additional victims. His crimes leave a lasting impact on the community, and his former estate remains a site of macabre curiosity and tragic history.
References:
• “Bones Found at Estate Are Human.” Indianapolis News, 28 June 1996.
• Campbell, Richard M. “Wife Agrees to Search for Missing Men.” Noblesville Ledger, 24 Feb. 1997.
• Campbell, Richard M. “Wife Agrees to Search for Missing Men.” Noblesville Ledger, 20 Mar. 1997.
• Johnson, B. R. “Store Chain Seeks Bankruptcy Protection.” Indianapolis Star, 15 Sept. 1996.
• “Remains of 5 Found at Estate.” Journal and Courier, 4 July 1996.
• “Self-Inflicted Gunshot Ends Suspected Serial Killer’s Life.” Indianapolis Star, 6 July 1996.
• Smith, John. “Murder Mystery Unravels in Indiana.” The Tribune, 28 Apr. 1998.
• “The Dark Secrets of Fox Hollow Farm.” Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2012.
• “The Double Life of Herbert Baumeister.” Indianapolis Star, 24 Nov. 1996.
• “Unraveling the Mystery of the I-70 Strangler.” Noblesville Ledger, 6 Jan. 1997.
Additional sources:
• Wikipedia.org
• Findagrave.com
• Radford University Department of Psychology
• Virtualglobetrotting.com
— Thank you so much to Eunice Specter & your impeccable research!
— Evel Ogilville
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