Remains Identified After Man Vanished in the 90s

Remains Identified After Man Vanished in the 90s

(RepublicanPress.org) – Born in 1947, Indianapolis native Herbert Baumeister grew up to be a businessman, a husband, and a father of three. However, the man apparently lived a double life. He was not only a family man but an accused murderer. Police believe he spent years in the ‘80s and ‘90s bringing men home at Fox Hollow Farms in Westfield while his family was on vacation, killing them, and scattering their remains across his 18-acre property. Eight of his alleged victims were identified years ago, and recent tests revealed victim number nine.

On October 18, Fox News reported that the Livingston family recently contacted police about their loved one, Allen, who had been missing since 1993. Allen Livingston’s mother submitted a DNA sample to Indiana authorities, who used forensic genetic genealogy testing on some of the remains found at Fox Hollow Farms. Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison confirmed the DNA was a match, identifying Livingston as Baumeister’s ninth presumed victim.

In all, police found about 10,000 charred remains on the Westfield property but have only been able to identify nine people so far. According to Fox News, investigators tied Baumeister to the disappearance of at least 16 men, but the number could be higher. Experts believe the bones and fragments from the suspect’s property belong to at least 25 different people.

As for the Livingston’s, they were looking for closure, as Allen Livingston’s mother has terminal cancer. The family wanted to give her an answer as to what happened to her son before she passed. Jellison noted that of the 10,000 fragments, they chose 44 samples, and Livingston was the first person identified of that batch

Sadly, the families won’t see justice served in this case, as the suspected killer took his own life in 1996 before police could question him about the murders. Investigators are still working to identify as many of the victims as possible.

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