True-crime Friday: Herbert Richard Baumeister, the I-70 Strangler

Herbert Richard Baumeister was an American businessman and suspected serial killer. Herb Baumeister was under investigation for murdering over a dozen men in the early 1990s. His reign of terror ran from 1980-1996. It is believed that he murdered at least 8-16 men during time period. After his death, more bodies were discovered on his family farm.

Herbert Richard Baumeister was born April 7, 1947. There were no early indicators to predict that Herb Baumeister would become a vicious serial killer! By all standards he had a normal childhood. No abuse, violence or bedwetting. However, as he was heading into his teenage years a few friends said he began to exhibit antisocial behavior such as playing with dead animals, and he once urinated on his teacher’s desk.

When Herbert R. Baumeister became a teenager he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He never received treatment after being diagnosed with this disorder. It was said that he had a willingness to work and went through a series of low paying jobs. His behavior also became more bizarre as he grew older.

Founder of Save-A-Lot Supermarkets

In 1971, Herb Baumeister married Juliana Saiterand and they had three children. Herbert R. Baumeister founded the Sav-A-Lot Supermarket Stores chain in 1988. Herbert Richard Baumeister gained the majority of his wealth from this business. He owned two stores in Indiana. This chain of stores allowed him and his family to live in an upscale part of town. He and his family resided in Indianapolis suburb of Westerfield, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, police began to receive reports of missing men and the name that kept coming up was Brian Harris. The police could not find that such a person existed. They finally began to realize it was a fake name given to his victims.

The Victims of Herbert Richard Baumeister

Michael Sean Petree, 15, was found in rural Hamilton County on June 16, 1980.

Maurice Allen Taylor, 22, was found on July 21, 1982, in the Weasel Creek in rural Hamilton County outside of Atlanta.

Delvoyd Lee Baker, 14, was found near a river in Hamilton County on October 3, 1982.

Michael Andrew "Mick" Riley, 22, disappeared on May 28, 1983, after visiting 'The Vogue Theater', a nightclub in Indianapolis.

Eric Allen Roettger, 17, vanished on May 7, 1985, his body was found a few days later near a stream in rural Ohio.

Michael Allen "Mike" Glenn, 29, was found in a ditch near Ohio on August 15, 1986.

James Boyd Robbins Jr., 21, on October 17, he was found in a ditch in rural Shelby County.

Steven Lynn Elliott, 26, was found on August 12, 1989, near I-70 interstate.

Clay Russell Boatman, 32, his body was found in a ditch by a group of children near Ohio.

Thomas Ray Clevenger Jr., 18, was later found at an abandoned railroad track near Ohio.

Otto Gary Becker, 42, was found in a ditch next to a gravel road in rural Indiana on August 6, 1991.

The Additional Victims of Herbert Richard Baumeister

On June 24, 1996, investigators recovered human bone fragments of at least eleven people buried in the woods at Fox Hollow Farm, an 18-acre property owned by Baumeister off 156th Street in Indiana. A new search on December 4, 2022, found one bone and identified twenty additional locations that might have more remains buried under the ground. Only eight people have been identified since the initial discovery. The additional three remains are still unidentified although they are all believed to be male and to have been victims of Hamilton County Coroner's office have appealed to the public requesting anyone with missing family members from the mid-1980s to mid-1990s in the Indianapolis area to complete a DNA test in an effort to help identify the victims' remains.

John Lee "Johnny" Bayer, 20, went missing on May 28, 1993.

Jeffrey Allen "Jeff" Jones, 31, went missing on July 6, 1993.

Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr., 20, went missing on July 31, 1993.

Manuel Resendez, 31, was last seen at a bar in downtown Indianapolis on August 6, 1993.

Allen Lee Livingston, 27, also went missing on August 6, 1993 in Indianapolis. His remains were recovered in the initial search of the farm in 1996, but remained unidentified until October 2023.

Steven Spurlin Hale, 28, went missing on April 1, 1994.

Allen Wayne Broussard, 28, went missing on June 6, 1994.

Roger Allen Goodlet, 33, went missing on July 22, 1994. At a bar on 16th Street in Indianapolis. Two weeks before his disappearance, Goodlet was sighted in the company of Baumeister at several establishments.

Michael Frederick "Mike" Keirn, 45, was seen at a bar in downtown Indianapolis. A jacket belonging to Keirn was found in Baumeister's residence.

Jerry Williams-Comer, 34, was last seen on August 8, 1995. After his disappearance, his vehicle was found at Castleton Square Mall.

Lady Justice

Herbert Richard Baumeister, committed suicide to avoid arrest on July 3, 1996 in Ontario, Canada.

References

Herbert Richard Baumeister | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers

Herb Baumeister - Wikipedia

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