Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison has publicly criticized law enforcement for their handling of the Fox Hollow Farm serial killer case, where Herb Baumeister was suspected of murdering at least 25 victims. During an interview with Fox News Digital, Jellison revealed that while the initial excavation of remains was thorough, the subsequent investigation was hindered by inadequate funding for critical tests and a lack of aggressiveness in pursuing potential suspects.
Jellison explained that local authorities in the late 1990s imposed the financial burden of DNA testing on victims’ families, potentially missing opportunities to identify additional victims or suspects. He emphasized that the remains found at the site represent victims of homicide, underscoring the need for more sensitive and proactive investigative methods today. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for further comment.
Detives believe Baumeister lured gay men into his home during the 1980s and 1990s, and allegedly killed them. He would then bury their bodies across his 18-acre property, which is known as Fox Hollow Farm, according to detectives. When his family was out of town, Baumeister, who owned the Sav-A-Lot shopping chain, would go to gay bars across the Indianapolis area and allegedly find men to bring home.
Investigators first considered Baumeister a suspect in summer 1995, according to FOX 59. But detectives were unable to access his property until 1996, when around 10,000 bones and bone fragments were found. Baumeister killed himself in 1996 at a Canadian park shortly after bone fragments were found on his property by his 15-year-old son, prompting authorities to launch an investigation.
In April 1998, Hamilton County Sheriff James Bradbury said the case was considered closed. ”If somebody has any information, we don’t care who it is, we’d be happy to look at it,” Bradbury said. ”But Herb Baumeister is the only suspect we have in any of them.”
Families of people allegedly killed by Baumeister spent decades waiting for closure, which Jellison wants to change. He first began an investigation into identifying DNA from the 10,000 bone fragments in 2022. Jellison said he ‘cannot imagine’ that law enforcement would push the financial burden of a DNA test onto a victim’s family in today’s world.
”These remains represent victims in a homicide, in a murder. So, to say to the families that if you want to know if your loved one was a victim of a murder, I mean, that’s a tragedy in and of its own,” Jellison said. ”I think we’re better today. We’re more sensitive today to victims and family members of victims of crimes.”