Herbert
"Herb" Baumeister (The I-70 Strangler) was an alleged serial killer
from Westfield, Indiana. Authorities believe that from 1980 - 1996, Baumeister
murdered 27+ men in Indiana and Ohio. Whatever knowledge Baumeister had
about the missing men, no one will ever know. On July 3, 1996, 10 days after
investigators uncovered the skeletal remains of at least 11 victims that were
buried on his property, Herb Baumeister, husband and father of three, fled to
Sarnia, Ontario, where he pulled over into a park and committed suicide.
His Younger Years
Herbert
Richard Baumeister was born April 7, 1947, to Dr. Herbert E. and Elizabeth
Baumeister in Butler-Tarkington, Indianapolis. Baumeister was the oldest of
four children. Dr. Baumeister was a successful anesthesiologist, and soon after
the last child was born, the family moved to the affluent area of northern
Indianapolis called Washington Township. By all accounts, young Herbert had a
normal childhood. When he reached adolescence, he changed. He began to obsess
on things that were vile and disgusting. He developed a macabre sense of humor
and appeared to lose his ability to judge right from wrong. Rumors circulated
about him urinating on his teacher's desk. One time he pocketed a dead crow
that he found on the road, and placed it on his teacher's desk. His peers began
distancing themselves from him, leery of being associated with his strange,
morbid behavior. In class, Baumeister was often disruptive and volatile. His
teachers reached out to his parents for help.
The
Baumeister's had also noticed the unusual changes in their eldest son.
Dr.Baumeister sent him for a series of tests and medical evaluation. The final
diagnosis was that Herbert was schizophrenic and suffered from multiple
personality disorder. What was done to help the boy is unclear, but it appears
that the Baumeister's decided not to seek treatment, probably for a good reason
considering the options? During the 1960s electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was
the most common treatment for schizophrenia. Those inflicted with the disease
were often institutionalized.
It was
also an accepted practice to shock unruly patients several times a day, not
with any hope of curing them, but to make them more manageable for hospital
staff. It wasn't until the mid-1970s that drug therapy replaced ECTs because it
was more humane and produced better results. A lot of patients taking the drug
therapy could leave the hospital environment and lead fairly normal lives.
Whether or not Baumeister ever received drug therapy is not known. Herbert
continued in public high school, somehow managing to maintain his grades, but
completely failing socially. The school's extracurricular energy was focused on
sports, and the members of the football team and their friends were the most
popular clique. Baumeister was in awe of this tight group and continually
tried to gain their acceptance, but was repeatedly rejected. For him, it was
all or nothing. Either he would be accepted into the group, or be alone. He
finished his final year in high school in solitude.
College and Marriage
In
1965 Baumeister attended Indiana University. Again he dealt with being an
outcast because of his strange behavior. He dropped out in his first semester.
Pressured by his father, he returned in 1967 to study anatomy, but then
dropped out again before the semester was over, but this time being at IU was
not a total loss. Before dropping out, he met Juliana Saiter, who was a high
school journalism teacher and part-time IU student. Herbert and Juliana began
dating and found that they had a lot in common. Besides being politically
aligned with their extremely conservative ideology, they also shared an
entrepreneurial spirit and dreamed of one day owning their own business. In
1971 they married, but six months into the marriage, for unknown reasons,
Baumeister's father had Herbert committed to a mental institution where he
would stay for two months. Whatever happened did not ruin his marriage. Juliana
was in love with her husband, his odd behavior notwithstanding.
The Need to Be Somebody
Baumeister's
father managed to pull strings and got Herbert a job as a copyboy at The
Indianapolis Star newspaper. The job entailed running news reporters' copy from
one desk to another and other errands. It was a low-level position, but
Baumeister dove into it, eager to start a new career. Each day he would come to
work immaculately dressed and ready for his assignments. Unfortunately, his
efforts to constantly gain positive feedback from the top brass became an
irritant. He obsessed on ways to fit in with his co-workers and bosses but
never succeeded. Soured and unable to handle his "nobody" status, he
eventually left the position for a job at the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV).
The Taste of Recognition
Baumeister
began his new entry-level job at the BMV with an entirely different attitude.
At the newspaper his demeanor was childlike and over eager, displaying hurt
feelings when his expectations for recognition were not met. But that was not
the case at the BMV. There he immediately came off bossy and overly aggressive
toward his co-workers and would lash out at them for no reason. It was as if he
was playing a role, emulating what he perceived as being good supervisory
behavior. Again, Baumeister was labeled as an oddball. Not only was his
behavior erratic, but his sense of propriety was at times way off. One year he
sent a Christmas card to everyone at work that pictured himself with another
man, both dressed in holiday drag. Back in the early 70s, few saw the humor in
such a card. Raised eyebrows and talk around the water cooler was that
Baumeister was a closet homosexual and a nutcase. After working at the Bureau
for 10 years, despite Baumeister's poor relationship with his coworkers, he was
recognized for being an intelligent go-getter that produced results. He was
rewarded with a promotion to program director. But in 1985, and within a year
of the promotion he had so yearned for, he was terminated after he urinated on
a letter addressed to then-governor of Indiana, Robert D.
Orr.
The act also put to rest all the rumors as to who was responsible for the urine
that was found on his manager's desk months earlier.
A Caring Father
Nine years
into of marriage, he and Juliana started a family; Marie was born in 1979,
Erich in 1981, and Emily in 1984. Before Herbert losing his job at the BMV,
things seemed to be going well so Juliana quit her job to become a full-time
mother, but returned to work when her husband could not find steady work. As a
temporary stay-at-home Dad, Herbert proved to be a caring and loving father to
his children. But being jobless left him with too much time on his hands and,
unknown to Juliana, he began drinking a lot and hanging out at gay bars.
Arrested
In
September 1985 Baumeister received a slap on that hand after being charged with
a hit and run accident while driving drunk. Six months later he was charged
with stealing a friend's car and conspiracy to commit theft, but managed to
beat those charges as well.
In the
meantime, he bounced around at different jobs until he began working at a
thrift shop. At first, he disliked the job and considered it beneath him, but
then he saw that it was a potential money-maker. Over the next three years, he
focused on learning the business. It was during this time that his father died.
What impact that event had on Herbert is unknown.
The Sav-a-Lot Thrift Stores
In
1988 Baumeister borrowed $4,000 from his mother. He and Juliana opened a thrift
store which they named Sav-a-Lot. They stocked it with gently-used quality
clothing, furniture, and other used items. A percentage of the store's profit
went to the Children's Bureau of Indianapolis. It quickly grew in popularity
and business was booming. It showed such a strong profit in the first year that
the Baumeister's decided to open a second store. Within three years, the
couple, who had until then lived paycheck to paycheck, were rich.
Fox Hollow Farms
In
1991 the Baumeister's moved to their dream home. It was an 18-acre horse ranch
called Fox Hollow Farms in the upscale Westfield area, located just outside
Indianapolis in Hamilton County, Indiana. Their new home was a large,
beautiful, million dollar semi-mansion which had all the bells and whistles,
including a riding stable and an indoor pool. Remarkably, Baumeister had turned
into a well-respected man. He was seen as a successful businessman, a family
man who gave to charities. What was not so ideal was the stress that came with
the couple having to work so closely together each day. From the start of the
business, Herbert treated Juliana like an employee and would often yell at her
for no reason. To keep the peace, she would take a backseat to whatever
business decisions had to made, but it took a toll on the marriage. Unknown to
outsiders, the couple would argue and split up on and off over the next several
years.
The Pool House
The
Sav-a-Lot stores had a reputation for being clean and organized, but the
opposite could be said about the way the Baumeister's kept their new home. The
grounds that had always been meticulously maintained became overgrown with
weeds. The inside of the home was equally neglected. The rooms were a mess, and
it was obvious to visitors that housekeeping was a low priority for the couple.
The only area that Baumeister seemed to care about was the pool house. He kept
the wet bar stocked, and he filled the area with copious decor including
mannequins that he dressed and placed around to give the appearance that a
lavish pool party was going on.
The
rest of the house displayed the hidden turmoil of the marriage. To escape,
Juliana and the three children would stay with Herbert's mother at her Lake
Wawasee condominium. Baumeister would almost always stay behind to run the
stores, or so he told his wife.
The Human Skeleton
In
1994, the Baumeister's son, 13-year-old Erich, was playing in a wooded area
behind their home when he found a human skeleton that was partially buried. He
showed the grisly find to Juliana, who in return showed it to Herbert. He told
her that his father had used skeletons in his research and that, after finding
it while cleaning the garage, he had taken it out to the back yard and buried
it. Incredibly, Juliana believed her husband's weird answer.
What Goes Up, Must Come Down
Not
long after the second store opened, the business began to lose money and never
stopped. Baumeister began drinking during the day and would return to the
stores, drunk and act belligerently to customers and employees. The stores went
from being orderly to looking like a dump.
At
night, unknown to Juliana, Baumeister cruised gay bars, and then returned home
and retreated to his pool house where he would spend hours whimpering and
crying like a child about the dying business. Juliana was exhausted from worry.
Bills were piling up, and her husband was acting stranger every day.
The Missing Persons
Investigations
While
the Baumeister's were busy trying to fix their failing business and marriage,
there was a major murder investigation going on in Indianapolis. Virgil
Vandagriff was a highly respected retired Marion County Sheriff who in 1977
opened Vandagriff & Associates Inc., a private investigation firm in
Indianapolis which specialized in missing person cases. In June of 1994,
Vandagriff was contacted by the mother of 28-year-old Alan Broussard, who she
said was missing. The last time that she saw him, he was headed out to meet his
partner at a popular gay bar called Brothers, and he never returned home. Almost
a week later, Vandagriff received a call from another distraught mother about
her missing son. In July, Roger Goodlet, 32, left his parents’ home to go out
for the evening. He was going to a gay bar in downtown Indianapolis but never
made it there. Both Broussard and Goodlet shared similar lifestyles,
looked like one another, were near to the same age, and seemed to vanish while
in route to a gay bar.
Vandagriff
made up missing posters and distributed them at gay bars around the city. In a
search for clues, the family and friends of the young men were interviewed as
were several customers at gay bars. The only real clue that Vandagriff learned
was that Goodlet was last seen willingly getting into a blue car with Ohio
plates. He also received a call from a publisher of a gay magazine who wanted
to make Vandagriff aware that there had been multiple cases of gay men
disappearing in Indianapolis over the last few years. Now convinced that
they were dealing with a serial killer, Vandagriff went to the Indianapolis Police
Department with his suspicions. Unfortunately, searching for disappearing gay
men was apparently a low priority. Most of the investigators believed, more
than likely, the men moved out of the area without telling their families, to
freely live their gay lifestyles.
The I-70 Murders
Vandagriff
also learned about an ongoing investigation into multiple murders of gay men in
Ohio. The murders began in 1989 and ended in mid-1990. Bodies had been found
dumped along Interstate 70 and were dubbed the "I-70 Murders" in the
newspapers. Four of the victims had been from Indianapolis.
Brian Smart
Within
weeks of Vandagriff posting the missing posters, he was contacted by Tony
Harris (fictitious name per his request) who said he was certain that he had
spent time with the person responsible for Roger Goodlet's disappearance. He
also said that he had gone to the police and the F.B.I, but they disregarded
his information. Vandagriff set up a meeting and, in a series of interviews
that followed, a bizarre story slowly unfolded. According to Harris, he was at
a gay club when he noticed a man who seemed to be overly captivated by the
missing person's poster of his friend, Roger Goodlet. As he continued to watch
the man, there was something in his eyes that convinced him that the man knew
something about Goodlet's disappearance. To try to learn more, he introduced
himself. The man said his name was Brian Smart and that he was a landscaper
from Ohio. When Harris tried to bring up Goodlet, Smart would become evasive and
change the subject. As the evening progressed, Smart invited Harris to join him
for a swim at a house where he said he was temporarily living. He said he was
doing the landscaping for the new owners who were away. Harris agreed and got
into Smarts Buick which had Ohio plates. Harris was not familiar with northern
Indianapolis, so he was unable to say where the house was located. He was able
to describe the area as having horse ranches and large homes. He also described
a split-rail fence and a sign that he could partially see that read
"Farm" something. The sign was at the front of the driveway that
Smart had turned into. Harris went on describe a large Tudor home which he and
Smart entered from a side door. He described the interior of the home as being
congested with a lot of furniture and boxes. He followed Smart through the
house and out down some steps to the bar and a pool area that had mannequins
set up around the pool. Smart offered Harris a drink, which he turned
down. Smart excused himself and when he returned he was a lot more
talkative. Harris suspected that he had snorted cocaine. At some point, Smart
brought up autoerotic asphyxiation (receiving sexual pleasure from choking and
being choked) and asked Harris to do it to him. Harris went along and choked
Smart with a hose while he masturbated. Smart then said it was his turn
to do it to Harris. Again, Harris went along, and as Smart began choking him,
it became obvious that he was not going to let go. Harris pretended to pass
out, and Smart released the hose. When Harris opened his eyes, Smart became
rattled and said he was scared because Harris had passed out. Harris was
considerably larger than Smart which was probably the only reason he survived.
He also refused drinks earlier in the evening that Smart had prepared. Smart
ended up driving Harris back to Indianapolis, and they agreed to meet again the
following week.
To
find out more about Brain Smart, Vandagriff arranged to have Harris and Smart
followed when they met the second time. But Smart never showed up. Believing
that Harris' story had merit, Vandagriff turned again to the police, but this
time he contacted Mary Wilson, who was a detective that worked in Missing
Persons, and one that Vandagriff respected and trusted. She drove Harris to the
wealthy areas outside Indianapolis on the chance that he might recognize the
house that Smart took him to, but they came up empty. It was a year later that
Harris would meet up with Smart again. They happened to show up at the same bar
one night, and Harris was able to get Smart's license plate number. He gave the
information to Mary Wilson, and she ran a check. The license plate was matched,
not to Brian Smart, but to Herbert Baumeister, the wealthy owner of Sav-a-lot.
As she discovered more about Baumeister, she agreed with Vandagriff. Tony
Harris had narrowly escaped becoming a victim of a serial killer.
The Confrontation of a Monster
Detective
Wilson decided on a direct approach and went to the store to confront
Baumeister. She told him that he was a suspect in an investigation into several
missing men. She requested that he allow investigators to search his home. He
refused and told her that, in the future, she should go through his lawyer. Wilson
then went to Juliana and told her the same thing that she had told her husband,
hoping to get her to agree to a search of the property. Juliana, although
shocked by what she was hearing, also firmly refused. Next, Wilson tried to get
Hamilton County officials to issue a search warrant, but they refused. They
felt that there was not enough conclusive evidence to warrant it.
The Melt Down
Herbert
Baumeister appeared to go through an emotional breakdown over the next six
months. By June, Julian had reached her limit. The Children's Bureau canceled
the contract with the Sav-a-lot stores, and she was facing bankruptcy. The
fairytale fog that she had been living in began to lift as did her loyalty to
her semi-deranged husband. What also had not left her mind since she first
spoke to Detective Wilson, was the haunting image of the skeleton that her son
had discovered two years earlier. She made a decision. She was going to file
for divorce and tell Wilson about the skeleton. She was also going to let
detectives search the property. Herbert and his son Erich were visiting
Herbert's mother at Lake Wawasee. It was the perfect time for her do it. Julian
picked up the phone and called her lawyer.
Into The Boneyard
On
June 24, 1996, Wilson and three Hamilton County officers walked out into the
grassy area just feet from the patio area of the Baumeister's home. As their
eyes began to focus, they could clearly see that what appeared to be small
rocks and pebbles, all across the backyard where the Baumeister children had
played, were bone fragments. Wilson knew that it would turn out to be
human bones, but the Hamilton County officers were uncertain. Fortunately, in
less than a day, Wilson got a confirmation from forensics. The rocks were
fragments of human bones. The following day, police and firemen swarmed the
property and began excavation. Bones were found everywhere, even on the
neighbor's land. In a matter of days, 5,500 bones and teeth were found in the
backyard. A search of the rest of the property produced more bones. By the time
the excavation was complete, it was estimated that the bones were from 11 men.
However, only four victims could be identified. They were: Roger Allen Goodlet;
34; Steven Hale, 26' Richard Hamilton, 20; and Manuel Resendez, 31.
Erich
Baumeister
When the police discovered the bone fragments in the
backyard, Juliana began to panic. She feared for the safety of her son Erich
who was with Baumeister. So did the authorities. Herbert and Juliana were
already in the beginning stages of divorce. It was decided that before police
discoveries at the Baumeister's hit the news, Herbert would be served with
custody papers demanding that Erich return to Juliana. Fortunately, when
Baumeister was served with the papers, he turned Erich over without incident,
figuring that it was just legal maneuvering on Juliana's part.
The
Suicide
Once news of the bones being uncovered was broadcasted,
Baumeister vanished. It was not until July 3 that his whereabouts would be
known. His body was discovered inside his car. In an apparent suicide,
Baumeister had shot himself in the head while parked at Pinery Park, Ontario.
He wrote a three-page suicide note explaining his reasons
for taking his life were due to his problems with the business and his failing
marriage. There was no mention of the murdered victims scattered in his
backyard.
Baumeister
Formally Linked to I-70 Murders
With Juliana Baumeister's help, investigators of the Ohio
murders were piece together evidence that linked Baumeister to the I-70
murders. Receipts provided by Juliana showed that Baumeister had traveled along
I-70 during the times that the bodies were found dumped along the
interstate.
A sketch drawn from a description by an eyewitness, who
thought he saw the I-70 murderer, looked like Baumeister. Bodies had also
stopped showing up along the interstate at the same time that Baumeister moved
into Fox Hollow Farms where he had plenty of land to hide bodies.
-bird
