Nearly three decades after investigators uncovered thousands of human bones and fragments at Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield, Indiana, major questions surrounding the suspected serial killings remain unanswered.
Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison is leading an ongoing effort to identify victims whose remains were discovered on the property once owned by Herbert Baumeister, a businessman suspected of killing numerous men. Baumeister was never charged in the killings and died by suicide in Canada in 1996 as investigators prepared to question him.
Investigators recovered about 10,000 burned and broken bones and bone fragments from the 18-acre property. Jellison recently said that more than 9,000 of those remains have yet to be examined, highlighting the enormous scale of the continuing investigation.
Questions About Whether Baumeister Acted Alone
One of the most troubling questions now being revisited is whether Baumeister could have carried out the suspected killings without assistance.
Jellison has said the location and distribution of the remains raise doubts about the idea that one person was responsible for moving victims through the heavily wooded property. He believes investigators should consider the possibility that another person may have been involved.
However, the identity of any potential accomplice remains unknown, and the investigation has not established that another person participated in the killings.
The coroner has also questioned information provided by Mark Goodyear, a man who previously described himself as Baumeister's only known survivor. Goodyear has never been charged in connection with the case and has denied involvement in the disappearances. Jellison said he would like Goodyear to provide investigators with any information that could help identify the unidentified remains.
Modern DNA Technology Offers New Hope
The investigation has benefited from advances in forensic science that were unavailable during the original investigation in the 1990s.
Indiana State Police and forensic specialists have been working with Jellison's office to analyze fragmented and commingled remains and compare DNA profiles with relatives of missing people. A 2026 report from the Indiana State Police forensic program said the effort has already produced new identification information, including two previously unidentified victims.
The work remains challenging because investigators do not know exactly how many people are represented by the remains.
Unlike a conventional missing-person investigation, authorities are starting with unidentified remains and trying to determine who is missing rather than beginning with a known missing person and searching for their body.
Families May Still Be Waiting for Answers
Jellison has emphasized that the investigation is not simply about bones or forensic evidence. Each fragment could belong to someone whose disappearance has never been fully explained.
Some potential victims may have had limited family connections, meaning relatives may not even know that they disappeared decades ago. Investigators are therefore reaching beyond immediate family members in an attempt to find DNA comparisons and establish identities.
More than 30 years after the first discovery, the Fox Hollow investigation remains an extraordinary cold case. With thousands of remains still awaiting examination and new forensic techniques available, investigators continue searching for answers about who the victims were, how they died and whether Baumeister truly acted alone.
For families who have spent decades without knowing what happened to a missing loved one, each new identification could provide a long-awaited measure of closure.
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