Fox Hollow serial killer's secret tapes could reveal murder horrors if ever found: documentary
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Herb Baumeister took many secrets to the grave.

One of them is the location of his trove of missing tapes, which some believe detail how his $1 million estate, the Fox Hollow Farm, became his personal killing field.

Baumeister, believed to be one of the most prolific serial killers in Indiana history, is the subject of a four-part true-crime documentary from ABC News Studios, “The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer.” 

The series is available to stream on Hulu.

A photograph of Jeffrey Allen Jones in a frame.

A portrait of Jeffery Allen Jones, who was identified as a victim of suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister. (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/USA Today Network/Imagn)

In 2022, Jellison announced a renewed effort to identify the bones found using modern DNA technology. He said investigators believe the bones and fragments could represent the remains of at least 25 people.

“First of all, we had 10,000 human remains in boxes sitting on a shelf at a university that we had not done anything with for nearly 30 years,” Jellison explained to Fox News Digital. “That’s not right. … They were forgotten in the ‘90s. We can’t let that go any longer.”

Jeff Jellison looking down to the side wearing a blue collared shirt.

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison believes grieving families should not have to wait any longer for closure. (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/USA Today Network/Imagn)

The remains have been held at the University of Indianapolis’ Human Identification Center, whose staff helped excavate the remains. 

Sharon Livingston wearing a blue shirt with orange lettering sitting on a multi-hued couch.

For decades, Sharon Livingston wondered what had happened to her son, Allen Livingston. (ABC News Studios/Hulu)

In 2022, Eric Pranger sent Jellison a Facebook message. He believed his cousin, Allen Livingston, could have been one of Baumeister’s victims. The 27-year-old, who was bisexual, vanished in 1993.

A man pushing a gurney from a home.

In 2022, Jeff Jellison launched a renewed effort to identify Herb Baumeister’s victims. (ABC News Studios/Hulu)

“We believe, and we heard this from some sources, that [Baumeister] was taking the clothing of the men that he killed and then depositing it at the thrift stores that he owned and then selling that clothing,” the documentary’s director, Alex Jablonski, told Fox News Digital.

“It was like these guys just disappeared into thin air. Not even the clothes were left behind.”

Investigators searching on the Fox Hollow Farm grounds.

Authorities dig for human bones in a wooded area on the Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield.  (Rich Miller/Indy Star/USA Today Network/Imagn)

Jellison said Livingston’s mother, who was ill, was yearning for closure before she died.

“How do you say no?” said Jellison. “How do you walk away? You can’t. Had the Livingston family not [reached out], those remains would probably still be sitting there forgotten.”

Police sitting next to each other at a press conference.

Anyone with a friend who went missing during the 1980s and 1990s can also provide tips to investigators, said Jeff Jellison. (Erin Painter/Indy Star/USA Today Network/Imagn)

With the help of DNA testing, Jellison announced in 2023 that Livingston’s remains had been identified. Livingston’s mother died in November 2024.

A close-up of a hand holding a wooden box.

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison and his team are urging anyone who has a relative who disappeared in the mid-1980s and 1990s to come forward and offer DNA samples for testing.  (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/USA Today Network/Imagn)

There are many questions still unanswered. Jellison is adamant that Baumeister didn’t act alone.

A black and white photo of Fox Hollow Farm

“I’m not necessarily someone who believes in ghosts or has ever had an interest in the paranormal,” director Alex Jablonski told Fox News Digital. “But that house just has a darkness.” (Michelle Pemberton/USA Today Network/Imagn)

“I’m a coroner. I move deceased individuals daily,” he said. “That’s not an easy task … When you look at everything, I think it points very strongly towards a potential accomplice or, at least, a helper.”

Jablonski agrees.

A close-up of the Fox Hollow Farm pool

The docuseries details how Herb Baumeister may have killed his victims in his pool. (ABC News Studios/Hulu)

“There’s been a lot of chatter online of people being like, ‘He could have had a wheelbarrow.’ … But these woods were thick. They are still thick. You’re talking about fallen trees, roots, thick underbrush. You put 200 pounds in a wheelbarrow and try to move it a hundred feet through the woods like that.

Investigators digging for bones on the grounds of Fox Hollow Farm.

A lab technician with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department examines human bones in a wooded area at Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield.  (Rich Miller/Indy Star/USA Today Network/Imagn)

“You’re going to lose your mind. You’re going to be exhausted and frustrated. And we know from forensics that if it was a wheelbarrow, you would’ve had to push it through logs you had to lift and mud for 300–500 feet. It does seem highly unlikely, especially in the volume in which he was killing.”

Jellison also noted that shotgun shells and handcuffs were found in the woods.

Investigators outside a car parked at Fox Hollow Farm

Herb Baumeister used the name “Brian Smart” when he hunted for his prey in gay bars in the Indianapolis area. He then lured them to Fox Hollow Farm. (Rich Miller/Indy Star/USA Today Network/Imagn)

“One set of handcuffs that was found had a human arm in it,” said Jellison. “If he acted alone, did he somehow walk his victims out into the woods and shoot them? I don’t know.”

Today, Jellison is urging anyone who has a missing loved one to contact him. Since the documentary premiered, he’s received many emails, texts and Facebook messages from those who are still searching for someone who vanished decades ago.

“We need to get a DNA swab, and it’s very simple,” he said. “It just takes a few seconds, and it’s the most efficient way to identify the remains. Please don’t hesitate. … I don’t care where you’re at, what part of the country. 

A close-up of a memorial honoring the victims at Fox Hollow Farm

A memorial honoring Herb Baumeister’s known victims now stands at Prairie Waters Funeral and Event Center at Hamilton Memorial Park. (Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar/USA Today Network)

“I don’t care who it is that’s missing. What I care about is that you call me. I’ll get you the right authority to provide your DNA. That may lead to identification not just in the Fox Hollow case, but anywhere in our country.

“We’re here. That’s what we do for the living.”

ABC News Studios’ “The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer” is streaming on Hulu. Fox News Digital’s Chris Eberhart and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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