WESTFIELD, Ind. — The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office announced the identity of a previously unknown person whose remains were recovered in 1996 from a Westfield home.
The Westfield property on Fox Hollow Farm was the former home of Herb Baumeister, the man suspected of luring gay men to the area before killing them.
The remains recovered from the home matched a family reference sample that was submitted in late 2022 and was identified as Allen Livingston. He was reported missing to the Indianapolis Police Department in 1993.
Livingston’s identity was discovered as the result of many forensic experts working collaboratively in an effort to identify nearly 10,000 human remains (including bones, fragments, body parts, etc.) recovered from Fox Hollow Farm.
The case began in June 1996 when Baumeister’s 15-year-old son stumbled upon bones while on the family’s 18-acre estate in a remote wooded area of Hamilton County. The discovery took place about 60 yards away from the home.
While the discovery at the time would only merit a brief mention in the staff reports for the Indianapolis Star, it started an investigation. That investigation would end up suspecting Baumeister as being a serial killer who lured young men to his home before killing them.
Previous reports showed the investigation began amid divorce proceedings between Baumeister and his wife of 24 years. The day after their son found the bones, Baumeister’s wife was granted an emergency protective order and custody to keep the man away from her and the three children.
The divorce records indicate that the Baumeisters accused the other of mismanaging the family business. They operated two Sav-A-Lot thrift stores, which had judgments and lawsuits filed against them.
Less than two weeks after the discovery, Baumeister died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound near Toronto in 1996. He skipped out on a divorce hearing the Tuesday before he died.
As a result of his death, the serial killer case was never tried in the court of law.
It wasn’t long after, FOX59 was made aware of prior reports against Baumeister that connected him to mysteries surrounding the deaths of young gay men or male prostitutes missing from Indianapolis.
“I would like to thank the entire team of law enforcement and forensic specialists that have come together to support this effort,” said Jeff Jellison, Hamilton County Coroner.
“A special thanks goes to the hardworking people at the Indiana State Police laboratory whose expertise in DNA led to the identification of Allen Livingston.”
Anyone who believes they are a relative of a missing person who may be connected to this case is asked to contact the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office at (317) 770-4415.
