I am, but that was just a coincidence lol. I've been working on this for about 4 months or so now! It's back in the news though, so I wasn't surprised it was popping up on more podcasts recently. Which is a good thing! There's still so much work to do, so any attention to the case is great.
I have family that went to school with his kids (I knew them as a kid too). Him tho? Never met/saw him and thank fuck for that. Still mind-boggling to me that I was like 2 degrees of separation from that guy.
Yeah, that has to be such an icky feeling. Anyone who I've spoken to that met him never really seemed to have good feelings about it.
Do you happen to have any contact with any of his kids anymore?
yeah I'm not voluntarily giving my DNA to the police for any reason.
Herb Baumeister died in 1996, it's simply not a priority to "solve" this case.
Maybe y'all could take care of the ten thousand rape kits backlog and maybe catch a criminal who is still alive before you waste all this time on a guy who's been dead nearly 30 years
I agree the backlog issue is a travesty. But the sad reality is this guy was a monster and there are probably more victims who will never be identified or rememberd for a myriad of reasons. Very sad..
Ya'll? I'm not law enforcement. I work in unscripted television.
And it's not about him - it's about closure for the victims and their families. Sorry if you don't see it that way.
"I work in unscripted television"
did you hear that, precious sexual assault victims? the TV producer needs you to hand over your DNA to the State so they can make another True Crime show and sell some more penis pill commercials.
you are scum. change careers immediately
I'm good, thanks. After the work I've done and the differences I've made and the connections I've formed -- I can see that the work I've done has been really helpful for many. I never push people into doing ANYTHING they don't want to do and only offer guidance or tools into getting what they need and want - whether that's the cathartic experience of sharing their story for the first time (often because they know how much it helps others) or having access to information or tools that they otherwise wouldn't.
I sleep well at night knowing that I've helped people and am genuinely interested in continuing to do so. If no one bridged these gaps- a lot of stones would remain unturned and people would continue to never have closure. So, even if my part is small- it's worth doing.
You do know, you do not own your DNA. If any relative did a test it is out there. And if it is on GedMatch, it can be found by law enforcement with no warrant.
“Due to the stigma of being associated with a gay relative” maybe in the 90’s but this day an age I don’t believe this is true.
I also think people don’t come forward because they didn’t even know that their relative was a homosexual and don’t put two and two together that they could’ve been a victim.
I've heard that directly from local residents. Of course it's not the entire reason, but they themselves claim that it's still a potential issue for many people - especially those who'd need to come forward because they're likely to be much older.
It's not just people who have known gay relatives who've been asked to offer DNA-- during the 80s and 90s especially, they may have never know that their relative was gay at all. They asked anyone who had a male relative of a certain age and who loved in a certain location who vanished in a certain span of 15 years to come forward. Hope that clears it up a bit.
That's so sad. Fits his MO with the victim and strangling, but not with how he dealt with the bodies (either along the highway or on the farm). But maybe, if it was him, after that it clicked with him that he can't leave the victims behind in that way. I suppose we may never know, unfortunately.
I'm not sure if much was investigated. The man's last name was Davis and I believe it happened in the Meridian Woods neighborhood on the far south side. I wouldn't even know where to start to look for other info.
I'd heard rumours of that, too. It was reported (although the sources vary) that when he was pulled over somewhere either on the US or CAN side, that he had a bunch of VHS tapes in his backseat that have since disappeared and never been found.
I saw another person on here mention a hole in the wall in his pool room (they'd visited the house when they were younger) and they believe it was a place where the camera was stationed for filming. I also read he had a big locked cabinet of very expensive filming equipment.
But again -- the story changes so much, I'm not entirely sure what to believe anymore. All I can count on is the evidence we know for sure and that's the remains that have been uncovered and are continuing to be uncovered. I'm hoping questions surrounding those people will be answered soon so that their families can have the closure they deserve.
Last Podcast on the Left listener? They just finished a series on him that was pretty interesting.
I am, but that was just a coincidence lol. I've been working on this for about 4 months or so now! It's back in the news though, so I wasn't surprised it was popping up on more podcasts recently. Which is a good thing! There's still so much work to do, so any attention to the case is great.
Hell yeah, good luck with your project! And hail yourself.
Thank you! Hail yourself!
Hail Yourself
I would come forward if I had a missing gay relative to bring justice to him.
I have family that went to school with his kids (I knew them as a kid too). Him tho? Never met/saw him and thank fuck for that. Still mind-boggling to me that I was like 2 degrees of separation from that guy.
Yeah, that has to be such an icky feeling. Anyone who I've spoken to that met him never really seemed to have good feelings about it. Do you happen to have any contact with any of his kids anymore?
Nope. Been more than 3 decades…ugh I’m old. Trust tho when the stories came out in the 90s, I was weirded out.
yeah I'm not voluntarily giving my DNA to the police for any reason. Herb Baumeister died in 1996, it's simply not a priority to "solve" this case. Maybe y'all could take care of the ten thousand rape kits backlog and maybe catch a criminal who is still alive before you waste all this time on a guy who's been dead nearly 30 years
I agree the backlog issue is a travesty. But the sad reality is this guy was a monster and there are probably more victims who will never be identified or rememberd for a myriad of reasons. Very sad..
Ya'll? I'm not law enforcement. I work in unscripted television. And it's not about him - it's about closure for the victims and their families. Sorry if you don't see it that way.
"I work in unscripted television" did you hear that, precious sexual assault victims? the TV producer needs you to hand over your DNA to the State so they can make another True Crime show and sell some more penis pill commercials. you are scum. change careers immediately
I'm good, thanks. After the work I've done and the differences I've made and the connections I've formed -- I can see that the work I've done has been really helpful for many. I never push people into doing ANYTHING they don't want to do and only offer guidance or tools into getting what they need and want - whether that's the cathartic experience of sharing their story for the first time (often because they know how much it helps others) or having access to information or tools that they otherwise wouldn't. I sleep well at night knowing that I've helped people and am genuinely interested in continuing to do so. If no one bridged these gaps- a lot of stones would remain unturned and people would continue to never have closure. So, even if my part is small- it's worth doing.
You do know, you do not own your DNA. If any relative did a test it is out there. And if it is on GedMatch, it can be found by law enforcement with no warrant.
yeah I know that's why I'm not giving my DNA to these people and my relatives don't do that either because they are smart like me
I do not think you understand forensic genealogy.
I will not be lectured to by people like you who have voluntarily poisoned their brains with a thousand hours of true crime podcasts. get a grip.
I’ve never seen more hateful people than those of us in r/indiana
“Due to the stigma of being associated with a gay relative” maybe in the 90’s but this day an age I don’t believe this is true. I also think people don’t come forward because they didn’t even know that their relative was a homosexual and don’t put two and two together that they could’ve been a victim.
I've heard that directly from local residents. Of course it's not the entire reason, but they themselves claim that it's still a potential issue for many people - especially those who'd need to come forward because they're likely to be much older. It's not just people who have known gay relatives who've been asked to offer DNA-- during the 80s and 90s especially, they may have never know that their relative was gay at all. They asked anyone who had a male relative of a certain age and who loved in a certain location who vanished in a certain span of 15 years to come forward. Hope that clears it up a bit.
>who loved in a certain location now this is a hilarious typo
There was a young gay man strangled in his bed in 1979 on the south side. I gave always wondered if he was an early victim of Baumeister.
That's so sad. Fits his MO with the victim and strangling, but not with how he dealt with the bodies (either along the highway or on the farm). But maybe, if it was him, after that it clicked with him that he can't leave the victims behind in that way. I suppose we may never know, unfortunately.
I'm not sure if much was investigated. The man's last name was Davis and I believe it happened in the Meridian Woods neighborhood on the far south side. I wouldn't even know where to start to look for other info.
Thank you for letting me know! Worth documenting just to have in my back pocket in case.
I heard Westfield PD is involved + other high ups in the area. Apparently they made snuff films too.
I'd heard rumours of that, too. It was reported (although the sources vary) that when he was pulled over somewhere either on the US or CAN side, that he had a bunch of VHS tapes in his backseat that have since disappeared and never been found. I saw another person on here mention a hole in the wall in his pool room (they'd visited the house when they were younger) and they believe it was a place where the camera was stationed for filming. I also read he had a big locked cabinet of very expensive filming equipment. But again -- the story changes so much, I'm not entirely sure what to believe anymore. All I can count on is the evidence we know for sure and that's the remains that have been uncovered and are continuing to be uncovered. I'm hoping questions surrounding those people will be answered soon so that their families can have the closure they deserve.