Indiana

Indiana serial killer's 18-acre property littered with 10,000 human remains still hides secrets

Published

2 years ago

June 2, 2024

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Indiana serial killer's 18-acre property littered with 10,000 human remains still hides secrets

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An Indiana serial killer’s property was littered with 10,000 “burnt and crushed” skeletal remains that kept many of his victims faceless for decades.

Herb Baumeister, a successful businessman who was a married father with three children, is believed to have killed at least 25 victims from the late 1980s to the early 1990s.

He hunted mostly gay men in the Indianapolis suburb of Westfield, Indiana, where he lived on an 18-acre property known as Fox Hollow Farm.

Four decades later, authorities are still uncovering secrets buried under the vast property. Jeffrey A. Jones, who was reported missing in 1993, became the latest victim identified by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office.

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Jeffrey A. Jones, who was reported missing out of Fillmore, Indiana in 1993, was identified as the latest victim of serial killer Herb Baumeister. (Hamilton County Coroner’s Office)

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison renewed the investigation into the thousands of human remains that law enforcement recovered from Baumeister’s property after his death in 1996.

Investigators have four more DNA profiles that haven’t been identified yet, which brings Baumeister’s body count up to 12, according to Jellison.

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“Because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging,” the county coroner said in a statement. “However, the team of law enforcement and forensic specialists working the case remain committed.”

Jones became Baumeister’s third victim whom the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office identified in the last six months.

Herb Baumeister is suspected of killing at least 25 victims. So far, 12 victims have been connected to Baumeister. (Indianapolis Police Department)

In December 2023, the coroner’s office identified Allen Livingston, who was 27 when he went missing in August 1993, and Manuel Resendez in January. Resendez was 34 when he seemingly vanished in 1996.

Baumeister and his family moved into the now-infamous, $1 million Indiana home in May 1988.

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He used the vast area and adjacent trail to hide thousands of decomposed remains, charred bone fragments and the human skull that was unearthed by Baumeister’s teenage son, who showed his mom (Baumeister’s wife).

That was the beginning of the end of Baumeister’s reign of terror.

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Manuel Resendez, who was 34 when he seemingly vanished in 1996, was identified as one of Herb Baumeister’s victims in January 2024. (Hamilton County Coroner’s Office)

Baumeister’s wife, who initially blocked law enforcement from searching their property, ultimately divorced Herb as it became clearer that he was a wanted killer.

Authorities searched the property while Baumeister wasn’t home, and dug up the remains of several victims.

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By 1996, there was a warrant out for his arrest, so he fled to Ontario, where he shot himself. He was 49 when he died.

He was never charged with the murders, and he didn’t admit to any crimes in his suicide note.

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About 10,000 remains of Indiana serial killer Herb Baumeister were found on the 18-acre Westfield, Indiana, property. (Google Street View)

While he was alive, Baumeister lived a double life, a common trait among serial killers, according to a 2005 report by the FBI.

In one life, he was a seemingly ordinary husband and dad. He went to work and came home.

In his secret life, law enforcement has said Baumeister went by the fake name of “Brian Smart” and mostly targeted young, gay men whom he met in bars.

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“The majority of serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live alone,” the 2005 FBI report says. “They are not monsters and may not appear strange. Many serial killers hide in plain sight within their communities.

“Serial murderers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed and appear to be normal members of the community. Because many serial murderers can blend in so effortlessly, they are oftentimes overlooked by law enforcement and the public,” the report continues.

About 10,000 remains of Indiana serial killer Herb Baumeister were found on the 18-acre Westfield, Indiana, property. (Google Street View)

The Hamilton County coroner’s office is still sifting through the remains.

The FBI, Indiana State Police Laboratory, Dr. Krista Latham of the Biology & Anthropology Department at the University of Indianapolis and DNA experts from Texas-based Othram Lab were all instrumental in helping to identify the remains.

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Othram, which is the largest forensic genetic genealogy lab in the country, partnered with the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office last year to bring closure to Baumeister’s victims.

“Othram scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown man using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing.” Othram said in a statement. “After successfully completing the process, the DNA profile was delivered to the FBI’s forensic genetic genealogy team and the FBI team performed the necessary genealogical research to generate new investigative leads in the case.”

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Indiana

Indiana Pacers To Add Wing Jalen Slawson Via A Two-Way Contract

Published

3 hours ago

February 28, 2026

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Indiana Pacers To Add Wing Jalen Slawson Via A Two-Way Contract

Indiana Pacers’ Jalen Slawson dribbles during the second half of an NBA preseason basketball game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Pacers plan to sign wing Jalen Slawson to a two-way contract. The 26-year old forward has spent the ongoing campaign with the Pacers G League affiliate franchise, the Noblesville Boom. It’s a one-year pact covering the rest of the 2025-26 season.

Slawson was a second-round pick back in 2023 and spent his rookie season with the Sacramento Kings. That campaign, the Furman product appeared in 12 games and averaged 0.7 points and 0.6 rebounds per game. Since then, he has bounced around between the Orlando Magic and Pacers organizations.

Most of Slawson’s time in the pros has come via the G League. With the Kings and Magic affiliate teams, the forward averaged between 12 and 13 points per game while being a solid passer and rebounder for his position.

That got him a training camp invite with Indiana last fall. Slawson spent all of the 2025 preseason on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Pacers, and he appeared in all four of the team’s tune-up games ahead of the regular season. He averaged 2.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Slawson was waived just before the regular season, but the Pacers affiliate team owned his G League rights, and he’s spent the entire season with the Noblesville Boom. That’s where the 6-foot-7 forward has popped – he’s averaging G League career highs of 19.2 points and 5.4 assists per game for the Boom this season, including an improved 34.7% three-point percentage.

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – OCTOBER 7: Jules Bernard #14 of the Minnesota Timberwolves dribbles the ball against Jalen Slawson #18 of the Indiana Pacers during the second half of the preseason game at Target Center on October 7, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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He’s been among Noblesville’s best players this year, and with the team losing many players to injury or overseas opportunities, he has recently become the G League’ club’s top option. Even with more responsibility and attention, Slawson has continued to produce.

Now, he gets a call up to the Pacers via a two-way contract. He’s eligible to be active for 13 of the Pacers final 22 games – two-way contract players are only able to appear in a maximum of 50 games in a league year, and that ratio of games gets prorated if they are signed mid-season.

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle had good memories of Slawson’s play for Indiana during the preseason. “ I think he’s an NBA player,” Carlisle said. “He’s had a good year with the Boom and this will be a great opportunity for him to play some games.”

Two-way contracts provide a salary that is half of the NBA’s rookie minimum, which would equate to $636k over the course of a full season. Prorated for the current day on the calendar, that means Slawson will make about $161k on his two-way with Indiana the rest of the season.

Two-way deals have no impact on a team’s salary cap, so the Pacers have no changes to their spending reality. They opened up a two-way spot by converting the contract of Quenton Jackson earlier this weekend.

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Indiana

Highlights: Beech Grove at Whiteland; February 27, 2026

Published

16 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Highlights: Beech Grove at Whiteland; February 27, 2026

WHITELAND, Ind. (WISH) — “The Zone” featured highlights from eight high school boys basketball games from across central Indiana on Friday.

Watch highlights of Beech Grove at Whiteland above.

Final Score: Whiteland 89 Beech Grove 61

“The Zone” airs each Friday at 11:08 p.m. Click here to watch ‘The Zone’ for basketball highlights on February 27, 2026.

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Indiana

Is Darryn Peterson Trying to Avoid Indiana?

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Is Darryn Peterson Trying to Avoid Indiana?

The Indiana Pacers are hoping to retain their 2026 first-round pick, which is protected 1-4 and 10-30. If the selection lands between 5 and 9, it conveys to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of the Ivica Zubac–Bennedict Mathurin trade.

At the top of the 2026 NBA Draft class, three names are consistently labeled as generational talents: AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer and Darryn Peterson.

Indiana would welcome any of the three. The bigger question is whether that feeling would be mutual.

On a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Simmons was joined by draft analysts Tate Frazier and J. Kyle Mann. During the discussion, Mann shared an interesting note about Peterson.

“I’ve gotten the impression from talking to people close to Darryn,” Mann said, “that Darryn is more likely to say, I’m interested in being the full on brain of this team. I don’t really want to play with another superstar, I want to be the center of the universe.”
J. Kyle Mann on The Bill Simmons Podcast
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If that perception holds weight, it creates an intriguing dynamic.

The Pacers were one game away from an NBA championship last season and already feature two established stars in Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam. Indiana is not a franchise searching for a singular identity, it already has one.

To be clear, Mann’s comments reflect conversations and impressions, not a public statement from Peterson himself. Still, the fit is worth examining. Indiana’s backcourt rotation already includes Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and T.J. McConnell. If Peterson were the pick, the Pacers would find ways to get him on the floor. He is that talented. But Indiana could not offer him an immediate “face of the franchise” role the way a Brooklyn, Sacramento or Washington might.

Mann also offered insight into how Dybantsa may view a situation like Indiana’s.

“AJ, people that know them both have told me that AJ is probably more likely to fit in with an Indiana,” Mann said. “Which is interesting because AJ likes to have the ball. Is he willing to be quick off of the ball with Haliburton? I just think that’s an interesting wrinkle in this.”
J. Kyle Mann on The Bill Simmons Podcast

The contrast is fascinating.

Hearing that Dybantsa would fit in more than Peterson is intriguing. Play style wise, I would lean more towards Peterson’s fitting how Indiana likes to play, especially with how Dybantsa has been utilized at BYU.

Jan 24, 2026; Columbia, Missouri, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Darryn Peterson (22) looks to pass against BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa (3) during the first half at Mizzou Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

If we’re talking locker room fit, I think Dybantsa would embody what a Pacer is all about. Comes from a small market. Wants to win and doesn’t need the big city to do it in. He’s confident but won’t let his ego interfere with the success of the team. Just a levelheaded kid with a desire to be great, and would have one of the best playmaking point guards alongside him to help maximize his talent.

These two are the most polarizing and often mentioned names amongst NBA draft circles when looking at the top two in the class. If the comments made by Mann come to be true, the Pacers would be better off drafting the uber talented 6-9 forward, Dybantsa, than drafting a 6-6 elite shooting guard who would rather be “the guy” than a guy.