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A renewed effort to identify the victims of a suspected serial killer has yielded more results in recent weeks as investigators continue their work on the case.
Those victims were allegedly killed by Herb Baumeister, a businessman who is suspected of killing at least 11 young boys and adult men in a series of slayings that were attributed to the “I-70 Strangler.” He is also suspected of killing at least 12 more men in the early 1990s, burying their remains at his farm in Indiana.
It was there that authorities discovered more than 10,000 human remains while executing a search warrant in the 1990s. Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison has launched a renewed effort to identify those remains, and in late May identified a victim as Jeffrey Jones, who was reported missing in 1993.
Jones’ remains were the third identified as part of the new effort, with a total number of victims currently placed at 12. At least four additional DNA profiles have been discovered but have not yet been identified, officials said.
The FBI is assisting with a genetic genealogy investigation, as is the University of Indianapolis and the Indiana State Police Laboratory, according to a press release.
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“Because many of the remains were found burnt and crushed, this investigation is extremely challenging,” Jellison said in a statement. “The team of law enforcement and forensic specialists working the case remain committed.”
The remains were found at the culmination of an investigation into Baumeister in 1996. A search warrant was obtained in connection with the series of murders, but Baumeister fled the country before it was executed. He later died by suicide at a park in Canada, according to officials.
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According to the Indy Star, Baumeister is suspected of murdering and dismembering his victims, whom he mostly met at gay bars in Indiana. He then allegedly buried the remains at Fox Hollow Farm in the early 1990s.
Baumeister is also suspected of being the “I-70 Strangler,” accused of killing at least 11 young boys and adult men that he met at clubs along the interstate in Indiana and Ohio.
According to the Indy Star, the latter murders are believed to have stopped when Baumeister purchased his Indiana farm, with victims of his alleged killings then buried at the location.
Family members of individuals reported missing during the early 1990s are still being encouraged to submit DNA samples to help investigators as they work to identify victims.
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