Fox Hollow Farm victims honored
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Doves are released in front of a new monument honoring the Fox Hollow Farm victims. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
Victims of one of Indiana's most horrific crimes have finally been given a proper funeral and a final resting place.
Why it matters: It has been nearly three decades since investigators found the remains of an estimated 25 men on the 18-acre Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield.
- A dedication ceremony held Thursday morning for a new monument in their honor doubled as the first public memorial service collectively recognizing the tragedy since it came to light in the summer of 1996.
What they're saying: "To the families that are here today … there is no way we can understand your grief. But we see it, and we are here to support you," Hamilton County coroner Jeff Jellison said.
- "To those families that may be waiting to have a loved one identified, you've been grieving in the darkness of 30 years of unanswered questions," he continued. "We also see your grief, and we are working diligently to provide you with a path to closure."
Flashback: Investigators believe suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister, a Westfield businessman, lured men to his Hamilton County farm where he killed them and dismembered their bodies.
- A search of the property in June 1996 conducted while Baumeister was on vacation led to the initial discovery of human remains.
- The next month, Baumeister killed himself in Canada after fleeing Indiana to escape the authorities.
- Jellison reopened the case about two years ago with the hope of identifying more of the remains.
State of play: Officials say more than 10,000 bone fragments and charred remains were found scattered across the property.
- Nine victims have been positively identified so far, the most recent being named in June.
- Four others have been identified as unique DNA profiles but await additional analysis.
Zoom in: Indiana-based ministry He Knows Your Name donated the monument, which was created by Canadian artist David Perrett.
- The monument lists all of the identified Fox Hollow victims and leaves space for more names to be added in the future.
- There is also an ossuary by the monument so that any family member connected to the crime can lay their loved one to rest at no cost.
The deceased: Here are the nine victims who have been named so far along with the year they were reported missing.
- Jeffrey Allen "Jeff" Jones, 1993
- Allen Lee Livingston, 1993
- John Lee "Johnny" Bayer, 1993
- Richard Douglas Hamilton, Jr., 1993
- Allen Wayne Broussard, 1994
- Manuel M. Resendez, 1993
- Roger Allen Goodlet, 1994
- Steven Spurlin Hale, 1994
- Michael Frederick "Mike" Keirn, 1995
Zoom in: Matthew Pranger, cousin of Allen Livingston, said he prays other families one day receive the closure he felt after his cousin was identified last year.
- "This monument is not just for one person, but for all of those who have lost their lives," he said. "It represents our collective goal … our shared determination to remember each life that was taken."
What's next: The investigation is ongoing.
- Jellison is asking families with male loved ones who went missing from the mid-1980s to early 1990s to contact the Hamilton County Coroner's Office at 317-770-4415 for a cheek-swab DNA sample.