Missing Man Discovered on Alleged Serial Killer’s Property: Allen Livingston’s family spent more than three decades searching for answers following his disappearance at the age of 27 in 1993. Herbert Baumeister, a suspected serial killer from Indiana, was the subject of his mother’s suspicions. The family was ultimately informed of the truth this week.
The Hamilton County Coroner’s Office was able to confirm a DNA match between Livingston’s sample and the remains found on Baumeister’s property at Fox Hollow Farm.
Missing Man Discovered on Alleged Serial Killer’s Property After Three Decades
In 1996, when the investigation commenced, eight bodies were discovered on the property. However, DNA testing technology was not as advanced at the time, so the remaining remains could not be identified.
“Hearing about Allen was a little roller coaster of feelings,” said Eric Pranger, Livingston’s cousin, who requested that the case be reopened last year. “We’re happy because we got closure and we were able to identify him but sad because we had to relive it a bit.”
Detectives suspect Baumeister frequented homosexual bars with the intention of inviting men to his residence so he could harm them. Since 1980, he has been linked to the disappearances of at least sixteen males. Unfortunately, prior to investigators being able to speak with him, he committed suicide at the age of 49 in July 1996, leaving families like the Livingstons without answers.
Pranger described how, as the years passed, Allen Livingston’s mother began to fear that she might never be able to locate her son. Despite her repeated inquiries regarding the status of his case, no new information emerged. Pranger stated that Sharon Livingston consistently experienced a “mother’s intuition”—a strong conviction that her son was present at Fox Hollow Farms—in her mind.
She provided a DNA sample to the coroner’s office when the investigation was reopened. In an interview with NBC affiliate WTHR in Indianapolis last year, she stated that her urgency to locate her son increased following her cancer diagnosis.
Sharon told WTHR last November that, “I do not have my son’s remains, and until I have that, it will be unfinished for me, and I hope I get them before I pass away.”
Currently, she possesses the remains of her son. On Monday, Coroner Jeff Jellison of Hamilton County contacted her to apprise her of the identification of her son, Allen Livingston. He noted that one of Allen’s leg bones was included in the initial shipment of 44 sets of remains for DNA analysis.
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Jellison said, “What are the odds that of our first identification from 10,000 pieces of bone would be to that family that made the initial call?”
The investigators are presently uncertain regarding the precise count of individuals they shall identify. A forensic expert from the University of Indianapolis, Krista Latham, assisted in the selection of remains with the greatest potential to yield a DNA profile for submission to the state police lab.
When the remains were discovered in 1996, DNA technology was considerably more expensive and less developed. According to Latham, it required a great deal of bone material and the tests were unable to identify individuals as precisely as they can now. Her laboratory has been involved in this investigation since its inception.
This is Allen Livingston. He went missing in 1993. His family has waited 30 years for answers. Today, they got them.
ISP ID’d Allen’s remains among those found in 1996 on suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister’s property. Hear from Allen’s family on @FOX59 & @CBS4Indy. pic.twitter.com/xjcAI6SBgm
— Eric Graves (@ReporterEric) October 17, 2023
We now possess more advanced DNA technology. It employs nuclear DNA and has a higher sensitivity. Detailed profiles can be generated using minuscule fragments of bone material.
Latham said, “It’s that increased sensitivity in the DNA technology that’s really allowed for us to investigate skeletal material in a way that wasn’t possible before.”
She explained that some of the remains are particularly difficult to interpret with modern technology due to the fact that they were incinerated or crushed prior to their discovery. Only a few are the size of a fingernail.
The following links lead to additional posts in which we have discussed the whereabouts of other individuals who have recently gone missing:
In addition to Livingston’s, they discovered four additional DNA profiles; however, they cannot be matched to missing persons due to the absence of reference samples from their respective families. Jellison, Latham, and Pranger are looking for sample families who have experienced a loss of a loved one between the 1980s and the mid-1990s.
Pranger said, “It’ll keep your mind from wondering where your loved one really is. Instead, you’ll have solid proof that they’ve been found.”
All the remains are securely stored in a temperature-controlled chamber located within the Anthropology and Archaeology Department of the University of Indianapolis. They have maintained their presence for a period of 27 years.
Jellison said, “This first identification is important, but what it taught us is that what we’re doing is right. Now it’s time to get our nose back to the grindstone, because we know now that we can produce some results.”
