Herbert Baumeister

Herbert Richard "Herb" Baumeister (born April 7, 1947 in Indianapolis , USA, † July 3, 1996 in Grand Bend , Ontario , Canada) was an American serial killer .

Baumeister led a middle-class existence in Indianapolis as the founder of the supermarket chain Sav-a-Lot and had three children. He kept his homosexual tendencies a secret until his death and only lived them out when he had sent his family on vacation alone under the pretext of having to work. In 1994 he was suspected of murder after several young men disappeared. What all the missing had in common was that shortly before they disappeared, they were seen in gay bars, which Baumeister had often visited during the period in question. A witness he had taken home with him under the code name Brian initially gave the decisive indication of his inclination to strangulation and suffocation games. After a second meeting with Baumeister, which took place a year later, he informed the police of his license plate number. Since a search warrant could still not be obtained and Baumeister refused permission to search his forest property, this could only take place when his wife agreed to it in his absence. The remains of seven young men were excavated. Baumeister was found dead a week later. He had committed suicide with a shot in the head from a .357 Magnum . In his suicide note, however, he did not admit the murders, but cited business difficulties and marital problems as the cause. He is charged with ten other murders committed in Indiana and Ohio between 1980 and 1990 .