Richard Douglas Hamilton Jr. was a young man who disappeared from Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 31, 1993. In March 1999, his remains were identified as those found on the property of businessman and suspected serial killer Herb Baumeister in June 1996.
Case[]
Richard Hamilton Jr. was born in Indianapolis on March 5, 1973 to Richard Doug Hamilton and Dealie Faye Collins. At the time of his disappearance, he was living in Indianapolis and was working as a telephone marketer. He was last seen on July 31, 1993.
On June 24, 1996, Herb Baumeister, a local businessman whose behavior had drawn concern, was discovered to have sexually assaulted, killed, and disposed of the remains of at least 11 young gay and bisexual men at his Fox Hollow Farm estate in the Westfield suburb of Indianapolis. After an arrest warrant was issued for the murders at his estate, Baumeister fled to Ontario, Canada, and died by suicide in Pinery Provincial Park before he could be brought to trial. He did not confess to killing anyone in his suicide note and blamed his failing marriage and business for his death.
Baumeister is also suspected of being the I-70 Strangler who, between 1980 and 1991, killed 12 young boys and men who were strangled, and their naked bodies were dumped near Interstate 70 in Indiana and Ohio. Most of those victims were members of the LGBTQ community who disappeared within a four-block radius in Indianapolis, including Maurice Taylor and Mike Glenn.
In the original investigation, authorities gathered 11 DNA samples out of 10,000 charred and destroyed bone fragments at Fox Hollow Farm. Eight of the men were identified, with Richard's remains being identified on March 5, 1999. The remaining seven were Johnny Bayer, Jeffrey Jones, Manuel Martinez, Steven Hale, Allen Broussard, Roger Goodlet, and Mike Keirn.
A ninth victim, Allen Livingston, was identified in October 2023. Following Livingston's identification, Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison reported that four additional DNA samples were developed and that the remains found on the property could represent at least 25 people and encourages families who had someone disappear between the 1980s and mid-1990s to contact the Hamilton County Coroner's Office. More than 30 families have come forward and provided DNA samples.
In April 2025, a tenth victim, Daniel Halloran, was identified as part of the renewed identification effort.
Richard Hamilton Jr. is laid to rest at the Floral Park Cemetery Indianapolis, Indiana.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Richard Hamilton Jr. at Find a Grave
- Herb Baumeister on Wikipedia
- WRTV
- Investigative Reports POSTMORTEM WARNING