{"id":8453,"date":"2025-01-15T19:44:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T19:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T05:25:39","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T22:25:39","slug":"772742936154816512-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/","title":{"rendered":"772742936154816512"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

luciferlaughs<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Herb Baumeister <\/b>was a serial killer who operated in Indiana and possibly in Ohio, although his true motives will forever remain a mystery. Herb was said to have had a perfectly normal upbringing, but on the onset of adolescence began exhibiting antisocial behaviors such as playing with dead animals and urinating on his teacher\u2019s desk. He was soon diagnosed with schizophrenia, although never received any treatment for it. In the 70s he got married and had three children of his own. Also in that decade he was committed to a psychiatric facility by his father. In the late 80s he founded a successful thrift store chain in Indianapolis called\u00a0\u2018\u2019Sav-A-Lot\u2019\u2019. In the early 90s, police began investigating the mysterious disappearances of gay men who were all eerily close in age, height, and weight. Every lead resulted in a dead end, that is until a man contacted investigators to report that a man who goes by\u00a0\u2018\u2019Brian Smart\u2019\u2019 and frequents gay bars had killed his friend and attempted to kill him as well. Police were able to track down the identity of\u00a0\u2018\u2019Brian Smart\u2019\u2019 who turned out to be Herb Baumeister. When they informed him that he was a suspect in the men\u2019s disappearances and asked to search his property, he refused to let them. In 1996, Herb\u2019s wife filed for divorce and gave police permission to search their 18-acre farm while Herb was on vacation. It was then that police unearthed the bodies of eleven men. Herb is also suspected to be responsible for the murders of nine other men whose bodies were found along the corridor of Interstate 70 between Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police never had a chance to arrest the killer, as he had fled to Ontario, Canada, and shot himself in the head. He left a suicide note behind describing his failing marriage and business as reasons for why he killed himself, but nowhere did he mention the eleven men that were buried on his property. It seems that the answers his family, police, and the victims\u2019 loved ones had been seeking were taken to the grave with him.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

luciferlaughs: Herb Baumeister was a serial killer who operated in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12749],"tags":[1513,1594,3740,2734,9694,11099,2229,2801,76,2228,7253,218],"class_list":["post-8453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tumblr","tag-america","tag-american","tag-crime","tag-gay","tag-herb-baumeister","tag-indiana","tag-murder","tag-ohio","tag-police","tag-serial-killer","tag-true-crime","tag-usa"],"yoast_head":"\n772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"luciferlaughs: Herb Baumeister was a serial killer who operated in …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Do Not Destroy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Do Not Destroy Team\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"The Do Not Destroy Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"The Do Not Destroy Team\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d\"},\"headline\":\"772742936154816512\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":355,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d\"},\"keywords\":[\"america\",\"american\",\"crime\",\"gay\",\"Herb Baumeister\",\"Indiana\",\"murder\",\"ohio\",\"police\",\"serial killer\",\"true crime\",\"USA\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Tumblr\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/\",\"name\":\"772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/772742936154816512-2\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"772742936154816512\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/\",\"name\":\"Do Not Destroy\",\"description\":\"Culture-Forward\\\/ Brand-Backward\u2122\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d\",\"name\":\"The Do Not Destroy Team\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png\",\"width\":120,\"height\":120,\"caption\":\"The Do Not Destroy Team\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/01\\\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.donotdestroy.com\\\/index\\\/author\\\/admin5\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy","og_description":"luciferlaughs: Herb Baumeister was a serial killer who operated in …","og_url":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/","og_site_name":"Do Not Destroy","article_published_time":"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00","author":"The Do Not Destroy Team","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"The Do Not Destroy Team","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/"},"author":{"name":"The Do Not Destroy Team","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d"},"headline":"772742936154816512","datePublished":"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/"},"wordCount":355,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d"},"keywords":["america","american","crime","gay","Herb Baumeister","Indiana","murder","ohio","police","serial killer","true crime","USA"],"articleSection":["Tumblr"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/","url":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/","name":"772742936154816512 - Do Not Destroy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-01-15T19:44:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-31T22:25:39+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/772742936154816512-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"772742936154816512"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/","name":"Do Not Destroy","description":"Culture-Forward\/ Brand-Backward\u2122","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/#\/schema\/person\/e94b0eb1b8ea31aa86611ece5b65514d","name":"The Do Not Destroy Team","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png","url":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png","width":120,"height":120,"caption":"The Do Not Destroy Team"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/apple-touch-icon-120x120.png"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/author\/admin5\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29529,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8453\/revisions\/29529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.donotdestroy.com\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}