Indiana Serial Killers
ColdCaseIndex documents 5 serial killers whose murders took place in Indiana, with first known killings from 1891 to 1992. 4 of them were caught; 1 linked case file document their victims. The earliest series is H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) (1891) and the most recent is I-70 Killer (1992). Profiles are added in order of public interest, so this page is not a complete census of the state.
All 5 profiles
H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett)
Henry Howard Holmes
Executed in 1896. Herman Webster Mudgett, alias H. H. Holmes, was convicted in Philadelphia of murdering Benjamin Pitezel and is tied to about nine deaths in Chicago, Indianapolis and Toronto.
Belle Gunness
Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth
Suspected, never charged. Norwegian-born widow whose La Porte, Indiana farm yielded the remains of at least 11 people after an April 1908 fire; the headless body ruled hers in 1908 is disputed and 2008 DNA tests were inconclusive.
Herb Baumeister
Herbert Richard Baumeister
Died by suicide before charges. Indianapolis thrift-store owner whose Westfield estate, Fox Hollow Farm, yielded the remains of at least 11 men in 1996; sheriffs later linked him to nine more deaths along I-70.
Larry Eyler
The Highway Killer
Died in prison. Larry Eyler was convicted in Illinois in 1986 of murdering Daniel Bridges and sentenced to death, pleaded guilty in Indiana in 1990 to a second murder, and confessed through his attorney to 21 killings of young…
I-70 Killer
I-70 Serial Killer
Unidentified. Six shop workers were shot in the head in small stores in Indiana, Kansas and Missouri between April 8 and May 7, 1992, all linked by a .22-caliber weapon.
At a glance
| Name | Alias | State | Active | Convicted | Confessed | Suspected | Legal status | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) | Henry Howard Holmes | Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana | 1891 to 1894 | 1 | 27 | About 9 (8 confirmed, 1 probable); claims of 27 to 200 or more are not supported by the record | Convicted | Executed |
| Belle Gunness | Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth | Indiana, Illinois | 1900 to 1908 | — | — | 14 to more than 40 (remains of at least 11 people dug up on the farm, plus three children and a headless woman in the fire ruins) | Suspected, never charged | Unknown |
| Herb Baumeister | Herbert Richard Baumeister | Indiana, Ohio | 1980 to 1995 | — | — | At least 11 at Fox Hollow Farm (coroner estimates up to 25 or more), plus 9 deaths in Indiana and Ohio from 1980 to 1990 linked by sheriffs in 1998 | Died before trial | Suicide |
| Larry Eyler | The Highway Killer | Illinois, Indiana | 1982 to 1984 | 2 | 21 | 19 to 24 (police estimates, 1983 to 1984) | Convicted | Died in prison |
| I-70 Killer | I-70 Serial Killer | Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Texas | 1992 | — | — | 6 killed in 1992; 2 more killed and 1 wounded in Texas in 1993 to 1994 are a disputed possible link | Unidentified | At large |
Serial murder case files from Indiana
Victim-centred case pages from the cold case index, with their own timelines and sources.