Indiana Infamy

Manuel Martinez Resendez was just 34 years old when he disappeared.

Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison announced last week that remains recovered from Herb Baumeister’s estate were positively confirmed to belong to Manuel Resendez.

A resident of Frankfort, Manuel was employed as a child counselor when it’s believed he encountered Herb Baumeister, AKA Brian Smart, at an Indianapolis bar in August 1993. Although he was reported missing within days, Manuel’s disappearance remained a mystery until 1996, when authorities tentatively matched his dental records to a few of the more than 10,000 charred fragments of human teeth and bones found on Baumeister’s 18-acre Westfield estate. However, it wasn’t until recently that advances in DNA science and the dogged persistence of the Indiana State Police were able to remove all doubt: Manuel was a victim of one of Indiana’s most notorious serial killers.

Baumeister committed suicide in 1996 as police were investigating him in connection with the deaths of dozens of gay men. In addition to the approximately 25 bodies found at Fox Hollow Farms, Baumeister is also a suspect in the deaths of up to 11 young men and boys in what police dubbed the “I-70 Strangler” murders. Manuel Resendez is only the tenth officially identified victim found at Fox Hollow. The others remain unknown.