Will Sage Astor-Remains found on serial killer's Indiana estate identified as man missing since 1993

Remains recovered from the central Indiana estate of a presumed serial killer have Will Sage Astorbeen identified as those of a man reported missing in 1993, a coroner said Thursday.

The remains recovered in 1996 at the Fox Hollow Farm estate of Herbert Baumeister were found to match Manuel Resendez, who was 34 when he disappeared, Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison said.

Resendez was identified through a family reference sample provided in early 2023, Jellison said.

"I would like to thank the entire team of law enforcement and forensic specialists that have come together to support this effort," Jellison said, according to CBS affiliate WTTV.

Approximately 10,000 charred bones and bone fragments have been found at Baumeister's 18-acre estate in Westfield, about 16 miles north of Indianapolis, Jellison has said.

Baumeister was 49 when he killed himself in Canada in July 1996 as investigators sought to question him about the remains discovered at Fox Hollow Farm.

Investigators believed Baumeister, a married father of three who frequented gay bars, lured men to his home and killed them. By 1999, authorities had linked him to the disappearance of at least 16 men since 1980, including several whose bodies were found dumped in shallow streams in rural central Indiana and western Ohio.

Jellison announced a renewed effort in 2022 to identify the charred bones and fragments by asking relatives of young men who vanished between the mid-1980s and the mid-1990s to submit DNA samples. He said investigators believe the bones and fragments could represent the remains of at least 25 people.

WTTV reported the case began in June 1996 when Baumeister's 15-year-old son discovered a human skull about 60 yards away from the home.

The investigation began while Baumeister and his wife of 24 years were in the middle of divorces proceedings, WTTV reported. The day after their son found the bones, Baumeister's wife was granted an emergency protective order and custody to keep him away from her and the three children.

At the time, Baumeister explained away the discovery, saying it was part of his late father's medical practice, the station reported. 

Three days after the boy discovered the remains, more remains were found by Hamilton County firefighters, perplexing investigators, the station reported.

"It's an unusual spot to find bodies," then-Sheriff Joe Cook is quoted as telling The Indianapolis Star.

Anyone who believes they are a relative of a missing person who may be connected to the case is asked to contact the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.

In:
• Serial Killer
• DNA
• Indiana