Like So Many Serial Killers Before Him, Herb Baumeister Managed to Have a Wife and Kids

In terms of serial killers, Herb Baumeister was one of the worst. It's unclear why his name isn't mentioned in the same breath as John Wayne Gacy or Jeffrey Dahmer. It is believed that Baumeister killed at least two dozen men while living on a property he bought called Fox Hollow Farm. He and his family moved into the home in 1992 and for the next four years, the prolific killer tortured and murdered 11 men. Authorities are still trying to identify three more and think there could be upward of 25.

Although Baumeister frequented gay bars and targeted gay men, he married Julie Saiter in 1971, per People Magazine. The couple would go on to have three children together, who were raised in Baumeister's house of horrors. What happened to his wife and kids? Here's what we know.

In December 1996, Julie penned an essay about her life with Baumeister for the Indianapolis Monthly, as reported by WRTV. "Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but I knew we were a happy family," she wrote. "Herb always came home for dinner, and we did everything together, whether it was yard work, building a play center in the backyard, or spending time with the children." Evidently, he was very involved with his children, both at home and when it came to their schooling.

After borrowing money from Baumeister's mother, the couple opened their first Sav-A-Lot thrift store in 1988. Four years later, they moved into their dream home. They were able to open up a second thrift store location, which meant long working hours for the couple. They were mostly able to relax during the summer when the whole family would go to a lake house owned by relatives.

Despite her assessment of their family, Julie's description of her marriage to Baumeister was not complimentary. "On our wedding night, we did not have sex," she told detectives. "He took magazines to read and we did not have sex." In fact, Julie revealed that she never saw her husband naked. "If he has a birthmark, I don't know it," she joked.

Baumeister was anything but the perfect husband. "Ultimately, our family has always been based on my world being pretty much controlled by Herb," shared Julie. "He was, and still is, a very mean man who can do very mean things to people," she told Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office investigators in June 1996. Things got even worse when the human skulls appeared.

In the fall of 1994, Julie and Baumeister's 13-year-old son Erich brought a human skull into their house. He told his parents he found it on their property and brought Julie to the spot where he discovered it. There in a pile of leaves was a collection of human bones. Baumeister told his wife that it belonged to his late father, who was an anesthesiologist. It never occurred to Julie to ask how they got there and she didn't mention them again when they disappeared

The killings occurred when Julie would take their three children, Erich, Marie, and Emily, to the lake house. During the day, he would work at one of their thrift stores, and at night, Baumeister was cruising gay bars looking for victims. Jim Brown, owner of the upscale Metropolitan Restaurant and Nightclub, said Baumeister never seemed comfortable whenever he showed up. Police soon connected Baumeister to multiple disappearances, and later found the bones of several victims on his property.

Investigators tried speaking with Julie, who refused to listen while thinking back on the human skull her son found. When Baumeister vanished and ultimately took his own life, Julie finally let them search her property. Soon after that, Julie and the kids moved to the house she and Baumeister lived in when they were first married. Regarding what her husband did, Julie said, "Happiness as we knew it is never going to return."