The Secret Life of a Serial Killer is an American crime documentary produced by Gabriel Films and Kurtis Productions which focuses on serial killer Herbert Baumeister, who led a secret life while his family was away, frequenting gay bars and committing murder.
The documentary originally aired in the USA on A&E on 23 March, 2005. It is an hour long.
The Secret Life of a Serial Killer aired in South Africa on DStv's Crime & Investigation Network on Sunday 2 November 2008, at 20h30.
Repeats
Monday 3 November: 02h30, 14h30
Saturday 8 November: 22h20
Sunday 9 November: 04h20, 16h20
Synopsis
Fox Hollow Farm is a million-dollar estate in an exclusive Indianapolis suburb, a sleepy community called Westfield where nothing much ever happens.
That is, until now.
This past summer, the police uncovered hundreds of human bones, the remains of at least seven people. Preliminary information indicates that these are the bodies of young gay men who had disappeared from Indianapolis over the past three years.
The discovery has shocked much of Indianapolis, ranging from the small yet vocal gay community to the conservative citizens of the exclusive suburb where Herbert Baumeister lived with his wife and three teenage children.
Soon after the discovery of the human remains, Baumeister fled to Canada and committed suicide.
As of today, four of the young men have been identified as frequenters of the Indianapolis gay bar scene. Several were known hustlers. Baumeister, unbeknownst to his wife, also frequented the scene, specifically on dates when his family was out of town.
This programme features interviews with Julie Baumeister, Herb's wife of over 20 years. She insists that she had "not a clue" her husband was dumping dead bodies a mere 15 feet from her back door.
Also, in a rare television appearance, we hear from Mark Goodyear, one of Baumeister’s lovers, who narrowly escaped with his life and provided crucial information to the police.
It is Goodyear's story that led the police to understand how Baumeister might have killed his victims; a game of erotic asphyxia, or sexual strangulation, taken too far.
Recent speculations are that as many as a dozen more unsolved murders along the Indiana Interstate may be linked to Herb Baumeister.
Between 1980 and 1991, the police know of 12 young gay men who were killed in Ohio and Indiana and the cause of death seems strikingly similar to the bodies on Fox Hollow Farm.
Moreover, Baumeister did not move to the Farm until 1992, when his known victims began disappearing.