Naman Shrestha
‘The Fox Hollow Murders: Playground of a Serial Killer’ is a four-part documentary series that explores the mysterious disappearances of gay men in Indianapolis in the 1990s. With the help of a self-proclaimed survivor named Mark Anthony Goodyear and his story of alleged survival, the police were led straight to a businessman named Herbert Baumeister, who was a married man with three kids. However, when he took his own life before the police could question him about his potential crimes, the detectives decided to close the chapter and did not dive deeper into it. As the years went by, the investigators suspected that he could not have killed all those men alone and suspected that Mark was an accomplice to it all.
Mark Anthony Goodyear’s Story Directed the Police Towards Herbert Baumeister
When the police were only being led to dead ends in relation to the disappearance of members of Indianapolis’s LGBT community, Mark Anthony Goodyear contacted the authorities out of the blue in 1996 and testified that he had an encounter with the potential perpetrator who, in his opinion, was responsible for the mysterious disappearances. He told the detectives that he met a strange man named Brian in a gay bar in August 1994 and went to his house located in the northern suburbs of the city. It was later that he allegedly realized Brian’s real name was Herbert Baumeister.
Since he claimed that he did not pay much heed to the directions, he failed to direct the authorities to the suspect’s property. Mark told them that all he could remember was that the house had a long driveway, a swimming pool, a bar, numerous mannequins in different rooms, and the interior had plenty of cobwebs. About the mannequins, he said, “Well, they were all posed. One woman in a dress reaching into a cabinet in the kitchenette…One was a lifeguard. Several others just posed around as if they were enjoying the day.” During his time with Herb, the homeowner allegedly talked about drugs and his fetishes, including erotic asphyxiation.
While the two were on the subject, Herb allegedly asked Mark to choke him. The latter told the detectives, “I had the neck hold on him in the pool, standing in the water. His eyes are bugging out. His lips are turning purple. The whole nine yards. He’s into it. I mean, this guy is into it.” As per his claims, when the suspect tried to do the same to him using a pool hose from behind, Mark allegedly fought back and made him back off of him. Had he been under the influence, he claimed that Herb would have gone further with him and killed him. Thanks to his story, the police were able to locate Herbert and discover thousands of human bone fragments in the wooded areas of his property.
Mark Anthony Goodyear’s Different Versions of His Story About Herb Have Made Him a Potential Suspect
Over the years, Mark Anthony Goodyear, who was considered the “hero” who led the authorities to Herbert Baumeister, became a potential suspect in the eyes of the authorities for the simple fact that he knew way too many details about the crimes. However, he has continued to deny any involvement in the crimes allegedly committed by Herb. Another major reason for the authorities’ doubts about him is that he has changed several details of his story multiple times. In the show, he claimed that Herb never tried to harm him. According to him, the reason he went to the police with his original story was to make them investigate him and his property.
Throughout the years, he has come under police suspicion but has never been charged with any crimes related to the murder cases of the 1990s in Indianapolis. By 2016, Mark had also become a religious man who held religious events. He shared some vague details about one of his events on his social media handle, saying, “No ticket sales will be posted or solicited here. Event times and dates might be posted here but no funds solicited or collected. Let us begin by shouting “Praise the Holy name of the resurrected Christ”. That should explain just where it is that I stand on these matters. Please share this locality with others whom might be displaced by the issues plaguing the original page. The Soul Sisters would be a favorite of mine.” Other details of his professional or personal life have remained a mystery.
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