In the summer of 1980, the quiet community of Noblesville, Indiana, was unsettled by a grim discovery that would unravel a story of vulnerability and suspected serial murder. Fifteen-year-old Michael Petree, a White male, had been reported missing on June 7 of that year. His life was tragically cut short, his unclothed body found on June 16 in a rural part of Hamilton County. The cause of his death was determined to be strangulation, a violent end to a young life.
Investigations into Michael's disappearance and murder revealed a troubling narrative. In the days following his disappearance, he was reportedly seen in various parts of Indianapolis in the company of a stranger. Michael was known to frequent the city's gay bars and was involved in prostitution, a circumstance that made him particularly vulnerable. Despite the inherent dangers of his activities, toxicology reports showed no evidence of drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death. His case, however, was not an isolated incident and soon became part of a much larger and more terrifying investigation.
Authorities quickly began to see similarities between Michael's death and a string of other homicides in the region. These cases, which spanned from the early 1980s into the 1990s, involved young men and boys, many of whom were found partially or fully unclothed in rural areas near Interstate 70. This pattern of killings led law enforcement to believe they were dealing with a serial offender who would come to be known as the 'I-70 Strangler.' Despite extensive investigations and the collaboration between law enforcement agencies in Indiana and Ohio, no arrests were ever made in Michael Petree's murder.
Years later, a potential suspect would emerge in the form of Herb Baumeister, a local businessman with a dark secret. Investigators noted that the 'I-70 Strangler' cases seemed to cease around the time Baumeister purchased Fox Hollow Farm, a property that would later become a burial ground for his subsequent victims. While he was named as the prime suspect in the 'I-70 Strangler' cases in April 1999, Baumeister was never formally charged with Michael's murder, and the case officially remains unsolved. The death of Michael Petree stands as a tragic chapter in a series of unsolved crimes that haunted the Midwest for over a decade.
