In the autumn of 1987, a young man's life was tragically cut short, a victim of a string of unsolved murders that haunted the Midwest. Twenty-one-year-old James Boyd Robbins, a male, disappeared on the night of October 15, 1987. He was last seen at approximately 10 p.m. after leaving his mother's residence in Indianapolis and heading toward the southern part of the city.
Two days later, on October 17, a grim discovery was made in a ditch in rural Shelby County, near Interstate 70 south
of Glennville. The naked body of James Robbins was found, bearing the marks of strangulation. The investigation into his death was complicated by conflicting witness statements regarding a vehicle seen near the crime scene; one witness reported seeing a red Jeep Wrangler Renegade, while another described a Chevrolet Blazer.
Robbins' murder is believed to be the work of an unidentified serial killer known as the 'I-70 Strangler,' who is responsible for the deaths of at least eleven young men and boys in Indiana and Ohio between June 1980 and October 1991. The victims' bodies were often left near Interstate 70. Although the cases are officially unsolved, law enforcement named Herb Baumeister as the prime suspect in April 1999. Investigators noted that the 'I-70 Strangler' cases seemed to cease in 1991, which coincided with Baumeister's purchase of Fox Hollow Farm, a property he would later use as a burial site for other victims. Baumeister died by suicide in 1996 as a warrant was being issued for his arrest in connection with the disappearances of other men.
