This guy was killing people in shopping malls all along Interstate 70 back in the early 90s. Is there any updates on this? This seemed to be senseless violence....no motive.

I remember this case. He walked into a bridal store and shot a woman right? That I beleive was one of the victims. Never heard any updates on this one.

After further searching I did find somewhat of an update here it is,

The highway gave its name to the "I-70 Killer," a serial killer who committed a string of murders within a few miles of it in several Midwestern states in the 1980s. No suspect has ever been apprehended despite the widespread publicity the murders have generated, including their being featured several times on the television show America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. However, Herb Baumeister, from Westfield, Indiana, is widely suspected as being the killer. Baumeister committed suicide after numerous human bones were discovered on his estate.

He was a thrill killer so it makes sense that he was ultimately killed, arrested for another crime or committed suicide.

That segment gives me chills...that psychopath walking around from store to store in that green trench coat. I hold my breath at the scene when that black guy successfully persuades the killer to let him go by saying "hey man, I don't know nothing, I didn't see anything". Feel so sorry for the ones that couldn't get away.

That segment gives me chills...that psychopath walking around from store to store in that green trench coat. I hold my breath at the scene when that black guy successfully persuades the killer to let him go by saying "hey man, I don't know nothing, I didn't see anything". Feel so sorry for the ones that couldn't get away.

I know what ya mean. That guy was very lucky he was let go & not harmed.

After further searching I did find somewhat of an update here it is,

The highway gave its name to the "I-70 Killer," a serial killer who committed a string of murders within a few miles of it in several Midwestern states in the 1980s. No suspect has ever been apprehended despite the widespread publicity the murders have generated, including their being featured several times on the television show America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. However, Herb Baumeister, from Westfield, Indiana, is widely suspected as being the killer. Baumeister committed suicide after numerous human bones were discovered on his estate.

There are actually two I-70 Killers--one of which is assumed to have been Herb Baumeister (who murdered mainly homosexual men between Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio) in the mid-90s, and the I-70 Killer featured on UM, who shot dark-haired women (as well as one long-haired male whom was apparently believed to a woman by the killer) with a .25 handgun along I-70 in Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas, and I-35 in Texas in the early '90s. There is currently no suspect, although some strongly eye Donald Blom as a potential (he's currently incarcerated for a murder/rape at Stillwater in MN). The latter of course is the one we're talking about here. Easy to mix them up.

Actually Meg the Egg, Donald Blom is not in prison here in MN. It is a long story but basically when he was convicted, a hit was put out on him in the State Prison system. Basically a bunch of inmates here said if Blom was put in their prison they would kill him as soon as they could get their hands on him. Originally they were going to transfer Blom to North Dakota but state officials felt that the security of that prison was not strong enough for someone of Blom's status. So Blom was transferred out of state to do his time. The last I knew he was doing his time out at a prison in Pennsylvania.

I know what ya mean. That guy was very lucky he was let go & not harmed.

He wasn't lucky, the guy did the right thing with what he had.

Obviously the killer had a pattern: He was killing people weaker and more vulnerable than him (women working in stores), in submissive position in the back store where he could control the crime scene, and always hiding from any incoming eye-witness. The killer obviously had ego issues. This time, the I-70 did not have the control. The man was stronger, staunchily refusing to follow him and probably ready to physically resist, and there was always the possibility that he would attack him or attempt to flee, or that another customer might come in. Time wasn't on his side.

The killer thought it was more reasonable to let him go now, with the possibility that he might think it was only a mere robbery and that he would mind his business, than shoot him, potentially miss his shot, and got knocked down in the process or attract unwanted attention.

Obviously the killer had a pattern: He was killing people weaker and more vulnerable than him (women working in stores), in submissive position in the back store where he could control the crime scene, and always hiding from any incoming eye-witness. The killer obviously had ego issues. This time, the I-70 did not have the control. The man was stronger, staunchily refusing to follow him and probably ready to physically resist, and there was always the possibility that he would attack him or attempt to flee, or that another customer might come in. Time wasn't on his side.

Good analysis.

There could be other reasons though..

1. It's possible the thrill killer thought the man was a police officer. The fact that the guy was comfortable may have made the killer think this was a trap of some sort.

2. If I am correct, this was his last attack. If so, the thrill killer may have just gotten tired of the act and decided this was it. Which I believe untimately that he committed suicide.

3. The victims race may have something to do with it as well. Some inner fear or racism may have caused some fear of black people. Maybe he thought this guy was a stereotypical "gangsta". He may have assumed this guy had a gun and would fight back. He may have even thought that they guy was a con of some sort and wouldn't speak to the police.

Good analysis.

There could be other reasons though..

1. It's possible the thrill killer thought the man was a police officer. The fact that the guy was comfortable may have made the killer think this was a trap of some sort.

2. If I am correct, this was his last attack. If so, the thrill killer may have just gotten tired of the act and decided this was it. Which I believe untimately that he committed suicide.

3. The victims race may have something to do with it as well. Some inner fear or racism may have caused some fear of black people. Maybe he thought this guy was a stereotypical "gangsta". He may have assumed this guy had a gun and would fight back. He may have even thought that they guy was a con of some sort and wouldn't speak to the police.

I always thought the guy just ran out of ammo.

I always thought the guy just ran out of ammo.

You know, I hadn't thought of that as simple as it might seem.

It is true it is not because he was using a Uzi (which we may infer from the segment) that the magazine was full and refilled all the time.

I always thought the guy just ran out of ammo.Or it could have been that he got off on the idea of killing women, but the idea of killing a man did nothing for him. He probably realized he had made a mistake after he let the guy go.

I discovered that a Kansas TV station recently did a news feature on the case.

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=11409657

You know, I hadn't thought of that as simple as it might seem.

It is true it is not because he was using a Uzi (which we may infer from the segment) that the magazine was full and refilled all the time.


Point of order, but it wasn't an Uzi he was using. It was a semi-auto Intratec .22 ;)

I agree, though, it is possible he was simply out of ammunition, as they don't state how many times each of the women was shot. He may have emptied the magazine into them, not expecting anyone else to show up.

Point of order, but it wasn't an Uzi he was using. It was a semi-auto Intratec .22

I agree, though, it is possible he was simply out of ammunition, as they don't state how many times each of the women was shot. He may have emptied the magazine into them, not expecting anyone else to show up.

That would make a great ending to a serial killer movie.!! Guy on a killing spree just runs out of ammo and decides to go home and get ready for work. :crazy:

Seriously,
1.Sure he could run out of ammo, but woudl he run out of pychotic rage as well?
2. Usually these guys have more than one weapon. A sidearm pistol.
3. The "running out of ammo" theory assumes that this guy is not someone who usually has guns. If this guy was "gun nut", I'm pretty sure he has access to plenty of ammo, and took some with him. This guy is not a soldier or a cop, who would by force of habit carry extra clips of ammo.
It almost would seem that this guy snapped cause he "found" a submachine gun someplace.

That would make a great ending to a serial killer movie.!! Guy on a killing spree just runs out of ammo and decides to go home and get ready for work. :crazy:

Seriously,
1.Sure he could run out of ammo, but woudl he run out of pychotic rage as well?
2. Usually these guys have more than one weapon. A sidearm pistol.
3. The "running out of ammo" theory assumes that this guy is not someone who usually has guns. If this guy was "gun nut", I'm pretty sure he has access to plenty of ammo, and took some with him. This guy is not a soldier or a cop, who would by force of habit carry extra clips of ammo.
It almost would seem that this guy snapped cause he "found" a submachine gun someplace.


It's not a submachine gun, though. It's simply a semi auto pistol, and in a weak caliber. A submachine gun is a full auto weapon in a pistol caliber, such as 9mm or .45. It's very unlikely he was a "gun nut" because if he were, it's unlikely he would've picked such a small caliber weapon. .22 caliber is just north of BB (.177), and while ammo is cheap and plentiful, it's just not something that most people who have access to large amounts of firearms is going to use. I think it's entirely possible that the guy found it and bought it, somewhere, simply because "it looked cool and dangerous."

Also, you're assuming that he's a psycho killer. Not all serial killers are psychotic, despite what they do. Many are very cool and calculating. He didn't necessarily have to be in a rage when he murdered these women, and that type of killer, in my opinion, is the most dangerous. He might have been perfectly calm while he did it. For him, it may have been no different than performing any menial task in a normal person's life.

Also, you're assuming that he's a psycho killer. Not all serial killers are psychotic, despite what they do

You think this guy is not mentally disturbed?




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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mastermind
That would make a great ending to a serial killer movie.!! Guy on a killing spree just runs out of ammo and decides to go home and get ready for work.

Seriously,
1.Sure he could run out of ammo, but woudl he run out of pychotic rage as well?
2. Usually these guys have more than one weapon. A sidearm pistol.
3. The "running out of ammo" theory assumes that this guy is not someone who usually has guns. If this guy was "gun nut", I'm pretty sure he has access to plenty of ammo, and took some with him. This guy is not a soldier or a cop, who would by force of habit carry extra clips of ammo.
It almost would seem that this guy snapped cause he "found" a submachine gun someplace.



It's not a submachine gun, though. It's simply a semi auto pistol, and in a weak caliber. A submachine gun is a full auto weapon in a pistol caliber, such as 9mm or .45. It's very unlikely he was a "gun nut" because if he were, it's unlikely he would've picked such a small caliber weapon. .22 caliber is just north of BB (.177), and while ammo is cheap and plentiful, it's just not something that most people who have access to large amounts of firearms is going to use. I think it's entirely possible that the guy found it and bought it, somewhere, simply because "it looked cool and dangerous."

I apologize, I thought someone said it was an "uzi" style machine pistol?

You think this guy is not mentally disturbed?


I never said that. There's a difference between those who kill in a psychotic rage and those who plan out a killing, though.

I apologize, I thought someone said it was an "uzi" style machine pistol?

No problem. It was an Intratec .22, which is a semi automatic version of the 7.65mm (or .32) Czech Skorpion machine pistol. People tend to see things like that and lump them all in, together, just because they don't know any better.

Just watched this segment. It's interesting to note the huge number of witnesses involved in the Sarah Blessing murder in Raytown, Missouri.

This killing happened at 6:30 p.m. so it wasn't dark out yet. The parking lot for this strip mall was huge and filled with people. The killer walked among the people in the auction house. He was spotted by the owner of the auction house, the video store owner AND a grocery store clerk. Amazing he was able to simply walk away so easily and escape.

With so many people around in broad daylight, this had to have been part of the thrill the killer had in committing these crimes. I guess it wouldn't have the same effect for him if he waited until it was dark outside and around closing time where there would be less witnesses around.

With so many people around in broad daylight, this had to have been part of the thrill the killer had in committing these crimes. I guess it wouldn't have the same effect for him if he waited until it was dark outside and around closing time where there would be less witnesses around.

1.Fewer people out at night. Less targets. Stores closed.
2. Something I think people don't consider in firearm crimes is that it is much more difficult to shoot someone in the dark than in the light.
3. Police more active in the dark, security guards, etc.

I fully believe that this man is either arrested or dead, any of which makes me happy, and i believe he looked to kills women alone in a store, BUT if you got in his way, he would've killed you too, that witness was one lucky man.

The bridal store customer who was spared makes no sense to me. I know the killer largely targeted stores where he thought there was one female present (and the crimes usually occurred when there were few people around), but he was also responsible for the death of a man, Michael McCown. McCown was alone in a store when he was murdered as well. I believe the killer did have some sort of misogynistic issues/thoughts and he felt the need to be in "control" of his victims. But it just doesn't make sense as to why he would have simply let the customer back out of the door and leave. He either had to have been out of ammo or he was startled by someone else coming in the store and that threw him off his "perfectly orchestrated" plan. I'd like to believe the guy was either killed or is serving time for an unrelated crime. Killers like that just do not stop killing all of a sudden.

EDIT: I know the segment involving "Carol" (woman who was randomly shot in the fact on a rural road by a random guy driving a pickup) took place in CT, but I think the composite sketches of that man and the I-70 killer look almost identical. I wonder if it was the same man. It's a similar style MO, a guy preying on a woman in what seems the only motive is to accomplish a "thrill kill".

The bridal store customer who was spared makes no sense to me. I know the killer largely targeted stores where he thought there was one female present (and the crimes usually occurred when there were few people around), but he was also responsible for the death of a man, Michael McCown. McCown was alone in a store when he was murdered as well. I believe the killer did have some sort of misogynistic issues/thoughts and he felt the need to be in "control" of his victims. But it just doesn't make sense as to why he would have simply let the customer back out of the door and leave. He either had to have been out of ammo or he was startled by someone else coming in the store and that threw him off his "perfectly orchestrated" plan. I'd like to believe the guy was either killed or is serving time for an unrelated crime. Killers like that just do not stop killing all of a sudden.

EDIT: I know the segment involving "Carol" (woman who was randomly shot in the fact on a rural road by a random guy driving a pickup) took place in CT, but I think the composite sketches of that man and the I-70 killer look almost identical. I wonder if it was the same man. It's a similar style MO, a guy preying on a woman in what seems the only motive is to accomplish a "thrill kill".

I think the man who was spared was spared for one reason: He was a man. The killer targeted women and I think the one man who was killed by him had a ponytail and was probably mistaken as a woman. The man was also very good at talking himself out of the situation (if the real event was anything like in the reenactment).

I think the man who was spared was spared for one reason: He was a man. The killer targeted women and I think the one man who was killed by him had a ponytail and was probably mistaken as a woman. The man was also very good at talking himself out of the situation (if the real event was anything like in the reenactment).

Yeah after I posted that I read an article in another thread that said Michael McCown had long hair and wore earrings and that LE believes the killer mistook McCown for a woman which is why he was killed. UM sure does leave out a lot of important information!

I was only 2 years old when the first killing happened, and in the same state too.

I'd like to believe the guy was either killed or is serving time for an unrelated crime. Killers like that just do not stop killing all of a sudden.
yeah, here's hoping. i havent heard any killings that were similar to this lately, so maybe something did happen to him.

Could be that killing became less "thrilling" to him and he sought some other means of excitement. Not sure if that can happen with serial/spree killers, although look at BTK, who apparently simply stopped killing for around 20 years.

It's been awhile since this case has been discussed, but I found this most recent article about the killer: http://articles.kwch.com/2009-10-29/serial-killer-case_24078442

There's 2 pages to it, so go to the bottom of the page and click "next" to see page 2.

Cool, thx for the info

Theres a short blurb in todays paper about the I-70 Killer near the 20th anniversary
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120502/NEWS02/120502025/20-years-later-new-information-six-70-killings-2-Indiana?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

Theres a short blurb in todays paper about the I-70 Killer near the 20th anniversary
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120502/NEWS02/120502025/20-years-later-new-information-six-70-killings-2-Indiana?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com
I came across this info today too. I hope you don't mind if I post a proper link and quote. Here's the AP article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-20-years-later-new-information-in-unsolved-i70-killings-20120502,0,5995878.story):
...Among the new details released, police in St. Charles say ballistic evidence and witness statements indicate the murder weapon was possibly an Intratec Scorpion or an Erma Werke Model ET 22. Other makes and models of .22-caliber weapons can't be ruled out just yet, police said.

The ammunition used was CCI brand .22-caliber long rifle, copper clad lead bullets. Investigators say that found on the cartridge cases were two substances: corundum and a red material consistent with rouge, which are both believed to come from an environment where grinding, buffing or polishing was performed...


It sounds a lot like the evidence that linked Gary Ridgeway to the Green River murders. Obviously, it's not the same person, but it's something. Ultimately, we need a suspects.

There are actually two I-70 Killers--one of which is assumed to have been Herb Baumeister (who murdered mainly homosexual men between Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio) in the mid-90s, and the I-70 Killer featured on UM, who shot dark-haired women (as well as one long-haired male whom was apparently believed to a woman by the killer) with a .25 handgun along I-70 in Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas, and I-35 in Texas in the early '90s. There is currently no suspect, although some strongly eye Donald Blom as a potential (he's currently incarcerated for a murder/rape at Stillwater in MN). The latter of course is the one we're talking about here. Easy to mix them up.
I don't know. The cases featured on UM and AMW may have nothing to do with any of these two aforementioned. But if they did I would have to say herb baumeister fits the profile more. He lived in Indianapolis at the time of the killings. He owned a store which could explain why he felt comfortable in small retail stores where most of these killings took place. He also had a brother that lived in Texas....due south from witchita Kansas. Now I read somewhere that this brother turned up dead? Don't know if that's true. As far as the idea that he only murdered homosexual men. I guess that could eliminate him but clearly he likely murdered a lot more than what he was caught for. I don't know that the killer featured on UM targeted males or females(nor did it appear to be driveN By sexual reasons) it just appears he targeted people for cold blood in general based on circumstances of his movements and hunting(sadly that's what it looked like). It looked like he didn't really stake out his victims but moreso picked the location being to his advantage(small stores). Another note the UM feature seems to focus on the fact that all of the victims were female(which makes him to appear to seek out females only) but their was one male(that may or may not have been homosexual). And I think too much is made of the fact that he let a man go. He clearly was flustered by that situation and it's not like he didn't make an attempt to take him to the back and kill him. The individual just didn't cooperate. If he had he would have been killed too.

His employees have said he would disappear for long periods in the day and return reeking of alcohol. His photos also somewhat resemble the killer and he had a nerdy/business look to him which also matched the suspect as well and perhaps aided him in his ability to move freely without looking suspicious. I don't think the murders were necessarily sexual related he just seemed to be a cold blooded killer.

http://murderpedia.org/male.B/b/baumeister-herbert.htm

This was such bold murders. The guy just runs up the hill towards the interstate.