Woman’s Killer, Who Left Her 3-Year-Old Unharmed, Found 50 Years Later
An Indiana woman's 50-year-old murder case is finally getting answers.
Five decades after she was found dead in a ditch on the side of a road with her 3-year-old daughter unharmed by her side, Phyllis Bailer's killer has been identified by authorities.
Forensic genetic genealogy has led officials to determine Fred Allen Lienemann was the 26-year-old mom's assailant, the Indiana State Police shared in an April 16 press release.
Lienemann's DNA was found on Bailer's clothing, per police. He would have been 25 at the time of her 1972 murder, which occurred while she was traveling in her parents' car from Indianapolis to Bluffton, I.N., with her 3-year-old daughter, per the release.
"Lienemann had no known connections to Phyllis Bailer," officials continued of the Michigan-born man in the release, "but had a significant criminal history."
And while authorities are confident that the DNA testing has led them to the correct killer, the Indiana State Police noted that they are unable to convict Lienemann, who sexually assaulted Bailer before fatally shooting her and leaving her on the side of the road, according to an autopsy obtained by the department.
"During their investigation, detectives learned that Fred Lienemann was murdered in Detroit in 1985," the release stated. "If Fred Lienemann were alive today, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office would have charged him with the murder of Phyllis Bailer."
As for why it took 50 years to solve Bailer's case? Police noted that DNA testing was not available in 1972 and was not widely used by law enforcement officials until two decades later.
Additionally, new forensic technology that was developed by the company Identifinders in 2024 allowed police to pull a stronger DNA profile from Bailer's clothes, as opposed to the partial profile they had previously collected in the investigation.
“Identifinders is proud to have supported the Indiana State Police with bringing long overdue answers to Phyllis and her family," Identifinders founder Colleen Fitzpatrick shared in the press release. "This case is an example of still another homicide that would never have been solved without Forensic Genetic Genealogy."
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