Phyllis Bailer embarked on a 100-mile journey to see her loved ones, with her young daughter riding alongside her.
A chilling mystery that lingered for 50 years — involving a mother found murdered beside her young daughter — has finally been brought to light.
In recent years, a few long-unsolved cases have finally been closed, offering long-overdue closure to families haunted by silence.
This heartbreaking story revolves around a woman who was slain in Indiana. Her three-year-old daughter was discovered beside her body — unharmed, but left completely alone.
On July 7, 1972, Phyllis Bailer left Indianapolis with her little girl, bound for Bluffton. The journey stretched roughly 100 miles, and she was headed to visit her parents.
Tragically, the 26-year-old never made it to her family’s home.
According to the Indiana State Police, by 10:30 a.m. the next morning, Bailer’s vehicle was found abandoned in Grant County. Neither she nor her daughter were anywhere in sight.
Indian State Police issued a fresh update on the 53-year-old case
Roughly an hour later, a woman driving along a nearby road came across a harrowing discovery — Bailer’s lifeless body and her daughter lying in a ditch in Allen County.
Investigators later confirmed that Phyllis had been sexually assaulted before being shot to death. Miraculously, her daughter was unharmed physically and found alive at the scene.
At the time, detectives did have a person of interest in mind. But with no concrete evidence to back it up, they couldn’t make an arrest.
A limited DNA sample taken from Phyllis’s clothing eventually ruled out the top suspect. From there, the investigation stalled, with no clear path ahead.
As the years dragged on, the case faded into silence. It seemed the truth about that night might remain buried — until a key breakthrough reignited hope.
Last year, authorities announced a major development: they had successfully recovered “a significantly stronger DNA profile” from the victim’s clothing. This opened up a promising new lead, allowing them to partner with a California-based forensic genealogy firm, Identifinders International.
Founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick, the company uses advanced genetic tools to help crack cold cases — and their involvement helped breathe new life into this decades-old mystery.
Fitzpatrick said, “Identifinders is honored to have worked with the Indiana State Police in bringing long-overdue answers to Phyllis’s family. This case is yet another powerful example of how Forensic Genetic Genealogy can bring long-lost justice.”
Phyllis Bailer was murdered over 50 years ago and no criminal was ever caught
This method allows investigators to use unidentified DNA evidence from crime scenes and trace it to relatives of possible suspects. It relies on voluntary genetic uploads from family members into public DNA databases.
Thanks to this powerful tool, detectives were able to confirm Fred Allen Lienemann as the source of the DNA found on Phyllis Bailer’s clothing.
In a formal announcement released Wednesday, April 16, police stated: “Phyllis Bailer never made it to Bluffton to reunite with her family.”
Indiana State Police spokesperson Sgt. Wes Rowlader added more context in a social media update, writing: “After decades of uncertainty, this family now knows the truth about what happened to her.”
Lienemann was 25 years old at the time of the killing. Investigators say there’s no evidence he knew Phyllis personally — but he did have a long and troubling criminal record.
However, justice in the legal sense will never be served. Lienemann died in Detroit in 1985. Authorities believe that had he been alive today, he would have faced murder charges for Phyllis Bailer’s death.
Police also included an old news clipping in their statement, shedding light on Lienemann’s own brutal demise. It detailed how two men had been charged for allegedly bludgeoning him with a baseball bat, tossing his body into a dumpster, and setting it ablaze — reportedly while he was still alive.
