Phyllis Bailer had set out to visit her family, driving 100 miles with her young daughter by her side
A heartbreaking cold case from half a century ago, involving a mother who was brutally killed and left by the roadside next to her young daughter, has finally been solved.
Over the past few years, there have been a handful of cold cases that reached long-awaited resolutions. Each one has offered a bit of peace to families who spent years without answers.
This particular case centers around a woman who was murdered in Indiana. Her three-year-old daughter was found sitting beside her lifeless body, untouched but left completely alone.
It was July 7, 1972, when Phyllis Bailer and her daughter set off from Indianapolis, heading to Bluffton. The trip was about 100 miles, and she was planning to visit her parents.
But tragically, the 26-year-old never arrived at her destination.
The Indiana State Police reported that by 10:30 in the morning the following day, Bailer’s car was discovered abandoned in Grant County, Indiana. There was no trace of her or her child at the scene.
Indiana State Police issued a fresh update on the 53-year-old caseAshley Cooper / Getty
Only an hour later, a woman driving nearby stumbled upon a disturbing scene—Bailer’s body and her daughter were lying in a ditch in Allen County.
Authorities later revealed that Phyllis had been sexually assaulted and then fatally shot. Her daughter, however, had been spared and was found physically unharmed.
Back then, investigators did have a suspect in mind. But without enough evidence, they were unable to make an arrest.
A partial DNA sample collected from Phyllis’s clothing ruled out the main suspect. From that point on, the case hit a wall, and investigators were left with no clear path forward.
As time passed, the trail grew cold. It seemed like the truth of what happened that night might never be uncovered until something changed.
In a major development last year, police revealed that they had managed to extract ‘a much stronger DNA profile’ from the clothing of the victim. This opened the door to new possibilities, allowing them to collaborate with a company based in California called Identifinders International. The forensic genealogy company was founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick and helped investigators move the case forward using innovative techniques.
Fitzpatrick stated: “Identifinders is proud to have supported the Indiana State Police with bringing long overdue answers to Phyllis and her family. This case is an example of still another homicide that would never have been solved without Forensic Genetic Genealogy.”
Phyllis Bailer was murdered over 50 years ago and no criminal was ever caughtIndiana State Police
This technique enables investigators to take unknown DNA samples from crime scenes and match them with relatives of potential suspects. It works through DNA submissions that family members voluntarily upload into genetic databases.
Thanks to this advanced tool, investigators were able to identify Fred Allen Lienemann as the individual whose DNA had been found on Bailer’s clothing.
In an official announcement made on Wednesday, April 16, police shared the following statement: “Phyllis Bailer never made it to Bluffton to visit her family.”
Indiana State Police spokesperson Sgt. Wes Rowlader added further detail in a social media post, stating: “After years of questions, this family finally has answers about what happened to her.”
Fred Allen Lienemann was 25 years old at the time of the murder. According to investigators, he had no known relationship with Phyllis Bailer but did have a significant history of criminal activity.
As for justice, Lienemann can no longer face prosecution. He was killed in Detroit back in 1985. However, law enforcement believes that if he had still been alive today, he would have been formally charged with the murder of Phyllis Bailer.
Police also included a newspaper clipping in their press release that gave insight into Lienemann’s own violent end. It stated that two men were charged after allegedly beating him with a baseball bat, dumping his body into a dumpster, and setting it on fire—all while he was reportedly still alive.
