Woman's Killer, Who Left Her 3-Year-Old Unharmed, Found 50 Years Later
Originally appeared on E! Online
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.
More from E! Online
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly Make First Public Outing Since Welcoming Baby
Laura Prepon and Ben Foster's Divorce Settlement Reveals Their Eye-Popping Incomes
9-1-1 Killed Off a Major Character in Intense Season 8 Episode
"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."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Man misses Spirit flight so allegedly calls in bomb threat to delay plane: FBI
**Related Video Above: What is Swatting? DETROIT (WJW/AP) — A man is charged after calling Spirit Airlines last week to report a fake bomb threat on a plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan confirmed in a news release. 'No American wants to hear the words 'bomb' and 'airplane' in the same sentence,' U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon, Jr. said in a statement. 'Making this kind of threat undermines our collective sense of security and wastes valuable law enforcement resources.' Nick Chubb expected to sign with Houston Texans: Report The authorities were alerted Thursday, June 5, around 6:30 a.m., after the budget airlines received a call there was a bomb on an airplane soon headed to Los Angeles. 'There's gonna be someone who's gonna try to blow up the airport,' the man was recorded as saying on the call, according to the attorney's office. 'There's gonna be someone that's gonna try to blow up that flight, 2145.' The man then said: 'They're still threatening to do it, they're still attempted to do it, they said it's not going to be able to be detected. Please don't let that flight board.' The flight was soon postponed and all passengers and crew were told to exit the plane. An investigation, which included bomb-sniffing dogs, unearthed no credible threat and no explosives were found. The flight reportedly left about six hours later. FBI agents soon learned that a 23-year-old man named John Robinson had been booked for flight 2145 but arrived too late for boarding and was told he needed to rebook. Family gathers to remember victims, push for justice in unsolved Metroparks murders The FBI said investigators connected the Michigan man to the threat through phone records. He was arrested when he returned to the airport for another flight Thursday night. He 'stated that he made the call with the hope that it would delay the flight long enough for him to make it in time so he would not have to take a different flight,' the FBI said in a court filing. Robinson was charged with maliciously giving false information about an explosive, and is out on bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 27. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Wayne County deputy dies in crash on Lodge freeway
FOX 2 - An off-duty Wayne County Sheriff's Deputy died in a rollover over crash on the Lodge freeway early Saturday morning. Ryan Phillips was killed in the crash when his SUV ran off the roadway and up the embankment at Chicago on the northbound side of the freeway. The SUV rolled back onto the freeway after a striking a tree, according to Michigan State Police. Phillips was ejected from his vehicle at some point and was declared dead at the scene. When emergency vehicles arrived, the SUV was on fire and blocking more than one lane of traffic. State police said that Phillips was not using a seatbelt. "We are reminding drivers to wear their seatbelts," said MSP 1st Lt. Mike Shaw. "Not only will it keep you behind the wheel, it will keep you inside the vehicle if it rolls over. This crash pends further investigation and ME reports."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Video: Driver crashes into MSP cruiser on I-94
A driver smashed into the back of a Michigan State Police vehicle on the side of a highway in Berrien County Saturday night. (June 8, 2025)
