FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The murder of 26-year-old Phyllis Bailer in Allen County in 1972 has been solved. Indiana State Police say the man who they believe killed her was Fred Lienemann, and he was murdered in Detroit in 1985.
The Allen County Prosecutor’s Office says if he was still alive, he would be charged with her murder. Lienemann sexually assaulted and killed Bailer, but left her three-year-old daughter alone.
Indiana State Police released the following:
On Friday July 7, 1972, 26-year-old Phyllis Bailer was traveling from Indianapolis, Indiana to Bluffton, Indiana with her 3-year-old daughter. They were traveling in a borrowed car to visit Phyllis’s parents. Phyllis and her daughter left Indianapolis around 8:00pm but never arrived at her mother’s home in Bluffton. Her family called police to report Phyllis missing.
The next morning, around 10:30 am, her car was found on northbound I-69 in Grant County. Her car was abandoned with the hood up and no one around. Indiana State Troopers from the Redkey Post responded. Approximately 1 hour later, at 11:37 am, a woman driving on West Road, just north of Schoaff Road in Allen County, found Phyllis Bailer and her daughter along the side of the road in a ditch. Phyllis was deceased; her 3-year-old daughter was with her, unharmed. The Allen County Police Department and the Indiana State Police investigated the case. An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as a gunshot wound and determined that Phyllis had been sexually assaulted.
DNA testing was not available in 1972 and did not gain widespread use in law enforcement until the early 1990’s. Years after the murder, a partial DNA profile was developed from her clothing. It eliminated the main suspect in the case. The Indiana State Police Cold Case Team continued to work on the case as DNA testing continued to improve. In 2024, the Indiana State Police Laboratory developed a much stronger DNA profile from Phyllis Bailer’s clothing. The Indiana State Police Cold Case Team and the Allen County Police Department began working with Identifinders International, a forensic genealogy company in California, founded by Colleen Fitzpatrick. Forensic genealogy was utilized in conjunction with the DNA profile and the killer was identified in early 2025.
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”.
Fred Allen Lienemann, age 25 in 1972, from Gross Point, Michigan, was found to be the contributor of the DNA obtained from Phyillis Bailer’s clothing. Lienemann was born in the Anderson, Indiana area. Lienemann had no known connections to Phyllis Bailer but had a significant criminal history. During their investigation, detectives learned that Fred Lienemann was murdered in Detroit in 1985. If Fred Lienemann were alive today, the Allen County Prosecutor’s Office would have charged him with the murder of Phyllis Bailer.
This case demonstrates the commitment the Indiana State Police Cold Case Unit, the Allen County Police Department, and the Indiana State Police Laboratory have for victims and victims’ families. Not only does this work convict criminals, but it also answers questions that grieving families have had for decades regarding the deaths of their loved ones.
All persons arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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