INDIANA 1972 Cold Case Solved After 53 Years — Her 3-Year-Old Was Left Alive

INDIANA 1972 Cold Case Solved After 53 Years — Her 3-Year-Old Was Left Alive On the night of July 7, 1972, 26-year-old Phyllis Bailer was driving from Indianapolis to Bluffton, Indiana, with her 3-year-old daughter. They were heading to visit Phyllis's parents, but they never arrived. The next morning, her abandoned car was found on I-69 with the hood up. About an hour later, a woman discovered Phyllis and her young daughter in a roadside ditch. Phyllis was dead. Her daughter was alive and unharmed. An autopsy determined that Phyllis had been shot and sexually assaulted. Investigators immediately began searching for answers, but the case would remain unsolved for more than five decades. At the time, modern DNA testing simply wasn't available. Years later, investigators developed a partial DNA profile from evidence on Phyllis's clothing, which helped eliminate an early suspect—but it wasn't enough to identify the real killer. Then, in 2024, investigators developed a much stronger DNA profile. The Indiana State Police Cold Case Team partnered with forensic genealogy specialists at Identifinders International, using modern genetic genealogy techniques to trace the previously unknown DNA. The breakthrough finally came in early 2025. Investigators identified Fred Allen Lienemann, who was 25 years old when Phyllis was murdered. DNA recovered from Phyllis's clothing matched Lienemann, and authorities determined that he was responsible for the killing. Investigators found no known connection between Lienemann and Phyllis, but he had a significant criminal history. There was one extraordinary complication. Lienemann was already dead. He had been murdered in Detroit in 1985, just 13 years after Phyllis's death. Because he could no longer be prosecuted, the case could not end with a trial or prison sentence. Indiana authorities nevertheless considered the case solved and said that, had Lienemann been alive, prosecutors would have charged him with Phyllis's murder. And perhaps the most haunting part of the entire case is what happened to Phyllis's little daughter. She was only 3 years old when she was found beside her murdered mother, yet she survived the terrifying ordeal unharmed. For 53 years, her family had questions about what happened that night. Now, modern DNA technology has finally provided an answer. In this video, we'll uncover what happened to Phyllis Bailer on that July night, how investigators found her abandoned car, why her 3-year-old daughter was left alive, the DNA evidence that kept the investigation alive, how forensic genealogy finally identified the killer, and the shocking reason he could never face justice in court. 👍 Enjoyed the video? Like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more cold cases, true crime investigations, unsolved mysteries, and stories where modern technology finally reveals the truth. #IndianaColdCase #PhyllisBailer #ColdCaseSolved #TrueCrime #IndianaHistory #ColdCase #TrueCrimeDocumentary #MurderMystery #DNA #ForensicGenealogy