Michael Sean Petree (15)
Born
Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana
Death
16 Jun 1983, Noblesville, Hamilton County, Indiana
Tragically, Michael Petree was one of the victims of an unidentified American serial killer who killed at least eleven young boys and adult men in Indiana and Ohio between June 1980 and October 1991, dumping their bodies near Interstate 70. He was known as the “I-70 Strangler” who killed at least another 24 young men and boys. Though officially unsolved, Herb Baumeister was named the prime suspect in the case in April 1999 by law enforcement. According to investigators, bodies related to the “I-70 Strangler” case stopped being found in 1991 after Baumeister bought the Fox Hollow Farm, which he would use as a burial site for his subsequent victims.
On June 16, 1983, 15-year-old Michael Sean Petree’s body was discovered naked in rural Hamilton County, IN. Despite his young age, he was a victim of child sexual abuse who spent most of his time around Indianapolis’ gay bars. He was reported missing on June 7, but three days later, he was observed in different parts of the city riding along in a stranger’s car. The cause of death was established as strangulation. No traces of drugs or alcohol were found in his blood.
