INDIANAPOLIS — The remains of Daniel Thomas Halloran have been recovered from Fox Hollow Farm, marking him as the 10th victim identified from the site. His daughter, Coral Halloran, spoke with WRTV’s Amber Grigley, sharing that this discovery has provided crucial answers and connected the dots to a missing piece of her life story.
Coral reflected on her early childhood, saying, “I was almost 2 years old when my mom sent him back to Indiana.”
The mystery surrounding her father’s disappearance has loomed over Coral throughout her life.
“I feel more put together knowing that my dad's not just out there roaming around and, you know, abandoning me as a child,” she explained.
The confirmation came just a few months ago when Coral’s aunt suggested she reach out to Hamilton County Coroner Jeff Jellison.
"I kind of agreed with it because I wanted to know myself. Is it Daniel? You know, I'm kind of like, is it my dad that they found? I don't know. So that's why I agreed to take the DNA test," Coral said.
The results confirmed that bone fragments discovered at Fox Hollow Farm matched her father’s identity, Daniel Thomas Halloran.
Coral shared her journey of searching for answers over the years—her mother had hired private investigators and contacted social services in hopes of locating him. “There was never a match because obviously, he had no bills or anything in his name for them to trace back to him,” she said.
Authorities uncovered over 10,000 bone fragments on the property owned by Herb Baumeister in 1996. Baumeister, a suspected serial killer, fled the scene and ultimately took his own life before being apprehended.
Coral recalled her aunt mentioning the possibility that a serial killer was operating in Indiana, sparking her concern about her father’s fate. “For more than 30 years, I’ve been grieving the absence of my father,” she said. “Now, knowing that he was taken from me by the alleged crimes at Fox Hollow Farm is just sickening.”
Reflecting on her father's legacy, Coral stated, “Now I know that he's my guardian angel for sure. My mom always told me that he was gone and that he would have contacted me if he were alive. I was somewhat prepared for this day, but I definitely wasn’t ready for that answer.”
In recent years, the Hamilton County Coroner has initiated efforts to identify more of Baumeister’s victims using advanced DNA technology. Coroner Jellison has been actively encouraging families of missing persons from the mid to early 90s to submit DNA samples, seeing this as a pivotal step in helping families like Coral's find closure and answers.
