Phyllis Bailer, 1972: The Murder Solved by DNA 53 Years Later | The Murder Tape Khronicles

On July 7, 1972, Phyllis Bailer and her three-year-old daughter left Indianapolis to visit Bailer's mother in Bluffton, Indiana. They never arrived. Bailer was found sexually assaulted and shot, and her daughter was found alive and unharmed. In 2025, Indiana State Police announced the case solved by DNA and genealogy, naming a man who died in 1985. This episode tells what the investigators announced and what that does and does not mean in law.

Sources: Indiana State Police and Allen County prosecutor statements as reported by CBS News, ABC stations and Yahoo News. The man identified has not been tried and cannot be; the identification is an investigative conclusion, not a court verdict.