An 83-year-old Spencer man (Marathon County) has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the 1995 death of his former roommate, whose remains have never been found, after a decades-long investigation that included searches of a pig farm manure pit, cadaver dogs, and advanced forensic testing.
Jerome Baier appeared in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court on Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, where Judge Anthony Nehls set a $1 million cash bond. Conditions include no firearms and no contact with the victim’s family or witnesses. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for early October, and a status conference was set for late September to address legal representation.
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney’s office is prosecuting the case after working with sheriff’s detectives to review the complaint and move the decades-old investigation into court. Judge Nehls set the $1 million cash bond at Monday’s initial appearance.
In a statement issued the same day, Toney said the arrest and first court hearing marked a turning point for relatives who have waited more than three decades for answers.
“James Ruland’s family has been waiting over 30 years for answers, and the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office has been unwavering in their commitment to finding justice for James Ruland and his family,” Toney said. “Friday and today have been a significant step forward in those efforts and we look forward to seeking justice through the legal process.”
Toney’s office will next handle the case at a Sept. 30 status conference on whether Baier has obtained an attorney, followed by an Oct. 1 preliminary hearing.
Baier was arrested early Friday, Sept. 18, at his rural Marathon County home near Spencer while deputies executed a search warrant. He is being held in the Fond du Lac County Jail. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the Marathon County Sheriff’s Office, charged him in connection with the death of James “Jim” Ruland.
Ruland, then 40, was last confirmed seen on Oct. 24, 1995, by coworkers at Kaytee Products in Chilton. He lived with Baier in a farmhouse in the Town of Ripon at the time. A witness reported a possible sighting of him hitchhiking in North Fond du Lac two days later. His white Dodge Aries station wagon was later found abandoned at the Stretch Truck Stop in North Fond du Lac, with keys in the ignition and personal belongings inside. Ruland was declared legally dead in 1999.
According to the criminal complaint, the two men had a dispute over alleged stolen cash and utility bills. Ruland had secured new housing and was in the process of moving out when he vanished. Baier later forged and deposited Ruland’s checks, leading to a 1997 theft conviction. The complaint also alleges Baier repeatedly lied to investigators about alibis, motives, and Ruland’s whereabouts, including claims that Ruland had a drug addiction and was behind on child support—assertions authorities said were contradicted by evidence. During a July 2026 coroner’s inquest, Baier allegedly admitted lying to investigators.
Over 31 years, investigators deployed human-remains detection K9s, ground-penetrating radar, aerial searches, large-scale excavations of potential burial sites, public safety divers in waterways, and a search of a pig farm manure pit. In late 2023, two separate cadaver dogs alerted to the scent of human remains at Baier’s former Cork Street Road property in Ripon, though no body was recovered. Advances in forensic testing technology in 2021 helped corroborate earlier witness interviews and evidence, providing enough probable cause for the arrest despite the absence of Ruland’s remains.
Ruland’s family has requested privacy. Anyone with information is asked to contact Lt. of Detectives Alex Volm at 920-924-2406 or Detective Dave Olig at 920-906-4799. Anonymous tips can be submitted to the Fond du Lac County Law Enforcement Tip Line at 920-906-4777.
The case, long classified as a missing-person investigation that later elevated to a homicide probe, marks a significant development in one of Fond du Lac County’s longest-running cold cases. Baier remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.
