DNA breakthrough identifies suspect in Yogurt Shop Murders after 34 years

Austin police have made a significant breakthrough in one of Texas’ most notorious cold cases, announcing that DNA testing has identified a suspect in the brutal 1991 killings of four teenage girls at a local yogurt shop. The case, which had remained unsolved for more than three decades, appears to have finally been cracked through advanced genetic analysis.

On Friday, the Austin Police Department revealed that DNA tests have led investigators to Robert Eugene Brashers as the primary suspect in the quadruple homicide. The announcement represents a major development in the infamous “Yogurt Shop Murders” that shocked the Texas capital and became one of the area’s most enduring mysteries.

The December 6, 1991, tragedy claimed the lives of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, ages 17 and 15. The victims were discovered after firefighters responded to a blaze at the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” store, where two of the girls worked. Investigators found that the teenagers had been bound, gagge,d and shot in the head before the building was set on fire, likely to destroy evidence.

The breakthrough came through sophisticated Y-STR DNA testing performed on biological evidence collected at the original crime scene. This testing method, which isolates male DNA, was not available during the initial investigation in 1991. The partial DNA profile obtained from one of the victims proved crucial in identifying Brashers as the perpetrator after decades of investigative dead ends.

“Our team never gave up working this case,” Austin police stated in their announcement. The department has worked tirelessly for nearly 34 years, remaining committed to finding justice for the four young victims whose lives were cut short.

The case had previously seen multiple false leads and wrongful prosecutions. In 1999, authorities arrested four men, including Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, who were teenagers at the time of the murders. Both men initially confessed under interrogation but later recanted, claiming their statements were coerced. Although they were convicted and Springsteen was initially sentenced to death, their convictions were eventually overturned. Both men were freed in 2009 when new DNA testing revealed that the genetic material found at the scene did not match either suspect.

Brashers, the newly identified suspect, was already known to law enforcement as a dangerous criminal. In 2018, Missouri authorities said DNA evidence linked Brashers to the strangulation of a South Carolina woman in 1990 and the shooting of a mother and daughter in Missouri in 1998. The evidence also connected him to the 1997 rape of a 14-year-old girl in Tennessee. However, Brashers died by suicide in 1999 during a police standoff in Missouri, meaning he will never face trial for the Austin murders.

The identification of Brashers comes at a time of renewed public interest in the case, coinciding with the recent release of HBO’s documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders. The four-part series, executive-produced by Emma Stone, examines the investigation’s twists and turns while focusing on the lasting trauma experienced by the victims’ families.

Original investigator John Jones revealed additional evidence linking Brashers to the crime, telling CBS that a bullet casing found in a drain at the yogurt shop matched the gun Brashers used to kill himself in 1999. This physical evidence, combined with the DNA match, provides compelling proof of Brashers’ involvement in the murders.

The case has had a profound impact on Austin’s community and has influenced legislation at the federal level. In 2022, President Joe Biden signed The Homicide Victims’ Families’ Rights Act into law, which was motivated partly by the “Yogurt Shop Murders.” The legislation ensures that federal law enforcement reviews cold cases and applies the latest investigative technologies.

Despite the identification of Brashers as the suspect, Austin police emphasize that the case known as the “Yogurt Shop Murders” remains open. The department has scheduled a news conference for Monday to provide additional details about their findings and the investigation’s status.

The resolution of this case demonstrates the critical importance of preserving evidence and the transformative power of advancing forensic technology. What seemed like an unsolvable mystery has finally yielded answers through the persistence of investigators and the evolution of DNA testing capabilities over the past three decades.

For the families of Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, Jennifer Harbison, and Sarah Harbison, the identification of their loved ones’ killer brings a measure of closure after 34 years of waiting for justice. While Brashers cannot be prosecuted due to his death, the scientific evidence provides definitive answers about who was responsible for these heinous crimes that terrorized Austin and captivated the nation.