DNA Evidence Links Dead Suspect to 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders
Police tie Robert Brashers to the killings of four teens; case highlights DNA advances in long-cold crimes
DNA evidence has linked Robert Eugene Brashers, who died by suicide in 1999, to the 1991 killings of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop, police said Friday. The linkage marks the latest development in the Yogurt Shop Murders, one of the city’s most infamous crimes that remained unsolved for decades.
Authorities said DNA recovered from the crime scenes matched Brashers’ genetic profile, providing the strongest link yet to the suspect. Brashers was considered a serial predator at the time; he was convicted in 1985 of attempted murder after shooting a woman in the head and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, though he was released in 1989 after serving about three years. He died by suicide during a police standoff at a motel, where he had been hiding with his wife, daughter and two stepdaughters after releasing them. Posthumous DNA analysis also tied Brashers to three rapes and murders in Missouri and South Carolina — including the killings of a mother and daughter — and to a rape in Tennessee.
Four victims—Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, 17 and 15—were killed inside the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store in August 1991. The girls were bound, gagged and shot in the head; the building was then set on fire. Two of the victims worked at the shop.
Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, who were teenagers at the time of the murders, were charged and convicted in 2001 and 2002. They were sentenced to death and life in prison respectively, but their convictions were overturned on appeal, including because no DNA evidence linked them to the crimes.
Meanwhile, the Yogurt Shop murders remain one of Austin’s most infamous unsolved crimes, drawing renewed attention with a recent HBO docuseries about the case released last month. Police said the new findings do not close the case, but reflect progress in applying DNA analysis to older investigations and may guide future inquiries.
Austin Police said a news conference is scheduled for Monday to discuss the new evidence and next steps in the investigation. Officials urged anyone with information to contact the department for assistance in advancing the case.
