AUSTIN, TX – Austin police have solved one of the city’s most devastating cold cases, identifying the killer in the 1991 “Yogurt Shop Murders” through advanced DNA testing more than three decades after four teenage girls were brutally slain.
Robert Eugene Brashers was linked to the December 6, 1991 murders through DNA found under 13-year-old Amy Ayers’ fingernails, suggesting she fought back against her attacker. Brashers died by suicide during a 1999 standoff with Missouri police, never facing justice for the horrific crimes.
The four victims—Eliza Thomas, 17, Jennifer Harbison, 17, Sarah Harbison, 15, and Amy Ayers, 13—were working at or visiting the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store in Austin when they were murdered in an attack that shocked the community.
“After 34 years, the Austin Police have made a significant breakthrough in one of the most devastating cases in our city’s history,” said Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis.
The girls were shot in the head, bound, and some were sexually assaulted. The killer intentionally set a fire to destroy evidence, compounding the heinous nature of the crimes and making investigation more difficult.
For more than three decades, the case haunted Austin and confounded investigators. Several suspects were arrested and even tried for the murders over the years, but all were eventually cleared or had their convictions overturned due to lack of evidence.
The breakthrough came when investigators used cutting-edge DNA testing technology that wasn’t available in the 1990s. The DNA sample from beneath Amy’s fingernails finally yielded a match to Brashers, a serial killer already connected to other violent crimes across multiple states.
Brashers’ criminal history included a 1990 strangulation in South Carolina, 1998 shootings of a mother and daughter in Missouri, and the 1997 rape of a 14-year-old in Tennessee. His pattern of violence against women and young girls fit the profile of the yogurt shop killer.
Amy’s father expressed bittersweet emotions about the breakthrough. “Our whole family knew there was something about Amy that would help solve this,” he said, referring to the DNA evidence she preserved while fighting for her life.
The victims’ families have waited 34 years for answers about who killed their daughters and why. While Brashers’ death means he will never stand trial, the identification brings a measure of closure to families who have endured decades of uncertainty.
The case demonstrates the power of advancing DNA technology to solve cold cases that once seemed unsolvable. Forensic science continues to evolve, offering hope to families of victims in other long-dormant investigations.
Austin has grown significantly since 1991, but the yogurt shop murders remained a dark chapter in the city’s history, a reminder of innocence lost and lives cut tragically short.
The resolution of the case has prompted discussions about other cold cases in Texas and across the nation that might be solved using similar DNA techniques. A forensic lab in Texas that focuses solely on cold case investigations has gained attention for its ability to crack seemingly unsolvable cases.
While justice cannot be fully served with Brashers dead, his identification as the killer ensures that the four young victims are no longer associated with an unsolved mystery but with a case that was ultimately cracked through persistence and scientific advancement.
