Breakthrough in Yogurt Shop Murders: DNA Links New Suspect to 1991 Case

Tue Sep 30 2025 04:51:50 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Austin police identify Robert Eugene Brashers through DNA evidence, connecting him to the infamous Yogurt Shop Murders and multiple other killings across the U.S.

A significant advancement has been made in the decades-old Yogurt Shop Murders case in Texas, as Austin police announced they identified Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect through DNA evidence. The case has gained renewed attention following an HBO documentary. The investigation is ongoing, as Brashers, who died in 1999, is connected to other murders across several states.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — In a remarkable development, DNA evidence has led investigators to identify Robert Eugene Brashers as a new suspect in the horrifying 1991 killings of four teenage girls in Texas, as authorities uncover connections to multiple other homicides across the nation.

This breakthrough was revealed by the Austin police during a Friday statement, coinciding with increased focus on the unsolved case due to the recent airing of the HBO documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders. Investigators stated that this notorious case, which has haunted the Austin community, remains open as they prepare to hold a press conference to update the public on their findings.

On that fateful night in December 1991, Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, aged 17 and 15, were tragically murdered in the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop, where two of them worked. They were bound and gagged, shot in the head, and the store was then set ablaze, leading to one of Austin's most shocking crime stories.

The investigation faced numerous challenges over the years, including sifting through thousands of leads, encountering several false confessions, and dealing with heavily compromised evidence from the fire.The case saw arrests in 1999 of four men, with two of them, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, confessing at first only to later recant, citing coercion by police during questioning. Both were convicted despite doubts, with Springsteen initially sentenced to death, but later moved to life imprisonment.

Their convictions were eventually overturned after new DNA tests in 2009 pointed to another male suspect, leading to their release.Critical new leads emerged in 2018 when Missouri authorities reported that DNA linked Brashers to a string of violent crimes, including the strangulation of a woman in South Carolina in 1990, a double shooting in Missouri in 1998, and the 1997 rape of a 14-year-old girl in Tennessee.

Sadly, Brashers died in 1999 by suicide during a police standoff in a Missouri motel, raising more questions than answers regarding his connections to unsolved crimes. This new identification and ongoing investigation reignite discussions about the impact of DNA evidence in solving cold cases and the quest for justice for the victims and their families.