AUSTIN, Texas — A new twist in the Yogurt Shop Murders case has emerged as DNA evidence has officially linked a deceased man, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the 1991 homicides of four teenage girls in Texas. The Austin police announced this breakthrough amid heightened interest in the case following the release of an HBO documentary series, 'The Yogurt Shop Murders,' last month.
The horrific crime involved the tragic deaths of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, aged 17 and 15, who were found bound, gagged, and shot at the 'I Can't Believe It's Yogurt' store where two of them worked. The crime scene was then set ablaze, shocking the community of Austin, Texas.
For years, investigators worked tirelessly to solve the case, sifting through countless leads and deals with false confessions as well as damaged evidence. In the late 1990s, four suspects were arrested, including teenagers Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, who made quick recantations of their confessions, claiming coercion during police interrogations.
While both men were originally convicted, their sentences were overturned after new DNA evidence pointed to an alternative suspect. In 2018, law enforcement in Missouri connected Brashers to various murders, including the 1990 strangulation of a woman in South Carolina and a 1998 shooting of a mother and daughter in Missouri. He had died in 1999 following a standoff with police.
Police officials promise more details will be shared during an upcoming press conference as the case remains open, hoping to bring closure to the families affected by this tragic crime.
The horrific crime involved the tragic deaths of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, aged 17 and 15, who were found bound, gagged, and shot at the 'I Can't Believe It's Yogurt' store where two of them worked. The crime scene was then set ablaze, shocking the community of Austin, Texas.
For years, investigators worked tirelessly to solve the case, sifting through countless leads and deals with false confessions as well as damaged evidence. In the late 1990s, four suspects were arrested, including teenagers Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, who made quick recantations of their confessions, claiming coercion during police interrogations.
While both men were originally convicted, their sentences were overturned after new DNA evidence pointed to an alternative suspect. In 2018, law enforcement in Missouri connected Brashers to various murders, including the 1990 strangulation of a woman in South Carolina and a 1998 shooting of a mother and daughter in Missouri. He had died in 1999 following a standoff with police.
Police officials promise more details will be shared during an upcoming press conference as the case remains open, hoping to bring closure to the families affected by this tragic crime.
