DNA Evidence Links Deceased Serial Killer to 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders

Advancements in DNA technology have identified Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect in the 1991 murders of four teenage girls in an Austin yogurt shop. Brashers, a known serial killer and rapist, died by suicide in 1999 during a standoff with police in Missouri.

On December 6, 1991, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, 13-year-old Amy Ayers, and sisters Jennifer (17) and Sarah Harbison (15) were found bound, gagged, and fatally shot in the head at the "I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!" shop in Austin. The perpetrator also set the shop on fire, complicating the collection of evidence.

Initial investigations led to the arrest of four men in 1999: Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Maurice Pierce, and Forrest Welborn. Springsteen and Scott were convicted based on their confessions, which they later recanted, claiming coercion. Their convictions were overturned on constitutional grounds, and charges against all four were eventually dropped due to lack of evidence.

In 2009, advanced DNA testing revealed a male DNA profile from one of the victims that did not match any of the previously arrested individuals.

Retired Austin detective John Jones stated that the connection to Brashers was established through DNA evidence.

Austin police have scheduled a press conference on Monday to provide further details on this development.