New DNA May Finally Solve the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders

In December 1991, four teenage girls were murdered inside an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were tied, gagged, shot, and the store was set on fire in what investigators believe was an attempt to destroy evidence. The case became one of the most haunting unsolved crimes in Texas history. Over the years, police chased false confessions, arrested the wrong men, and watched convictions collapse when DNA failed to match. Families were left without answers while the case remained frozen in time. Now, more than thirty years later, cold case detectives say new DNA testing and ballistic evidence may finally point to a suspect. Investigators believe the crimes may be linked to Robert Eugene Brashers, a violent serial offender who died by suicide in 1999 after a police standoff in Missouri. Brashers is suspected in multiple rapes and murders across several states, and new forensic analysis has connected him to other cold cases using preserved shell casings and modern DNA technology. In 2025, Travis County prosecutors officially moved to clear the men once accused of the yogurt shop murders, acknowledging that the new evidence does not support their convictions. While Brashers can never face trial, detectives say these findings may finally give families long overdue answers and could connect him to even more unsolved crimes. After three decades of dead ends, is this the breakthrough that finally solves one of America’s most disturbing cold cases? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices