S2 Ep2: Robert Eugene Brashers – The Yogurt Shop Murderer

On a December night in 1991, four teenage girls were found bound, gagged, and burned inside an Austin yogurt shop, a crime so brutal it stunned the nation. For years, police pursued a tangled investigation that led to false confessions, overturned convictions, and lingering doubt. Decades later, advances in DNA testing would upend everything, pointing not to the four accused young men, but to an unknown perpetrator whose identity remains elusive. In this episode, we revisit the case that defined a generation of true-crime skepticism, unpack the missteps that derailed justice, and explore how the cosmos of that night mirrored the tension between illusion and truth, a tragic reflection of innocence lost and faith in the system forever shaken.   SHOW NOTES: Connect with us across streaming platforms and social media, and explore ways to support our work through our Linktree. Cosmic Crimes Podcast Linktree If you are new to astrology and/or are getting lost or confused during the episodes, we created a free guide of all-things-astrology on Substack for you to reference so you can listen along with ease. Click the link below! Astrology Basics   SOURCES: ABC News. "Genetic Genealogy, Police Work Credited with Solving 1998 Murders of a Woman and Her Daughter." ABC News, 5 Oct. 2018. Associated Press. "I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Murders: The DNA Breakthrough." AP National Wire, 27 Sept. 2025. City of Austin. "Austin Police Make Significant Breakthrough in 1991 I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Murder Case." AustinTexas.gov, 26 Sept. 2025. District Attorney's Office of Travis County. Yogurt Shop Murders Case Resolution Notice. Public statement by District Attorney José Garza confirming DNA match to Robert Eugene Brashers, Sept. 2025. FBI Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP). Cross-Jurisdiction Violent Offender Profile: Robert E. Brashers. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Genealogical Forensic Unit Records, 2025. Greenville News. "DNA and Genetic Genealogy Link Robert Brashers to Zitricki Murder Across Three States." GreenvilleOnline.com, 5 Oct. 2018. KFVS-TV. "'My Father Was a Serial Killer': Robert Brashers' Daughter Speaks Out." KFVS12.com, 5 Feb. 2019. KUT / Texas Standard Public Radio. APD Confirms Genealogical DNA Match in 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders. Broadcast segment and transcript, 28 Sept. 2025. Missouri State Highway Patrol Records Archive. Incident Report: Self-Inflicted Gunshot Death of Robert E. Brashers, Kennett, MO, Jan. 1999. People. "Austin Police Make 'Significant Breakthrough' in Murders of 4 Teen Girls at Yogurt Shop, Name New Suspect 34 Years Later." People.com, 27 Sept. 2025. The Austin Chronicle. "Case Against Springsteen and Scott Collapses After New DNA Evidence." Austin Chronicle Archives, June 2009. The Guardian. Dodd, Vikram. "Men Freed After DNA Fails to Link Them to 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders." The Guardian, 2009. The New York Times. "Cold Case Cracked by Genealogical DNA: Texas Yogurt Shop Murders Linked to Serial Offender." NYT National Desk, 29 Sept. 2025. The Washington Post. "DNA Testing Links Dead Man to Texas Yogurt Shop Killings, Police Say." The Washington Post, 27 Sept. 2025. Travis County Medical Examiner's Office. Yogurt Shop Homicides: Autopsy File Compilation, Case Nos. 91-12-07-A1 to A4 (including soot inhalation determination for victim Amy Ayers). WYFF-TV. "Suspect in 1991 Texas Yogurt Shop Murders Tied to 1990 Greenville Killing." WYFF4.com, 29 Sept. 2025.