AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The tragic unsolved murders of four young girls in an Austin yogurt shop back in 1991 have gripped investigators for decades.
Two men were initially wrongfully convicted, only to be exonerated later when DNA evidence cleared their names, leaving the brutality of these killings and the girls’ fates — each bound, gagged, shot, and the store set ablaze — as a chilling mystery.
This Friday, though, the authorities unearthed some compelling news regarding the case—DNA evidence has pointed to a new suspect, Robert Eugene Brashers, a notorious serial killer who is long deceased yet linked to various homicides and rapes nationwide.
Austin police are expected to share more info about this significant development on Monday. Interestingly, this case was just the focus of an HBO documentary series titled “The Yogurt Shop Murders,” released last month.
Here’s a rundown of the critical points about this case:
The Victims
On December 6, 1991, tragedy struck at an “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” location in Austin.
As closing time approached, a suspect entered through the back door, launching an attack on four teenage girls before setting the building ablaze.
The victims included Amy Ayers (13), Eliza Thomas (17), and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison (ages 17 and 15). They were found with their hands tied and mouths gagged, each one tragically shot in the head by firefighters who managed to extinguish the blaze.
The Wrongfully Accused
It took eight long years before someone was arrested in 1999.
Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott were teenagers when the girls were killed. Facing legal pressure, they initially confessed and implicated each other. However, they later recanted their statements, declaring they’d been coerced.
The pair was found guilty, but as time went on, appeals overturned their convictions. Before they could face a retrial, new DNA analysis shifted the focus to another suspect, prompting a judge to release both men in 2009.
The Serial Killer
Brashers met his end in 1999 during a standoff with police at a motel in Kennett, Missouri, where he took his own life.
After his death, advancements in DNA analysis allowed authorities to link him to several unsolved killings.
In 2018, investigations tied him to the murders of Sherri Scherer and her daughter Megan in their Missouri home in 1998. Local police reported that Brashers had sexually assaulted the 12-year-old victim during these events.
Brashers was also connected to the 1990 murder of Genevieve Zitricki, whose body was discovered beaten and strangled in her bathtub in Greenville, South Carolina, and a separate case involving the rape of a 14-year-old girl in Memphis in 1997.
During his lifetime, Brashers had a notorious past, with his criminal record boasting charges like attempted murder, burglary, and even impersonating a police officer.
Daughter’s Reaction
Deborah Brashers-Claunch, Brashers’ daughter, expressed her shock and sorrow in local news interviews after hearing about the newest developments linking her father to these past crimes.
Sharing her feelings with KVUE-TV, she noted that she was just an infant at the time of the Austin murders and only eight when her father passed away. In an interview with KXAN-TV, she mentioned she didn’t entirely understand what led her father to Austin, aside from his work in construction. She did express her concerns that more of his crimes might come to light.
“I am truly sorry to every family that my father heridas,” said Brashers-Claunch. “I realize that I’m not in a position to say I’m sorry, but I want to acknowledge that I regret the hurt he caused because a part of me is made from the same DNA that forever changed your lives. I’m really glad you’re finally getting some answers.”
