Key Takeaways:
- In 1991, the bodies of four teenage girls were discovered after a fire at a Texas frozen yogurt shop. The case, known as the yogurt shop murders, remained unsolved after three decades.
- After advanced testing disproved a possible DNA match in 2017, investigators continued to search for the perpetrator using a firearms database.
- DNA obtained from a shell casing and one of the victims’ fingernails helped identify deceased criminal Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect.
A harmless night inside a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, turned catastrophic when four teenage girls were murdered and their remains gruesomely burned in a fire. Since December 1991, investigators had pursued answers for the heinous crime, but the truth behind the yogurt shop murders remained hidden.
However, a forensic breakthrough more than three decades later has likely solved the case. The Austin Police Department (APD) previously announced “a wide range of DNA testing” helped identify the deceased Robert Eugene Brashers as the suspect in the teens’ murders.
“APD investigators have been in touch with the families,” a statement read, adding the investigation remains ongoing. “We ask for your patience as we continue this process and remain mindful of the many people whose lives have been deeply affected by this case.”
A docuseries, The Yogurt Shop Murders, debuted on HBO in August 2025 and renewed interest around the unsolved case. The new developments are the subject of “Yogurt Shop Murders,” a special edition of 20/20 airing Friday, February 27, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
Advancements in DNA technology—including one that helped identify one of the most famous killers in U.S. history, the Boston Strangler—brought detectives tantalizingly close to solving the case, but to no avail. After the new findings from investigators about Brashers, four previous suspects in the case were fully exonerated in February 2026.
Here’s what we know about the yogurt shop murders, Brashers and previous suspects, and where the case stands now.
What Were the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders?
On December 6, 1991, firefighters responded to a blaze at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store in Austin. But once the fire was under control, a more grisly discovery emerged.
Responders found the bodies of four teenage girls, including two workers, who were killed by gunshots to the head. And, multiple victims were sexually assaulted, according to the San Antonio Express-News. The remains were quickly identified as belonging to Eliza Thomas, 17, Amy Ayers, 13, and sisters Jennifer Harbison, 17, and Sarah Harbison, 15.
Investigators surmised the fire was started intentionally to cover up the killings and, while much of the evidence was compromised, they discovered two initial clues. A bullet found in a store sink suggested a .22 caliber revolver was one of two guns used during the crime. Additionally, a couple who left the store around 11 p.m. testified to police that Jennifer Harbison had locked the door behind them to prevent additional customers from entering. They saw two men who “looked out of place” sitting at a table with only a single drink.
The Austin Police Department established a task force solely dedicated to solving the quadruple homicide, but finding the truth proved elusive.
Who Was Originally Convicted of the Yogurt Shop Murders?
At least 50 individuals confessed to the yogurt shop murders over the next decade, according to The Austin Chronicle.
In October 1999, police arrested four men in connection to the crime: Robert Burns Springsteen Jr., Michael James Scott, Maurice Pierce, and Forrest Welborn. All four were charged with capital murder. The charges against Pierce and Welborn, who were juveniles when the crime took place, were eventually dropped because of lack of evidence, according to Today. However, in 2001 and 2002, respectively, Springsteen and Scott—who separately confessed to the crimes to detectives—were tried and convicted. Springsteen received the death penalty (later commuted to life in prison), while Scott was given a life prison sentence.
But by 2009, both Springsteen and Scott had their charges dismissed and were released. The Texas Court of Appeals ruled Springsteen had received an unfair trial because he wasn’t allowed to cross-examine Scott, who had implicated him in his written confession. A court determined Scott’s rights under the Sixth Amendment were violated for the same reason.
Detectives also admitted to unethical interrogation methods, including holding a gun to Scott’s head and withholding key evidence, according to People. Perhaps most importantly, genetic testing of DNA found on one of the bodies didn’t produce a match for either suspect.
No one has was arrested in the case in the years following their release. Still, a promising clue brought investigators and the victims’ families tantalizingly close to more answers.
How Was the DNA First Tested?
In 2017, Austin police matched a DNA sample from the crime scene with one the FBI had uploaded to a public research database overseen by the University of Central Florida. The sample is a single DNA strand, or Y-STR, that includes a Y chromosome. Although they can’t identify an individual from this snippet, these sections could help pinpoint a suspect’s male lineage, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
One of the most notable examples of this involves Albert DeSalvo, who confessed to being the notorious “Boston Strangler” responsible for killing 13 women during the 1960s. Although DeSalvo was never convicted of any of the murders prior to his 1973 death, a Y-STR found on one of the victims was tested decades later. It produced a match with his nephew, confirming DeSalvo was responsible for that murder, though his role in the other 12 is still disputed.
Although investigators in the yogurt shop case hoped to do similar research on the Y-STR in question, the FBI initially refused to grant access to the research sample for legal reasons based on the anonymity of the Florida study. “The FBI did not perform forensic DNA testing in [the Austin] case and cannot speak to this case,” the agency said in a statement.
Did the DNA Strand Produce a Match?
The FBI ultimately agreed to work with the Austin Police Department for further testing at the urging of U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul, who represents part of the Texas capital. However, the results weren’t what investigators had hoped, according to the CBS program 48 Hours.
More accurate analysis performed on the crime scene sample in 2020 raised the number of identifiable DNA markers from 16 to 25. However, this more complete picture ultimately led the FBI to “conclusively exclude the male donor of the FBI’s sample” as a match—meaning the case was at another dead end.
“That was the greatest disappointment because we really thought we had it,” McCaul said.
But lead detective Dan Jackson, who took over the case in 2022, didn’t give up and helped find a pair of breakthrough links.
How Was Suspect Robert Eugene Brashers Identified?
The Austin Police Department has identified Robert Eugene Brashers as the likely perpetrator in the yogurt shop case and detailed its new findings in a news conference on September 29, 2025.
Brashers died at age 40 in January 1999 after shooting himself during a standoff with police, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol. He had an extensive criminal history, including a 1986 conviction of attempted second degree murder. Authorities have linked Brashers to other notable cases, including the 1998 killings of Sherri Scherer, 38, and Megan Scherer, 12, inside their home in Portageville, Missouri, according to The Washington Post.
Austin Chief of Police Lisa Davis said Brashers was matched to the only physical evidence at the Austin crime scene, identified as a spent .380 shell casing located in a floor drain.
Detective Jackson resubmitted the casing to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, a database created to link firearms to crime scenes. This matched the alleged weapon used in the yogurt shop murders with one from another unsolved murder case in Kentucky.
Then, in August 2025, the South Carolina State Lab reported a complete Y-STR match to a profile in its database. The results were reviewed for accuracy and shared with the APD—pointing to Brashers. DNA obtained from Amy Ayers’s fingernail clippings was re-examined for confirmation and produced a 2.5 million to 1 likelihood the genetic material belonged to Brashers.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said “this day has been a long time coming” for the city. “We can finally express a deep sigh, a release, that comes from knowing.”
The announcement brought a fair degree of closure to family members of the four victims. “We never wanted anyone to go to jail or be charged with anything that they did not do—vengeance was never it,” Barbara Ayres-Wilson, the mother of Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, said. “It was always the truth.”
What Happened to the Four Previous Suspects?
Because Springsteen and Scott were not fully exonerated at their release, they were initially able to be tried again at a later time. However, that changed with a judge’s ruling in February 2026.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza filed a motion to formally clear the names of Springsteen and Scott, along with Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn, in late 2025. Judge Dayna Blazey agreed and officially stated that all four are now fully exonerated in the case with their records cleared, according to KUT News.
Springsteen, Scott, and Welborn are still alive, while Pierce experienced a mental health crisis in 2010 and was shot and killed after attempting to stab a police officer.
“For decades I have carried the burden of wrongful conviction. Every day, I have carried the weight of a crime that I did not commit,” Scott said after the decree. “No court ruling can return the years and the love that were taken from me, but it can acknowledge the truth: I am not guilty.”
Watch “Yogurt Shop Murders” on ABC’s 20/20 and Hulu
During his remarks at the September 2025 news conference, Jackson emphasized the new findings regarding Brashers were only possible through advancements in science and investigative technology.
“This is something that could not have happened until 2025,” Jackson said. “And I’m sorry that it took 34 years for us to get here, but we’re here now and, you know, Amy’s final moments on this earth were to solve this case for us. It’s because of her fighting back.”
For more background about the case, watch “Yogurt Shop Murders” on 20/20 Friday, February 27, at 9 p.m. ET. The special will also stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
