ABC's 20/20: season 48, episode 18 (Image via ABC Network)
On December 6, 1991, police discovered an extremely gruesome scene. The authorities discovered the bodies of four teenage girls who had been kidnapped and killed because they were found bound and gagged with bullet wounds to their heads.
The evidence proved that they had been s*xually assaulted while the building was burned down as a way to eliminate all evidence. For more than thirty years, the case created a deep impact on the community, while law enforcement officers tried to solve it but ended up sending innocent people to prison.
The DNA testing, along with ballistics analysis from September 2025 led to the identification of Robert Eugene Brashers as the murderer who committed the crime because his genetic evidence matched what investigators found at the crime scene, along with a shell casing.
Brashers managed to avoid arrest for several years because he was wanted for violent offenses which he committed in different states. The authorities discovered the current location of serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers after he committed suicide during a police standoff on January 19, 1999 in Kennett, Missouri.
The upcoming ABC 20/20 season 48 episode 18 titled Yogurt Shop Murders contains these details which will broadcast on February 27, 2026 on ABC.
ABC 20/20: The 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders
The murders occurred at a yogurt shop located on West Anderson Lane in Austin, Texas. The four girls were closing up the store when an intruder entered the building.
The attackers forced the victims into a back room where they removed their clothes and the attackers used their clothing and store items to bind them before proceeding to s*xually assault them.
The attackers executed each victim by shooting them in the head with two different weapons which included a .22-caliber and a .380-caliber firearm. The killer then arranged the bodies in a stack before dousing them with accelerant and setting the shop ablaze before escaping the scene.
Firefighters discovered the scene while they were responding to the blaze because they thought it was an ordinary fire. The violent events created widespread panic throughout the city because officials had not identified any suspects or discovered the motive behind the attack.
Early DNA technology restricted investigators who obtained DNA evidence from Amy Ayers' fingernails and shell casings. The case attracted national media coverage because it involved violent attacks against young victims who were working at the store or visiting it.
The girls' families described them as kind and full of potential. Amy loved animals and Eliza had a lively personality, while the Harbison sisters shared a strong bond with each other.
The investigation accumulated more than 1,000 leads throughout its six year duration but the case remained unsolved until recent developments, as per ABC News.
Robert Eugene Brashers' criminal background
Robert Eugene Brashers began his criminal career when he committed violent crimes during the 1980s. He was born in 1958 and the police arrested him in Port St. Lucie, Florida, in 1985 for attacking a 24 year old woman while making s*xual advances.
He spent time in prison after shooting another woman and he received parole in 1989. In 1990, he r*ped and strangled 28 year old Genevieve Zitricki in her Greenville, South Carolina, apartment.
His pattern involved breaking into homes, binding victims, s*xual assault, and using firearms. In 1997, he invaded a Memphis, Tennessee, home, bound four people and r*ped a 14-year-old girl.
In March 1998, he entered a residence in Portageville, Missouri, where he r*ped and shot Sherri Scherer, 38 and her 12 year old daughter Megan to death. He committed another r*pe in Dyersburg, Tennessee, later that same year.
Robert Eugene Brashers used to carry various weapons while he set fires at crime scenes and attacked female victims who traveled through unfamiliar territories. He used different names while traveling to various states to avoid being captured.
Authorities identified him as a suspect in eight murders and several attacks after they matched his DNA to different cases following his death. His criminal activities displayed a repeating pattern that involved him using clothing to bind his victims while he inflicted extreme physical harm, as FOX56 reported.
The investigative breakthrough in 2025
The yogurt shop case went cold after wrongful convictions were overturned in the 2000s. Detective Daniel Jackson reopened the case in 2022. He submitted a .380 shell casing from the scene to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network in June 2025.
The database confirmed a match to a 1998 unsolved Kentucky case because the two cases shared similar characteristics. The scene already had Y-STR DNA profiling developed which focused on male lineage since 2008.
A manual search in August 2025 matched this profile to a 1990 South Carolina murder tied to Robert Eugene Brashers. Further testing confirmed his DNA which was found under Amy Ayers' fingernails.
Ballistics established a connection between his suicide weapon and the method used in the murder. Brasher's profile came from earlier identifications: Missouri authorities connected him in 2018 to the Scherer murders and others via DNA.
The Austin police department announced their discovery on September 29, 2025 because they had eliminated all previous suspects from their investigation. The timing coincided with an HBO documentary renewing interest.
The 34 year mystery received a solution through ballistics and genealogy research combined with increasing database information, as reported by ABC News.
Closure and exoneration
The judicial system exonerated Maurice Pierce, Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen on February 19, 2026 because their 1999 arrests resulted from forced confessions.
Two people received prison sentences but they were freed in 2009 after DNA evidence proved their innocence and their legal appeals showed judicial mistakes. The hearing brought relief to the remaining participants while Pierce passed away in 2010.
The District Attorney of Travis County, José Garza issued an apology because he recognized the judicial system had failed. The families of victims, including Barbara Ayres-Wilson and Angie Ayers, achieved peace through discovering the truth which enabled them to honor the girls' memories.
The victims were described by their friends as "our girls" who showed energetic, kind and promising characteristics. The emotional resolution about Robert Eugene Brashers occurred because his identification put an end to the long standing uncertainty that had persisted for decades.
The police investigation continues because detectives want to identify any accomplices who might exist but current evidence does not support any suspects. The scientific discovery showed how forensic science had progressed, which helped to avoid future wrongful convictions.
The relatives of victims requested that cold case investigations receive continuous funding to support other families, according to ABC News.
Stay tuned for more news and updates.
