AUSTIN, TX – The Austin Police Department (APD) Cold Case Homicide Unit has announced a major development in the 1991 I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt murder case. Through advanced DNA testing, investigators identified Robert Eugene Brashers as the suspect. Brashers, a serial killer and rapist linked to multiple crimes across the United States, died by suicide in 1999 in Missouri.
“After 34 years, the Austin Police have made a significant breakthrough in one of the most devastating cases in our city’s history,” Police Chief Lisa Davis said. “This unthinkable crime has weighed heavily on the hearts of our community, the families of the victims, and our detectives who have tirelessly pursued justice.”
On December 6, 1991, firefighters discovered the bodies of 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, and 13-year-old Amy Ayers inside the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop at 2949 West Anderson Lane after responding to a fire. All four girls had been bound, gagged, shot, and sexually assaulted.
The investigation has spanned decades, with early arrests and confessions later determined to be unreliable. New forensic testing and DNA analysis eventually excluded the original suspects and pointed to Brashers. In 2025, further testing linked DNA from the Austin crime scene to a known profile from a 1990 sexual assault and murder in Greenville, South Carolina.
Detectives also confirmed that Brashers was stopped at a Border Patrol checkpoint near El Paso less than 48 hours after the Austin killings, driving a stolen vehicle and carrying a .380 pistol. That same weapon, confirmed by serial number, was used in his 1999 suicide.
Mayor Kirk Watson said the case represents both a painful chapter in Austin’s past and a sign of progress. “Today, I’m hopeful,” Watson said. “We can turn a page as a community—and hopefully the final page—on this horror that marked a very different time in Austin’s history.”
APD emphasized that the case remains open and ongoing as additional testing and investigative steps continue. Officials said they remain committed to pursuing every lead and supporting the families of Jennifer, Sarah, Eliza, and Amy.
