The decades-long mystery of the Austin yogurt shop murders has finally been solved, revealing serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers as the perpetrator.
The Yogurt Shop Murders
On December 9, 1991, four girls—Eliza Thomas, Jennifer Harbison (both 17), Sarah Harbison (15), and Amy Ayers (13)—were found dead at I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! in Austin, Texas. They had been bound, gagged, raped, and shot.
Initial suspects were arrested in 1999: Maurice Pierce, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen, and Forrest Wellburn. Three confessed, despite no physical evidence linking them to the scene. Springsteen and Scott were convicted in 2001 and 2002, but DNA testing in 2008 cleared all four. Springsteen and Scott were exonerated in February 2026.
Robert Eugene Brashers: Early Life
Brashers was born March 13, 1958, in Newport News, Virginia, and grew up in Alabama and Indiana. After high school, he worked as a bartender, served in the Army and Navy, and later worked as a carpenter and HVAC technician.
Early Criminal History
In 1985, Brashers attempted to murder 24-year-old Michelle Wilkerson in Florida after she rejected his advances. He shot her in the head and neck, but she survived. Brashers pleaded guilty to second-degree homicide and aggravated battery and served four years of a 12-year sentence.
Link to the Yogurt Shop
Two days after the Austin murders, Brashers was pulled over in a stolen car carrying a .380 AMT Backup pistol—the same type used in the yogurt shop killings. At the time, authorities did not connect him to the murders.
Serial Crimes
Brashers went on to commit multiple violent crimes:
- April 4, 1990: Murdered Genevieve “Jenny” Zitricki in Greenville, S.C.
- December 6, 1991: Killed the four girls at the Austin yogurt shop
- March 11, 1997: Broke into a Memphis home, held occupants at gunpoint, and raped a 14-year-old
- March 28, 1998: Murdered Sherri Scherer, 38, and her 12-year-old daughter Megan in Missouri
- April 12, 1998: Attempted break-in at a former colleague’s home in Paragould, Arkansas, carrying a firearm and locksmith tools
- November 7, 1998: Murdered Linda Marie Rutledge, 43, at her Kentucky hearing aid center and set the building on fire
Brashers’ crimes reveal a pattern of escalating violence, sexual assault, and murder across multiple states.
Media Coverage
The HBO docuseries The Yogurt Shop Murders and its new May 22 episode examine how Brashers was finally identified and the impact of justice on the victims’ families.
