DNA Links Deceased Serial Killer to Austin’s 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders, Investigators Say

A breakthrough after 33 years: Austin police have identified a deceased serial offender through advanced DNA testing as the suspected killer in the slayings of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop in 1991, according to investigators and reporting by 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty.

What Happened in 1991

On December 6, 1991, the bodies of Eliza Thomas, Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison, and Amy Ayers were found inside the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas. The teens had been tied up and shot in the head, and the store was set on fire, a blaze that destroyed critical evidence and complicated the investigation for decades.

The killings shocked Austin and galvanized a massive task force. Billboards asked the central question on every resident’s mind: Who killed these girls? Although there were arrests and even convictions in the years that followed, those convictions were later overturned, leaving the case unresolved and families without answers.

The DNA Breakthrough

According to retired lead investigator John Jones, a current detective contacted him with news that “one surprise after another” led to a result that finally made sense. Preserved forensic material—including DNA found on one victim and under her fingernails—was reanalyzed with advanced technology.

Result: The profile matched the late Robert Eugene Brashier, a serial killer, rapist, and pedophile later connected to three other murders in South Carolina and Missouri. Brashier died by suicide in 1999 after a standoff with police.

Investigators emphasize that early arson damage severely limited what could be gleaned from the 1991 scene. The fact that some DNA was saved and preserved by the original team proved decisive decades later as newer methods turned an old, partial profile into a confirmatory match, according to reporting.

Families, Investigators, and a Promise Kept

The news arrives as a somber form of closure for families who have endured more than three decades of grief. Sonora Thomas, who was 13 when her sister Eliza was killed, described clinging to any scrap of hope through “impossible” moments.

For John Jones, the retired investigator, the case remained personal. He once vowed to wear the green-and-white shirt he had on the night of the murders again only when the question on the billboard could finally be answered. Now, after 33 years, he says he can honor that promise—and name the man he believes killed the girls.

Why It Took So Long

• Arson at the scene destroyed large amounts of physical evidence.

• Early DNA yielded just a semi-profile, insufficient for a clear match.

• Subsequent overturned convictions prolonged uncertainty and pain.

• The case ultimately turned on evidence preservation and the emergence of modern DNA technology capable of extracting and comparing minute, degraded genetic material.

What’s Next

Authorities are expected to provide additional details at a press conference in Austin. While Brashier cannot face prosecution, the identification gives families, the community, and investigators the answer they have sought for more than three decades.

“Answer the question on the billboard: Who killed these girls? He did.” — Retired investigator John Jones

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