TX TX - Yogurt Shop Murders, Austin, 6 Dec 1991 - Robert Eugene Brashers (died by suicide in 1999)

[arielilane]

After Brashers’ death, investigators linked him to other crimes. DNA tied him to a 1990 murder in S. Carolina, a 1998 double homicide in Missouri, a 1997 sexual assault of a 14y/o in TN, and a 1993 assault in TN. By 2018, DNA was even exhumed from his body.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972686099794260437

48hrs after the Yogurt Shop Murders, Brashers was arrested at a Border Patrol checkpoint in El Paso. He was driving a stolen car out of Georgia and charged with auto theft and felon in possession of a firearm. The pistol he carried matched the model later tied to the murders.

Three important points investigators just laid out in the Yogurt Shop Murders case:

1. Robert Brashers’ M.O. was consistent: he carried multiple weapons, tied up his victims, sexually assaulted young girls, and often shot them in the head.

2. Investigators say Brashers acted alone. Surviving victims of his past crimes reported he was able to control multiple women by himself and they say evidence here points only to him.

3. DNA under Amy Ayers’ fingernails directly matched Brashers, and ballistics tied his .380 pistol to a ‘98 KY murder.

Det. Jackson says it was Ayers’ “fighting back” that solved this case and applauded her bravery. After that, Ayers’ father got up to hug Jackson.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972689815544951032

After this moment, the entire room is emotional, including Mayor Watson who has been visibly shaken for a portion of this press conference.

Sonora Thomas, sister to Eliza, is speaking now, giving an emotional testimony. “Our reality doesn’t change after today, our families are still too small,” she said “I know now what happened and that does ease my suffering.”

 

[arielilane]

Ayers’ brother Sean and his wife Angie spoke to the public seemingly upset, saying the news broke before families had time to “catch their breath” and wishing the public announcement came later. They still thanked law enforcement, “I gave up on God, but he never gave up on me.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972696400191181138

Edit: presser link already posted

 

[tara83]

It really leaves no doubt now that he was the killer. Breaks my heart that the 13 year old scratched him fighting for her life and is the one who solved the case in the end.

 

[AuDHD]

It really leaves no doubt now that he was the killer. Breaks my heart that the 13 year old scratched him fighting for her life and is the one who solved the case in the end.

Such a horrible horrible case. I’ve seen so many in here in just my couple of months and I know one thing for sure- i’m scratching the hell out of anyone who comes after me!

 

[Wilma_W]

KXAN has a live stream on Youtube:

So far, there are two big things (but everyone should watch the whole thing if you have time):

1. the APD detective is very good and thorough. They are convinced that Brashers is the only perpetrator. That means (to me) that some of the reporting out there is not correct. I know that they had at least one extra DNA sample that was known - it was the boyfriend of one of the victims. But if there were any other partial male DNA samples, they must now be explained and excluded.
2. There is another case in Kentucky that the APD detective did not identify by name, but it sounds like that one will soon be publicly identified as linked to Brashers.

 

[arielilane]

Barbara Wilson, mother of Jennifer and Sarah, thanked law enforcement and other agencies who worked the case. “We were always after the truth,” she said, “vengeance was never it.”

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972698669163163937

 

[arielilane]

Sonora Thomas, sister of Eliza Thomas, said knowing who killed her sister does not change their reality, but does "ease [her] suffering."PRESS CONFERENCE: https://youtube.com/live/Mbuw5yMfG_Y

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972698856933462170

 

[Wilma_W]

So far, there are two big things (but everyone should watch the whole thing if you have time):

1. the APD detective is very good and thorough. They are convinced that Brashers is the only perpetrator. That means (to me) that some of the reporting out there is not correct. I know that they had at least one extra DNA sample that was known - it was the boyfriend of one of the victims. But if there were any other partial male DNA samples, they must now be explained and excluded.
2. There is another case in Kentucky that the APD detective did not identify by name, but it sounds like that one will soon be publicly identified as linked to Brashers.

I forgot, a third big thing: Brashers was stopped at the TX/Mexico border 2 days after the ICBY crime, and was arrested and convicted for a stolen car (out of Georgia) and I think for possession of a gun. That gun was matched in 2025 to the ICBY crime, and apparently it was also the gun that Brashers used to kill himself in 1998. They didn't say how long his sentence was for the stolen car crime. (I'm still wondering about the gap in his known crimes.)

 

[arielilane]

Suspect in Texas’ yogurt shop killings connected to violent rape, murder in Greenville

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972698903788073466

Suspect in Texas’ yogurt shop killings connected to violent rape, murder in Greenville

The newly identified suspect in the killings of four teenage girls in an Austin, Texas, yogurt shop in 1991 is the same man authorities say was responsible for the violent rape and murder in Greenville in 1990.

www.wyff4.com

 

[arielilane]

I spoke about serial killer Robert Brashers, who has now been confirmed as the perp in the 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders, at the 2024 i4GG Conference. There is a detailed timeline of his whereabouts and crimes (known at that time) included in this presentation.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1971834956008792466

Robert Eugene Brashers, Serial Killer identified by CeCe Moore through Genetic Genealogy in 2018​

 

[arielilane]

@velez_tx


The big question: why was Brashers in Austin? What was his connection? Det. Jackson says he doesn’t know. He says law enforcement is still looking for that answer.

Det. Jackson says it’s likely there’s other victims of sexual assaults, possibly murders, connected to Brashers that still haven’t been identified. He says law enforcement is actively working to link Brashers to any outstanding cold cases in the state and beyond.

Det. Jackson says it’s likely a gun Brashers used in the Yogurt Shop Murders, was also the gun he used in his own suicide in 1999.

 

[theonewithallthequestions]

If I heard correctly he was in Georgia November 29th, headed to Texas, was in El Paso leaving 2 days after the murders. And sounded like after that he headed to his father in Arizona as it was mentioned that going through Austin wouldn’t be the most direct route you’d take

 

[dotr]

Posting another sketch in case it rings any bells in other cases that are yet to come to light..

30 years later: Serial killer with Missouri victims linked to Texas yogurt shop cold case

Less than one year before his death by suicide, Brasher killed a Missouri mother and her 12-year-old daughter.

www.kctv5.com

A composite of Robert Brashers and his photo.(WMC Action News 5)

 

[Snoopster]

Amy's brother and sister-in-law both criticized whoever leaked the news to the media before LE had time to personally notify all family members. It also led to the moving up in time of the press conference when the family was just coming to terms with the news.

 

[Tabulator]

For myself, this has always been one of those cases that stuck in my head - the brashness, the bold nature, the pure evil of it. Most of all, though, I thought about those four young girls and how frightened they must have been and how he brutalized them - this monster - he is not a man, nor is he an animal - he is an evil, despicable being who terrorized and killed women and children. Coward filth who deserved a lot more punishment on this Earth, but instead ended his miserable existence himself. What a hideous creature!

I hope that the families of Amy, Eliza, and Jennifer and Sarah will get some peace knowing who the perpetrator was and knowing he is no longer able to hurt other women and girls. For myself, I want to only remember the names of the victims and forget the name of the horrendous and violent piece of trash responsible for this crime.

Finding the real killer also has totally exonherated the two men who were initially arrested and convicted of this crime. I don't know if this will give them any peace or restore any faith in our justice system, but the world needs to know they were not guilty of this crime.

May Eliza, Amy, and Jennifer and Sarah always be remembered and Rest in Peace.

 

[SpringDonut77]

I know they probably did not mention the two men who previously sat in jail for around 10 years for this crime. I hope they hold a separate press conference exonerating them/apologizing to them for ruining their lives. It always seemed like the prosecutors thought they were still involved up until now (hopefully they don't think that anymore).

 

[MassGuy]

Good write up here.

'Yogurt Shop Murders' suspect was possible serial killer now linked to cases across country, police say

Robert Eugene Brashers — who died in 1999 — was named as a suspect in the 1991 quadruple murder in Austin, Texas, the subject of an HBO documentary series released last month.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[Wilma_W]

I know they probably did not mention the two men who previously sat in jail for around 10 years for this crime. I hope they hold a separate press conference exonerating them/apologizing to them for ruining their lives. It always seemed like the prosecutors thought they were still involved up until now (hopefully they don't think that anymore).

They did actually mention them (several people who spoke at the press conference mentioned them), and the prosecutor apologized. They did more than I thought they would, although as the prosecutor (correctly, IMO) stated, no apology can make up for what happened to them.

Also, the Murder Sheet podcast has an idea for the Kentucky case that the detective tied to Brashers but did not identify - Linda Rutledge was murdered in Lexington, Kentucky on November 6, 1998. She was shot and the building was set on fire. Thread:

KY - Lexington police seeking public help with decades-old cold case (Linda Rutledge murder)

Hopefully more news about that one will be coming out soon.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

I lived in Austin at the time and will never forget waking up the next morning reading the Statesman about the fire and AFD finding 4 bodies inside. It was shocking. And then they announced the victims, all young girls, had been murdered. More shocking. Then a few weeks later Colleen Reed was abducted at the car wash down the street from where I lived. As a young woman living in Austin, it was terrifying. Then Austin Police department strode in saying they had caught the yogurt shop murderers. Later we learned it was all bogus, even coercing a confession with a gun pressed against the back of the kid's head. Pathetic. I wish I could convey the emotions that this case brings up in me - even never knowing the victims or their families, just having lived there at the time - the sadness, the empathy, the grief, the fear, the anger, the absolute disgust of the failures of the Austin Police Department.... I am so grateful that the families finally have some answers. But there are still those young men's lives that were callously and lazily ruined by those cops just looking for an easy conviction. There is a sadness in Austinites about this case that will never go away.

 

[arielilane]

For those of us who weren’t around in ‘91, you may recognize Det. John Jones from the HBO doc on the murders. He was one of the OG investigators. After leaving the force for mental health, he returned today wearing the infamous shirt, symbolizing that the case is finally solved.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1972715990111617197

It was emotional to see Detective Jones witness an end to this case. When he learned it was the DNA he and his partner collected that night that linked Robert Brashers to the murders, he said: “It means that everything we did that night was right.”