TRUE CRIME ATLAS

Yogurt Shop Murders

Case Overview

On December 6, 1991, four teens—Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas, and Amy Ayers—were found bound, gagged, and shot inside the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop on West Anderson Lane in Austin, which had been set on fire. Police arrested four local youths in 1999, leading to two convictions in 2001–2002, but appellate rulings and new DNA evidence prompted their release in 2009 and formal exonerations in February 2026. In September 2025, Austin police named deceased serial offender Robert Eugene Brashers as the likely perpetrator based on DNA and ballistics, yet the case remains officially unsolved.

Case At A Glance

Robert Eugene Brashers as the likely perpetrator

High confidence

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Status
Unsolved
Key evidence
Unknown male Y-STR DNA profile recovered from the crime scene and victims, later linked in 2025 to Robert Eugene Brashers through South Carolina records and follow-up comparison work.
Open question
Can additional ballistic comparisons definitively associate the .380 casing to a firearm linked to Brashers?
Latest timeline item
Feb 19, 2026: Judge declares the four previously accused men actually innocent

Key Facts

Status: Unsolved

Also known as: Austin Yogurt Shop Murders, 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders, I Can't Believe It's Yogurt murders, West Anderson Lane yogurt shop murders

Coverage: 10 timeline events, 10 persons, and 2 locations

Sources collected: 2704 sources

Categories

homicidearsonsexual assaultcold casewrongful convictionquadruple homicide

Tags

AustinTexas1991DNAfalse confessionsexonerationI Can't Believe It's Yogurtballisticsserial offender

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