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During December 6, 1991, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Harbison and her coworker Eliza Thomas, both 17, were finishing their shift at the frozen yogurt shop where they worked. Staying behind for a ride home were Jennifer's sister, Sarah Harbison, aged 15, and her friend, Amy Ayers, who was 13.

Just before midnight, a inferno at the business summoned emergency crews, who found a horrific scene: the four teenagers had been restrained, murdered, and showed signs of sexual assault. The blaze eliminated most of the forensic clues, except for a shell casing that had ended up in a drain and minute samples of DNA, among them traces under Ayers’ fingernails.

The Case That Shook a City

The frozen yogurt shop case traumatized the city of Austin and became one of the most notorious long-lingering investigations in the nation. After years of dead ends and false accusations, the killings ultimately helped prompt a federal law enacted in recent years that enables victims' families to request dormant cases to be reinvestigated.

However the killings remained unsolved for almost thirty-four years – before this development.

A Major Breakthrough

Law enforcement officials disclosed on Monday a "significant breakthrough" driven by new technology in bullet matching and DNA analysis, stated the local leader at a news briefing.

Forensic clues suggest Robert Eugene Brashers, who was confirmed following his demise as a repeat offender. Additional killings could be linked to him as forensic technology continue to improve and widespread.

"The single piece of proof recovered from the yogurt shop has been linked to him," said the city's police chief.

The case isn't closed yet, but this marks a "major step", and the individual is believed to be the lone killer, authorities stated.

Closure for Loved Ones

A family member, Sonora Thomas, said that her mind was split after Eliza was killed.

"One portion of my consciousness has been screaming, 'What occurred to my sister?', and the remaining part kept saying, 'It will remain a mystery. I'll go to my grave unaware, and I must accept that,'" she recalled.

When she learned of this breakthrough in the investigation, "the conflicting thoughts of my brain started melding," she said.

"Finally I comprehend what happened, and that lessens my pain."

Mistaken Arrests Corrected

This development not only bring peace to the loved ones; it also completely clears two men, teenagers at the time, who claimed they were pressured into confessing.

Robert Springsteen, who was 17 during the crime, was sentenced to death, and Michael Scott, who was 15, was received a life sentence. Both men stated they only confessed following extended questioning in the year 1999. In 2009, the two were released after their verdicts were thrown out due to court rulings on admissions absent forensic proof.

Legal authorities abandoned the case against the two men in 2009 after a genetic test, known as Y-STR, revealed neither suspect aligned against the genetic material left at the yogurt shop.

The Investigation Advances

This genetic marker – suggesting an unknown man – would ultimately be the decisive factor in cracking the investigation. In recent years, the DNA profile was sent for reanalysis because of technological advancements – but a nationwide inquiry to law enforcement agencies returned no genetic matches.

During the summer, an investigator handling the investigation in 2022, had an idea. Several years had passed since the ballistics from the shell casing had been entered to the national ballistic system – and in the years since, the system had been significantly improved.

"The technology has gotten so much better. I mean, we're using advanced modeling now," he commented at the press conference.

There was a hit. An unresolved killing in another state, with a identical pattern, had the same type of bullet casing. Jackson and a cold case expert met with the Kentucky detectives, who are continuing to investigate their open file – which involves analyzing evidence from a rape kit.

Building a Case

The new lead got Jackson thinking. Might there exist additional proof that might match against cases in other states? He thought immediately of the genetic testing – but there was a obstacle. The Codis database is the national DNA database for police, but the evidence from Austin was insufficiently intact and limited to submit.

"I suggested, well, several years have gone by. A growing number of laboratories are performing these tests. Systems are expanding. I proposed a countrywide check again," the detective explained.

He distributed the years-old DNA data to law enforcement agencies around the country, asking them to check by hand it to their own databases.

A second connection emerged. The genetic signature matched perfectly with a DNA sample from Greenville, South Carolina – a homicide from 1990 that was closed with assistance from a genetic genealogy company and a well-known researcher in 2018.

Identifying the Killer

The genealogist created a family tree for the murderer from that case and located a relative whose DNA sample pointed to a direct relationship – likely a close relative. A court official authorized that the suspect's remains be exhumed, and his genetic material matched against the evidence from the yogurt shop.

Normally, the genealogist is able to set aside resolved crimes in order to work on the next one.

"However I have {not been