A suspect has been identified in the 1991 killings of four teenaged girls working in a yogurt shop, a haunting cold case that was recently chronicled in the HBO documentary, The Yogurt Shop Murders.
The Austin Police Department announced they have posthumously identified Robert Eugene Brashers, who committed suicide in 1999, as the suspect in the deaths of Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas and Amy Ayers.
“Austin Police have made a significant breakthrough in the 1991 I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt murder case and we have new information,” a press release from the APD says. “Our team never gave up working this case. For almost 34 years they have worked tirelessly and remained committed to solving this case for the families of Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas, and Amy Ayers, all innocent lives taken senselessly and far too soon.”
Brashers was identified using a “wide range of DNA testing.” The department notes the investigation is still “open and ongoing,” though local outlets estimate the case could be closed in the coming weeks.
Brashers was a serial killer who has been posthumously linked to several murders of young women across the country.
The crime occurred the evening of Dec. 6, 1991, in an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop in Austin where the teens worked. The building was set on fire after the attack. The victims were found bound, gagged and shot when firefighters arrived.
The case was revisited in the new HBO documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders, which features interviews with the investigators, the victims’ families, and the two men who had been charged and convicted for the crime, though they were later exonerated after they recanted their confessions and said their statements were made under duress, per AP News.
Brashers’ daughter, Deborah Brashers-Claunch, issued a statement apologizing to the victims’ families.
“I am very sorry to every family that my father hurt,” she told KXAN-TV. “I know that it is not my place at all to tell you I am sorry, but someone has to because he was not sorry for it and half of my DNA is the person that hurt you the most, so I want to tell you sorry, and I am so sorry for everything. But I am finally glad that you are getting answers.”