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Back on December 6, 1991, Jennifer Harbison and her coworker Eliza Thomas, both seventeen years old, were finishing their shift at the dessert shop where they worked. Remaining for a pickup were Jennifer’s younger sister, Sarah Harbison, aged 15, and Sarah’s friend, Amy Ayers, who was 13.

Moments before 12 AM, a inferno at the business attracted emergency crews, who uncovered the tragedy: the four teenagers had been bound, murdered, and showed evidence of sexual violence. The fire wiped out most of the forensic clues, aside from a bullet casing that had fallen into a gutter and trace amounts of biological evidence, among them evidence beneath Amy Ayers' nails.

The Case That Shook a City

The frozen yogurt shop case traumatized the community in Austin and were branded as one of the best-known cold cases in America. After years of false leads and wrongful convictions, the killings ultimately led to national legislation enacted in recent years that allows victims' families to petition dormant cases to be reopened.

However the killings stayed unresolved for almost thirty-four years – until now.

Significant Progress

Investigators revealed on Monday a "major development" made possible by modern methods in bullet matching and forensic science, announced the Austin mayor at a news briefing.

Genetic matches indicate Robert Eugene Brashers, who was identified following his demise as a multiple murderer. More murders may be attributed to him as forensic technology become more advanced and more commonly used.

"The only physical evidence found at the crime scene corresponds directly to him," stated the head of police.

The case remains open, but this marks a "significant advance", and the suspect is considered the only attacker, police stated.

Families Find Answers

Eliza's sister, Sonora Thomas, said that her thoughts were divided following Eliza was killed.

"One portion of my brain has been screaming, 'What happened to my sister?', and the other part kept repeating, 'I will never know. I will die not knowing, and I have to be OK with that,'" she said.

Upon hearing of this development in the case, "both sides of my mind began merging," she said.

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

Innocent Men Exonerated

The news not simply bring closure to the loved ones; it also definitively absolves two individuals, minors when arrested, who maintained they were pressured into confessing.

Robert Springsteen, a teenager at the time at the time of the killings, was sentenced to death, and Michael Scott, a 15-year-old then, was sentenced to life. Both men asserted they admitted involvement following hours-long interrogations in 1999. In the following decade, they were released after their convictions were thrown out due to new precedents on admissions lacking tangible proof.

The district attorney's office abandoned the prosecution against Springsteen and Scott in the same period after a genetic test, known as Y-STR, indicated neither suspect corresponded against the DNA samples recovered from the yogurt shop.

Scientific Breakthrough

The DNA signature – indicating an unknown man – would ultimately be the key in solving this case. In 2018, the profile was reexamined because of technological advancements – but a countrywide check to other police departments yielded no results.

This past June, an investigator assigned to the investigation in 2022, came up with a thought. It had been since the firearms evidence from the cartridge had been entered to the NIBIN database – and in that time, the system had been significantly improved.

"The technology has gotten so much better. In fact, we're talking like advanced modeling now," he stated at the news event.

There was a hit. An open homicide case in Kentucky, with a similar modus operandi, had the same type of cartridge. Investigators and a colleague met with the local investigators, who are still working on their unidentified investigation – including processing samples from a sexual assault kit.

Building a Case

The apparent breakthrough prompted further inquiry. Could there be additional proof that might correspond to crimes in different locations? He thought immediately of the genetic testing – but there was a problem. The Combined DNA Index System is the national DNA database for investigators, but the genetic material from the scene was insufficiently intact and scarce to enter.

"I thought, well, it's been a few years. Additional facilities are conducting this analysis. Databases are getting bigger. Let's do a national inquiry again," he explained.

He circulated the years-old genetic findings to police departments around the country, asking them to manually compare it to their own databases.

There was another hit. The genetic signature matched perfectly with a genetic evidence from another state – a 1990 murder that was closed with the aid of a genetic genealogy company and an expert in genetic genealogy in 2018.

Genetic Genealogy Success

The genealogist built a family tree for the offender and identified a family member whose DNA sample indicated a immediate family link – probably a close relative. A magistrate authorized that Brasher's body be removed from burial, and his DNA aligned against the forensic proof from Austin.

Normally, she is puts behind her closed investigations in order to concentrate on the new mystery.

"But I have {not been