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Episode 20: THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS. #truecrimecommunity #coldcase
GraveFileTV | 2026-05-03
Description
West Anderson Lane. Austin, Texas. December 6, 1991. Just before midnight, a patrol officer spotted smoke rising from a strip mall. Firefighters broke down the door of the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop and found four teenage girls — Jennifer Harbison (17), her sister Sarah (15), Eliza Thomas (1...
West Anderson Lane. Austin, Texas. December 6, 1991. Just before midnight, a patrol officer spotted smoke rising from a strip mall. Firefighters broke down the door of the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop and found four teenage girls — Jennifer Harbison (17), her sister Sarah (15), Eliza Thomas (17), and Amy Ayers (13). All four had been stripped, bound with their own clothing, shot execution-style in the head, and stacked together. Three were burned beyond recognition. Amy Ayers — the youngest, who had stopped in just to get a ride home — was the only one whose face was not destroyed by fire. The blaze that killed them also destroyed their justice. Water from fighting the fire flooded the crime scene. Dozens of people walked through before investigators could protect what remained. The evidence that should have closed this case in 1991 was gone before anyone knew what it would cost. In 1999, a task force reopened the investigation and arrested four men. Robert Springsteen was convicted and sentenced to death. Michael Scott was sentenced to life. In 2008, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned both convictions — the prosecution had violated the Confrontation Clause by using co-defendants' confessions at trial. All four men were eventually released. All charges dropped. The families had watched the system convict two men and free them. Thirty-four years later — they still had no answers. Then in September 2025, Austin Police announced a DNA match. The genetic profile from the crime scene belonged to Robert Eugene Brashers — a serial killer and serial rapist who had been identified through investigative genetic genealogy by CeCe Moore in 2018, though not yet connected to this case. Brashers had never been investigated for the yogurt shop murders. He died in 1999 — in a standoff with police, by his own hand. Six years before Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott were first arrested. A decade before their convictions were overturned. Twenty-six years before his DNA was matched. He died without ever being asked about West Anderson Lane. Today, GLOW Nails Beauty Bar operates at 2949 West Anderson Lane. Outside, beneath an oak tree, a bronze plaque carries four names. The workers inside place something there every single day — doughnuts, apples, a few coins — so the girls are not forgotten. The case remains active. The full picture of what happened that night has not yet been confirmed. If you have information, please contact: Austin PD: YogurtShop@austintexas.gov Crime Stoppers: 512-472-8477 Subscribe to GraveFile TV — new investigation every week.
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| Date | Views | Likes |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-17 | 583 | 18 |
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