🔗 Share this article

Back on the 6th of December, 1991, Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas, each aged 17, were finishing their shift at the frozen yogurt shop where they worked. Staying behind for a lift were Jennifer's sister, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, and her friend, 13-year-old Amy Ayers.

Shortly before the clock struck twelve, a inferno at the shop summoned first responders, who uncovered the tragedy: the four girls had been restrained, killed, and showed evidence of sexual violence. The blaze destroyed nearly all evidence, with the exception of a bullet casing that had rolled into a drain and trace amounts of DNA, among them traces beneath Amy Ayers' nails.

The Case That Shook a City

The frozen yogurt shop case profoundly shook the Texas capital and became one of the most notorious long-lingering investigations in the United States. Over many years of investigative roadblocks and mistaken arrests, the homicides eventually helped prompt a federal law signed in 2022 that allows families of the deceased to ask for unsolved investigations to be reviewed.

Yet the crimes continued to baffle investigators for nearly 34 years – up to this point.

A Major Breakthrough

Police authorities disclosed on recently a "important advance" made possible by advanced techniques in firearms analysis and forensic science, stated the Austin mayor at a news briefing.

The evidence point to Brashers, who was identified posthumously as a serial killer. Additional killings are likely to be attributed to him as DNA analyses evolve further and widespread.

"The only physical evidence recovered from that scene has been matched to him," said the head of police.

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

Families Find Answers

A family member, Sonora Thomas, shared that her psyche was fractured following her sister was murdered.

"One half of my consciousness has been screaming, 'What happened to my sister?', and the other half kept insisting, 'I'll never learn the truth. I'll go to my grave unaware, and I have to be OK with that,'" she stated.

Upon hearing about this progress in the investigation, "both sides of my mind started coming together," she explained.

"Finally I comprehend the truth, and that lessens my pain."

Wrongful Convictions Overturned

This development not simply bring resolution to the victims' families; it also completely clears two individuals, who were teens then, who insisted they were forced into admitting guilt.

Springsteen, then 17 years old during the crime, was given a death sentence, and Michael Scott, a 15-year-old then, was given life imprisonment. Each defendant stated they admitted involvement after marathon interviews in 1999. In 2009, both men were set free after their convictions were overturned due to court rulings on statements without physical evidence.

Legal authorities withdrew the charges against Springsteen and Scott in that year after a DNA analysis, known as Y-STR, revealed neither individual corresponded against the DNA samples recovered from the yogurt shop.

The Investigation Advances

The DNA signature – suggesting an unknown man – would eventually be the crucial element in cracking the investigation. In 2018, the DNA profile was submitted for retesting because of technological advancements – but a national search to other police departments yielded no results.

During the summer, Daniel Jackson handling the investigation in 2022, came up with a thought. Several years had passed since the bullet casings from the spent round had been entered to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network – and in the interim, the database had undergone major upgrades.

"The system has improved dramatically. Actually, we're talking like 3D stuff now," Jackson stated at the press conference.

The system identified a link. An unresolved killing in Kentucky, with a similar modus operandi, had the same type of cartridge. The detective and another official met with the local investigators, who are actively pursuing their open file – which involves analyzing evidence from a forensic kit.

Connecting the Dots

This development made the detective wonder. Was there additional proof that might link with crimes in different locations? He thought immediately of the Y-STR analysis – but there was a challenge. The national DNA registry is the federal genetic registry for investigators, but the yogurt shop DNA was too fragmented and minimal to upload.

"I suggested, well, time has passed. More labs are doing this. Registries are growing. We should conduct a nationwide search again," he said.

He circulated the historic Y-STR results to law enforcement agencies across the United States, asking them to review individually it to their internal records.

There was another hit. The profile matched perfectly with a DNA sample from a city in South Carolina – a 1990 murder that was resolved with the aid of forensic experts and an expert in genetic genealogy in 2018.

Identifying the Killer

The researcher created a genealogical chart for the offender and found a kinship connection whose biological evidence pointed to a close tie – almost certainly a brother or sister. A judge authorized that the suspect's remains be dug up, and his DNA aligned against the crime scene sample.

Usually, the genealogist is can move on from resolved crimes in order to work on the new mystery.

"But I have {not been