Major Break in 1991 ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt’ Murders | Crime Alert 6AM 11.18.2025

Austin police say new investigative work has advanced the long-unsolved 1991 “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” murder case, one of the city’s most enduring cold cases.

A former Illinois sheriff’s deputy has been convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Sonya Massey after she called 911 seeking help.

In Nebraska, a man has pleaded guilty to murder and related charges for killing a Catholic priest during a 2023 break-in at the priest’s home.

A Cuyahoga County, Ohio jury has found Bionca Ellis guilty on all counts in the stabbing death of 3-year-old Julian Wood outside a North Olmsted grocery store.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alert. I'm John Lemley. We begin with a major
breakthrough in a case that has haunted Austin, Texas for
more than three decades. Austin police say DNA testing has
identified a new suspect in the nineteen ninety one killings
of four teenage girls at the I can't believe It's
yogurt shop, a case that shocked the city and remained

(00:23):
unsolved for years. Authorities say DNA evidence now links the
killings to Robert Eugene Brasher's, a man who died in
nineteen ninety nine and who investigators believed was responsible for
other violent crimes in several states. Austin police described the
development as a significant breakthrough. In nineteen ninety four, fourteens

(00:44):
were found bound, shot and the buildings set on fire
after the attack. Two men were once charged and later cleared,
and the case remained open as new forensic technology evolved.
The latest match came after samples from this were re
examined using modern DNA methods, producing a profile that investigators

(01:06):
match to Brashers. Police say the case remains open as
they continue to review evidence and explore possible connections to
crimes elsewhere. For the victims' families. The news is bittersweet.
There will be no prosecution because the suspect is deceased,
but the identification brings long sought answers. Officials plan to

(01:28):
release more details in the days to come.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Thanks John for the latest crimestice news. Go to crime
online dot com and please join us for our daily
podcast Crime Stories, more crime and justice news after this
now with the latest crime and justice breaking news Crime
Online John Lemley.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
In Illinois, a jury has convicted former Sengaman County Sheriff's
deputy Sean Grayson of second degree murder in the death
of Sonia Massey, a Springfield woman who called called nine
to one one to report a possible prowler. Prosecutor said
Grayson fired three shots, killing Massey inside her own home

(02:09):
after she pleaded for help. The jury rejected a first
degree murder charge, instead finding him guilty of the lesser count,
which carries a possible sentence of up to twenty years
in prison. Body camera footage showed Massey holding a pot
of hot water just moments before she was shot. The
defense argued that Grayson believed he was in danger, but

(02:31):
jurors concluded the use of deadly force was unjustified. The
case prompted changes in Illinois law requiring greater transparency in
the hiring and background checks of law enforcement officers. Sentencing
is set for early next year, and legal experts expect
a prison term rather than probation. In Nebraska, a man

(02:54):
has pleaded guilty to the murder of a parish priest
and a small town north of Omaha. Williams admitted to
killing Reverend Stephen Gutzell inside the rectory of Saint John
the Baptist Church in Fort Calhoun last December. Authorities say
the priest called nine to one one to report an
intruder armed with a knife. Deputies arrived within minutes and

(03:17):
found Gutzell fatally wounded near his kitchen. Investigators later recovered
a broken knife with a serrated blade at the scene. Williams,
who had prior felony convictions and was working at a
meat packing plant in Iowa, faces life in prison without
parole when he is sentenced later this month. Prosecutors decided

(03:38):
not to pursue the death penalty. The murder deeply affected
Fort Calhoun's small community of just over one thousand residents,
who had already been shaken by another unsolved killing earlier
that year. In northeast Ohio, a Cleveland woman has been
sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole
for the fatal stabbing of a three year year old

(04:00):
boy outside a grocery store. Thirty four year old Bianca
Ellis was convicted in October of aggravated murder and several
related charges in the death of Julian Wood. Prosecutors say
Ellis stole two knives from a nearby thrift store, then
followed Julian and his mother, Margot Wood, into the parking

(04:21):
lot of a Giant Eagle supermarket in North Olmstead. There,
she attacked without warning, stabbing the child twice as his
mother tried to shield him. The boy died at the
hospital and his mother was treated for a shoulder wound.
Defense attorneys had entered a plea of not guilty by
reason of insanity, but jurors rejected that argument. Cuyahoga County

(04:44):
prosecutors described the crime as one of the most disturbing
acts of violence they have encountered, and the judge imposed
the maximum penalty allowed by law.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
Thanks John for the latest crime and justice needs go
to Crime Online dot com and please join us for
our daily podcast, Crime Stories, where we do our best
to find missing people, especially children, and solve unsolved homicides.
With this crime alert, I'm Nancy Grace