Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
December sixth, nineteen ninety one, a quiet
(00:02):
Friday night in Austin, Texaswould end in horror.
Four teenage girls, laughing,planning, just living their
lives vanished in the blaze of afrozen yogurt shop turned murder
site.
Bound, shot execution style, andthen the scene set on fire as if
to erase what had been done.
For more than thirty years, thiscrime haunted the city.
(00:22):
Four lives lost.
A labyrinth of false leads,coerced confessions, and
shattered hope.
And then in 2025, abreakthrough.
A new suspect emerged.
DNA.
Ballistics.
Closure, maybe.
This is human wreckage, theyogurt shop murders.
(01:16):
The store, I can't believe it'syogurt, a frozen yogurt shop
tucked into a strip mall on WestAnderson Lane in North Austin.
In 1991, this was a popular spotfor teens to hang out after
school, to work, to laugh.
Jennifer Harbison, seventeen,and Eliza Thomas, also
seventeen, were employeesworking the late shift that
night.
Jennifer's younger sister, SarahHarbison, fifteen, and their
(01:39):
friend, thirteen year old AmyIres, were waiting inside,
planning to ride home withJennifer when her shift ended.
The plan was simple.
Close the shop at eleven PM,head home.
No one could have imagined whatwould happen next.
At some point late in theevening, a man was allowed to
use the restroom in the back ofthe shop.
He lingered for an unusuallylong time.
(02:01):
Some investigators believe hemay have manipulated the back
door.
A short time before eleven PM,two men were reportedly seen
acting furtively at a tableinside the shop.
They left just before closing.
By midnight, a patrol officernoticed smoke coming from the
strip mall.
A fire was burning at the yogurtshop.
First responders rushed in andfound more than flames.
(02:23):
They discovered the bodies ofthe four girls inside.
The scene they encountered wasgrotesque and chilling evidence
of a violent crime staged withinfire.
The victims had been shot in thehead, three had been gagged and
bound with their own underwear,one was less burned, but had
multiple gunshot wounds.
At least some had been sexuallyassaulted.
The fire had overtaken much ofthe shop, the water from hoses,
(02:46):
smoke damage, shifting debrisall conspired to destroy
evidence.
Investigators later describedthe scene as wholesale carnage.
Inside, bodies were foundstacked near a back door,
charred and tangled.
Some placed a sock like clotharound Amy's neck.
It was immediately clear thiswas not an accident.
This fire was meant to masksomething far more sinister.
(03:09):
We must pause to remember themnot as victims, but as people.
Four teens whose lives ended ina moment too cruel to imagine.
Amy Ayers, thirteen.
Quiet, innocent, too young.
She was there that night as afriend.
Eliza Thomas, seventeen.
Working alongside Jennifer, shehad ambitions and plans like any
teen.
(03:29):
Jennifer Harbison, seventeen, aworker at the shop and a sister.
Always helpful, always kind.
Sarah Harbison, fifteen.
Jennifer's younger sister,playful, trusting, waiting for
her sister to finish so theycould head home together.
They were more than the tragedy.
Their families, friends,teachers shocked, devastated,
determined to find answers.
(03:50):
In the days that followed, thecommunity grieved.
The press descended.
The case quickly became one ofAustin's most infamous and
haunting mysteries.
From the earliest stages,investigators were hampered.
The fire obscured cause, motionof evidence, shifting debris,
smoke and water damage.
The investigation would stretchover decades, marked by false
(04:12):
leads and wrongful arrests.
Inside the shop, forensic teamscollected what little survived,
ballistic evidence, biologicalsamples, however compromised,
witness interviews, clues fromthe layout of the shop, and
those sightings of twosuspicious men and the restroom
user.
In the early years, suspectsincluded neighborhood teens and
drifters.
One teenager was apprehendedshortly after in a nearby mall,
(04:35):
carrying a weapon of the samecaliber used in the murders.
But investigators laterdiscounted him, believing he was
trying to limit his own criminalexposure.
Over time, detective attentionturned inward to a local circle
of troubled youth.
In 1999, eight years after themurders, the authorities
arrested Morris Pierce, ForrestWellbourne, Michael Scott, and
(04:56):
Robert Springsteen.
The prosecution's case reliedheavily on confessions extracted
through intense interrogations.
Morris Pierce initiallyimplicated the others by name.
Scott and Springsteen wereconvicted, Springsteen even
placed on death row, whileWellbourne and Pierce were not
ultimately convicted.
But evidence was lacking.
Physical, forensic linksremained elusive.
(05:19):
DNA testing and forensic scienceat the time were not capable of
solidly tying them to the scene,and over time, serious doubts
surfaced about the legitimacy oftheir confessions.
By 2009, Scott and Springsteenwere exonerated, the convictions
overturned, citing lack ofreliable evidence and coerce
statements.
For decades, the case remainedcold.
(05:40):
One of the sore points in thisinvestigation was how the
confessions were obtained.
Critics have long contended theywere coerced under pressure and
long interrogations with leadingquestions and promises of
leniency.
Legal analysts later argued thatthose confessions were
unreliable.
The investigators prioritizedclosing the case over cautious
forensic certainty.
(06:01):
The city, the victims' families,activists all watched as
uncertainty grew.
The prosecution faced criticismtoo pressing a weak case,
prosecuting based on statementswithout strong forensic backing.
Over time, advances in DNA andforensic testing would
ultimately expose theinsufficiencies.
Even investigative journalistsplayed a role.
(06:22):
The Austin American statesmendevoted resources to covering
the case, pushing legal and lawenforcement authorities to keep
working and re-examine evidence.
Still, for years, the murderswere an open pain, a wound in
Austin's consciousness.
For many cold cases, the adventof DNA testing and improved
ballistics analysis have beengame changers.
(06:42):
The yogurt shop murders would beno exception.
In recent years, Austin's coldcase unit revisited the physical
evidence.
A.380 caliber cartridge found ina drain at the crime scene was
re-examined and matched to afirearm tied to a 1998 unsolved
case in Kentucky.
Critically, DNA obtained fromunder one victim's fingernails a
(07:03):
mark of her final struggle wasreanalyzed with modern
techniques.
Investigators obtained a partialYSTR profile male lineage DNA
that did not match any of thepreviously accused.
That profile allowedinvestigators to search
genealogical databases, leadingthem to Robert Eugene Braschers,
a man already known to lawenforcement for violent crimes
(07:24):
across several states.
Brashers died by suicide in 1999during a police standoff.
He was never charged in theyogurt shop case in life.
But the link grew stronger.
The shell casing from the Austincrime scene matched the same gun
Braschers used in the ultimateconfrontation.
On september twenty seventh,twenty twenty five, Austin
police publicly announced thatBrashers is their leading
(07:46):
suspect in the yogurt shopmurders.
Investigators and prosecutorsnow believe they have finally
identified the true perpetrator.
They are also pushing toformally exonerate those wrongly
convicted decades earlier.
This development has revivedmedia attention, public
interest, and grief.
For some families, it may bringlong sought closure.
For others, it's a starkreminder of the criminal justice
(08:09):
system's failures.
Even with this breakthrough,many questions remain
unanswered.
How was Brashers connected toAustin?
He had no obvious tie to thecity at the time of the murders.
No record showing he lived thereor had a direct link.
Did more than one person committhe crime?
Some early theories posited twoattackers.
Witnesses had seen two menacting suspiciously.
(08:31):
Could Brashers have had anaccomplice?
Was robbery the motive?
The official narrative oftensuspected a botched robbery, but
only a small amount around fiftydollars was reported missing
from the cash drawer.
The violence, sexual assault,and the attempt to destroy
evidence suggests something farmore personal or predatory.
Why the cover up ormisdirection?
(08:52):
For decades, the case wasmishandled, misdirected, or
stalled.
The false confessions, the rushto arrest local teens, the
failure to properly preserve andanalyze evidence all point to
systemic weaknesses.
Can we ever truly have closure?
Brashers is dead.
He cannot face trial.
The families cannot see a juryconvict him.
(09:12):
Some feel closure is incompletewhen the primary suspect cannot
be held accountable.
But acknowledging truth, layingto rest false convictions, and
honoring the memory of thosefour girls may be the closest
many can come.
This case left profound scars onAustin.
Parents no longer felt safesending their children out at
night.
Tension brewed betweencommunities and the police.
(09:34):
Over the years, activists pushedfor better cold case resources,
more forensic investment, andoversight in interrogations.
The wrongful convictions ofScott and Springsteen remain a
cautionary tale about power,coerced testimony, and the
perils of tunnel vision in lawenforcement.
The Austin American statesmanand local journalism continued
pushing.
(09:55):
The press became a watchdog,pressing cold case units,
publicizing evidence, and givingvoice to the families.
In 2025, the HBO docuceries, theyogurt shop murders, helped
reignite public interest andlikely influenced renewed
efforts in the case.
And now, with the newidentification of brashers, the
case stands as a testament.
(10:15):
Science can correct the course,but human cost lingers.
What happens now?
The city of Austin and itspolice department intend to
formalize the exoneration ofthose wrongly convicted.
Investigators will continuedigging into other crimes
connected to brashers to tracehis movements, possible
accomplices, and any record ofmotive.
Some hope remains that victims'families might find
(10:37):
reconciliation or closure.
Some may continue fighting forrecognition, memorials, or legal
acknowledgement.
The case is also a lesson forlaw enforcement nationwide.
Preserve evidence, use cautionin interrogations, treat cold
cases with respect andresources, and use new
technology proactively.
To the listeners, this case is areminder.
(10:58):
Behind every forensic sample,behind every legal proceeding,
there are lives the living andthe dead whose dignity must be
remembered.
December sixth, nineteen ninety one, a quiet
(00:02):
Friday night in Austin, Texaswould end in horror.
Four teenage girls, laughing,planning, just living their
lives vanished in the blaze of afrozen yogurt shop turned murder
site.
Bound, shot execution style, andthen the scene set on fire as if
to erase what had been done.
For more than thirty years, thiscrime haunted the city.
(00:22):
Four lives lost.
A labyrinth of false leads,coerced confessions, and
shattered hope.
And then in 2025, abreakthrough.
A new suspect emerged.
DNA.
Ballistics.
Closure, maybe.
This is human wreckage, theyogurt shop murders.
(01:16):
The store, I can't believe it'syogurt, a frozen yogurt shop
tucked into a strip mall on WestAnderson Lane in North Austin.
In 1991, this was a popular spotfor teens to hang out after
school, to work, to laugh.
Jennifer Harbison, seventeen,and Eliza Thomas, also
seventeen, were employeesworking the late shift that
night.
Jennifer's younger sister, SarahHarbison, fifteen, and their
(01:39):
friend, thirteen year old AmyIres, were waiting inside,
planning to ride home withJennifer when her shift ended.
The plan was simple.
Close the shop at eleven PM,head home.
No one could have imagined whatwould happen next.
At some point late in theevening, a man was allowed to
use the restroom in the back ofthe shop.
He lingered for an unusuallylong time.
(02:01):
Some investigators believe hemay have manipulated the back
door.
A short time before eleven PM,two men were reportedly seen
acting furtively at a tableinside the shop.
They left just before closing.
By midnight, a patrol officernoticed smoke coming from the
strip mall.
A fire was burning at the yogurtshop.
First responders rushed in andfound more than flames.
(02:23):
They discovered the bodies ofthe four girls inside.
The scene they encountered wasgrotesque and chilling evidence
of a violent crime staged withinfire.
The victims had been shot in thehead, three had been gagged and
bound with their own underwear,one was less burned, but had
multiple gunshot wounds.
At least some had been sexuallyassaulted.
The fire had overtaken much ofthe shop, the water from hoses,
(02:46):
smoke damage, shifting debrisall conspired to destroy
evidence.
Investigators later describedthe scene as wholesale carnage.
Inside, bodies were foundstacked near a back door,
charred and tangled.
Some placed a sock like clotharound Amy's neck.
It was immediately clear thiswas not an accident.
This fire was meant to masksomething far more sinister.
(03:09):
We must pause to remember themnot as victims, but as people.
Four teens whose lives ended ina moment too cruel to imagine.
Amy Ayers, thirteen.
Quiet, innocent, too young.
She was there that night as afriend.
Eliza Thomas, seventeen.
Working alongside Jennifer, shehad ambitions and plans like any
teen.
(03:29):
Jennifer Harbison, seventeen, aworker at the shop and a sister.
Always helpful, always kind.
Sarah Harbison, fifteen.
Jennifer's younger sister,playful, trusting, waiting for
her sister to finish so theycould head home together.
They were more than the tragedy.
Their families, friends,teachers shocked, devastated,
determined to find answers.
(03:50):
In the days that followed, thecommunity grieved.
The press descended.
The case quickly became one ofAustin's most infamous and
haunting mysteries.
From the earliest stages,investigators were hampered.
The fire obscured cause, motionof evidence, shifting debris,
smoke and water damage.
The investigation would stretchover decades, marked by false
(04:12):
leads and wrongful arrests.
Inside the shop, forensic teamscollected what little survived,
ballistic evidence, biologicalsamples, however compromised,
witness interviews, clues fromthe layout of the shop, and
those sightings of twosuspicious men and the restroom
user.
In the early years, suspectsincluded neighborhood teens and
drifters.
One teenager was apprehendedshortly after in a nearby mall,
(04:35):
carrying a weapon of the samecaliber used in the murders.
But investigators laterdiscounted him, believing he was
trying to limit his own criminalexposure.
Over time, detective attentionturned inward to a local circle
of troubled youth.
In 1999, eight years after themurders, the authorities
arrested Morris Pierce, ForrestWellbourne, Michael Scott, and
(04:56):
Robert Springsteen.
The prosecution's case reliedheavily on confessions extracted
through intense interrogations.
Morris Pierce initiallyimplicated the others by name.
Scott and Springsteen wereconvicted, Springsteen even
placed on death row, whileWellbourne and Pierce were not
ultimately convicted.
But evidence was lacking.
Physical, forensic linksremained elusive.
(05:19):
DNA testing and forensic scienceat the time were not capable of
solidly tying them to the scene,and over time, serious doubts
surfaced about the legitimacy oftheir confessions.
By 2009, Scott and Springsteenwere exonerated, the convictions
overturned, citing lack ofreliable evidence and coerce
statements.
For decades, the case remainedcold.
(05:40):
One of the sore points in thisinvestigation was how the
confessions were obtained.
Critics have long contended theywere coerced under pressure and
long interrogations with leadingquestions and promises of
leniency.
Legal analysts later argued thatthose confessions were
unreliable.
The investigators prioritizedclosing the case over cautious
forensic certainty.
(06:01):
The city, the victims' families,activists all watched as
uncertainty grew.
The prosecution faced criticismtoo pressing a weak case,
prosecuting based on statementswithout strong forensic backing.
Over time, advances in DNA andforensic testing would
ultimately expose theinsufficiencies.
Even investigative journalistsplayed a role.
(06:22):
The Austin American statesmendevoted resources to covering
the case, pushing legal and lawenforcement authorities to keep
working and re-examine evidence.
Still, for years, the murderswere an open pain, a wound in
Austin's consciousness.
For many cold cases, the adventof DNA testing and improved
ballistics analysis have beengame changers.
(06:42):
The yogurt shop murders would beno exception.
In recent years, Austin's coldcase unit revisited the physical
evidence.
A.380 caliber cartridge found ina drain at the crime scene was
re-examined and matched to afirearm tied to a 1998 unsolved
case in Kentucky.
Critically, DNA obtained fromunder one victim's fingernails a
(07:03):
mark of her final struggle wasreanalyzed with modern
techniques.
Investigators obtained a partialYSTR profile male lineage DNA
that did not match any of thepreviously accused.
That profile allowedinvestigators to search
genealogical databases, leadingthem to Robert Eugene Braschers,
a man already known to lawenforcement for violent crimes
(07:24):
across several states.
Brashers died by suicide in 1999during a police standoff.
He was never charged in theyogurt shop case in life.
But the link grew stronger.
The shell casing from the Austincrime scene matched the same gun
Braschers used in the ultimateconfrontation.
On september twenty seventh,twenty twenty five, Austin
police publicly announced thatBrashers is their leading
(07:46):
suspect in the yogurt shopmurders.
Investigators and prosecutorsnow believe they have finally
identified the true perpetrator.
They are also pushing toformally exonerate those wrongly
convicted decades earlier.
This development has revivedmedia attention, public
interest, and grief.
For some families, it may bringlong sought closure.
For others, it's a starkreminder of the criminal justice
(08:09):
system's failures.
Even with this breakthrough,many questions remain
unanswered.
How was Brashers connected toAustin?
He had no obvious tie to thecity at the time of the murders.
No record showing he lived thereor had a direct link.
Did more than one person committhe crime?
Some early theories posited twoattackers.
Witnesses had seen two menacting suspiciously.
(08:31):
Could Brashers have had anaccomplice?
Was robbery the motive?
The official narrative oftensuspected a botched robbery, but
only a small amount around fiftydollars was reported missing
from the cash drawer.
The violence, sexual assault,and the attempt to destroy
evidence suggests something farmore personal or predatory.
Why the cover up ormisdirection?
(08:52):
For decades, the case wasmishandled, misdirected, or
stalled.
The false confessions, the rushto arrest local teens, the
failure to properly preserve andanalyze evidence all point to
systemic weaknesses.
Can we ever truly have closure?
Brashers is dead.
He cannot face trial.
The families cannot see a juryconvict him.
(09:12):
Some feel closure is incompletewhen the primary suspect cannot
be held accountable.
But acknowledging truth, layingto rest false convictions, and
honoring the memory of thosefour girls may be the closest
many can come.
This case left profound scars onAustin.
Parents no longer felt safesending their children out at
night.
Tension brewed betweencommunities and the police.
(09:34):
Over the years, activists pushedfor better cold case resources,
more forensic investment, andoversight in interrogations.
The wrongful convictions ofScott and Springsteen remain a
cautionary tale about power,coerced testimony, and the
perils of tunnel vision in lawenforcement.
The Austin American statesmanand local journalism continued
pushing.
(09:55):
The press became a watchdog,pressing cold case units,
publicizing evidence, and givingvoice to the families.
In 2025, the HBO docuceries, theyogurt shop murders, helped
reignite public interest andlikely influenced renewed
efforts in the case.
And now, with the newidentification of brashers, the
case stands as a testament.
(10:15):
Science can correct the course,but human cost lingers.
What happens now?
The city of Austin and itspolice department intend to
formalize the exoneration ofthose wrongly convicted.
Investigators will continuedigging into other crimes
connected to brashers to tracehis movements, possible
accomplices, and any record ofmotive.
Some hope remains that victims'families might find
(10:37):
reconciliation or closure.
Some may continue fighting forrecognition, memorials, or legal
acknowledgement.
The case is also a lesson forlaw enforcement nationwide.
Preserve evidence, use cautionin interrogations, treat cold
cases with respect andresources, and use new
technology proactively.
To the listeners, this case is areminder.
(10:58):
Behind every forensic sample,behind every legal proceeding,
there are lives the living andthe dead whose dignity must be
remembered.
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