AUSTIN (KXAN) — It has been nearly 34 years since four teenage girls were murdered at a north Austin yogurt shop. Some of their family members are returning to Austin to attend Monday’s news conference at Austin City Hall.
Austin Police will provide details leading up to the “significant breakthrough” in the cold case at 10 a.m. KXAN will livestream it in this article.
Police announced on Friday that they linked a suspect, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the 1991 quadruple murder after analyzing DNA and ballistic evidence. Brashers died by suicide in 1999.
On Dec. 6, 1991, Austin firefighters responded to a fire at the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” shop off Anderson Lane. What started as a structure fire call quickly evolved to a quadruple homicide case, as the bodies of the four girls were found in the building.
They were identified as Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; Jennifer Harbison, 17; and Harbison’s younger sister, Sarah, 15.
Attending the conference will be Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, Forensic Science Director Dr. Dana Kadavy, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza and Mindy Montford from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
According to APD, Barbara Wilson, mother of Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, James and Sonora Thomas, father and sister of Eliza Thomas, and Angie and Shawn Ayers, sister-in-law and brother of Amy Ayers, will attend the news conference.
“We are incredibly grateful for the Austin Police Department and the outpouring of support from the community,” the Harbison family told KXAN on Sunday. “We look forward to saying more at [Monday’s] press conference.”
Saturday night, KXAN visited the memorial spot honoring the victims and saw Austinites stopping by to pay their respects. Since then, the memorial has grown with more people showing up to pay their respects.