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On the 6th of December, 1991, Jennifer Harbison and her coworker Eliza Thomas, both seventeen years old, were wrapping up at the dessert shop where they were employed. Remaining for a lift were Jennifer's sister, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, and Sarah’s friend, Amy Ayers, who was 13.

Moments before 12 AM, a blaze at the store attracted first responders, who found a horrific scene: the four girls had been restrained, killed, and showed indicators of assault. The configration destroyed most of the forensic clues, aside from a shell casing that had ended up in a drain and trace amounts of biological evidence, including traces found in her nail scrapings.

The Murders That Rocked Austin

The yogurt shop murders deeply affected the city of Austin and were branded as one of the most infamous cold cases in the nation. After years of false leads and mistaken arrests, the homicides eventually contributed to national legislation enacted in 2022 that enables victims' families to petition unsolved investigations to be reinvestigated.

Yet the murders remained unsolved for nearly 34 years – until now.

Key Development

Investigators revealed on recently a "major development" driven by new technology in ballistics and DNA analysis, stated the local leader at a media event.

Genetic matches point to Robert Eugene Brashers, who was identified after his death as a serial killer. Additional killings could be linked to him as genetic testing become more advanced and widespread.

"The single piece of proof located at that scene has been matched to him," said the head of police.

The murders remains open, but this is a "major step", and the suspect is thought to be the sole perpetrator, police confirmed.

Closure for Loved Ones

The sister of Eliza Thomas, a therapist, expressed that her mind was split when Eliza was killed.

"One part of my consciousness has been yelling, 'What took place to my sister?', and the other half kept saying, 'I'll never learn the truth. I'll pass away without answers, and I must accept that,'" she said.

When she learned about this development in the case, "the conflicting thoughts of my thinking began merging," she noted.

"I know now the events, and that relieves my pain."

Wrongful Convictions Overturned

The breakthrough not only bring resolution to the victims' families; it also completely clears two individuals, minors when arrested, who maintained they were pressured into giving false statements.

Springsteen, who was 17 during the crime, was sentenced to death, and Scott, a 15-year-old then, was received a life sentence. Both men asserted they only confessed following extended questioning in 1999. In 2009, the two were released after their guilty findings were overturned due to court rulings on statements without physical evidence.

The district attorney's office abandoned the case against the defendants in the same period after a DNA analysis, called Y-STR, revealed neither man matched against the samples recovered from the crime scene.

Scientific Breakthrough

The DNA signature – indicating an mystery suspect – would eventually be the crucial element in resolving the murders. In recent years, the DNA profile was reexamined because of scientific progress – but a nationwide inquiry to law enforcement agencies yielded no results.

This past June, an investigator assigned to the investigation in recently, considered a new approach. It had been since the bullet casings from the cartridge had been entered to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network – and in the years since, the system had been significantly improved.

"The system has gotten so much better. Actually, we're talking like 3D stuff now," the detective said at the press conference.

There was a hit. An open homicide case in the state of Kentucky, with a comparable method, had the matching variety of bullet casing. Investigators and another official spoke to the law enforcement there, who are continuing to investigate their unnamed case – and are analyzing evidence from a forensic kit.

Linking Multiple Crimes

This development made the detective wonder. Was there further clues that might correspond to crimes in different locations? He recalled instantly of the genetic testing – but there was a problem. The national DNA registry is the countrywide system for police, but the genetic material from the scene was too fragmented and limited to enter.

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

He circulated the years-old Y-STR results to police departments across the United States, requesting them to check by hand it to their internal records.

They found another match. The genetic signature matched perfectly with a sample from another state – a 1990 murder that was closed with help from a DNA firm and an expert in genetic genealogy in 2018.

Genetic Genealogy Success

The researcher created a family tree for the murderer from that case and identified a kinship connection whose genetic material suggested a close tie – likely a sibling. A judge authorized that the suspect's remains be removed from burial, and his genetic material matched against the evidence from the yogurt shop.

Usually, this expert is puts behind her solved cases in order to focus on the next one.

"However I have {not been