Austin Yogurt Shop Murders: Detective Keeps 23-Year Promise After Killer Identified
AUSTIN, TEXAS – After more than three decades, the detective who vowed to wear a specific shirt when the perpetrator of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders was identified finally fulfilled his promise. Retired Austin police Department (APD) Detective Dennis Cowan donned a Hawaiian shirt on Friday, October 5, 2018, the day DNA evidence linked robert Brashers to the brutal slayings of four teenage girls – Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, Sarah Walker, adn Jennifer Harbison.
The identification of brashers, who died by suicide in 1999, closes a chapter on one of Austin’s most haunting cold cases and delivers a measure of closure to the victims’ families and a community long gripped by grief and unanswered questions. Cowan’s symbolic gesture, maintained for 23 years, underscores the enduring dedication of law enforcement and the power of advancements in forensic technology.
Brashers’ connection to the Austin murders emerged as investigators re-examined DNA evidence from the 1991 crime scene and compared it to samples obtained from Brashers’ remains. The Missouri State Highway Patrol, investigating a series of crimes committed by Brashers across multiple states, made the crucial link. Authorities confirmed Brashers was also responsible for the 1990 rape and murder of Genevieve zitricki in Greenville, South Carolina; the 1997 rape of a 14-year-old girl in Memphis, Tennessee; and the 1998 rape and murder of sherri Scherer, 38, and her daughter Megan, 12, in Portageville, Missouri. He also faced charges in Florida for a 1985 shooting.
The four girls were abducted from the I Can’t Believe It’s yogurt! shop in North Austin on December 13, 1991, and their bodies were found days later in a rural area of Bastrop County. The case remained unsolved for decades, despite numerous leads and a massive inquiry.
Brashers died on january 19, 1999, after shooting himself in the head during a standoff with police in Missouri, following a six-day hospitalization. He had been hiding in a motel with his family before releasing them and taking his own life.
“This has been a long time coming,” Cowan told the Austin American-Statesman. “I made a promise to myself, and I kept it.”
