AUSTIN, Texas – A decades-old coldโ case has been โคdramatically altered with the identification ofโ Robert โขEugene Brashersโ as a suspect in the 1991 Austin “Yogurt Shopโฃ Murders.” New โDNA evidence links Brashers not only to the deaths of four teenage girls in Austin, but also to a string of violent crimes across multiple states.
Heithโ Compte,โ a 20-year Austin resident, expressed โrelief at the development. “ItS aโข good thing. Like finally. At least they know who did it,but I wish they knew who did it a long,long time ago,” Compte said.
investigators have connected brashers’ DNA to the 1990 death of aโ woman in South Carolina, aโ 1997 rape in Memphis, Tennessee, and the โ1998 murders โof a mother โคand daughter in Portageville, Missouri, according to reporting fromโข the Associated Press.
Brashers died by โฃsuicide in 1999 during a standoffโ with police. “I’m kind of glad. Hopefully all that stuff broke โhis heart,” Compte added.
RELATED COVERAGE:New suspect identified in โ1991 Austin yogurt shop murders case
Austinโฃ police are scheduled to release โคfurther details on Monday โregarding the DNA discovery and theโ investigation’s โฃprogress.โฃ The revelation has prompted questions from residents like Courtney Ely, who wonders about the timeline. “I think everyone’s curious about who wasโฃ this person,and how did they get โขaway with this for so long? Why โdidn’t they figure out whatโ the DNA match โฃwas sooner?” she said.