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During the 6th of December, 1991, Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas, each aged 17, were wrapping up at the yogurt store where they worked. Remaining for a lift were Jennifer’s younger sister, Sarah Harbison, aged 15, and Sarah’s friend, 13-year-old Amy Ayers.

Just before midnight, a blaze at the store summoned emergency crews, who found a horrific scene: the four girls had been bound, murdered, and showed indicators of assault. The fire destroyed nearly all evidence, with the exception of a bullet casing that had ended up in a drain and tiny traces of genetic material, among them evidence under Ayers’ fingernails.

The Crime That Stunned Texas

These horrific killings traumatized the Texas capital and became one of the best-known unsolved mysteries in America. After years of dead ends and mistaken arrests, the killings ultimately led to a U.S. law enacted in the year 2022 that enables families of the deceased to request dormant cases to be reviewed.

However the crimes continued to baffle investigators for nearly 34 years – until now.

Significant Progress

Police authorities disclosed on this past Monday a "significant breakthrough" driven by modern methods in firearms analysis and genetic testing, announced the Austin mayor at a press conference.

Genetic matches suggest Robert Eugene Brashers, who was confirmed following his demise as a serial killer. More murders could be linked to him as forensic technology become more advanced and widespread.

"The sole forensic clue located at the yogurt shop corresponds directly to him," stated the top law enforcement officer.

This investigation isn't closed yet, but this represents a "huge leap", and Brashers is believed to be the only attacker, officials said.

Closure for Loved Ones

Eliza's sister, Sonora Thomas, shared that her psyche was fractured when her sister was murdered.

"One half of my consciousness has been demanding, 'What took place to my sister?', and the other part kept repeating, 'I will never know. I will die not knowing, and I must accept that,'" she recalled.

When she learned about this breakthrough in the investigation, "both sides of my brain began merging," she explained.

"I know now the truth, and that does ease my pain."

Wrongful Convictions Overturned

The breakthrough not only bring peace to the loved ones; it also definitively absolves two individuals, minors when arrested, who claimed they were coerced into giving false statements.

Robert Springsteen, then 17 years old during the crime, was sent to death row, and Michael Scott, aged 15 at the time, was sentenced to life. Each defendant asserted they only confessed after hours-long interrogations in 1999. In 2009, the two were released after their verdicts were overturned due to court rulings on statements absent tangible proof.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against the defendants in the same period after a genetic test, known as Y-STR, indicated neither individual corresponded against the DNA samples left at the crime scene.

Scientific Breakthrough

The Y-STR profile – suggesting an mystery suspect – would in time be the decisive factor in cracking the investigation. In 2018, the profile was sent for reanalysis because of technological advancements – but a nationwide inquiry to law enforcement agencies returned no genetic matches.

In June, Daniel Jackson working on the investigation in recently, had an idea. It had been since the firearms evidence from the cartridge had been uploaded to the NIBIN database – and in that time, the database had been significantly improved.

"The technology has improved dramatically. Actually, we're dealing with 3D stuff now," the detective said at the news event.

The system identified a link. An unsolved murder in the state of Kentucky, with a identical pattern, had the identical kind of cartridge. The detective and a colleague spoke to the local investigators, who are continuing to investigate their open file – and are processing samples from a forensic kit.

Building a Case

The new lead got Jackson thinking. Could there be further clues that might link with cases in other states? He recalled instantly of the DNA profile – but there was a problem. The Codis database is the countrywide system for investigators, but the evidence from Austin was insufficiently intact and limited to submit.

"I thought, well, several years have gone by. Additional facilities are conducting this analysis. Systems are expanding. We should conduct a countrywide check again," the detective stated.

He distributed the historic DNA data to law enforcement agencies across the United States, asking them to review individually it to their internal records.

There was another hit. The genetic signature matched perfectly with a genetic evidence from a city in South Carolina – a homicide from 1990 that was solved with assistance from forensic experts and an expert in genetic genealogy in recent years.

Identifying the Killer

The expert built a ancestry profile for the murderer from that case and found a kinship connection whose biological evidence indicated a direct relationship – almost certainly a brother or sister. A magistrate authorized that the suspect's remains be removed from burial, and his biological samples aligned against the forensic proof from Austin.

Typically, she is puts behind her solved cases in order to concentrate on the next one.

"But I have {not been