In a remarkable act of posthumous bravery, a 13-year-old girl has helped solve her own murder more than three decades after the crime, finally bringing answers to one of Texas's most infamous cold cases.
The Final Fight That Provided The Key
The tragic case, known as the 'Yogurt Shop Murders', saw four teenagers brutally killed on December 6, 1991, inside an 'I Can't Believe It's Not Yogurt' store in Austin, Texas. The victims were Amy Ayers, 13, Sarah Harbison, 15, and Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas, both 17. For 34 years, their families were left with agonising questions and no justice.
That changed on September 26, 2025, when authorities confirmed the killer's identity. The breakthrough came from DNA evidence found under Amy Ayers's fingernails, collected as she fought desperately for her life. Her brother, Shawn Ayers, 52, from Fort Worth, expressed immense pride in her courage. "I'm pretty proud of her for being 13 years old and still having the will to fight for your life. That's pretty remarkable," he said.
Shawn revealed the moment the family learned the truth turned their world upside down. "Everything we thought for 34 years kind of got turned on its head within a sentence," he admitted, emphasising that without Amy's struggle, "this case would never have been solved."
A Serial Killer Identified
The forensic evidence led investigators to Robert Eugene Brashers, a serial killer who died by suicide in 1999 during a standoff with police. This identification brought a shocking resolution to a case that had seen multiple wrongful accusations.
In 1999, four men—Maurice Pierce, Forrest Welborn, Robert Springsteen, and Michael Scott—were arrested and charged. Charges against Pierce and Welborn were dropped, while Springsteen and Scott were convicted. However, their convictions were later overturned, and they were released on bond on June 24, 2009.
Amy's sister-in-law, Angie Ayers, 49, described being shown the conclusive evidence. Law enforcement presented a folder "so that we could see it for proof," she explained, noting there were "several items that they could 100% say that this individual had murdered the girls."
A Bittersweet Closure and a Legacy of Advocacy
While the identification provides answers, the family insists true closure remains elusive. "There will never be closure," Angie stated, describing the solved case as merely "a chapter that's closed." Shawn echoed this, acknowledging that while the major question of 'who' is answered, the painful 'why' will never be satisfied.
Initially, the family felt robbed of justice by Brashers's suicide. However, Angie shared that Amy's mother offered a perspective that brought some peace: "If it needed to happen in order to keep other people safe and no one else suffered, then I'm okay with that... He cannot hurt anybody else."
The Ayers family is now exploring legal avenues to have Brashers officially declared guilty posthumously. Furthermore, they are channelling their grief into action, vowing to support other families facing unsolved cases through advocacy work. They were instrumental in the passage of the Homicide Victims' Families' Rights Act and plan to continue this mission.
"We do not want Amy's death to go unheard," Angie vowed. "We want to help other cold case victims and their families. They deserve it, and we will be there if we can every step of the way." In a final twist, the DNA from Amy's case has also reportedly led to a breakthrough in a separate investigation in Kentucky, proving her bravery continues to have a profound impact.
