True Crime Friday: Robert Eugene Brashers, the Yogurt Shop Murders Serial Killer

This case was an unsolved murder of four young girls over two decades. Their bodies were found inside the I Can’t Believe This Is Yogurt (TCBY) shop in Austin, Texas. Because of this case many lives were lost, and many lives were ruined because the police had tunnel vision and did not think they had a serial killer in their mist. The identity of the serial killer was done through Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing in 2025 finally revealing Robert Eugene Brashers as the lone killer.

Robert Eugene Brashers was born March 13, 1958. He was a serial killer, burglar and rapist. He committed at least eight murders between the years 1990 and 1998 in the states of Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas. He committed rapes and robberies in other states. Sadly, Brashier was not a suspect in any of the murders that he committed. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1999 to avoid an arrest for an unrelated crime after a standoff with authorities.

The Early Childhood of Robert Eugene Brashers

Not much is known about Brashers’ childhood. He was born in Newport News, Virginia to Doulis and Nancy Brashers. He was the youngest of their three children. The family moved to Huntsville, Alabama where he spent the rest of his teenaged years. While a teenager he was not known to use drugs or alcohol. When he turned eighteen, he enlisted in the Army and later the Navy. His daughter Debra was born in 1991. During this time Brashers has amassed a host of crimes that police were aware of but did not link back to him.

The Victims of Robert Eugene Brashers

• Genevieve "Jenny" Zitricki, 28
• Sherri Schere, 38
• Megan Schere, 12
• Unknown Victim in Kentucky, 28
• Amy Ayers, 13
• Eliza Thomas, 17
• Jennifer Harbison, 17
• Sarah Harbison, 17

The Survivors of Robert Eugene Brashers

• Michelle Wilkerson
• Unknown Victim, 25
• Unknown Victim, 14
• Chelle Wilkerson, 24
• Maurice Pierce
• Robert Springsteen
• Michael Scott
• Forrest Welborn.

The TCBY Task Force interrogated four suspects that had been identified as possibly being involved, Maurice Pierce, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, and Forrest Welborn. During the interrogations, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott confessed and both implicated each other in the murders. Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce did not confess. They were all arrested for murders they did not commit in 1999. Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen were found guilty based on turning on each other. Michael Scott received life without parole. Robert Springsteen received the death penalty. Forrest Welborn was not indicted. The charges against Maurice Pierce were eventually dropped. There was not any evidence at the scene was ever linked to any of the men. It was later discovered that the police forced the confessions out of the men. The men were afraid for their lives and gave false confessions. These men’s lives were ruined by authorities and one of them was later killed by a police officer when he ran away from him doing a traffic stop and foot chase.

Lady Justice

Robert Eugene Brashers died January 19, 1999, from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. On September 26, 2025, the Austin Police Department announced that it had identified Brashers as the perpetrator of the Yogurt Shop Murders that plagued Texas for decades. The murders of four innocent girls ruined the lives of four innocent men and their families while a serial killer lived his life freely. Debra Brasher said her dad was a wonderful father. She stated her mother knew about her dad’s criminal past because the children were not allowed to call him by his real name when they were out in public.

References

• Wikipedia - Robert Eugene Brashers
• Who is Robert Eugene Brashers, the serial killer linked to Austin's yogurt shop murders?
• Departments Police I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Murders I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Murders