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Back on a Friday in December 1991, Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas, both seventeen years old, were closing up at the frozen yogurt shop where they were employed. Staying behind for a pickup were Jennifer's sister, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, and her friend, Amy Ayers, who was 13.

Shortly before the clock struck twelve, a inferno at the store summoned first responders, who uncovered the tragedy: the four girls had been tied up, murdered, and showed indicators of assault. The configration eliminated nearly all evidence, aside from a bullet casing that had ended up in a drain and tiny traces of DNA, among them evidence found in her nail scrapings.

The Murders That Rocked Austin

The yogurt shop murders traumatized the community in Austin and evolved into one of the best-known cold cases in America. Over many years of dead ends and wrongful convictions, the killings eventually contributed to a U.S. law enacted in recent years that enables victims' families to request dormant cases to be reopened.

Yet the murders remained unsolved for over three decades – before this development.

Key Development

Law enforcement officials announced on this past Monday a "significant breakthrough" made possible by modern methods in ballistics and genetic testing, announced the local leader at a news briefing.

Genetic matches point to Robert Eugene Brashers, who was named following his demise as a multiple murderer. More murders are likely to be linked to him as forensic technology evolve further and broadly applied.

"The single piece of proof recovered from the crime scene corresponds directly to him," explained the top law enforcement officer.

The case remains open, but this represents a "significant advance", and the suspect is thought to be the sole perpetrator, police confirmed.

Closure for Loved Ones

A family member, Sonora, shared that her mind was split after her sister was murdered.

"One part of my consciousness has been yelling, 'What took place to my sister?', and the remaining part kept repeating, 'I'll never learn the truth. I'll pass away without answers, and I have to be OK with that,'" she recalled.

When she learned about this development in the investigation, "both sides of my mind began merging," she noted.

"Finally I comprehend the truth, and that does ease my pain."

Mistaken Arrests Corrected

The breakthrough doesn't just bring peace to the grieving families; it also completely clears two individuals, teenagers at the time, who insisted they were coerced into giving false statements.

Robert Springsteen, who was 17 at the time of the killings, was sentenced to death, and Scott, aged 15 at the time, was given life imprisonment. The two stated they gave confessions after extended questioning in the year 1999. In the following decade, the two were freed after their guilty findings were overturned due to legal changes on admissions lacking physical evidence.

Prosecutors abandoned the prosecution against Springsteen and Scott in the same period after a genetic test, referred to as Y-STR, indicated neither suspect aligned against the samples recovered from the yogurt shop.

Scientific Breakthrough

The Y-STR profile – suggesting an mystery suspect – would ultimately be the key in cracking the investigation. In recent years, the profile was sent for reanalysis because of technological advancements – but a national search to other police departments found no matches.

During the summer, the lead detective working on the investigation in 2022, came up with a thought. It had been since the ballistics from the shell casing had been submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network – and in the years since, the system had been significantly improved.

"The software has improved dramatically. Actually, we're using 3D stuff now," he stated at the media briefing.

The system identified a link. An unsolved murder in the state of Kentucky, with a similar modus operandi, had the matching variety of cartridge. Investigators and a colleague met with the law enforcement there, who are actively pursuing their unidentified investigation – which involves processing samples from a rape kit.

Linking Multiple Crimes

The new lead prompted further inquiry. Might there exist further clues that might correspond to cases in other states? He recalled instantly of the genetic testing – but there was a challenge. The national DNA registry is the federal genetic registry for investigators, but the evidence from Austin was not complete enough and scarce to enter.

"I said, well, time has passed. More labs are performing these tests. Registries are growing. We should conduct a national inquiry again," the detective said.

He distributed the long-standing Y-STR results to investigative units around the country, instructing them to review individually it to their local systems.

They found another match. The DNA pattern matched perfectly with a sample from another state – a homicide from 1990 that was closed with help from a DNA firm and a well-known researcher in recent years.

Building a Family Tree

The genealogist developed a genealogical chart for the murderer from that case and found a kinship connection whose genetic material pointed to a close tie – almost certainly a close relative. A magistrate approved that the deceased individual be removed from burial, and his genetic material aligned against the crime scene sample.

Usually, the genealogist is can move on from solved cases in order to work on the next one.

"Yet I have {not been