Robert Eugene Brashers
Updated: 5/30/2026, 12:58:24 AM Wikipedia source
Robert Eugene Brashers (March 13, 1958 – January 19, 1999) was an American serial killer and mass murderer who committed at least eight murders in Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas between 1990 and 1998. During his lifetime, Brashers was convicted of attempted murder for shooting a woman in 1985, as well as for various other offenses stemming from a 1992 case in which he stole a vehicle, but was not identified as a suspect in any of his murders and remained in relative obscurity. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1999 to avoid arrest for an unrelated crime after a standoff with police. Decades after his death, due to advances in investigative genetic genealogy, Brashers was tied to a series of extremely violent crimes. Investigators linked him to several unsolved rapes and murders committed against women and young girls. In 2025 police in Austin, Texas, identified Brashers as the perpetrator in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders, in which four teenaged girls were murdered.
Infobox
Tables
| Name | Age | Date | Location | Details |
| Michelle Wilkerson | 24 | November 22, 1985 | Fort Pierce, Florida | Attempted murder |
| Genevieve Zitricki | 28 | April 5, 1990 | Greenville, South Carolina | Murder, rape |
| Amy Ayers | 13 | December 6, 1991 | Austin, Texas | Murder, rape |
| Eliza Thomas | 17 | |||
| Jennifer Harbison | 17 | |||
| Sarah Harbison | 15 | |||
| Unnamed female and four family members | 14 (female victim), various ages (family) | March 11, 1997 | Memphis, Tennessee | Rape (female), hostage-taking (family) |
| Megan Scherer | 12 | March 28, 1998 | Portageville, Missouri | Murder, rape |
| Sherri Scherer | 38 | Murder | ||
| Unnamed female | 25 | Dyersburg, Tennessee | Attempted assault | |
| Linda Marie Rutledge | 43 | November 7, 1998 | Lexington, Kentucky | Murder, rape |
| Brashers' family members | Various ages | January 13, 1999 | Kennett, Missouri | Hostage-taking |
References
- "Bullet casing in drain at Texas yogurt shop links serial killer to the infamous murders, says original investigator"2025https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-identified-in-infamous-texas-yogurt-shop-murder-case-48-hours/
- "What to know about new suspect identified in Texas' infamous yogurt shop killings"2025https://apnews.com/article/austin-yogurt-shop-1991-murders-solved-fc86a1997a8895224f6cd213be3f4321
- Fulton Sun2020https://www.fultonsun.com/news/2020/nov/19/fulton-resident-reminisces-homicide-investigation/
- Paragould Daily Press1999https://www.newspapers.com/article/paragould-daily-press-robert-yogurt-sho/181844303/
- Greenville Journal2018https://greenvillejournal.com/news/greenville-police-murderer-in-28-year-old-cold-case-identified/
- KFVS-TV2026https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/05/06/chasing-ghost-chapter-ten-no-set-path/
- Alabama Media Group2025https://www.al.com/crime/2025/11/alabama-woman-horrified-to-learn-her-all-american-father-was-a-serial-killer-there-may-be-more-victims.html
- KXAN-TV2025https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/seventh-layer-of-hades-daughter-of-yogurt-shop-murders-suspect-reacts-to-breakthrough-in-case/
- The Palm Beach Post1985https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31099977/robert-brashers-mo-from-1985/
- Miami Herald1985https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54853022/robert-brashers-florida-crime-1985/
- The Greenville News2018https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/05/greenville-cold-case-zitricki-murder-first-series-murders-across-three-states/1532153002/
- The Greenville News2017https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville-roots/2017/04/24/jenny-zitricki-unsolved-homicide/100851876/