{{Short description|American serial killer and rapist (1958–1999)}} {{Use American English|date=October 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox serial killer | name = Robert Eugene Brashers | image = RobertBrashers.jpg | image_size = | caption = [[Driver's license]] photo of Brashers, {{circa}} 1997 | alt = | other_names = "Mr. Maroon"<br>Jack Anthony McClelland<br>Gary Dean Brashers | birth_date = {{Birth date|1958|03|13}} | birth_place = [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1999|01|19|1958|03|13}} | death_place = [[Kennett, Missouri|Kennett]], [[Missouri]], U.S. | children = 1 | conviction = '''Florida'''<br>Attempted first-degree murder<br>Aggravated battery<br>Using a firearm during the commission of a crime<br>'''Georgia'''<br>Grand theft auto<br>Impersonating a police officer | sentence = '''Florida'''<br>12 years imprisonment (served 3.5)<br>'''Georgia'''<br>5 years imprisonment | criminal_status = Deceased | victims = At least 19 victims of various violent crimes | fatalities = 8+ | injuries = 2+ | beginyear = 1985 | endyear = 1998 | country = United States | states = [[Florida]], [[Kentucky]], [[Missouri]], [[South Carolina]], [[Tennessee]], [[Texas]] | apprehended = 1986–1989, 1992–1997 | imprisoned = }} '''Robert Eugene Brashers''' (March 13, 1958 – January 19, 1999) was an American [[serial killer]] and [[Mass murder|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.<ref name="CBSNews9.26.25">{{Cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suspect-identified-in-infamous-texas-yogurt-shop-murder-case-48-hours/ |title=Bullet casing in drain at Texas yogurt shop links serial killer to the infamous murders, says original investigator |date=September 26, 2025 |last=Slifer |first=Stephanie|publisher=[[CBS News]]|access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref><ref name="AP9.29.25">{{Cite web|title=What to know about new suspect identified in Texas' infamous yogurt shop killings |url=https://apnews.com/article/austin-yogurt-shop-1991-murders-solved-fc86a1997a8895224f6cd213be3f4321|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|language=en-US|url-status=live|date=September 29, 2025|access-date=October 3, 2025|archive-date=October 3, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20251003105152/https://apnews.com/article/austin-yogurt-shop-1991-murders-solved-fc86a1997a8895224f6cd213be3f4321}}</ref>
==Personal life== Robert Eugene Brashers was born on March 13, 1958, in [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]], [[Virginia]], the youngest of four children born to Doulis and Nellie Brashers.<ref name="rem">{{Cite web |date=November 19, 2020 |title=Fulton resident reminisces on homicide investigation |url=https://www.fultonsun.com/news/2020/nov/19/fulton-resident-reminisces-homicide-investigation/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112038/https://www.fultonsun.com/news/2020/nov/19/fulton-resident-reminisces-homicide-investigation/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=Fulton Sun}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 15, 1999 |title=Robert Brashers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/paragould-daily-press-robert-yogurt-sho/181844303/ |work=Paragould Daily Press |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> When he was young, Brashers' family moved to [[Huntsville, Alabama|Huntsville]], [[Alabama]], where he spent his childhood and youth.<ref name="mu">{{Cite web |last=Ariel Gilreath |date=October 5, 2018 |title=Murderer in 28-year-old cold case identified through genealogy service |url=https://greenvillejournal.com/news/greenville-police-murderer-in-28-year-old-cold-case-identified/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112128/https://greenvillejournal.com/news/greenville-police-murderer-in-28-year-old-cold-case-identified/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=Greenville Journal}}</ref> Reportedly, Brashers committed no offenses as a teenager and did not engage in any [[substance abuse]]. Brashers attended [[S. R. Butler High School]] in Huntsville and [[John Adams High School (Indiana)|John Adams High School]] in [[South Bend, Indiana]].<ref name="abj">{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=Chasing a Ghost: Chapter Ten - No Set Path |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/05/06/chasing-ghost-chapter-ten-no-set-path/ |access-date=May 8, 2026 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=May 6, 2026}}</ref> After graduating high school, he enlisted in the [[United States Army]]; he served in the [[United States Navy]] for about 10 months before being [[Military discharge|discharged]] due to [[personality disorders]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Carol|title=Alabama Woman Horrified to Learn Her 'All-American Father' was a Serial Siller: 'There May Be More Victims' |date=November 11, 2025 |url=https://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 |access-date=January 14, 2025|work=[[List of Advance subsidiaries#Alabama Media Group|Alabama Media Group]]}}</ref><ref name="abj">{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=Chasing a Ghost: Chapter Ten - No Set Path |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/05/06/chasing-ghost-chapter-ten-no-set-path/ |access-date=May 8, 2026 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=May 6, 2026}}</ref>
In the early 1980s, Brashers moved to [[Louisiana]], settling in [[New Orleans]], but by the mid-1980s he moved again to [[Fort Myers, Florida|Fort Myers]], [[Florida]]. He has a daughter born in 1991.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Remadna |first1=Nabil |last2=Torres |first2=Jose |title='Seventh layer of Hades': Daughter of Yogurt Shop Murders suspect reacts to breakthrough in case |url=https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/seventh-layer-of-hades-daughter-of-yogurt-shop-murders-suspect-reacts-to-breakthrough-in-case/ |access-date=September 28, 2025 |work=[[KXAN-TV]] |date=September 26, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250928141914/https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/seventh-layer-of-hades-daughter-of-yogurt-shop-murders-suspect-reacts-to-breakthrough-in-case/ |archive-date=September 28, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Attempted murder of Michelle Wilkerson== On November 22, 1985, Brashers was arrested in [[Port St. Lucie, Florida]], on charges of assaulting a 24-year-old woman named Michelle Wilkerson.<ref name="esc">{{Cite web |last=Rodger Mullen |date=November 24, 1985 |title=Woman Shot in Head Escapes Her Attacker |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31099977/robert-brashers-mo-from-1985/ |website=[[The Palm Beach Post]] |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> According to investigators, on November 22, Brashers met Wilkerson in [[Fort Pierce, Florida|Fort Pierce]] and convinced her to accompany him to a bar. After spending their evening there, he took Wilkerson to a dark alleyway near a citrus grove, where, after drinking six [[Budweiser]]s together, he attempted to make sexual advances toward her.<ref name="wo">{{Cite web |first=Joe |last=Crankshaw |date=November 23, 1985 |title=Police: Woman is shot after sex argument |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54853022/robert-brashers-florida-crime-1985/ |website=[[Miami Herald]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>
Wilkerson refused and attempted to leave Brashers' vehicle, after which a fight ensued between the pair, during which Brashers shot Wilkerson twice in the neck and head.<ref name=esc/> Despite the severity of her injuries, Wilkerson remained conscious, managed to leave the car, and hid in a culvert under the road. Having lost track of her, Brashers went to the beach and threw his gun into the sea.<ref name=wo/> He then attempted to leave, but his truck got stuck in the sand, causing him to start walking the streets in search of help. In the meantime, Wilkerson made her way to a nearby apartment building, where she received medical attention. Before she was driven to Lawnwood Hospital, she described her assailant and his car in detail to police officers.<ref name=esc/>
A few minutes later, Brashers was apprehended while wandering the beach and charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and using a firearm during the commission of a crime. He was convicted the following year and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. Under more lenient laws in place at the time of his conviction, Brashers was released from prison for good conduct on May 4, 1989.<ref name="cold">{{Cite web |first1=Daniel J. |last1=Gross |first2=Gabe |last2=Cavallaro |first3=Elizabeth |last3=LaFleur |date=October 5, 2018 |title=Greenville cold case solved: Jenny Zitricki killed by serial killer Robert Brashers in 1990, police say |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/05/greenville-cold-case-zitricki-murder-first-series-murders-across-three-states/1532153002/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115111951/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/05/greenville-cold-case-zitricki-murder-first-series-murders-across-three-states/1532153002/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=[[The Greenville News]]}}</ref>
==Post-release crimes and posthumous exposures== After his release, Brashers moved between the states of South Carolina, [[Tennessee]], and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], often changing his place of residence. In 2018, genealogist [[CeCe Moore]] from [[Parabon NanoLabs]] was able to identify Brashers through investigative genetic genealogy as a suspect in three murders and several rapes dating back to 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Judith |last=Bainbridge |date=April 24, 2017 |title=DNA didn't help solve Jenny Zitricki homicide |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville-roots/2017/04/24/jenny-zitricki-unsolved-homicide/100851876/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112112/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/local/greenville-roots/2017/04/24/jenny-zitricki-unsolved-homicide/100851876/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=The Greenville News}}</ref> In response, prosecutors from [[New Madrid County, Missouri|New Madrid County]] and [[Pemiscot County, Missouri]], filed a motion to exhume his remains and conducted additional testing. On September 27, 2018, the casket containing Brashers' remains was exhumed from the cemetery in Paragould, Arkansas, and DNA was extracted from the bones.<ref name=cold/>
DNA testing revealed that his genetic profile was a perfect match for the murderer of 28-year-old Genevieve "Jenny" Zitricki, who had been bludgeoned, raped, and strangled with pantyhose at her apartment in [[Greenville, South Carolina]], on April 5, 1990.<ref name=cold/> At the time, it had been established that after murdering her in the bedroom, the killer had dragged her body into a bathtub and submerged it before writing "don't fuck with my family" on the bathroom's mirror. A [[DNA sample]] belonging to the perpetrator was isolated in 1995 and then uploaded to [[CODIS]]. Investigators were able to establish that at the time of Zitricki's murder, Brashers was living in Greenville, not far away from her home.<ref name=mu/>
===1991 Austin yogurt shop murders=== {{Main|1991 Austin yogurt shop murders}} On the night of December 6, 1991, Brashers tied up and murdered four teenage girls, two of whom were employees, at an [[I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!]] shop in [[Austin, Texas]] before the bodies and interior were set on fire.<ref name="CBSNews9.26.25" /><ref name=AP9.29.25/> At least three of the victims were raped.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="com" /><ref name="KXAN.DNA">{{Cite web |last1=Henrikson |first1=Eric |title=New DNA technology key to solving 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders |url=https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/how-new-dna-tech-solved-the-yogurt-shop-murders/ |publisher=[[KXAN-TV]] |access-date=March 21, 2026 |date=September 29, 2025}}</ref> On September 26, 2025, the Austin Police Department announced that it had identified Brashers as the perpetrator of the [[1991 Austin yogurt shop murders]].
A [[Y-STR]] DNA profile was developed from vaginal swabs from three of the victims. The profile did not match any of the previous suspects; however, Brashers' Y-STR DNA profile matched. Further DNA testing revealed Brashers matched the [[STR analysis#Forensic uses|autosomal STR]] profile found under the fingernails of the youngest victim.<ref name="KXAN.DNA" /> Testing of a bullet casing found in a drain at the crime scene was consistent with patterns produced by the gun Brashers used to commit suicide in a standoff with police in 1999.<ref name=CBSNews9.26.25/><ref name=AP9.29.25/> In December 2025, the Travis County District Attorney's office filed a motion to exonerate four men who had previously been accused of committing the murders after the evidence pointing to Brashers as the perpetrator.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-12-12 |title=The Austin, Texas, yogurt shop murders: Families, investigators remain haunted by unsolved case – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-yogurt-shop-murders-austin-texas-families-investigators-haunted-by-unsolved-case/ |access-date=2025-12-15 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> On December 8, 1991, less than 48 hours after the Austin yogurt shop murders, Brashers was stopped by an [[United States Border Patrol]] agent at an [[United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints|interior checkpoint]] while travelling westbound on [[Interstate 10]] between [[El Paso, Texas]] and [[Las Cruces, New Mexico]]. During the checkpoint stop, it was discovered that Brashers was driving a truck that had been reported stolen in [[Marietta, Georgia]] on November 29. While searching the stolen vehicle, the Border Patrol agent found a [[.380 ACP|.380]] [[AMT Backup]], the same make and model of firearm that had been used in the yogurt shop murders. After the discovery of the weapon, Brashers fled in the vehicle for about a mile before surrendering to law enforcement. He was charged with auto theft and felon in possession of a firearm. The gun was later released to Brashers' father after sentencing and was subsequently used by Brashers in the November 1998 murder of Linda Rutledge and in his suicide in January 1999.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Austin police explain how DNA analysis solved 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders |url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/crime/austin-police-press-conference-yogurt-shop-murders/269-bda299fb-53f0-4991-b8aa-02ac20535850 |access-date=March 21, 2026 |work=[[KVUE]] |date=September 28, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Nguyen |first1=Tanya |last2=Neas |first2=Cora |title=How cold case investigators linked a new suspect to 1991 Texas yogurt shop murders |url=https://kfor.com/news/how-cold-case-investigators-linked-a-new-suspect-to-1991-texas-yogurt-shop-murders/ |access-date=March 21, 2026 |work=[[KFOR-TV]] |date=September 30, 2025}}</ref>
On February 18, 1992, he was arrested in [[Cobb County, Georgia]], for grand theft auto, unlawful possession of a weapon, and theft.<ref name="com">{{Cite web |first=Elizabeth |last=LaFleur |date=October 5, 2018 |title=Robert Brashers: A timeline of crimes police say he committed |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/05/greenville-cold-case-robert-brashers-jenny-zitricki/1534079002/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112055/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/crime/2018/10/05/greenville-cold-case-robert-brashers-jenny-zitricki/1534079002/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=The Greenville News}}</ref> While searching his vehicle and apartment, policemen found a radio scanner, a police jacket, lock-picking tools, and a fake Tennessee driver's license. Fearing another prison sentence, he made a [[plea deal]] with the prosecutors and pleaded guilty to the most serious of the charges, allowing for the rest to be dropped. As a result, he was sentenced to an additional five years imprisonment, which he served in full, and was released in February 1997.<ref name="com" /> Following his release from prison, he moved to [[Paragould, Arkansas]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=First Alert Investigation: Tracking a Serial Killer |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2025/10/30/first-alert-investigation-tracking-serial-killer/ |access-date=March 21, 2026 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=October 30, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=Chasing a Ghost: Chapter One - The Broken Trail |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/03/11/chasing-ghost-chapter-one-broken-trail/ |access-date=March 21, 2026 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=March 9, 2026}}</ref>
===Further crimes=== Brashers raped a 14-year-old girl in [[Memphis, Tennessee]] on March 11, 1997.<ref name=rem/> In that case, the victim and four other people were inside a home when Brashers knocked on the door and subsequently forced his way into the residence while armed with a revolver.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=Heartland Solved: Serial killer identified |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2018/10/05/heartland-solved-serial-killer-identified/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=October 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250927215706/https://www.kfvs12.com/2018/10/05/heartland-solved-serial-killer-identified/ |archive-date=September 27, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> After entering, he tied up the occupants.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Chapman |first1=Bridget |title=Rape kit helps Memphis police trace suspected serial rapist, murderer |url=https://wreg.com/news/rape-kit-helps-memphis-police-trace-suspected-serial-rapist-murderer/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=[[WREG-TV]] |date=October 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250928003853/https://wreg.com/news/rape-kit-helps-memphis-police-trace-suspected-serial-rapist-murderer/ |archive-date=September 28, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>
DNA also linked him to the double murder of 38-year-old Sherri Scherer and her 12-year-old daughter Megan, both of whom were found shot to death at their home in [[Portageville, Missouri]], on March 28, 1998.<ref name=cold/> Both victims had been tied up, and Megan had been raped before Brashers shot and killed both of them with a [[.22 caliber]] gun.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Police chief: 'Violent serial rapist and murderer' killed Greenville woman in 1990 |url=https://www.foxcarolina.com/2018/10/05/police-chief-violent-serial-rapist-murderer-killed-greenville-woman-1990/ |access-date=September 27, 2025 |work=[[WHNS|FOX Carolina]] |date=October 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250927234816/https://www.foxcarolina.com/2018/10/05/police-chief-violent-serial-rapist-murderer-killed-greenville-woman-1990/ |archive-date=September 27, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> Approximately two hours later, he broke into another home in [[Dyersburg, Tennessee]], where he attempted to assault a 25-year-old woman. That victim fiercely resisted, however, causing her assailant to flee the crime scene. There was no useful biological evidence left behind, but forensic ballistics were able to prove that the same gun had been used in this attack as with the murders of the Scherers.
On April 12, 1998, Brashers was arrested while attempting to break into the home of a woman in Paragould, Arkansas. Having been employed by her on a previous occasion, he had cut the phone line leading to her home and was armed at the time of his arrest. A video camera and locksmithing tools were seized from him as well.<ref name="com" /> Brashers was taken into custody, but was later released after he posted his bail.<ref name="CAG.3">{{Cite news |last1=Sweeney |first1=Kathy |title=Chasing a Ghost: Chapter Three - The Case They Wouldn’t Let Go |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2026/03/18/chasing-ghost-chapter-three-case-they-wouldnt-let-go/ |access-date=March 22, 2026 |work=[[KFVS-TV]] |date=March 18, 2026}}</ref>
On August 16, 1998, Brashers was arrested and charged with residential burglary, leaving the scene of an accident with property damage, public intoxication, and second-degree criminal impersonation in [[Greene County, Arkansas]]. The charges stemmed from Brashers driving erratically on [[U.S. Route 412 in Arkansas|U.S. Highway 412]] when he crashed his van through a fence, hit a parked vehicle, and fled the scene. A motorist subsequently contacted law enforcement after he had given an injured Brashers a ride to U.S. Highway 412. When Brashers was located in the area by police officers, he provided a false identity and a fictitious story. During the investigation, it was discovered that Brashers had also burglarized his neighbor's home and stolen cash and jewelry.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Justice |first1=Travis |date=August 18, 1998 |title=Hit-and-run wreck leads to arrest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/paragould-daily-press-robert-yogurt-sho/181844926/ |work=Paragould Daily Press |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=January 14, 1999 |title=Man ran afoul of law in past |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/paragould-daily-press-robert-eugene-bras/181920614/ |work=Paragould Daily Press |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The following October, Arkansas authorities issued a warrant for his arrest, as the new charges caused the bond in his April case to be revoked. Two additional arrest warrants were issued in November, the latter of which was due to [[failure to appear]] in court on November 12.<ref name="CAG.3" />
On November 7, 1998, around 7:40 am, the Lexington Fire Department in Lexington, KY, was dispatched to the Nixon Hearing Aid Center in the 100 block of Malabu Drive for a structure fire. When crews arrived at the scene, they observed heavy smoke coming from the business and made entry. The fire was extinguished quickly, and a female victim was located deceased in the back hallway. The Fayette County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 43-year-old Linda Marie Rutledge. Her cause of death was determined to be multiple gunshot wounds to the head.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=Lisette |date=2026-01-07 |title=Suspect in Austin's 1991 yogurt shop murders linked to 1998 Kentucky cold case: police |url=https://www.fox26houston.com/news/suspect-austins-1991-yogurt-shop-murders-linked-1998-kentucky-cold-case-police |access-date=2026-01-29 |website=FOX 7 Austin |language=en-US}}</ref> In September 2025, Brashers was announced to have been the perpetrator of a murder in [[Kentucky]] in which a woman was raped and fatally shot.<ref name="Kentucky2025">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/03/texas-yoghurt-shop-murders-dna-testing |title=Break in 1991 Texas yoghurt shop murders sparks hope for cold cases: 'There are other victims out there' |last=Schreiber |first=Melody |date=October 3, 2025 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=October 5, 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> On January 7, 2026, the victim was publicly identified as 43-year-old Linda Rutledge.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lexington police solve 27-year-old homicide case through ballistic, DNA evidence |url=https://www.wkyt.com/2026/01/07/lexington-police-solve-27-year-old-homicide-case-through-ballistic-dna-evidence/ |access-date=January 7, 2026 |work=[[WKYT-TV|WKYT]] |date=January 7, 2026}}</ref>
In July 2025, detectives were contacted by the Austin, TX Police Department after they received a match from the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) regarding the .380 shell casing that was recovered from the Nixon Hearing Aid Center. The .380 shell casing was a match to one that was located in Austin in December 1991 after the “Yogurt Shop Murders.” In addition to the ballistic evidence, DNA evidence from both cases was also a match. In September 2025, a sexual assault kit from Rutledge was sent to DNA Labs International for testing and matched the profile from Austin, further implicating Brashers as the perpetrator.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kentucky |first=Katharine Finnerty |title=Kentucky police link Austin 'yogurt shop murders' suspect to cold case |url=https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/01/08/austin--yogurt-shop-murders--suspect-linked-to-cold-case |access-date=2026-01-29 |website=spectrumlocalnews.com |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2019, Brashers' 27-year-old daughter Deborah was interviewed by reporters to recount some details of her father's biography. She said that she first saw her father in early 1997, after he had just been released from prison. According to her, for the next two years he lived with her, her mother, and her half-sisters. During this time, she claimed that he was sometimes aggressive towards them; he once fought her stepfather and caused him a head injury with a drill; and perhaps most disturbingly, he had made a tape recording of himself making small cuts on his neck and arm with a saw to see if he could withstand the pain. Deborah was inclined to believe that her mother Dorothy, who died in December 2018 at the age of 53, knew about her father's past activities, telling them to call him by a different name and to keep him inside the house.<ref name="myf">{{Cite web |last=Kathy Sweeney |date=February 5, 2019 |title='My father was a serial killer': Robert Brashers' daughter speaks out |url=https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/02/05/my-father-was-serial-killer-robert-brashers-daughter-speaks-out/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112155/https://www.kfvs12.com/2019/02/05/my-father-was-serial-killer-robert-brashers-daughter-speaks-out/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=[[KFVS-TV]]}}</ref>
In addition, she claimed that his mental health sharply deteriorated circa April 1998 and that his job at a construction firm led him to be absent from the house for weeks at a time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gross |first=Daniel J. |date=January 13, 2019 |title=Daughter of serial killer, rapist tied to 1990 Greenville murder speaks out |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/01/13/daughter-serial-killer-rapist-tied-greenville-hes-still-my-father/2481586002/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112159/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/01/13/daughter-serial-killer-rapist-tied-greenville-hes-still-my-father/2481586002/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=The Greenville News}}</ref>
==Death== On January 13, 1999, police officers noticed that a stolen vehicle had been parked in the parking lot of the [[Super 8 (hotel)|Super 8]] hotel in [[Kennett, Missouri]].<ref name="gre">{{Cite web |first=Janet R. |last=Aguilar |date=October 2018 |title=Robert Brashers serial killer in Greenville woman's death |url=https://www.tunisiesoir.com/international/robert-brashers-serial-killer-in-greenville-womans-death-8441-2018/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230115112032/https://www.tunisiesoir.com/international/robert-brashers-serial-killer-in-greenville-womans-death-8441-2018/ |archive-date=January 15, 2023 |website=TuniseSoir}}</ref> After speaking with motel personnel, it was established that Brashers and his family had arrived in that vehicle just days earlier. Officers then broke down the door and found him hiding under a bed with a loaded gun, but when they attempted to arrest him, he put the gun to his head and threatened to kill himself.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Brown |first=Ainsley |date=2025-12-12 |title='You Let The Devil In': The Chilling Story Of Serial Killer Robert Eugene Brashers |url=https://allthatsinteresting.com/robert-eugene-brashers |access-date=2025-12-12 |website=All That's Interesting |language=en-US}}</ref> The officers were forced to retreat and called for backup.<ref name=":0" />
Within a few minutes, the motel grounds were surrounded with police cars, while Brashers took his wife, daughter, and two stepdaughters [[hostage]]. He released his family and then after four hours of [[Negotiation|negotiations]], shot himself in the head.<ref name=":0" /> He remained alive for six more days but succumbed to complications from his injuries on January 19. His death was later ruled a suicide.<ref name=gre/>
==List of confirmed victims== {| class="wikitable sortable" ! 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 | rowspan="4" |[[1991 Austin yogurt shop murders|December 6, 1991]] | rowspan="4" |[[Austin, Texas]] | rowspan="4" |Murder, rape<ref name="YogurtNames">{{Cite news |url=https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Austin-yogurt-shop-killings-17648880.php |title=Rape, murder of four teen girls in Austin yogurt shop remains unsolved 31 years later |date=December 12, 2022 |last=Pettaway |first=Taylor |website=[[San Antonio Express-News]] |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> |- |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 | rowspan="3" |March 28, 1998 | rowspan="2" |[[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<ref name="Kentucky2025" /> |- |Brashers' family members |Various ages |January 13, 1999 |[[Kennett, Missouri]] |Hostage-taking<ref name=":0" /> |}
==Media== * In June 2019, the Zitricki and Scherer murders were profiled on an episode of ''[[On the Case with Paula Zahn]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Isbell Walker |first1=Donna |title=Investigation Discovery TV show takes a dive into Greenville's Jenny Zitricki murder case |url=https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/06/21/investigation-discovery-feature-greenville-sc-jenny-zitricki-murder-case-robert-eugene-brashers/1509349001/ |access-date=October 4, 2025 |work=[[The Greenville News]] |date=June 21, 2019 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251004113431/https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2019/06/21/investigation-discovery-feature-greenville-sc-jenny-zitricki-murder-case-robert-eugene-brashers/1509349001/ |archive-date=October 4, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> * In June 2020, [[CeCe Moore]] recounted Brashers' identification through investigative genetic genealogy on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series ''[[The Genetic Detective]]'', which featured Brashers' daughter Deborah.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Baker |first1=KC |title=Crime-Solving Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore Stars in New ABC Series, The Genetic Detective |url=https://people.com/crime/cece-moore-genetic-detective-abc-series/ |website=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=September 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250927040351/https://people.com/crime/cece-moore-genetic-detective-abc-series/ |archive-date=September 27, 2025 |date=May 4, 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> * In September 2021, Brashers' daughter Deborah was interviewed about her father on an episode of ''[[Evil Lives Here]]''.
===Austin yogurt shop murders=== * ''Who Killed These Girls? Cold Case: The Yogurt Shop Murders'', a 2016 nonfiction book by [[Beverly Lowry]]<ref name=KirkusLowry201609>{{cite magazine |title=Who Killed These Girls? Cold Case: The Yogurt Shop Murders |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/beverly-lowry/who-killed-these-girls/ |magazine=Kirkus Reviews |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160928115959/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/beverly-lowry/who-killed-these-girls/ |archive-date=September 28, 2016 |date=September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> * ''Murdered Innocents'', a 2016 nonfiction book by Corey Mitchell<ref>{{Cite book|title=Murdered Innocents|last=Mitchell|first=Corey|date=December 27, 2016|publisher=Pinnacle|isbn=9780786039920|language=English}}</ref> * ''See How Small'', a 2015 novel by [[Scott Blackwood]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/seehowsmallnovel0000blac|title=See How Small: A Novel|last=Blackwood|first=Scott|date=January 20, 2015|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|isbn=9780316373807|language=English|url-access=registration}}</ref> * ''[[People Magazine Investigates]],'' Season 7, Episode 7, "Who Killed Our Girls?" (2023) * ''[[The Yogurt Shop Murders]]'', a five-part documentary released by [[HBO]] in August 2025
==See also== * [[List of serial killers in the United States]] * [[Bruce Lindahl (criminal)|Bruce Lindahl]], American posthumously-discovered serial killer and rapist
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brashers, Robert Eugene}} [[Category:1958 births]] [[Category:1999 deaths]] [[Category:1999 suicides]] [[Category:20th-century American murderers]] [[Category:20th-century people from Virginia]] [[Category:20th-century United States Army personnel]] [[Category:American male criminals]] [[Category:American mass murderers]] [[Category:American murderers of children]] [[Category:American people convicted of attempted murder]] [[Category:American rapists]] [[Category:Criminals from Virginia]] [[Category:Crimes involving police impersonation]] [[Category:People from Newport News, Virginia]] [[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Florida]] [[Category:Serial killers from Kentucky]] [[Category:Serial killers from Missouri]] [[Category:Serial killers from South Carolina]] [[Category:Serial killers from Texas]] [[Category:Suicides by firearm in Missouri]] [[Category:Violence against women in Florida]] [[Category:Violence against women in Kentucky]] [[Category:Violence against women in Missouri]] [[Category:Violence against women in South Carolina]] [[Category:Violence against women in Tennessee]] [[Category:Violence against women in Texas]]