Robert Eugene Brashers: Serial Killer, Rapist, and Posthumously Identified Cold Case Suspect
Overview
Robert Eugene Brashers was an American serial killer and serial rapist whose crimes stretched across multiple states, including South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, and Arkansas. He was born on March 13, 1958, in Newport News, Virginia, and died on January 19, 1999, after shooting himself during a police standoff in Kennett, Missouri. During his lifetime, he was known to law enforcement as a violent offender, burglar, thief, and fugitive, but he was not publicly identified as the killer in his major murder cases until years after his death.
Brashers lived much of his criminal life under shifting identities and false appearances. He used aliases, moved between states, and committed crimes that often involved home invasion, sexual assault, firearms, restraint of victims, and attempts to destroy evidence. His known crimes were not solved as one connected series during his lifetime. The full scope of his violence only became clearer decades later through DNA testing, forensic genealogy, and ballistic evidence.
Known Fatal Victims
- Genevieve Jenny Zitricki Age 28 Killed on April 4, 1990, in Greenville, South Carolina. She was attacked inside her apartment. Investigators later determined that she had been sexually assaulted and murdered by Robert Brashers.
- Amy Ayers Age 13 Killed on December 6, 1991, at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas. She was one of four teenage girls murdered in the case known as the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders.
- Eliza Thomas Age 17 Killed on December 6, 1991, at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas. She was working at the store on the night of the murders.
- Jennifer Harbison Age 17 Killed on December 6, 1991, at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas. She was also working at the store that night.
- Sarah Harbison Age 15 Killed on December 6, 1991, at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in Austin, Texas. She was Jennifer Harbison's younger sister.
- Sherri Scherer Age 38 Killed on March 28, 1998, in Portageville, Missouri. She was murdered inside her home along with her daughter, Megan.
- Megan Scherer Age 12 Killed on March 28, 1998, in Portageville, Missouri. She was sexually assaulted and murdered in the same attack that killed her mother.
- Linda Marie Rutledge Age 43 Killed on November 7, 1998, in Lexington, Kentucky. She was found dead after a fire at the Nixon Hearing Aid Center, where she worked.
Known Surviving Victims and Attacks
- Michelle Wilkerson Age 24 Attacked on November 22, 1985, in Fort Pierce, Florida. Brashers shot her in the head, but she survived and was able to describe him and his vehicle to police.
- Unnamed 14-year-old girl Attacked on March 11, 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. Brashers broke into a home, restrained occupants, and sexually assaulted the girl.
- Unnamed 25-year-old woman Attacked on March 28, 1998, in Dyersburg, Tennessee, shortly after the Scherer murders. She fought back during an attempted assault, and Brashers fled.
- Unnamed former female coworker Targeted on April 12, 1998, in Paragould, Arkansas. Brashers was arrested after attempting to break into her home while armed and carrying tools associated with forced entry.
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