Break in 1991 Texas yoghurt shop murders sparks hope for cold cases: ‘There are other victims out there’

Advances in DNA testing led to a suspect in the deaths of four girls. Can lab results now link a serial killer to other violent crimes?

On 6 December 1991, a Friday, Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas, both 17, were closing the frozen yoghurt shop where they worked while Jennifer's sister, 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, and 13-year-old Amy Ayers, her friend, waited for a ride from Jennifer.

Moments before midnight, a fire at the shop drew first responders, who discovered the four girls had been bound and murdered, with signs of sexual assault. The fire destroyed nearly all evidence, save for a shell casing that had rolled into a drain and trace amounts of DNA, including under Ayers' fingernails.