Suspect Identified in the Yogurt Shop Murders

Over on the media review wing of League of Melbotis, The Signal Watch, we recently discussed the HBO documentary The Yogurt Shop Murders.  Before continuing here, I'd recommend jumping over to that post to get the context, if you're unfamiliar with unsolved murder of four teenage girls in Austin, Texas in 1991.  

It is, and has been, a haunting tragedy that seemed to have no end to it.  I expected that I'd go to my grave with the crime unsolved. 

However, on Friday, September 26th, the Austin Police Department announced that they had a suspect in the case.  Apparently they have DNA evidence and ballistics evidence, which is very promising, obviously.

And if the Golden State Killer can be identified through similar means decades on, it sure seems possible to do the same here.  

The problem is that the APD and investigators have announced their momentous discovery on the tail of the release of the HBO documentary that both embarrassed them, and called into question any motive for coming forward *now* with an answer.  It seems terribly convenient that APD and Travis County prosecutors suddenly have an answer, and that the named perpetrator is not around to poke any holes in their story.  

That said - follow the science on this one - as should have happened all along.  A DNA lab is unlikely to just make things up that would discredit them forever.  And - it sure makes a hell of a lot more sense that a monster like Brashers committed the crime than four teenage boys with no motive, and no prior or subsequent penchant for violence.

I just finished reading about another series of horrors in Austin, The Midnight Assassin, a non-fiction book covering a series of murders by a possible serial killer in Austin the 1880's.  And, yes, it's a real reminder that no one knows what they're doing, and we're all making it up as we go along, complete with our personal baggage as we come to solving a complex puzzle.  

Some folks are just wired to skip over the reality of what they're looking at and want to start using the crime to punish people they already don't like.  In a town where not much happens, like late-20th Century Austin, that included police and prosecutors targeting four young men, mostly for being punk kids.   

I tend to believe that they got it right or they wouldn't go public.  If there were opportunity they got it wrong, man, would that get people fired.  And the science of how they sort this out with DNA is our best chance at a definitive answer.  

On Monday we'll get more details, and I hope they can also definitively place the suspect in Austin at the time.  

Pixies (with Spoon) at Moody Amphitheater September 5, 2025

 

About a month ago, SimonUK told me he had a loose ticket for The Pixies at Austin's Moody Amphitheater.  I said "why, yes, I'll go."  And, indeed, I did. 

September 5, 2025, I found myself in Section 105, Row J, Seat 14.

I was surprised to learn that Spoon was supporting.  

Jamie's Latest Blog Post

Jamie finally returned to her blog and put up a post catching you up on what's been going on with us for the past couple of years.  

Shooting at North Austin Target

It's possible you've seen the news about the three people killed at a Target store yesterday in Austin.  I'm well aware of that location as it was my primary Target store when I was in college 3 decades ago, and then in the years immediately following college when Jamie and I lived in an apartment just north of campus.

I haven't had much reason to be in that part of town in a few years, or in that Target in decades.  

The crime is horrifying, but no longer shocking.  The perpetrator had run ins with law-enforcement for years and had been placed on mental-health holds, but wasn't necessarily this kind of threat.  That we need better support for these types of mental health recidivist cases is wildly evident, but no one will lift a finger to pay for what needs doing.  I cannot imagine much will change despite the fatalities of good people going about their day, including a 4-year-old child, her grandfather and a 24-year-old store employee.

The shooter was caught, after assaulting others.  

Expect the Texas lege to find some way that the policies they've set the past several decades in which they've had a one-party system controlling the state are the fault of the minority party.

Introducing: Emmylou

Y'all meet Emmylou.  

After taking some time since we lost Andre, we decided to head to the Austin Humane Society, where we adopted Scout and Jeff the Cat, and we walked out the door with a small friend who will be with us for the next 15 years, I'd guess.

Central Texas Flood - July 4th Weekend, 2025

It's difficult to know what to say about what has occurred here in Central Texas over the last week.  

For reasons that I cannot sort, we tend to get weather events on holidays.  You'll hear about Memorial Day floods, Halloween floods, etc..  This one happened on July 4th, 2025.  It is by far the most devastating flood in this area of which I am aware, and it's going to haunt this area for decades to come.

For years, the areas west of Austin have been starved for rain.  The ongoing drought has been of tremendous concern both west of Austin and locally and is a regular topic during weather reports (for more on Austin weather, I recommend KXAN).  This area is booming with unregulated growth by developers who will be long gone when we're out of water, so it's an issue.  The climate here is essentially scrub-desert.  Our native trees grow wide and knotty, and cactus and mesquite fight for space where soil is found between limestone outcrops.  Much of Central Texas and the Hill Country sit atop a thin layer of soil, which - in turn- rests on top of rock, which forms the lovely rolling hills you see in West Austin and beyond (thus the name of the area).  From the Balcones Escarpment, the hills extend for miles and miles before you hit the flat lands of West Texas - just prior to the mountains.

Chicago Trip 2025

Jamie and I hadn't been outside of Texas since 2019.  

When COVID hit, we went into lockdown the same day as everyone else in March of 2020, but took a lot longer to step away from safety protocols.  Add in that my employment has been... a ride since COVID hit, and circumstances have made it difficult to think ahead or plan a vacation.  

We took some local AirBNB trips and we went to San Antonio, but we hadn't really gone anywhere in years.

But on June 13th we flew out mid-day, and returned early in the evening of June 17th.  A short trip, but travelling for us is an ordeal.  Jamie has to schedule dialysis at a local clinic, and we don't tend to have long days of just moving around.

For a first trip out of town in a while, we chose something we knew, and something I was desperate to do - get back to Chicago and take in a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.  And a good year for it!  Cubs are several games at the top of the the National League Central right now, with Pete Crow-Armstrong a superstar in the making, and Seiya Suzuki also on a hitting streak.  We have a third baseman in Matt Shaw, and our defense is sometimes better than our relatively solid offense.

Friday