After 34 Years, "20/20" Unveils the Truth Behind the Infamous Yogurt Shop Murders

ABC News has announced a definitive two-hour television event investigating the 1991 tragedy that haunted Austin, Texas, for decades, revealing how modern science finally closed a case once thought unsolvable.

What’s Happening:

• The Yogurt Shop Murders special is set to air this Friday, providing the final chapter to a mystery that has spanned over three decades.
• The program presents an in-depth look at the December 1991 crime where four teenage girls were found in a burning yogurt shop, a fire intended to erase all forensic traces.
• The episode explores the harrowing journey of the four teenage boys originally targeted by law enforcement, two of whom gave false confessions and faced death row and life sentences before their convictions were overturned.
• Discover how a new cold case detective and genetic genealogist CeCe Moore utilized advanced DNA technology to pivot the investigation away from the original suspects and toward a serial killer.
• The broadcast features a network exclusive with the killer’s daughter, alongside emotional testimony from the families of all four victims and the law enforcement officials who never gave up.
• Just last week, the case reached its legal end, and 20/20 was there to capture the long-awaited moment of justice.
• The all-new 20/20 episode Yogurt Shop Murders airs Friday, February 27 (9:00-11:00 p.m. EST) on ABC and begins streaming the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Justice and the Genetic Revolution

• The resolution of the Yogurt Shop Murders highlights the seismic shift in criminal justice brought about by Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG).
• While traditional CODIS searches rely on direct matches in criminal databases, IGG allows investigators to identify suspects through distant relatives who have uploaded their DNA to public ancestry sites.
• This technique, popularized by the capture of the Golden State Killer in 2018, has become the gold standard for cold case units. However, it also raises complex ethical questions regarding biological privacy.
• As more people participate in consumer DNA testing, the digital breadcrumbs of our ancestors are becoming the most powerful tool in the forensic kit, effectively ending the era of the untraceable serial killer.
  

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