The Yogurt Shop Murders and Serial Killer Robert Eugene Brashers: First Person: Dr. Rachel Oefelein of DNA Labs International
Murder Sheet
MurderSheet
3.8 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 7 May 2026
⏱️ 55 minutes
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Summary
DNA Labs International Chief Scientific Officer and Laborartory Director Dr. Rachel Oefelein has dedicated her career to solving mysteries using science. In this episode, we will talk with her about her professional trajectory, DNA Labs International's influential work, and some of the cases she's worked on.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Anya, and today we're going to talk with an expert who's helped get answers in some major criminal cases. |
| 0:06.5 | Content warning. This episode contains discussion of cases involving murder and rape, including the murder and rape of children. |
| 0:15.5 | It's no secret that DNA changed investigations into some of the most heinous crimes of all time. |
| 0:22.3 | Today, we're going to be talking with someone who is at the forefront of all that. |
| 0:26.4 | Dr. Rachel Aflin is the chief scientific officer and laboratory director of DNA Labs International. |
| 0:33.0 | I reached out to her because of the work DNA Labs International did on one specific case. |
| 0:38.2 | On December 6, 1991, a serial killer named Robert Eugene Brashears went to the I Can't |
| 0:44.4 | Believe It's yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. He bound, gagged, sexually assaulted, and murdered |
| 0:49.4 | four girls there, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, 13-year-old Amy Ayers, and the Harbison sisters, 17-year-old Jennifera Thomas, 13-year-old Amiers, and the Harbison sisters, 17-year-old Jennifer |
| 0:57.2 | and 15-year-old Sarah. After years of questions and even some wrongful convictions, this case was |
| 1:03.6 | finally solved. When Detective Dan Jackson of the Austin Police Department got up to thank |
| 1:09.4 | those who worked on the case, |
| 1:15.6 | DNA Labs International was one of the entities he singled out as making a big difference. |
| 1:20.6 | Dr. Aflin will speak to us about her career, which took her quite literally around the globe and across time as she worked on mysteries from long ago wars. |
| 1:25.0 | She's worked on some major cases in the true crime world as well, including ones |
| 1:29.2 | connected to serial killer Samuel Little and a case out of Virginia that we briefly covered on the show. |
| 1:35.1 | She will also get into DNA Labs International, the work they do, and how they came to be. |
| 1:40.2 | This is a major lab that's connected with all kinds of cold cases that have gotten solved. |
| 1:45.1 | She would talk about all of that as well as the work DNA Labs International did on the yogurt |
| 1:50.6 | shot murders, her work with detectives and police to help investigators preserve more evidence, |
| 1:56.5 | her thoughts on why we shouldn't think DNA is a silver bullet bullet and her views on what's next in this developing field. |
| 2:04.7 | My name is Anya Kane. I'm a journalist. |
... |
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