Shivangi Sinha
In November 1998, police responded to reports of a fire at a small business in Lexington, Kentucky. After the fire was finally brought under control, investigators discovered the remains of Linda Rutledge inside the building. Authorities soon determined that Linda had not died from the fire itself but had suffered multiple gunshot wounds, immediately raising suspicions about whether the blaze had been intentionally set to cover up the crime. The final episode of HBO’s ‘The Yogurt Shop Murders’ explores the details surrounding Linda’s case and examines how investigators were eventually able to solve it after years of work.
Linda Rutledge’s Remains Were Found at the Place of Her Work
Linda Marie Nixon Rutledge was born on February 7, 1955. Her father, George Nixon, owned the Nixon Hearing Aid Center on Malibu Drive in Lexington, Kentucky. Linda came from a hardworking family that was well respected within the local community. As she grew older, she wanted to contribute to the family business. She eventually began working at her father’s store and became a valuable help to the family. On November 7, 1998, police responded to reports of a fire at the business owned by the family and immediately rushed to the scene to begin investigating the incident.
After the fire was put out, police discovered the remains of Linda in the back hallway of the hearing aid center. Investigators found that she had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, and it was later determined that she had also been sexually assaulted. Firefighters and investigators at the scene immediately suspected that the blaze had been intentionally started in an attempt to conceal the murder of the 43-year-old woman, prompting authorities to launch an extensive investigation right away.
Linda Rutledge’s Killer Had Used the Murder Weapon in Another Crime in 1991
There were no immediate suspects in the murder case of Linda Rutledge. Her car had been found in a parking lot at a nearby apartment complex. The police theorized that her killer could have coerced or lured her into the store before attacking her. Over the years, anyone considered a possible suspect was interviewed and questioned by police, but investigators were unable to find definitive answers. The forensic evidence recovered from the scene was carefully preserved and repeatedly re-examined as technology advanced. It was only in June 2025 that a cold case detective working on the infamous Yogurt Shop Murders in Austin submitted ballistic evidence from that investigation to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN).
Investigators quickly discovered that the ballistic evidence matched the weapon used in Linda’s murder, leading authorities to conclude that the same gun had been used in both crimes. Over the next few months, investigators made further progress in resolving the Yogurt Shop Murders. Authorities were able to develop a Y-STR DNA profile, which was eventually matched to a known profile connected to the murder case of Genevieve Zitricki in Greenville, South Carolina.
Investigators ultimately concluded that the person responsible for the crimes was serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers. At the same time, police in Lexington also began conducting additional DNA testing on evidence collected from Linda’s case. In January 2026, authorities formally announced that Brashers had been identified as the man responsible for Linda’s murder. Since he had died in 1999, there were no legal proceedings left to pursue, but finally identifying her killer brought a significant sense of closure to those who had waited decades for justice.
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