The 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders refers to the deaths of four teenage girls in a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, on December 6, 1991, after which the shop was set aflame. The bodies of 13-year-old Amy Ayers (sometimes spelled Ayres), 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison, her 15-year-old sister Sarah, and 17-year-old Eliza Thomas were discovered after the fire was extinguished.
The initial investigation spanned nearly eight years. Two men initially confessed to the murders and were convicted, but they were released by 2009 due to lack of evidence. No new charges have been filed and local media coverage remains ongoing. As of 2011, the Austin Police Department has five cold-case detectives working on the case.
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Murders
Shortly before midnight on Friday, December 6, 1991, a patrolling Austin police officer noticed a fire coming from an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop and reported it to his dispatcher. After the fire was extinguished, firefighters discovered four bodies with three stacked on top of one another. All were bound and gagged with their own clothes as they were found undressed. Each victim had been shot in the head, thus leading police to determine that they had likely died before the fire was started.
Just before the murders, the girls had been seen alive at the yogurt shop as late as 10:00 pm. They had planned a sleepover for that night.
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Subsequent events
At the time of the murders, a known serial killer, Kenneth Allen McDuff, was in the area. He had a history of multiple murders involving teenagers, but was soon ruled out of the crime. McDuff was executed for his crimes on November 17, 1998.
False confessions
Austin police admit that over fifty people, including McDuff on the day of his execution, had confessed to the yogurt shop murders. A confession in 1992 by two Mexican nationals, held by Mexican authorities, was soon disputed and finally ruled false.
1999: Suspects arrested
On Wednesday, October 6, 1999, police in Texas and West Virginia arrested four suspects in connection with the murders. Robert Burns Springsteen, Jr., 24, was arrested in Charleston, West Virginia. Michael James Scott, 25, of Buda, Texas, was arrested in the Austin area. Maurice Pierce, 24, was arrested in Lewisville, north of Dallas, and Forrest Wellborn, 23, was picked up in Lockhart, Texas, southeast of Austin. The prosecution stated at one hearing that DNA evidence in the case had been tested against more than seventy people (including these four men) and failed to match. Charges against Wellborn were dropped when an Austin Grand Jury failed to indict him. Charges were later dropped against Pierce. Only the cases against Scott and Springsteen went to trial.
The investigation was complicated by matters internal to the Austin Police Department. Detective Hector Polanco was fired for allegedly coercing confessions. A relationship between Springsteen's father and Austin police data processing employee Karen Huntley prompted her transfer.
2006: Springsteen conviction overturned
In 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Robert Springsteen's conviction on the basis of an unfair trial. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to reinstate the conviction in February 2007.
2008: Scott and Springsteen request DNA tests
On Wednesday, August 20, 2008, the defense lawyers for Scott and Springsteen requested DNA testing of alternative suspects. No matches against evidence discovered earlier that year were found. Seven jurors from the trials have stated they would not have convicted the men had this evidence been available at the time.
2009: Release of Scott and Springsteen
On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Judge Mike Lynch decided, in response to Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg asking that one of the trials be continued, that defendants Springsteen and Scott be freed on bond pending their upcoming trials. At 2:50 PM on that day, they both walked out of the Travis County Jail with their attorneys.
Later that day, Lehmberg responded to Lynch's decision with the following statement:
On October 28, 2009, all charges were dismissed against Scott and Springsteen.
2010: Death of Maurice Pierce
On December 24, 2010, Austin Police Officer Frank Wilson and his rookie partner conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle driven by Maurice Pierce in the northern part of the city. After a brief foot pursuit, Pierce struggled with Wilson before removing a knife from his belt and stabbing him in the neck. Wilson, who survived his injuries, subsequently pulled out his gun and shot and killed Pierce.
Book
The murders were the subject of Beverly Lowry's 2016 nonfiction book, Who Killed These Girls? Cold Case: The Yogurt Shop Murders.
The murders were the subject of Corey Mitchell's Dec 27, 2016 non-fiction book, Murdered Innocents.
The murders are also the subject of the fiction book See How Small by Scott Blackwood.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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