1991 Austin yogurt shop murders
| Austin yogurt shop murders | |
|---|---|
| Location | Austin, Texas |
| Date | December 6, 1991 c. 10:00 p.m. (CST) |
|
Attack type
|
Mass murder, arson |
| Deaths | 4 |
| Perpetrators | Unknown |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Wikipedia