Men Wrongfully Accused in 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders Seek Formal Exoneration
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas judge on Thursday is considering a formal declaration of innocence for the four men who were wrongfully accused of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders, a crime that haunted the city for decades. The hearing marks a significant step toward closing a dark chapter for the men, their families, and the community.
State District Judge Dayna Blazey will hear evidence supporting the exoneration of Michael Scott and Forrest Welborn, who are expected to attend the hearing. Robert Springsteen, who was initially convicted and spent several years on death row, is not expected to be present. Maurice Pierce, the fourth man accused, died in 2010.
“It has been over twenty-five years since the four men wrongfully accused have been waiting for the criminal justice system to clear their names,” Travis County District Attorney José Garza said when the hearing was scheduled. A declaration of “actual innocence” would also pave the way for the men and their families to seek financial compensation for the years impacted by the wrongful accusations and, in Springsteen’s case, imprisonment.
A Brutal Crime and a Decades-Long Investigation
On December 13, 1991, Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, ages 17 and 15, were found murdered at the “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt” store on Anderson Lane in North Austin. The girls had been bound, gagged, and shot in the head, and the store was set on fire. The brutality of the crime shocked the city and launched a sprawling investigation that initially yielded few answers.
Investigators pursued thousands of leads and encountered several false confessions before focusing on Springsteen, Scott, Welborn, and Pierce in 1999. Springsteen and Scott were convicted largely on the basis of confessions they maintained were coerced by police. Those convictions were later overturned in the mid-2000s.
Welborn was charged but never brought to trial after two grand juries declined to indict him. Pierce spent three years in jail before the charges against him were dismissed. Prosecutors attempted to retry Springsteen and Scott, but a judge dismissed the charges in 2009 following new DNA tests that pointed to another suspect.
A New Suspect Identified
The case remained cold for years, until renewed attention was brought to it by an HBO documentary series. In September 2025, Austin Police Department cold case detectives announced they had connected the killings to Robert Eugene Brashers, who died by suicide during a standoff with police in Missouri in 1999.
The breakthrough came through advancements in DNA technology. A DNA sample recovered from under Ayers’ fingernail matched Brashers through evidence linked to a 1990 murder in South Carolina. Investigators also discovered that Brashers had been arrested at a border checkpoint near El Paso, Texas, just two days after the yogurt shop murders. A pistol matching the caliber used in the Austin killings was found in his stolen vehicle.
Police noted striking similarities between the yogurt shop murders and other crimes committed by Brashers, including the use of restraints, sexual assault, and arson. Brashers had been linked to crimes in multiple states, including a strangulation in South Carolina, a rape in Tennessee, and a shooting in Missouri.
The hearing before Judge Blazey represents a crucial step toward formally acknowledging the wrongful accusations and bringing a measure of closure to a case that has haunted Austin for over three decades. The exoneration ruling would not only clear the names of Scott and Welborn but also serve as a testament to the importance of continued investigation and the pursuit of justice, even decades after a crime has been committed.
