Austin yogurt shop murders: City approves $35M for 4 wrongfully accused men

AUSTIN, Texas - Austin City Council has approved $35 million in settlements for the four men wrongfully accused in the yogurt shop murders. 

The city will have to borrow money in the form of bonds to make these payments. 

Robert Springsteen and Micheal James Scott will each get $9.85 million. Forrest Welborn will receive $4.85 million, and the estate and family of Maurice Pierce will receive $10 million. 

"They were accused of terrible acts and that was wrong, an awful mistake. For that, as Austin mayor, I apologize to these men and their families. Today, policing has changed. Investigations have changed. Technology has changed, and we have changed. There's nothing that we or I can change or say to undo past wrongs. We can only mitigate our mistakes with action. I've said previously that I hope the exonerations bring some relief and closure, and I hope that this proposed financial settlement agreement also brings some relief and closure," Mayor Kirk Watson said during the meeting.

An item on the I-35 Cap and Stitch project was withdrawn from Thursday's meeting. Watson had previously proposed a scaled-down version of the project but then withdrew that idea because there wasn't enough support from council members. 

"It was a consideration of the money situation. That's going to be a recurring thing this week as we get into the budget process where we have a lack of funds and where we have very serious immediate needs," Watson said in a Tuesday work session. "Just in the last two weeks, we've had another item come up and that's the settlement of the Yogurt Shop case, $35 million item which will require us to borrow money in order to be able to do that."

Other items approved by Austin City Council 

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Council wants to update city rules for e-motorbikes. City documents say e-motorbikes have become popular with unlicensed, underage people dangerously riding and causing property damage. 

City Council also approved $27 million for six contracts for city broadcast equipment, which is $9 million less than what was originally proposed. Council Member Ryan Alter added an amendment that said any general fund expenses for this need to be reported. 

The city will also look into updating regulations to stop dumpster collection at unreasonable hours. 

Looking ahead to November, the city will consider allowing free CapMetro rides during Election Day.