Austin yogurt shop murders: $35M tentative settlement reached between city, former suspects

AUSTIN, Texas - The city of Austin says it has reached a tentative settlement agreement with the former suspects in the Austin yogurt shop murders.

The proposed settlement is $35 million.

Forest Wellborn, Michael Scott, Maurice Pierce, and Robert Springsteen were accused of the murders of Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas, and Amy Ayers in 1991. The four were formally exonerated in February.

PREVIOUS REPORTING: Austin yogurt shop murders linked to known serial killer, rapist through DNA

What they're saying:

Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax provided this statement on the proposed settlement:

"This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin’s history. For 34 years, our community sought answers to this senseless and heartbreaking crime, and, thanks to the dedicated commitment of the Austin Police Department, we delivered those answers in September 2025. We are pleased to have reached an agreement with those who were wrongly accused and wrongly convicted in this case and hope that this settlement brings a sense of closure to everyone affected by this horrific event."

The 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders

The backstory:

The infamous crime occurred shortly before midnight on Friday, December 6, 1991. 

An Austin police patrol officer observed fire coming from the "I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! (ICBY)" shop located at 2949 West Anderson Lane. After the Austin Fire Department extinguished the fire, firefighters made a horrific discovery: the bodies of four young victims.

The deceased were 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison and 15-year-old Sarah Harbison, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, and 13-year-old Amy Ayers. Jennifer and Eliza were employees at the shop, and Sarah and Amy were with them as they closed for the night.

All four girls were nude, had been shot, bound, and gagged. Due to fire and water damage from the sprinklers, evidence collection was challenging.

"The girls were found nude and had been tied up with their own clothing as ligatures and bindings. There was evidence of sexual assault. All four had been shot in the head with a .22 caliber pistol. And Amy was also shot with a 380 pistol," Detective Daniel Jackson said.

The Austin Police Department (APD) received thousands of tips and dozens of confessions in the immediate aftermath, but most led nowhere.

Early suspects and retractions

Within a week of the murders, 16-year-old Maurice Pierce was arrested after bringing a .22-caliber handgun—the same make and model as one of the murder weapons—to a local mall. 

He confessed after hours of interrogation but later recanted, with a detective noting his confession didn't match the crime scene details.

1999 false confessions

In 1999, the Yogurt Shop Task Force re-visited the case and interrogated four individuals: Maurice Pierce, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, and Forrest Welborn. 

Springsteen and Scott confessed, implicating each other. Scott was convicted and received life without parole, while Springsteen was convicted and received the death penalty. Pierce's and Welborn's charges were eventually dropped or not indicted. Critically, no physical evidence at the scene ever linked any of the four suspects to the crime.

On Dec. 23, 2010, Maurice was stopped for traffic and fled on foot. APD Officer Frank Wilson caught Pierce and the two struggled. Pierce removed Officer Wilson’s knife from his belt and stabbed him in the neck. Officer Wilson shot and killed Pierce. Officer Wilson survived his injuries.

DNA exoneration

A 2004 Supreme Court ruling granted a new trial for Scott and Springsteen. Preparation for the retrial led to further DNA review, and Fairfax Labs processed swabs from a sexual assault kit, developing an unknown Y-STR profile. 

All four original suspects were excluded as contributors to this unknown profile, and all charges against Scott and Springsteen were ultimately dropped pending further investigation.

New lead through DNA

In June 2025, Austin police detective Daniel Jackson determined that a .380 cartridge found in a drain at the scene had not recently been submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). In July, a "hit" was received, linking the cartridge to an unsolved 1998 murder in Kentucky. 

The similarities in the cases led to a collaborative investigation between Austin and Kentucky detectives.

Further investigation revealed that Brashers, the newly named suspect, committed suicide in 1999 using the same make and model weapon—a .380 pistol—used to shoot victim Amy Ayers. 

Brashers was stopped by Border Patrol on Dec. 8, 1991, less than 48 hours after the murders, at a checkpoint between El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was driving a stolen car and was in possession of a .380 pistol that has since been confirmed to be the same gun he used to commit suicide in 1999, as the serial numbers match.

Formal exoneration of original suspects

In February, the four men were formally exonerated in a hearing before Travis County 167th District Judge Dayna Blazey.

"The court can and does state, without qualification or hesitation, that you are cleared and that your innocence is affirmed," Blazey said.

Scott and Welborn were in the courtroom for the hearing. Springsteen sent a letter to be read by his attorney.

Pierce's daughter also spoke on her father and family's behalf.

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