Austin Yogurt Shop Murders • December 6, 1991

Austin Yogurt Shop Murders • December 6, 1991

On December 6, 1991, in Austin, Texas, four teenage girls were murdered inside of I Cant Believe its Yogurt. Jennifer Harbison, 17, and Eliza Thomas, 17, were both employees of the shop working the evening shift. Jennifer’s sister, Sarah Haribson, 15, was visiting her sister after shopping with her close friend Amy Ayers, 13, and waiting to get a ride home together after closing up shop.

Just before midnight, a patrolling officer in the area noticed a fire coming from the shop and called it in. After firefighters arrived and extinguished the fire, 4 nude female bodies were found, each shot execution style in the head with a 22 lead bullet. Each body had been found bound and gagged, except for Amy who was found in a different part of the shop. Amy was found with 2nd and very early 3rd degree burns on almost 30 percent of her body. She had a sock around the neck, and had been shot twice when the first bullet missed her brain. It is believed that the bodies had all been stacked on top of each other, however investigators believe Amy had been able to pull herself up and drag herself to a different part of the store. Accelerant was used in an attempt to destroy evidence.

Oddly enough, over 50 people have confessed to committing this disturbing crime. Included are Kenneth Allen McDuff, a known serial killer who was executed for his crimes, and two Mexican nationals, all of which were ruled out in court.

On Wednesday, October 6, 1999, 4 suspects were arrested in connection to the murder. Robert Burns Springsteen Jr, 24, Michael James Scott, 25, Maurice Pierce, 24, and Forrest Wellborn, 23. Using DNA found at the scene, more than 70 people including these men were all tested and none were a match. The Austin grand jury failed to indict Wellborn, leading to the charges against him being dropped. Later, only Scott and Springsteen were brought to trial, as the charges against Pierce also were dropped. Austin police struggled with internal complications when Detective Hector Polanco was fired for coercing confessions, but was later reinstated for suing the city for discrimination. In 2009, Scott and Springsteen were both released on bond pending the upcoming trials, however on October 28, 2009, all charges against them were dropped and they were all free men.

To this day, no new leads have come of the unfortunate case, and the four main suspects are free men with the exception of Maurice Pierce, who was shot during a routine traffic stop gone bad on December 13, 2010.