TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: YORGURT SHOP UPDATE

Ninetoes has an update for us on the Yogurt shop Murders, a case that shook Austin TX 35 years ago.

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with an update to the Yogurt Shop Murders that I reported on a while back. I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

Just for reminder’s sake, back in 1991, four young women, Amy Ayers (13), Sarah Harbison (15), Jennifer Harbison (17), and Eliza Thomas (17), were murdered at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop in North Austin, Texas.

Almost eight years later, four men were arrested in connection with these murders. Maurice Pierce, Forrest Wellborn, Robert Springsteen, and Michael Scott. Springsteen and Scott went to trial based on the confessions they gave to the police. It should be noted here that their confessions were coerced. Wellborn was charged, but the grand jury failed to bring an indictment against him, and Pierce spent three years in jail before he was released.

Springsteen was sentenced to death. This sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by Governor Rick Perry in 2005. Scott was sentenced to life imprisonment. Springsteen’s conviction would eventually be overturned due to an unfair trial. Both Springsteen and Scott were freed on bond in 2009 for upcoming trials. On October 28, 2009, all charges against Springsteen and Scott were dropped due to new DNA testing that found a different male suspect.

In September 2025, Investigators announced that the DNA belonged to Robert Eugene Brashers. An arrest could not be made since Brahser took his own life in 1999 during a standoff with police at a motel in Kennett, Missouri.

On Thursday, February 19, 2026, the four men were officially declared innocent by a Texas judge. “You are innocent.” Judge Dayna Blazey declared in a packed courtroom in Austin, Texas.

Only two of the four men accused were in attendance. Michael Scott and Forrest Wellborn were in the courtroom when the judge declared them innocent. Robert Springsteen, who spent several years on death row, did not attend, and Maurice Pierce passed away in 2010.

For some, this declaration of innocence was long overdue. For others, the wound of loss will never heal. My question is whether these men can be looked upon in a different light, or will the stigma of being a suspect, and in some cases spending a long time in prison for a crime they did not commit, follow them for the rest of their lives. Time will tell.

Until the next time, I bid you successful investigations.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.