Who Murdered 4 Teens in a Yogurt Shop? Why the Haunting Case Went Cold

Alex Murdaugh Murder Convictions Overturned by State Supreme Court

On Dec. 6, 1991, Jennifer Harbison was working at I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! in Austin, Texas, with Eliza Thomas.

Amy Ayers and Sarah Harbison were at the shop waiting to catch a ride with Sarah's older sister.

But none of them ever made it home. Responding to a report of a blaze at the business shortly before midnight, firefighters discovered the bodies of the four teenage girls.

The 2025 HBO docuseries The Yogurt Shop Murders delved into the haunting crime and the investigation that led to four men being charged with capital murder eight years later—after which they were set free and ultimately exonerated.

“All of the family members always said to me, ‘There never is closure,’” series director Margaret Brown told the Austin American-Statesman in March 2025. “‘You learn how to live alongside it, but it never loses its potency.’”

Weeks after the show's August premiere, however, police identified a new suspect in the case through DNA evidence. A new episode of The Yogurt Shop Murders, premiering May 22 at 9 p.m. on HBO, chronicles that jaw-dropping twist and what happened next.

Who were the victims of the 1991 yogurt shop murders?

At 11:47 p.m. on Dec. 6, 1991, a patrol officer reported seeing flames inside I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! in northwest Austin. Inside, firefighters found the burned bodies of Jennifer Harbison, 17, her sister Sarah Harbison, 15, Eliza Thomas, 17, and Amy Ayers, 13.

Police said they believed the fire was purposely set to destroy evidence.

Travis County Medical Examiner Robert Bayardo told reporters a few days later that the teens were already dead when the fire started. Amy had been shot twice, while the other girls were each shot once in the back of the head.

The front door was locked, according to investigators, but the back door was open and there were no signs of forced entry. Money was missing, Austin Police Lt. Andrew Waters said at the time, per the Austin American-Statesman, so robbery was “the best theory.”

But, he added, “it’s possible there could have been something else and they attempted to make it look like a robbery.”

Were there any suspects in the yogurt shop murders?

Eight days after the murders, Maurice Pierce, 16, was arrested at Northcross Mall, a few blocks away from the crime scene, carrying a .22-caliber revolver.

Pierce told police his gun was involved in what happened at the yogurt shop and that he drove a getaway car, retired detective John Jones, who was the lead investigator on the case, told 48 Hours in 2022.

Jones said Pierce "implicated" Forrest Welborn, 15, Michael Scott, 17, and Robert Springsteen IV, 17, in his statement to police.

But the other three boys denied any involvement, Jones explained, and there wasn't enough evidence to file charges.

In the early days of the investigation, detectives interviewed hundreds of people and amassed a long list of suspects, Jones counting 342 at one point.

Springsteen was arrested days later in West Virginia. He, too, initially denied being involved before he told detectives during a videotaped interview that he sexually assaulted and shot one of the girls.

Welborn and Pierce were arrested that October and all four were charged with capital murder.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said at a press conference announcing a break in the case, “On Dec. 6, 1991, we—as a city—lost our innocence. Today, we regain our confidence.”

Where does the yogurt murder shop case stand now?

When The Yogurt Shop Murders premiered in August, the case remained open.

“We're waiting for…the DNA science to improve to then resubmit what we have left in the crime lab for further testing,” U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, whose district includes Austin, told 48 Hours in July 2025. The DNA, he noted, “is everything.”

And then some. In September, Austin police said that DNA results linked suspected serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers—who died by suicide in 1999 after a standoff with police at a Super 8 motel in Kennett, Mo.—to the 1991 yogurt shop murders.

"Our team never gave up working this case," the Austin Police Department said in a statement. "For almost 34 years, they have worked tirelessly and remained committed to solving this case."

When were the wrongly accused men from the yogurt shop murder investigation exonerated?

Springsteen, Scott, Welborn and Pierce, who died in 2010, were formally exonerated in February in the wake of the DNA match to Brashers.

On May 12, the city of Austin reached a $35 million settlement with Pierce's family and the other wrongfully accused men.

“This settlement closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin’s history,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement. “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.”