Recommended Free Tools
The four men originally accused of the 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop Murders were formally declared innocent by a judge in February 2026. Months earlier, Austin police had identified deceased serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect based on DNA and ballistic evidence. Brashers was never tried, so the police findings are not a court verdict. HBO’s original four-part documentary was followed by a fifth episode in May 2026, and CBS reported a separate $35 million settlement between Austin and the four men.
What happened at the Austin yogurt shop?
Just before midnight on December 6, 1991, Austin police noticed a fire at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop at 2949 West Anderson Lane. Firefighters found four girls inside: Jennifer Harbison, 17, and Eliza Thomas, 17, worked at the shop; Jennifer’s sister Sarah Harbison, 15, and Amy Ayers, 13, were there as the store was closing. According to the Austin Police Department (APD), all four had been shot, bound, and gagged.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Becoming Evil: Serial Killers - 7-Part Documentary Series | $7.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
America's Serial Killers: Portraits in Evil | $7.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Murder on a Sunday Morning | $9.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Gosnell: The Trial of America's Biggest Serial Killer | $13.20 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer | $27.62 | Buy on Amazon |
The fire and sprinkler system damaged the scene and made evidence collection difficult. The killings became known as the Yogurt Shop Murders, a case that would remain unresolved for decades.
Why were four men accused, and what happened to them?
Investigators questioned Maurice Pierce, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, and Forrest Welborn. APD says Springsteen and Scott confessed and implicated each other; Pierce and Welborn did not confess. Springsteen and Scott were convicted, while Pierce and Welborn were not convicted.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
#1 Best Overall
Later DNA testing excluded all four men as contributors to an unknown Y-STR profile recovered from the evidence. APD also said no physical evidence from the scene had been linked to them. Charges were dropped pending further investigation.
The 2026 innocence ruling
On February 19, 2026, state district judge Dayna Blazey formally declared all four men innocent after prosecutors acknowledged they had been wrongly accused, the Associated Press reported. They should not be described as unresolved suspects or as having been implicated by the later findings about Brashers.
Rank #2
- Factory sealed DVD
Who did Austin police identify as a suspect?
In September 2025, APD announced that its investigation had identified Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect. The department’s announcement described two separate forensic links developed through renewed work on the case:
- Ballistics: Detective Daniel Jackson, who was assigned the case in 2022, found in June 2025 that a .380 cartridge recovered from a drain at the scene had not been submitted to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) for many years. An updated system produced a match to evidence from an unsolved 1998 Kentucky homicide.
- DNA: A manual Y-STR search found a full correspondence across 27 alleles between the unknown profile from the yogurt shop evidence and a profile from a 1990 South Carolina sexual assault and murder. APD said the South Carolina profile belonged to Brashers.
APD also reported that Border Patrol stopped Brashers west of El Paso on December 8, 1991, while he was driving a stolen car and carrying a .380 pistol. The department said the weapon’s serial number matched a gun Brashers later used to kill himself. These are police-reported investigative findings; Brashers was not tried in court over the Austin murders.
Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
What is known about Brashers’ fate?
Brashers died in a 1999 police standoff in Missouri, according to the Associated Press. Because he was dead when Austin police announced him as a suspect in 2025, he could not be prosecuted or tried for these killings. APD called the identification a significant breakthrough and said its investigation remained ongoing at the time of its September 2025 announcement. The material available for this account does not establish a later prosecution or trial.
How does the HBO documentary fit the updated case?
HBO’s four-part documentary directed by Margaret Brown debuted on August 3, 2025. HBO described it as drawing on archival news footage, interviews with families and suspects, and interrogation-room footage and audio. The original series arrived before APD’s public identification of Brashers and before the judge’s 2026 innocence ruling, so it does not include those later developments.
HBO followed the series with a 90-minute fifth episode, “The End of Wondering,” announced for May 22, 2026. It covers the months after the original series and the police press conference announcing a break in the 34-year-old case. HBO listed cold-case detective Dan Jackson, former lead investigators John Jones and Paul Johnson, genetic genealogist CeCe Moore, filmmaker Claire Huie, Forrest Welborn, and family members among the participants. The fifth episode is the follow-up to the developments that changed the case’s public and legal picture.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is the reported settlement?
CBS reported in May 2026 that the City of Austin agreed to a $35 million settlement to be divided among the four men. That is a reported city settlement, separate from the judge’s innocence ruling and from APD’s suspect identification. The settlement agreement was not reviewed for this account, so individual allocations, payment status, and other terms are not established here.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Quick Recap
Best Value
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
