Decades after they were first accused of the murders, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce have been officially declared innocent.

AUSTIN, Texas — The 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders case once again took center stage inside an Austin courtroom Thursday morning. But this time, the outcome was much different.

An exoneration hearing was held for the four men originally accused of the murders of four teenage girls decades ago. The hearing marks the first step toward clearing the names of Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce. 

“Today’s decision is not an act of generosity. It is an act of obligation. An obligation to the truth; an obligation to the rule of law; an obligation to the dignity of the individual,” Travis County Judge Dayna Blazey said during the hearing. “Let my rulings serve as what they are intended to be: a full and final declaration that the accusations against you are without legal or factual foundation.”

In December 1991, 13-year-old Amy Ayers, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, ages 15 and 17, were murdered at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop in North Austin. In 1998, the four men were arrested in connection with the crimes.

Springsteen was sentenced to death, and Scott was sentenced to life. But both had their convictions overturned after courts ruled that prosecutors used coerced confessions. 

Prosecutors later dropped the cases against Welborn and Pierce due to insufficient evidence.

But the cloud of suspicion always remained, impacting the lives of all four men – until last September, when the Austin Police Department (APD) declared that they believed they had solved the case. APD identified the true culprit as serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers.

A DNA sample taken from under Amy Ayers’ fingernail led police to Brashers, whose DNA had previously been connected to a number of serious crimes – including murder – in South Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri. More recently, his DNA has also been linked to a Kentucky cold case.

Brashers died by suicide in 1999, eight months before police charged Springsteen, Scott, Welborn and Pierce with capital murder.

Both Welborn and Scott were present in the courtroom on Thursday as prosecutors began their opening statements by saying it was their turn to take responsibility.

Prosecutors read a statement from Springsteen in which he said his wrongful arrest and conviction turned his life into chaos, and he was branded a monster for something he didn’t do. A representative for Welborn echoed that sentiment, saying the case cost Welborn the chance to build a life and start a family.

Scott took the stand himself to say he lost his youth due to the false accusation.

“Every day, I have carried the weight of a crime I did not commit,” Scott said. “No court ruling can return the years and love that were taken from me. But it can acknowledge the truth: I am not guilty.”

For Pierce, the exoneration comes posthumously, after his death in 2010. His daughter, Marisa Pierce, was also in the courtroom Thursday. She told the court her father never got the chance to live in a world that knows he was innocent.

“Daddy, you have your name back,” Marisa Pierce said. “The world finally hears what you were trying to say all along.”

Ahead of Thursday’s hearing, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office said the exonerations are about more than correcting a past injustice – they’re about ensuring the system failures are acknowledged and addressed. In a press conference following the hearing, DA José Garza addressed the men directly.

“You were wrongfully accused, and you are innocent. And I am so sorry for the role that our office played in that tragedy,” Garza said. “I hope that this process, and any process that comes after, affords you the peace and the freedom that you deserve.”


What comes next?

An attorney for Scott said they are considering filing a civil lawsuit in federal court to pursue restitution for the men and their loved ones.

KVUE Senior Reporter Tony Plohetski explained that the lawsuit could be filed against possibly the city of Austin and Travis County – the city because it was APD that implicated the men initially, and the county because prosecutors were the ones who took the case to court and obtained convictions against Springsteen and Scott.

However, Plohetski also said the attorneys he has spoken with say they have been focused on the exonerations, and any sort of lawsuit would come at some point in the future.