Michael Scott hugs a woman after being exonerated at a hearing for four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Maurice Pierce, who is deceased, were declared actually innocent during the hearing.
Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman
Editor’s note: Live updates from Thursday’s hearing have ended. See more coverage at statesman.com.
A landmark exoneration hearing in the 1991 Yogurt Shop murders case begins Thursday at 9 a.m., where a judge is expected to formally clear four men falsely accused of one of Austin’s most notorious crimes.
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The below liveblog will provide real-time updates from the courtroom as State District Judge Dayna Blazey hears findings that prosecutors say support declarations of actual innocence, as well as victim statements. American-Statesman reporting partner KVUE is carrying a livestream of the proceedings on YouTube. Click here to watch.
Bob and Amy Ayers, whose daughter Amy was one of the four yogurt shop victims, did not attend the hearing but issued a statement through their attorney that thanked Austin cold case detective Dan Jackson, the Austin Police Department and the Texas Attorney General’s Office for solving the case.
“Without their perseverance we would have never gotten this far,” attorney Doug O’Connell said in the statement. “The Ayers family never wanted anyone to be wrongfully convicted for the murder of their precious daughter.”
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The declaration of exoneration clears the way for the men to file wrongful incarceration lawsuits against the city of Austin and Travis County.
However, attorneys for the three men and Maurice Pierce’s family have said they will focus on Thursday’s hearing before turning to their next pursuit of justice in civil courts.
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Mike Ware, director of the Texas Innocence Project, said he expects a lawsuit to be filed in U.S. district court.
“It could possibly involve a lawsuit, a civil lawsuit,” he said. “That remains to be seen, but we hope to have some talks with people who matter, we hope we can support some reforms and we need to talk about restitution.”
State District Court Judge Dayna Blazey has formally exonerated the four men falsely accused of Austin’s 1991 yogurt shop murders innocent.
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“The record before this court establishes what the law now formally recognizes: That you are now innocent,” Blazey said, addressing the men and their family members. “No ruling can restore the time taken from you. No judgment can fully remedy the burden that you have carried. But the court can, and does, state, without qualification or hesitation, that you are cleared and that your innocence is affirmed.”
Blazey then proceeded to individually declare each of the falsely accused men “actually innocent.”
Her ruling came at the end of an emotional, hourslong capstone hearing that featured the cold case detective who cracked the case and emotional testimony from defense lawyers, family members and one of the falsely accused men himself.
Travis County prosecutors are expected to hold a press conference following the hearing.
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— Austin Sanders and Tony Plohetski
Family members of the four wrongfully accused men delivered emotional testimony Thursday, describing decades of grief, lost time and lasting damage.
Sharon Pollard, mother of Forrest Welborn, fought back tears as she told the court the “nightmare” should never have happened — not to the teenage victims and not to her son. She recalled Welborn calling her from jail after his bond was set at $1 million, pleading for help.
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“It broke my heart to remind him how much the bond was and there was no way I could get the money to get him out,” she said.
Pollard also shared that her daughter, who died of brain cancer Sept. 14, once promised she would learn the killer’s identity in heaven and clear her brother’s name. Fifteen days after her daughter’s death, Pollard said, detectives informed her they had identified serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers as the sole suspect.
Michael Scott’s father, Phil Scott, noted his son was 17 at the time of the killings and said no parent should watch a child “lose his youth and his freedom for something he didn’t do.” His mother, Lisa McClain, said scientific evidence had finally proven what the family always knew.
Kimberli Pierce, widow of Maurice Pierce, testified that her husband spent more than two years in solitary confinement and struggled to find work and housing after his release in 2003.
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“Our daughter lost her father and her innocence and we have never been the same,” Pierce said, adding that holidays were spent visiting him through plexiglass.
Their daughter, Marisa Pierce, said she grew up believing the justice system had failed her family and questioned what suffering drove her father to say he would rather die than return to jail.
Pierce said her father’s death following an encounter with Austin police officers after a 2010 traffic stop was “the result of a justice system that actively hunted” her father.
“To the man who made me who I am today, my best friend, my daddy, you have your name back,” she said. “The world finally knows what you were trying to say all along. Daddy, I love you.”
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From the stand, Michael Scott slowly and deliberately delivered a statement that echoed remarks from his fellow falsely accused that boiled down to one devastating fact: the wrongful conviction wrecked his life.
“Every day I carried the weight of a crime I did not commit,” Scott said.
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Robert Springsteen’s defense attorney, Amber Farrelly, read a statement on behalf of her client as photos of him as a young boy and teenager flashed on TV screens in the courtroom.
“My life from that moment of being arrested was turned into chaos and uncertainty after being sentenced to death and placed on death row as an innocent man,” the statement said. “I have lived every single day … being seen as a monster for something I did not do. … I pray this court will find no credible evidence exists against me and granting a full exoneration.”
Like the other falsely accused men, Forrest Welborn said he maintained his innocence from Day One.
“I lost the opportunity to have a social life,” Welborn said in a statement read by his attorney, Steve Goodson. “Because I was accused of this crime I lost the opportunity to start a family of my own.”
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Scott’s attorney, Tony Diaz, presented a series of pictures of Scott as he sat on the stand. The first was of a teenage Scott dressed up in a tuxedo, preparing to attend a school orchestra concert. Another was a photo collage of his family, including his daughter Jasmine.
Prosecutors called Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis to the stand Thursday before the judge called a short recess. Davis said her department stands behind the findings of its cold case detectives and no longer believes the four men were involved.
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“I support these exonerations,” she said.
Austin cold case detective Dan Jackson testified Thursday that new DNA and ballistic evidence led investigators to identify deceased serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers as the sole suspect in the 1991 yogurt shop murders.
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Jackson said advances in forensic testing excluded Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen as suspects, prompting an appeals court to dismiss their cases pending further investigation. He estimated investigators tested DNA from 400 to 500 men before identifying Brashers.
A spent cartridge recovered from a floor drain inside the North Austin yogurt shop proved pivotal, Jackson said. The shell casing had been submitted to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 1997 for analysis. Last year, Jackson resubmitted it for additional testing at ATF’s recommendation. The evidence produced a ballistic match to an unsolved homicide in Lexington, Kentucky.
That development led Austin detectives to collaborate with Lexington investigators. In August, Jackson asked crime labs nationwide to reexamine DNA evidence collected in 1991. Technicians identified a match to Brashers, whose name had not previously appeared in the yogurt shop case file, Jackson said.
Jackson outlined other killings investigators believe Brashers committed. He said several cases shared similarities with the yogurt shop murders, including young female victims, sexual assaults, use of a similar firearm and, in at least one instance, a fire set after the crime.
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“Brashers never paid for any of his crimes, except for one in Florida,” Jackson said. “He was clever and able to evade justice. He changed his name, wrote an obituary for himself and published it in a couple of different papers.”
As Jackson concluded his testimony, he said, “Based on DNA, ballistics and modus opperandi, it was my conclusion that the deaths of Amy Ayers, Elizabeth Thomas, Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were committed by Robert Eugene Brashers.
“Based on that I further concluded that Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen, Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn did not commit these murders,” he said.
Jackson, who joined the Austin Police Department in 2014 and was promoted to cold case detective in 2022, said he was assigned to the case his first day on the job.
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At the outset of his review, Jackson said he deliberately avoided watching videotaped interrogations that produced false confessions in the case.
“I didn’t want to put myself in a position where I had a confirmation bias,” he said.
A teary Tony Diaz, longtime civil attorney for Michael Scott, recalled seeing his client in solitary confinement during the more than 12 years he was wrongfully imprisoned, describing it like a scene from a horror movie.
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“But Mike stood tall and he walked proudly, even though he was in shackles,” Diaz said.
Robert Springsteen’s attorney, Amber Farrelly, said her client maintained his innocence from the very beginning. But when he was convicted and sentenced to death row, she said he lost all hope.
“He lost hope that the real killer would ever be found and [placed] in the criminal justice system,” Farrelly said.
Diaz pointed out that his client should not be exonerated because of reasonable doubt around his guilt. He should be exonerated, Diaz said, because he is “actually innocent.”
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“This is not a case of reasonable doubt. This is a case of actual innocence. The investigation is complete. The science is conclusive. The record is clear. No reasonable juror, in light of the DNA and ballistic and investigative evidence, could ever convict Mike Scott,” he said.
After State District Judge Dayna Blazey asked attorneys and witnesses to speak their names into the record, the hearing kicked off with comments from First Assistant District Attorney Trudy Strassburger who acknowledged the justice system failed both the falsely accused men and the teenage victims.
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“It goes without saying that harm was caused to the four wrongly prosecuted,” she said. “Today we are going to take the first step in righting that harm by shining a light on the truth.”
Former Austin homicide detective John Jones is in the courtroom for today’s hearing. Jones worked the case in 1991 and his bright green shirt became a symbol of his dedication to the case. But he told the Statesman he left the shirt at home today, saying he sees it as a symbol in honor of the victims — not the falsely accused men, though he sympathizes with them.
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Shawn and Angie Ayers, the brother and sister-in-law of Amy Ayers, will not attend today’s hearing, they told the American-Statesman early Thursday. Rather, they will watch a livestream and have planned a news conference in Austin following the hearing with their attorney, Doug O’Connell.
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The December 6, 1991, killings of Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, Eliza Thomas and Amy Ayers shocked Austin and reshaped the city’s sense of safety. The four teenage girls were bound, shot and left inside the burning North Austin yogurt shop where two of them worked. Over the next decade, four men — Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen, Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn — were arrested in connection to the incident; two were convicted. Those convictions were later overturned amid concerns about coercive interrogations and the absence of reliable physical evidence, and by 2009 all charges had been dismissed.
Officers at the scene of the Yogurt Shop murders. American-Statesman 1991 file photo.
American-Statesman 1991 file
A 3-D model of the Yogurt Shop Murder is one of several pieces collected over the years investigating the cities infamous homicides in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, August 2, 2011.
American-Statesman 2011 file
Filling cabinets at the Austin Police Department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit are still filled with documents and information on the Yogurt Shop Murders, one of the cities most notorious cases in Austin, Texas on Tuesday, August 2, 2011.
American-Statesman 2011 file
The billboard advertising a reward of $125,000 for leads in the Yogurt Shop murders. The billboard was at South Congress Avenue and Ben Whilte Boulevard.
American-Statesman file
A newly placed yellow rose sits on the memorial for the four victims of the Yogurt shop murders on Anderson Lane.
American-Statesman 1999 file
The certification hearing of yogurt-shop suspect Forrest Welborn, (left) began today in the 98th District Court in Austin. Maurice Pierce, not shown, was also in the courtroom. District Judge Jeanne Meurer will decide whether to certify these men to stand trial as adults. They were juveniles at the time of the slayings. November 29, 1999.
David Kennedy/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce photo from the 1991 Lamar Middle School yearbook. This was his second year as a seventh grader, he repeated the grade.
Handout/Austin American-Statesman
The certification hearing of yogurt-shop suspects Maurice Pierce, (shown) and Forrest Welborn began today in the 98th District Court in Austin. District Judge Jeanne Meurer will decide whether to certify these men to stand trial as adults. They were juveniles at the time of the slayings. November 29, 1999.
David Kennedy/Austin American-Statesman
Maria Thomas, Barbara Ayres and Pam Ayers, left to right, the mother of Eliza Thomas, sisters, Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, and Amy Ayers leave a press confernce held at the office of Travis County District Attorney, Ronnie Earle, holding door, after making a brief statement in response to the sentencing of Robert Springsteen on Friday, June 1, 2001. Springsteen convicted on Wednesday for the murder of Amy Ayers, one of four girls killed December 6, 1991 at an ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt’ in Austin, Texas, was sentenced to death.
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman
Barbara Ayres, right, mother of Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, reacts outside of the Travis County courtroom where Robert Burns Springsteen IV, 26, was found guilty of capital murder, Wednesday, May 30, 2001. Springsteen was found guilty of capital murder in the shooting of Amy Ayers on Dec. 6, 1991, at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt Shop, where Barbara Ayres’ daughters, Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, along with Eliza Hope Thomas were all killed. Sentencing for Springsteen’s case is scheduled for Thursday. The woman at left is unidentified.
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman
Sarah Harbison, yogurt shop murder victim. December 9, 1991.
Handout/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce, a suspect in the Yogurt Shop murders, left, is lead to a car after an arraingment hearing at the Gardner-Betts Juvenile Detention Center in Austin. Wednesday Oct. 6, 1999
Kevin Virobik-Adams/Austin American-Statesman
Pam Ayers, center, and huband Bob Ayers, right, the parents of Amy Ayers, leave the Travis County courtroom where Robert Burns Springsteen IV, 26, was found guilty of capital murder, Wednesday, May 30, 2001. Springsteen was found guilty of capital murder in the shooting of Amy Ayers on Dec. 6, 1991, at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt Shop, where Ayers, sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, along with Eliza Hope Thomas were all killed. Sentencing for Springsteen’s case is scheduled for Thursday.
Rodolfo Gonzalez/Austin American-Statesman
Bob and Pam Ayers’ 13-year-old daughter, Amy, was among four teenage victims found dead inside the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store in North Austin, which had been robbed and set on fire. Dec. 5, 2021
JAY JANNER/AMERICAN-STATESMAN 20
Pam Ayers, a mother of one of the yogurt-shop murder victims hugs Mike Harbison, father of one of the victims, following District Judge Jeanne Meurer’s decision that Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn will stand trial as adults. Dec. 9, 1999
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Yogurt-shop murder suspect Maurice Pierce reacts shortly after learning that he will stand trial as an adult in the case. He was a juvenile at the time the crime was committed in 1991. Dec. 9, 1999
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Yogurt-shop murder suspect Maurice Pierce puts his head down on a table after learning that he will be tried as an adult in Judge Jeanne Meurer’s courtroom this afternoon. Dec. 9, 1999
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
District Judge Jeanne Meurer listens to arguments during a cerification hearing for Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn this afternoon. She found that the two yogurt-shop murder suspects will stand trial as adults even though they were juveniles when the crime was committed in 1991. Dec. 9, 1999
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Marisa Pierce with a 2010 photograph that she made of her father, Maurice Pierce. Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Edwin Rodriguez, left, and Juan Martinez were standing across the street from the site where suspect Maurice Pierce was shot and killed after he allegedly stabbed an Austin Police officer. Martinez lives in the house across the street from where the incident occurred. APD officers were investigating an officer involved shooting in northwest Austin on Friday, December 24, 2010. This was the scene near the intersection of Shreveport and Campos Streets.
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
This is a handout photo from Marisa Pierce showing her father, Maurice Pierce and Marisa Pierce when she was 7 years-old.
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
The driveway of this house on Campos Dr. is near where suspect Maurice Pierce died after being shot by a police officer. Pierce allegedly stabbed the officer in the neck. APD officers were investigating an officer involved shooting in northwest Austin on Friday, December 24, 2010.
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Marisa Pierce with a 2010 photograph that she made of her father, Maurice Pierce. Tuesday, April 5, 2011.
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Crime tape marking the scene where suspect Maurice Pierce was shot and killed after he allegedly stabbed an Austin Police officer. APD officers were investigating an officer involved shooting in northwest Austin on Friday, December 24, 2010. This was the scene near the intersection of Shreveport and Campos Streets.
Larry Kolvoord/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce speaks at a press conference at the Doubletree Hotel downtown. Behind him is his wife, Kimberly, child, and an unidentified woman (far back). Jan. 30, 2003.
Peter Yang/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce and his daughter, Marisa Pierce, at her graduation from Creekview High School in Dallas in June 2010.
Handout/Austin American-Statesman
Family hand-out photo….Maurice Pierce in Dallas in 2003. March 22, 2011
Handout/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce, accompanied by his wife and child, receive directions from his lawyer following the press conference at the Doubletree Hotel downtown. Jan. 30, 2003
Peter Yang/Austin American-Statesman
Suspect Maurice Earl Pierce, right, listens to (attorney?) at the Yogurt shop murder trial scene Monday afternoon in Austin. November 27, 2000
Rebecca McEntee/Austin American-Statesman
Maurice Pierce was swarmed by media as he exited the Travis County Correctional Complex at Del Valle after charges for capital murder in the Yogurt Shop case was dismissed by Travis Colunty District Attorney Ronald Earle Tuesday. Jan. 28, 2003
Sung Park/Austin American-Statesman
Shown in these undated file photos from left are: Eliza Hope Thomas, 17; Amy Ayers, 13; Jennifer Harbison, 17; and Sarah
Handout/Austin American-Statesman
The Yogurt shop murder trial scene Monday afternoon in Austin..Suspects are: Maurice Earl Pierce, second from left sitting and his lawyers Lad Slavik (left) and Guillermo Gonzalez; Michael James Scott, third from left sitting and his lawyers Tony Diaz and Dexter Gilford; and Robert Springsteen, far right. November 27, 2000.
Rebecca McEntee/Austin American-Statesman
Travis County District Attorney Ronald Earle announced Tuesday that charges against Maurice Pierce in the Yogurt Shop capital murder case has been dismissed. Pierce was released within hours from the Del Valle Correctional Complex. Charges were dismissed due to the lack of evidence. Jan. 28, 2003
Sung Park/Austin American-Statesman
Robert Burns Springsteen IV enters the 167th District court on Tuesday morning. Springsteen is accused of murdering a teen-age girl in the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on Dec. 6, 1991.
Taylor Johnson/Austin American-Statesman
For years, however, the men remained in legal limbo — neither convicted nor formally cleared. Recent forensic testing and renewed review by prosecutors concluded there is no credible evidence tying them to the crime and led to the identification of another suspect, serial killer Robert Eugene Brashers. Thursday’s proceeding is expected to bring that long chapter to a close, formally exonerating the four men and marking a consequential moment in a case that has haunted Austin for more than three decades.
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Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Robert Springsteen was present at the hearing.
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