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The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode

March 27, 2025 / 42:06

This episode covers the unsolved yogurt shop murders in Austin, Texas, which occurred in December 1991. It features Jon Jones, the lead investigator, and family members of the victims, including Sonora Thomas and Barbara Harbison.

The episode recounts the tragic events of December 6, 1991, when four teenage girls were murdered in a yogurt shop. Jon Jones reflects on the case and his ongoing search for justice, expressing his hope to eventually solve the crime.

Family members share their personal stories of loss and grief, including Sonora Thomas, who lost her sister Eliza, and Barbara Harbison, who lost her daughters Jennifer and Sarah. They discuss the impact of the murders on their lives and the community.

The investigation faced numerous challenges, including false confessions and a lack of physical evidence. The episode highlights the various suspects over the years and the emotional toll on both investigators and families.

As advancements in DNA technology emerge, there is renewed hope for solving the case. Jon Jones reflects on his commitment to the victims' families and the unresolved nature of the crime.

TLDR

The episode discusses the unsolved 1991 yogurt shop murders in Austin, featuring investigator Jon Jones and victim families' emotional stories.

Episode

42:06
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[Music] every year marks another year you know that there's no closure yeah I still have insomnia 30
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years after the fact I wish i' had solved a crime for the families we Tred this is the I can't believe
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it's I was a cop for 32 years at Austin PD I'll always be associated with that case there's no getting away from
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that I just hope one of these days we can put the saint AB bed [Applause] Jony yeah uh you hear about the call
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2900 West Anderson yeah I'm headed over there the call occurred at 11:27 p.m. homicide
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4 did you get my in right out there that was the lead investigator on the I can't believe it's yoga Shop
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murder case on December 6th 199 91 there was a robbery fire and murder committed this all right I'll make to
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call myself victims were Jennifer and Sarah Harbison Eliza Thomas and Amy SS I can still see him I can still see
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the inside of that place that stuff's indelibly burned in my mind there has never been in Austin a more
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gristly ugly crime there's four girls in there and they're all beautiful girls and they're very young they're cleaning
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up they lock up the yogurt shop and then we believe it to be two individuals came
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in they forced them to the back room at gunpoint I lost my sister Eliza Thomas in the yogurt shop murders I was 13
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yeah I was 13 when my sister [Music] died the whole city was in shock everywhere we drove there were
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these billboards with a picture of my sister on it and so it's like you just hold on to anything you can to get
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through these moments that are so impossible we went where the case took us open the door police we're either
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going to charge some people get him in jail or clear him from this [Music] case I don't know how many murderers
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I've tried it's unlike anything I've ever done before it's nothing but one unexpected twist after
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another do you believe that there is right now some evidence that could lead to the killers yes yes I know who did
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this I just don't know his name is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end
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[Music] [Music] so what is all of this here these are my notes it's been more than 30 years since
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Jon Jones began the painstaking search to the killers of four teenage girls in an Austin yogurt shop oh that's the big
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book this one uh is really from day one he has long since retired from the Austin Police Department and moved out
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of Texas but copies of some of the case files moov with him hypnosis polygraph confessions you know I noticed this
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sitting here yep we will not forget you have nope can't the images of December 6th
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1991 remain all too Vivid I can definitely still see it what do y'all got out there I'm in round
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35 bu it started with that call from dispatch okay I'm copying the fire Park you cut out on the first part that to go
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to a scene of a fire that would turn into something far worse apparently a robber
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homity I stand for [Music] around and then about halfway out there they call me again on the radio said we
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found the fourth body a local TV news crew happened to be filming Jones on a ride along that night
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what place of business is this here this is the uh I can't believe it's okay fire department had just
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knocked down the fire I mean there was still a lot of water in there a lot of smoke still it was all muted Grays and
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blacks there is no color in there with the exception of the girls the girls were quickly identified
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two have been working at the shop closing up that night Eliza Thomas and Jennifer harberson were both 17 years
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old Jennifer's 15-year-old Sister Sarah and their friend 13-year-old Amy SS had met them there to head
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home the four girls have been gagged tied up with their own clothing and shot in the head investigators would learn
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that at least one of the victims had been sexually assaulted the yogurt shop had also been set on fire destroying
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potential evidence there was smoke and soot on every surface so kind of made fingerprinting kind of difficult this
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was a crime like none Austin had seen before Jones knew he needed help and from the scene contacted the Bureau of
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Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms the FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety soon as we knew what type of guns we
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were looking for had information went out Nationwide gunshot wounds showed two different types of guns were used
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leading investigators that believe that there were at least two killers on the loose what were the two guns 380 and a
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22 and we recovered all of the rounds the weapons though were not found and a task force worked to come up with
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potential suspects they were from all spectrums I mean we looked at everybody from family members
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to Drifters and while police track down leads the families and the City of auson
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grieved the Harbison family lost their only children daughters Jennifer a hardworking High School senior and Sarah
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who was enjoying Sports and clubs as a High School freshman their mother Barbara spoke with us in
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1992 my life was sort of focused around them for from here until eternity someone took eternity away from me I
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lost my daughter I lost my first dance Bob SS is the father of the youngest victim Amy a country girl with a love
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for Animals I want to see her graduate I want to see her become a veterinarian she was a daddy's girl I
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remember the [Music] shock Sonora Thomas 13year years old when her only sibling Eliza was murdered
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had a hard time dealing with the loss of the sister she looked up to I remember fantasizing for days that my sister had
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somehow escaped and run away and that she was going to come back and so that's what I was kind of holding on to her
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parents struggled as well my family never talked about my sister after she died never
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no it's it's too it's too painful Sonora did as best she could picking up some pieces of her sister's
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life Eliza an animal lover had a pig she planned to enter in a Livestock Show just a few months after the murders
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Sonora took over those duties third place Sonora Thomas while Sonora may have seemed to be coping the reality she
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says was Far different you had to grow up quickly very quickly I would say I fell apart under that
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pressure we knew they were hurting cuz you know we were hurting too here you go open your little mouth Jones apparent
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himself felt the family's grief he promised to do all he could to help them we told him what we could and I assured
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him that we would keep them a priz just to everything that was happening and and
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we did Jones also made a pledge to the families involving the shirt he wore on the night of the murders I kind of made
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a promise to them the next time they saw me with that green and white shirt on that that was a signal to them that you
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know we knew who did it and Jones seemed assured they would find The Killers you
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know we stayed in constant contact with the Behavioral Science unit at uh the FBI and quanico they said that I should
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as the face of the investigation project an air of confidence that would cause the the bad guy to shiver in his boots
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so look in the camera and be confident and when we followed him working the case in
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1992 he did just that you know let me just say this whoever you are out there you're going to be mine one of these
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days where you at okay I'm right here but trying to figure that out was daunting 342 people that have been uh
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listed as suspect but we're looking at pages and pages is the suspects here one of those early suspects was a teenager
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named Maurice Pierce he was arrested 8 days after the murders at a mall near the yogurt shop carrying a 22 caliber
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gun the type used in the murders the 22s were unmatchable so you can't say it wasn't
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his gun no but there was no way to prove that it was his gun um he gave a state statement fact I
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took his statement and he implicated three other boys Janes says Maurice Pierce claimed
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that he was driving a getaway car and that three acquaintances Forest wellborne Michael Scott and Robert
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Springstein were involved in the murders but Pierce's story began to fall apart it started the crater
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when we wired him up to go talk to Forest and we were listening in on the wire and
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it it was pretty obvious Forest us didn't know what Maurice was talking about and when wellborne Scott and
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spring steam were brought in for questioning they too denied any involvement it was decided there was
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just not enough evidence to charge them I stop right here right here and the search for other suspects contined get
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down the ground get down get down on the ground [Music] information flow anyway two months after the yogurt shop
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murders with no viable suspects police were chasing leads no matter where it took them in the vampires uh the occult
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graveyard RS the task force became aware of a counterculture type group of local
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residents known to be into the supernatural they go out and dance and take pictures on
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tombstones and investigators began to hear that this group might be connected to something far more serious the the
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tips were that they were talking about um murders talking about the yogurt shop murders the yogurt shop murders
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yes there was one woman in particular whose name kept coming up in connection with these tips she got stopped at the
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Oakwood Cemetery the task force planned a raid on her home my computer hoping to
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see if any evidence might be found there not right here right here unlocked the door police police police
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[Applause] off it was creepy in there all that but as it turns out a lot of that
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stuff was rat bones and Theatrical Parts but it was a good lead so we finally figured out that they're just living to
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make believe life this Sergeant hook could be out the task force the raid may have been a bust but it wasn't long
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before the task force had its eyes on another person of interest this sketch shows a the man
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that multiple eyewitnesses told police they saw sitting in a car outside the yogurt shop on the night of the murders
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and it was somebody we really wanted to talk to so we put it out there and the response they got came from an
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unexpected Source a couple of other investigators from the sex crimes unit came up and go we have a sketch that
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looks just like that 3 weeks before the yogurt shop murders a young woman in Austin had been
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kidnapped and sexually assaulted police had released this sketch of three men wanted in connection with that crime one
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of those suspects bore a striking resemblance to that man Witnesses reported sitting in a car outside the
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yogurt shop you know I just kind of went when I saw the the composite a tip came in that the men
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wanted in the kidnapping and sexual assault case had fled to Mexico two were caught and arrested one who resembled
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the person of interest in the yogurt shop sketch the development made national news when they got caught in
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Mexico we went down there to interview him Jones's team questioned the men and so too did the Mexican
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authorities but the Mexican Government announced to the whole world that they confessed and they were going to try
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them for the murders down there they confessed to the yogurt shop yes they did but Jones learned those confessions
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had details that didn't match the crime scene even the caliber of guns they claimed to use was wrong there was too
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many inconsistencies in the confession so Jones's team reinterviewed the men and he says this time they
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recanted just about everything it made Jones and other investigators wonder if those confessions were coerced by the
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Mexican authorities the on promising lead fell apart it was depressing over the following years
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there would be other confessions ones that were willingly given you know we Face six confessions six people who
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confessed yeah written that confessed to this crime yes they did and they didn't
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do it nope [Music] in 1994 after nearly 3 years of leading the investigation Jon Jones was moved
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out of the homicide division he says it was a mutual decision Austin Police wanted fresh eyes working the case and
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Jones felt it was time to move on other detectives took over and as time passed the victim's families were left
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wondering why no one had been arrested amir's mother ham spoke to us in 1996 they're probably out there leading
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a life as normal as they've ever had and ours is never going to be the same that same year Eliza Thomas's mom
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moved away from Austin and the painful reminders I'm running into people who were constantly asking how the case was
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going was very hard on me and especially my daughter Sonora Sonora life had taken a downward
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spiral in my high school years things really deteriorated drugs using alcohol being hospitalized going to a boarding
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school for you know Disturbed teenagers things like that the case seems stalled until October
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1999 some breaking news Austin Police have arrested four men in connection with the yogurt shop murders of
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1991 there were finally arrests but would it answer the question on the billboard that had been haunting Austin
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for nearly a [Music] decade after nearly 8 years Austin nights are getting some answers in the
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case of the yogurt shot murder I want to start off by thanking y'all for joining
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us here today for almost 8 years we've all waited to hear the words that our Police
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Department is close to a point of solving a crime that has haunted our very Souls today we finally get to hear
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those words when four men were arrested in the fall of 1999 for the yogurt shop murders
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relief was felt Citywide Sarah Jennifer Amy Eliza we did not forget the girls families struggled to take it all in
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there had been so many false leads for such a long time it was hard to know how to think about it and how to
00:20:16
feel about it but there were finally names and faces to blame Maurice Pierce Forest wellborne Michael Scott and
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Robert Springstein to to the task force they were familiar names and faces they were the same young men that Jon Jones
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and his investigators question just 8 days after the murders did you do this I have no comment and ultimately released
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for lack of evidence I was confident and remain confident this day that we got as
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far with him as we could then but that doesn't mean that there wasn't something developed later that what caused them to
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actually go out and arrest them so I was going yes good job I was ready to dig out the Hideous green and white
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shirt but before that shirt could come out of the closet the one he promised the girl's families he would wear when
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the case was solved Jones wanted to know more about what led to the arrest there was no physical evidence
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nothing Joe James Sawyer was appointed as Robert spr sc's attorney what made them go back and charge these guys
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because the new officers when they when they reopened the Cold Case convinced themselves that we let them slip through
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our fingers we had to have had the murderers in the beginning in part they decided that
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because they had nothing else there was no new physical evidence suddenly tying any of the four men to
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the crime but what police did have were two newly obtained confessions one from Michael Scott and another from Sawyer's
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own client Robert Springstein Michael Scott's confession came first he was questioned over four
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days come on Michael you're doing good tell us let's do this today let's do it remember seeing girl I remember one girl
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screaming terrified Scott told investigators that he and the others only intended a simple Rob robbery he
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said they cased the yogurt shop earlier that day and then after dark he said they came back armed with two guns I
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hear the gun go off I only pulled trigger once I hear another gun go up investigators claimed
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that Springstein later corroborated much of what Scott [Music] said but after intense questioning he
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went further [Music] Springsteen told them he shot one girl and raped her he was so tired of this
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he'd already been questioned he'd already been through that Mill and he thought you know what I'll tell you any
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damn thing you want Sawyer maintains his client is innocent and says the confession was coerced in 2009 Robert
00:23:26
springen explained to 40 8 hours why he would admit to doing something so horrible something he says he didn't do
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I was braided and bered and bered by the police officers until they obtained what
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it was they wanted to hear they were not going to allow me to leave and I I basically they they broke me down let me
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just ask you did you have anything to do no with the murders at the yogurt shop no never even though Joe James Sawyer
00:23:55
didn't have Michael Scott as his client he says he has serious concerns about his confession too is that the gun you
00:24:03
shot somebody with M don't is that the gun you walked up behind somebody with and shot in the
00:24:09
head I frankly couldn't believe it they terrorized him and he was afraid to say no Forest wellborne denied having
00:24:19
anything to do with the murders but police were convinced he was the lookout that night and Michael Scott placed him
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at the scene hi I'm Aon Mor with CBS I spoke to wellborne in 1999 in jail shortly after
00:24:37
his arrest were you there that night no were you there as a lookout no miss it you had nothing to do with
00:24:49
this nothing at all Wellborn had been questioned multiple times by investigators over the years and he
00:24:56
never wavered he lik the others first came on police radar when in 1991 just days after the murders Maurice Pierce
00:25:05
had been caught with that 22 caliber gun at the mall near the yogurt shop Pierce
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told the detectives back then that he had given the handgun to wellborne and that it had been used in the yogurt shop
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murders why would he say that I don't know wellborne has always maintained his innocence despite pressure from from the
00:25:28
police they'll get right in my face and you know tell me everything I said it was a lie remember false confessions
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in this case were nothing new Jones said that six written false confessions were obtained when he was in
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charge so when he learned that the two confessions were all the new investigators seemed to have it gave him
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pause I go well maybe I shouldn't get that shirt out just yet it wasn't long before the case against the men began
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crumbling charges against Forest wellborne were dismissed after two grand juries failed to indict him and later on
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charges were dropped against Maurice Pierce for lack of evidence everything fell apart except
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the cases against Michael Scott and Robert Springstein and with Scott and Springsteen's confessions the victim's
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families felt prosecutors had a strong case these young men have been implicated and they have confessed and
00:26:33
they can withdraw it but the truth is they actually were there and they actually did the
00:26:38
[Music] murders in 2001 nearly 10 years after the murders of Eliza Thomas Amy SS and
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Sarah and Jennifer Harbison the yogurt shop murder trials began both defendants Robert Springstein and Michael Scott
00:27:08
face the death penalty the only thing that ever tied Robert or Mike Scott to that crime scene with their
00:27:17
confessions confessions that both defendants said were coerced the two were tried separately Springsteen's
00:27:24
trial was first neither of the men would testify against one another so instead prosecutors use their confessions
00:27:32
against one another reading parts of the confessions to the juries spring seed's
00:27:38
lawyer Joe James Sawyer was frustrated that he couldn't cross-examine Scott I thought the trial was massively
00:27:46
unfair to my client and that it was being done systematically and with deliberation the trial lasted 3 weeks
00:27:54
the jury deliberated for 13 hours and police run and then reached a verdict we the jury find the defendant Robert
00:28:03
Springstein ivth guilty of the offense of capital murder guilty Springstein was condemned to death
00:28:12
row in 2002 Michael Scott went on trial he was convicted as well he was sentenced to life in prison but the case
00:28:22
didn't end there 15 years after the murders came a shocking turn of events in a 54 decision the court behind me
00:28:31
said that Michael Scott's constitutional rights were violated during his trial and therefore should get a new one both
00:28:37
Scott and Springsteen's convictions were overturned on constitutional grounds the
00:28:44
sixth amendment gives defendants the right to confront accusers and remember in Scott and Springsteen's trials their
00:28:51
confessions were used against one another but they weren't allowed to question each other in court
00:28:59
and the relief the relief was incredible but that relief for the defendants came as a devastating blow to
00:29:09
the victim's families we later spoke to Eliza Thomas's Mother Maria about that moment every time I hear those words
00:29:19
that their rights were violated just feel like I'm going to go insane their rights are violated
00:29:28
our girls were murdered it ruins your sense of fairness it ruins your sense of that we live in a just
00:29:38
world even though their convictions were overturned Scott and Springstein were not released a new district attorney
00:29:46
Rosemary Lamberg was determined to retry them in an effort to find more evidence
00:29:53
her office had ordered DNA tests on vaginal swabs taken from the victims at the time of the
00:30:00
murders it's called yst testing and was fairly new in 2009 when we spoke with da
00:30:09
Lamberg this technology searches for male DNA only a partial male DNA profile was obtained from one of the victims
00:30:19
believed to have been sexually assaulted and no one expected what it would reveal does that DNA matter any of
00:30:29
the four young men who were originally accused and two of them who have been convicted it does
00:30:36
not the DNA did not match any of the original four suspects including Scott and Springstein and that's significant
00:30:45
because Springstein in that confession he said was coerced told investigators he raped one of the
00:30:54
girls CC Moore is a DNA expert and genetic genealogists whom we asked about the case and the role of yst strr DNA in
00:31:04
criminal cases it is a tool that can eliminate almost everyone it should eliminate
00:31:13
everybody but the suspect if their ydr does not match they did not contribute that because where that DNA was found
00:31:23
yes in this case it's very important doing the district attorney was focused on finding the source of that DNA she
00:31:32
wondered if Springstein and Scott had another partner I remain really confident that both Springsteen and
00:31:39
Scott were responsible for killing those poor girls but in 2009 with no matches on that DNA Lumberg dropped charges
00:31:49
against spring scen and Scott after nearly 10 years behind bars they were released but not exonerated leaving open
00:31:58
the possibility they could be retried at a later time this was a difficult decision and one I'd rather not have to
00:32:07
make the question remained though whose DNA was it I know who it is The Killers you're
00:32:15
convinced that that that is a certain truth Amber Fairley was part of both Scott and Springsteen's defense teams
00:32:23
she came up with a theory that the mystery DNA might belong instead to two never identified men who witnesses
00:32:32
reported seen sitting in the yogurt shop just before it closed those two men were described
00:32:41
wearing fatigued colored jackets they were very slouched over Whispering like they were it was a very close
00:32:49
conversation in a booth officials tried to track down those two men as well as the source of
00:32:55
the DNA and then in 2017 an Austin Police investigator searched a public online DNA database to
00:33:05
see if he could get a hit and unbelievably he did I thought my God we actually have a chance a shot to solve
00:33:16
this crime after so many years [Music] I really thought this was it I really thought we had a chance to solve it us
00:33:39
Congressman Michael McCall like so many others from Austin hoped that the recently uncovered DNA in the yogurt
00:33:46
shop murder case might finally bring answers to the victim's families we'll never forget that tragic day it's
00:33:55
stained in my memory 25 years after the murders the Austin Police Department went searching for a
00:34:03
match to the ydr DNA that had been found on the yogurt shop victim believed to have been sexually assaulted and in
00:34:12
2017 they got a break on a public DNA database used for population studies investigators thought they had found a
00:34:23
match I've seen DNA prove homicide cases the DNA evidence is really the key here but that sample from the crime
00:34:33
scene was not a complete DNA profile it was just yst the male portion of DNA and
00:34:42
it was not a very detailed sample having just 16 markers 16 Str strs is not a very powerful match there could be
00:34:52
millions of people with that same profile so in genetic genealogy we usually use 67 or 111 markers or maybe
00:35:01
even more but isn't it a place to start it is it's not absolute but if there's nothing else to work with it is
00:35:09
certainly something to look into still it seemed to be the most promising lead in years but there was a problem the
00:35:17
seemingly matching sample on the public database had been submitted anonymously by the FBI that meant it came from a
00:35:25
federally convicted offender arreste or detainee but had no name attached to it when Austin authorities tried to get
00:35:35
that name the FBI would not provide it citing privacy laws there are some restrictions on privacy so it gets into
00:35:43
some very sort of uh you know uh dicey issues frustrated officials reached out to Congressman Mcall for help and so I
00:35:52
pressed the FBI very hard finally in early 2020 the FBI agreed to work with the Austin Police Department to see if
00:36:01
further testing could be done on that y SDR DNA from the crime scene I was very excited about it the idea that we could
00:36:10
bring this case to a to closure for the families and bring those responsible to Justice more advanced testing came up
00:36:19
with additional markers 25 instead of the original 16 but as so often happen in this case
00:36:28
what seemed so promising turned into disappointment some of the additional markers did not match the FBI sample in
00:36:38
other words what seemed to be a match was not in a letter to Congressman McCall the FBI explained the new results
00:36:47
quote conclusively exclude the maale donor of the FBI sample as such the FBI ydr profile
00:36:58
is not an investigative lead and that was the greatest disappointment because we really thought we had it if it didn't
00:37:06
match that individual doesn't it still mean there's somebody out there this DNA belongs to somebody right it does it
00:37:13
does um and that's why we're not going to rest till we find the match how important then is this DNA profile that
00:37:22
exists to solving this case I mean it's um it's everything with DNA research advancing so
00:37:32
quickly there's real hope that one day that sample of DNA obtained 30 years ago May finally solve this case still it
00:37:43
will not erase the pain or the loss of lives every year that goes by I get farther and farther away from my
00:37:52
sister you know and I worry about losing memories Sonora Thomas struggled for years with panic attacks and physical
00:38:05
pain until with the help of therapy she realized it was connected to the murder of her sister Eliza with a unique
00:38:14
understanding of what trauma victims experience Sonora wanted to help others like her and became a therapist there's
00:38:23
so many moments you know when your heart is open you know you're joyful but there's also this loss that's always
00:38:31
accompanying your life sonor found it helpful to look for ways to remember Eliza when we got married we have a
00:38:38
flower and an empty chair at our ceremony and my sister was mentioned compounding Sonora's pain her
00:38:46
mother died in 2015 Maria Thomas passed away with so many unresolved questions about the
00:38:54
murder of her daughter there is a kind of of torture that continues by the fact that it's unsolved and it's
00:39:05
ongoing it's always there Jon Jones is still haunted by the fact that the case is unsolved and by
00:39:16
what he saw that gruesome night he has suffered from PTSD through the years I had completely shut
00:39:26
down uh to where all my energy was directed at at the case it took a toll on you didn't
00:39:33
it John You' been 30 years afterwards well yeah it would on anybody I think not as much as the family as you
00:39:42
understand I know whatever pain I'm having pales in comparison to what they what they're going
00:39:52
[Music] through these days Janes finds Solace singing in his church choir I can relax
00:40:01
when I'm in church Leave the World Behind leave outside no I I know it's just past the
00:40:09
door and when he's in that outside world the families of Amy SS Jennifer and Sarah Harbison and Eliza Thomas are
00:40:20
never far from his thoughts I feel bad for them that is still not solved but Jones has hope he has kept that
00:40:30
shirt he wore the night of the murders only worn once the shirt he promised to never wear until the case was solved
00:40:38
more than 30 years later still sitting in there still sitting here it is and sometime soon Jon Jones looks
00:40:49
forward to wearing it [Music] again I just hope one of these days we can put this thing to bed
00:40:57
[Music] for the family's [Music] [Music] sake 48 hours don't miss an episode [Music]

Badges

This episode stands out for the following:

  • 80
    Most heartbreaking
  • 70
    Most emotional
  • 70
    Best concept / idea
  • 65
    Most shocking

Episode Highlights

  • The Yogurt Shop Murders
    Four teenage girls were brutally murdered in a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas.
    “There has never been in Austin a more gristly ugly crime.”
    @ 02m 04s
    March 27, 2025
  • Arrests Made After Years of Grief
    In 1999, four men were arrested in connection with the yogurt shop murders, bringing relief to the city.
    “Today we finally get to hear those words.”
    @ 19m 43s
    March 27, 2025
  • Confessions and Doubts
    Confessions from suspects raised questions about their validity, leading to a complex investigation.
    “They were not going to allow me to leave.”
    @ 23m 45s
    March 27, 2025
  • The Trial and Its Aftermath
    Robert Springsteen was condemned to death while Michael Scott received a life sentence. "The trial was massively unfair to my client."
    “The trial was massively unfair to my client.”
    @ 27m 43s
    March 27, 2025
  • A Shocking Turn of Events
    15 years later, the court ruled that Michael Scott's rights were violated, leading to overturned convictions. "The relief was incredible."
    “The relief was incredible.”
    @ 28m 59s
    March 27, 2025
  • DNA Breakthrough
    In 2017, a public DNA database led to a potential match, reigniting hope. "I thought my God, we actually have a chance to solve this crime."
    “I thought my God, we actually have a chance to solve this crime.”
    @ 33m 16s
    March 27, 2025
  • Ongoing Pain and Grief
    Families continue to suffer from unresolved trauma and loss, with lingering questions about the case. "Every year that goes by, I get farther and farther away from my sister."
    “Every year that goes by, I get farther and farther away from my sister.”
    @ 37m 50s
    March 27, 2025

Episode Quotes

  • I lost my daughter. I lost my first dance.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode
  • You had to grow up quickly, very quickly.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode
  • You're going to be mine one of these days.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode
  • Their rights are violated, it ruins your sense of fairness.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode
  • I thought my God, we actually have a chance to solve this crime.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode
  • Every year that goes by, I get farther and farther away from my sister.
    The Yogurt Shop Murders | Full Episode

Key Moments

  • Yogurt Shop Murders02:04
  • Arrests Made19:43
  • Confessions23:45
  • Trial Unfairness27:43
  • Convictions Overturned28:40
  • DNA Testing30:04
  • Unresolved Trauma38:57
  • Hope for Closure40:56

Words per Minute Over Time

Vibes Breakdown