US EditionMen once wrongfully accused of Austin yogurt shop murders seek formal exoneration
New evidence links murders to serial killer Robert Brashers, prompting formal exoneration of four men and potential compensation of $80,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment.
- On Thursday, a judge at the Travis County Justice Center will consider a formal declaration of innocence for four men, with the livestreamed hearing starting at 9 a.m. in an auxiliary courtroom.
- Cold‑case detectives say DNA and ballistics evidence linked Robert Eugene Brashers to the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders after renewed work in 2025.
- The four were arrested in late 1999 following thousands of leads; Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott were convicted on confessions they said were coerced, later overturned, and charges dismissed in 2009 after new DNA pointed to another suspect.
- If the judge finds actual innocence, the defendants would be entitled to compensation under Texas law, which provides $80,000 per year for incarceration, offering closure to family members including Maurice Pierce's wife and daughter.
- The broader investigative record shows pattern similarities that, since 2018, forensic developments linked the case to other crimes and to a suspect who died in 1999, prompting exoneration efforts.
73 Articles
73 Articles
US court clears four men accused of murder after 34 years: All about the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders
The four men were accused of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders, where four teenage girls were shot dead inside the ‘I Can't Believe It's Yogurt!’ outlet by an unknown gunman on the night of December 6.
Judge declares 4 men wrongly accused of 1991 Texas yogurt shop murders innocent
A Texas judge on Thursday declared four men who were wrongfully accused of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders innocent, formally clearing their names in a courtroom for the first time since the killings of four teenage girls that haunted the city for decades.
4 Men Exonerated in Horrific Austin Murders
A Texas judge on Thursday declared four men who were wrongfully accused of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders innocent, formally clearing their names in a courtroom for the first time since the killings of four teenage girls that haunted the city for decades. "You are innocent," state District Judge...
Exonerated: Men free decades after infamy of yogurt shop murders
It was a long-awaited moment for four men. Thursday, a judge cleared their names after they were long ago accused of one of the most heinous crimes in the state. North Texan Maurice Pierce was among those charged in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders. Years after his death, his wife and daughter were there when a judge declared he...
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