AUSTIN — The city of Austin has reached a tentative $35 million settlement with three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused in the 1991 yogurt shop murders, one of the most infamous unsolved cases in Texas history.
City officials confirmed the agreement Tuesday, describing it as the largest payout in Austin history. The settlement covers Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott and Forrest Welborn, along with the family of Maurice Pierce, who died in 2010. A Travis County judge formally declared all four men innocent in February 2026 after new evidence linked the crime to a dead suspect.
The case dates to December 6, 1991, when four teenage girls — Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison — were raped and murdered at an ICBY yogurt shop on Anderson Lane. The brutal killings stunned Austin and remained unsolved for years. In 1999, authorities charged the four men. Springsteen and Scott were convicted; Springsteen was sent to death row and Scott received a life sentence. Their convictions were later overturned on appeal.
The men maintained their innocence for more than three decades. Prosecutors eventually acknowledged the wrongful accusations, and the February exoneration hearing brought emotional closure in a packed courtroom. The settlement resolves long-standing civil claims against the city for the mishandled investigation and prosecution.
The agreement closes a painful chapter for the victims’ families, the exonerated men and the city, while highlighting ongoing questions about the original investigation. The yogurt shop murders themselves remain officially unsolved.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
City officials confirmed the agreement Tuesday, describing it as the largest payout in Austin history.
City officials confirmed the agreement Tuesday, describing it as the largest payout in Austin history.
