Austin to Pay $35M Settlement in Yogurt Shop Murders Wrongful Conviction Case

The City of Austin has agreed to a tentative $35 million settlement with three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused and convicted for the 1991 rape and murder of four teenage girls at a yogurt shop. The victims, Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison, were killed in a notorious crime that led to wrongful convictions based on coerced confessions. Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott served prison time before their convictions were overturned, while Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce faced charges that were eventually dismissed. In February, a judge declared them innocent after investigators identified Robert Eugene Brashers, who died in 1999, as the sole perpetrator using advanced DNA evidence and ballistics reviews. The settlement, pending city council approval, aims to provide closure and potentially drive police reforms to prevent future wrongful convictions. Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax stated the agreement closes a devastating chapter in the city's history, while the plaintiffs hope it leads to improved investigative safeguards.