Austin faces $35M payout over 1991 case

Austin reached a tentative $35 million settlement on May 12 with three men and the family of a fourth who were wrongly accused in the 1991 yogurt shop murders, according to city and local news reports. The agreement would compensate Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and the family of Maurice Pierce, all of whom were formally cleared in February after a judge dismissed the cases against them. City Manager T.C. Broadnax said the settlement “closes the final chapter of a devastating story in Austin’s history.” The payout still requires Austin City Council approval. ### Which 1991 case is Austin paying over? The case centers on the December 6, 1991 killings of four girls at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop at 2949 West Anderson Lane in Austin. Austin police said firefighters found the bodies of Jennifer Harbison, 17, Sarah Harbison, 15, Eliza Thomas, 17, and Amy Ayers, 13, after a fire at the store shortly before midnight. Police said the girls had been bound, gagged and shot. (kxan.com) Austin police and prosecutors spent years pursuing multiple suspects in one of the city’s most notorious murder cases. The investigation produced confessions from several teenagers and young men, but the case unraveled over time as courts and later forensic reviews challenged the reliability of those statements and the physical evidence. (austintexas.gov) ### Who is being paid, and why? Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce were all accused in the case, but none remains legally responsible for the killings. Springsteen spent 10 years on Texas death row, Scott received a life sentence, Pierce spent three years in jail before charges were dropped, and Welborn was charged but never tried after grand juries refused to indict him, according to reporting by the Associated Press and KVUE. (austintexas.gov) Pierce died in 2010. February 2026 brought the formal exonerations. KXAN reported that a judge signed orders dismissing the cases against all four men, clearing their names after decades of wrongful accusations. Attorney Tony Diaz, who represents Scott, told KXAN the settlement would be split among the four parties, though the city has not released individual payment amounts. (kxan.com) A spokesperson for Springsteen, Welborn and the families of Scott and Pierce said the agreement was “an important step toward accountability and closure,” while adding that no resolution could restore the years they lost. ### What changed after so many years? September 2025 marked the turning point in the investigation when the Austin Police Department said DNA testing identified Robert Eugene Brashers as a suspect in the murders. (kxan.com) Police said Brashers died by suicide in Missouri in 1999. The Associated Press reported that investigators concluded in 2025 that new DNA science and a review of old ballistics evidence pointed to Brashers as the sole killer. (kvue.com) Austin police described the finding as a “major development” in a case that had remained unresolved for 34 years. ### What has Austin said about the settlement? (austintexas.gov) T.C. Broadnax said in a statement that Austin was “pleased to have reached an agreement with those who were wrongly accused and wrongly convicted in this case.” Broadnax also said the city hoped the settlement would bring “a sense of closure to everyone affected by this horrific event.” (austintexas.gov) Mayor Kirk Watson separately apologized to the men. KXAN reported that Watson said, “Today, policing has changed. Investigations have changed. Technology has changed. We have changed,” and added that the city could only “mitigate our mistakes with action.” ### What happens next at City Hall? Austin City Council still must approve the proposed settlement before any money is paid. (kxan.com) KVUE reported on May 12 that approval was expected within about a week and that the city might need to borrow money to fund the payout, although that had not been determined. May 21, 2026 is the date of Austin City Council’s next regular meeting listed on the city’s meeting page. (kxan.com) The council agenda page says members may act on items at that session, but the final vote and funding details for the yogurt shop settlement will depend on what council formally places before it. (austintexas.gov) (kvue.com)