Why Haven’t the Yogurt Shop Murders Been Solved? All About the Quadruple Homicide (and the DNA Evidence That Could Change Everything) By Emily Blackwood

It’s been over three decades since teens Eliza Thomas, Jennifer Harbison, Sarah Harbison and Amy Ayers were shot and killed inside a Texas yogurt shop. Yet the case remains unsolved.

On Dec. 6, 1991, a fire broke out at I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt in Austin, Texas. When firefighters extinguished the flames, they found the bodies of four young girls — all of whom had been shot in the head.

Days after the killings, police detained a teenager named Maurice Pierce, who was carrying a pistol matching the caliber used in what the media dubbed the Yogurt Shop Murders. His arrest led police to three other boys: Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Forrest Wellburn. 

Maurice, Robert and Michael all confessed to the crime at different times over the next eight years. Michael and Robert were convicted in 2001 and 2002, respectively, but the rulings were eventually overturned due to a lack of DNA evidence and controversial questioning by police. 

No one else was ever arrested for the murders of Eliza, Jennifer, Sarah and Amy. 

“They’re not forgotten,” Angie Ayers, the wife of Amy’s brother Shawn Ayers, told PEOPLE in 2023. “They’re not given up on.”

On Aug. 3, HBO Max released the first episode of a four-part docuseries aimed at reexamining the case and unraveling “the tangled web of a botched investigation.” The Yogurt Shop Murders includes interviews from the crime’s investigative team and the victims’ families, as well as footage of the suspects from an unfinished documentary, per Variety.   

So, why haven’t the Yogurt Shop Murders been solved? Here’s everything to know about the cold case and the DNA evidence that could finally link to the real killers.

Who were the victims in the Yogurt Shop Murders?

There were four victims in the Yogurt Shop Murders. Two of the girls, Eliza and Jennifer, who were both 17, worked at the shop. Sarah, 15, was Jennifer’s younger sister, who was there with her best friend, Amy, 13.

Eliza, Jennifer and Sarah were found naked and lying beside each other in the storage room of the shop. Amy’s body was discovered just 10 feet away. While some crime scene photos were included in the Yogurt Shop Murders docuseries, none showing the victims were used due to their graphic nature.

Director Margaret Brown told Variety in August 2025 that A24 even covered some of her team’s therapy costs because the photos were “really hard on the system.”

How did the victims in the Yogurt Shop Murders die?

All four girls died of gunshot wounds to the backs of their heads. Police said that at least two men forced them to strip in the storage room, where they were bound with their underwear. Some of the girls were also raped.

Police believe that the fire was set intentionally to cover up the quadruple homicide. 

Who were the suspects in the Yogurt Shop Murders?

There were over 1,200 suspects — dozens of whom gave false confessions — in the Yogurt Shop Murders. 

In 1992, the Mexican government arrested a motorcycle gang leader who matched the description of a man seen outside the shop on the night of the murders. But he was ruled out after he later claimed he was tortured into a confession.

By 1999, investigators once again focused their investigation on Maurice, Michael, Robert and Forrest. After years of questioning, three of the boys eventually confessed to the crime, but two were convicted.

Michael was placed on death row in 2001, and Robert was sentenced to life in prison in 2002. All charges against Maurice and Forrest were dropped due to a lack of evidence, News 8 Austin reported.

Though many believe the men’s confessions were coerced, one sergeant who interrogated both suspects told The New York Times in June 2009 that they provided details of the crime that hadn’t been released to the public. However, Michael and Robert retracted their confessions before trial. 

Where are the suspects in the Yogurt Shop Murders now?

Michael and Robert’s charges were dismissed after detectives admitted to unethical interrogation tactics, including holding a gun to Michael’s head and withholding key evidence that would rule out Maurice’s gun as the murder weapon.

New genetic testing also failed to match the DNA found on one of the girls to either man, per The New York Times. Robert and Michael were released from prison in 2009.

Why haven’t the Yogurt Shop Murders been solved?

Since the release of Michael and Robert, no one else has been arrested in the Yogurt Shop Murders. 

However, in 2020, new DNA testing matched evidence from the crime to an unidentified man, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Though the FBI allegedly has a matching sample, they have not handed it over to Austin investigators due to legal complications.

Detective Dan Jackson, who was assigned to the case in 2022, told USA Today in August 2025 that the fire and the water used to extinguish it have made solving this case difficult. But he still hopes to build a profile from that lone DNA sample that will eventually lead them to a suspect. 

“If I didn’t think I could solve it, then why get up every day?” Jackson told the outlet. “I think that with new technology, new information that we have − that I can’t go into − even since I’ve taken the case over, the ability to do more with less when it comes to forensics is light-years ahead than it was a few years ago.”

He continued, “When I started, we needed a certain amount (of DNA). We weren’t even close to it, but that amount that you need is so much less now. I am confident that I will solve this.”