The Texas Yogurt Shop Exonerations | "Case by Case" | "48 Hours" Podcast | Forensic Files

The phrase most often associated with justice, the principle meant to anchor the
system, is innocent until proven guilty. But for my father and three of his peers,
that principle did not exist. >> That's Maurice Pierce speaking about her late father, Maurice Pierce. Pierce was
one of four men originally suspected in the 1991 murders of four teenage girls, Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers, and sisters
Jennifer and Sarah Harbison. They were at a I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Shop in Austin, Texas.
>> What did you see when you first walked into the yogurt shop? >> Just wholesale carnage.
>> Sergeant Jones was looking at the badly burned bodies of four teenage girls who'd been bound and gagged and shot in
the head. The yogurt shop had been set on fire to cover the killer's tracks. >> The case has for years become known as
the yogurt shop murders. Nearly 35 years later, all four men were declared innocent and exonerated after
the Austin Police Department tied another man to the crimes. >> We now have evidence linking a specific
individual to this case, Robert Eugene Brashers. >> And now the city of Austin has made an
offer of $35 million to be split amongst the wrongfully accused men, including the family of Maurice Pierce,
who died before this settlement was reached. >> It's blood money for us. He He died for
this money, so really it was never about the money for us. It was about the reform and the
changes that need to happen, not only in Austin, but apparently across the country.
>> In the end, this is a story about eight victims. The four girls who were killed
at the yogurt shop, and the four boys who were wrongfully accused of killing them.
What I think we need to remember is that over all these years, as terrible as it
was for Sarah, Jennifer, Amy, and Eliza's families, the four boys and their families were
hounded and treated as pariahs. I'm 48 Hours correspondent Erin Moriarty, and this is Case by Case.
I've been reporting on this case since almost the beginning and nearly my entire career at CBS News.
>> The signs of pain and outrage are everywhere around Austin. So, the police have formed an elite unit.
>> Dr. Snow It might be, but >> whose only mission is to catch whoever killed those girls.
>> The gunshot wounds show that actually two different kinds of guns have been used, a .380 and a .22.
Back then, one of the early suspects was Maurice Pierce, who was 16 years old at
the time. Here's a clip from one of our 48 Hours episodes on the case. You'll also hear from the first lead detective,
John Jones. >> He was arrested eight days after the murders at a mall near the yogurt shop,
carrying a .22 caliber gun, the type [music] used in the murders. >> The .22s were unmatchable.
>> So, you can't [music] say it wasn't his gun. >> No. >> But, there was no way to match
>> it was his gun. Um he gave a statement. >> Jones says [music] Maurice Pierce claimed that he was driving a getaway
car, and that three [music] acquaintances, Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott, and Robert Springsteen, were
involved [music] in the murders, but Pierce's story began to fall apart. >> It started to crater when
we wired him up to go talk to Forest. And we were listening in on the wire, and it was pretty obvious Forest
didn't know what Maurice was talking about. >> And when Wellborn, Scott, and Springsteen were brought in for
questioning, they too denied [music] any involvement. And with me today to discuss this case and the lasting impact
on the wrongfully accused and their families is Maurice Pierce's widow, Kimberly Pierce, and their daughter,
Marissa Pierce. I want to thank both of you for being here today. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you
you know you have to talk about this? >> Suffering. Um just how it got it was so unreal.
>> In 1991, uh it seems like such a long time ago. Let's start the beginning. I mean, what
did you think, Kimberly? I mean, I know that everybody in Austin had heard about this terrible terrible
murder of four young girls, and all of a sudden your boyfriend is pulled in and questioned about this case. Was that
scary? >> I mean, it was scary at the time. It was very scary for him. I didn't see him
until he got released. So, um I know when I saw him he had, you know, bit all of his nails, his lips were all, you
know, bleeding cuz he bit his lips, and just very nervous um reactions. I mean, I know initially his
mom and dad didn't know where he was cuz they didn't notify his parents. So, they
>> They you know, woke up and and he wasn't home and so they're calling, you know, like
any other parent we're calling the hospitals. >> Kimberly, how did he describe the
questioning? >> He was just ready to get out of there. I mean, that's really he was just he was
ready to go. He's like, I'm just glad it's over and he didn't have to tell me anything cuz I was with him that night.
So, I never questioned him as far as you know, there wasn't a conversation like, "Did you do it?" because
I was with him and I knew he didn't do it. >> How did Maurice end up pointing the
finger at his best friend, Forrest? How did that come about? Why did they then wire Maurice and have him go in and talk
to Forrest? >> Because Detective Polanco told Maurice that the gun that he had was the murder
weapon that killed the the four girls at the yogurt shop. >> Kimberly, what did you
what did you think when you heard that? >> They'd already went down a rabbit hole
with me and my questioning that I already knew that they were lying. Um so, I I didn't believe anything that
they'd said. They were telling me he was in a cult. Um that him and Forrest were in a cult like
with animal sacrifices. Then they when that didn't work, that's when they tried to
say that he was at the yogurt shop visiting one of the girls like trying to um make me jealous and I was like,
they're they're lying. >> You know that they later on said Maurice confessed to being part of that. That
wasn't true, was it? >> I mean, he never confessed. He just when they said that was the murder weapon, he
he basically said, "I didn't have it for this chunk of time." So, I don't think he said Forrest did it, but he's like,
"Somebody that was with Forrest or Forrest if he had you know, gave the gun to somebody else
at the mall or something. Um But he didn't have it at that time. >> So if I'm understanding you, this is
very helpful. So it wasn't that Maurice pointed the finger at Forrest. He's saying, "All right, if you're telling me
the truth that this gun was involved in the murder, well, I didn't have it at this time. My friend Forrest did." So
that's then why they put a wire on Maurice and had him go talk to Forrest. >> Um I found it really interesting,
Marissa, that um at the exoneration hearing, you talked about that and you you said that in that room there was no
evidence, only a detective and a narrative. A narrative that was so completely false, I'm using your words,
"it feels evil." What do you mean by that? >> Well, you know, there's the person that um
raised me, the person that I know, the person that loved me and taught me all of life lessons. And then
there's this um this fabrication, this creation of a of a mastermind and and and a ringleader
on on the news and and and articles. And so that's the narrative that I was referencing.
>> That detective doing the questioning of Maurice for hours was Hector Polanco.
Lead detective John Jones took a statement after that. But he had doubts and told me when I started that it was
clear that Forrest Wellborn knew nothing and there was nothing to connect Maurice
Pierce. None of the four guys were charged. And so did you feel that it was over at that point?
>> We did. >> So there's a period of time, that's when Marissa was born and Marissa's growing
up. But then almost eight years later, in 1999, a new investigation and interrogations
pushed two of the four men, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, to seemingly confess.
>> Michael Scott's confession came first. He was questioned over 4 days. >> Come on, Michael, you're doing good.
Tell us, let's do this today. Let's do it. >> Seeing girl I remember one girl screaming terrified.
>> Scott told investigators that he and the others only intended a simple robbery.
He said they cased the yogurt shop earlier that day, and then, after dark, he said, they came back armed with two
guns. >> I had a gun go off. I only pulled trigger once. I hear another gun go off.
>> Investigators claimed that Springsteen later corroborated much of what Scott said.
>> I know this is a lie, right, right? >> But after intense questioning, he went
further. >> No, they didn't know anything about anything. >> Springsteen told them he shot one girl
>> [music] >> and raped her. >> Both men later recanted those confessions, saying that they were
coerced. But Springsteen, Scott, along with Maurice Pierce, and Forrest Welborn were arrested. How did you find that
out? When did you find out that Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott had suddenly confessed after all those years
and implicated Maurice? >> I mean, basically, you're figuring it out when he got picked up on October 6th
of 1999. >> And Marissa, do you remember? How old were you? What was that like? >> Um I was 7.
And um it was intense. It was devastating. It was confusing. Uh it was a lot of things for a
7-year-old to have to um try to grasp. I think my mom and dad tried really hard to
shield me. I was 7. Um It was It was a lot though. >> How did you explain it to Marissa,
Kimberly? I mean, all of a sudden, her dad that she's known for 7 years is suddenly in jail.
>> I didn't tell her why he was in jail. I just uh told her he was in jail. I mean, at
first So, that day, they came really early before work. I mean, it was a whole SWAT team.
Um and but I heard all the commotion, like the dogs were barking, and I I went out. I
was still in my, you know, nightgown, and uh they pointed all their guns at me, right? Cuz I'm coming out of the house.
They have him hog-tied on the ground. >> Did you even know what it was about yet?
Did you know what was happening? >> Oh, I I knew what it was about. Yes, because they had talked to him
um not too long before he got arrested. Um but yeah, it was just I sent her to school
cuz I didn't, you know, you're in shock, and you're like, I don't know exactly what I'm going to do, and then
uh the principal called me because the news was there at her school. And so, then I figured out, well, I
can't send her to school. So, um yeah, then everything just started happening. I had to
quit my job. We moved. I wanted to be, I don't know, somewhere where I felt like
it would be less known. I didn't want her to be messed with at school. Um I didn't work that whole first year
because I was trying to be there for um Maurice. I I think we ever thought it was going to last that long when you're
when there is no evidence and there's uh you know that you're innocent, you just I don't know, you just think that
it's all a huge mistake, misunderstanding. >> Back then, I interviewed Forest Welboard. Um and he clearly did not seem
to know anything. [music] >> Were you there that night? >> No. >> Were you there as a lookout? [music]
>> No. I mean, that's it. >> You had nothing to do with this. >> Nothing at all.
>> At the time, uh I did a very long interview with him and the DA at the time, Ronnie Earl, tried to get a hold
of that interview because he he wanted to know if there was anything incriminating in there. I mean, how
difficult was that for the two of you when these cases got so much attention? >> I mean,
>> [clears throat] >> it's guilt by association. I feel like the way that you get treated by
the media and the families was you might as well have been the murderer yourself.
>> Maurice never went on trial. He never went on trial. The only two who went on
trial were Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen because they were the only ones who had, quote unquote, confessed.
There was no other evidence, and yet Maurice spent more than 3 years in prison. Is that correct?
>> Yes. >> Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen were both convicted. Scott was given
life in prison. Robert Springsteen was put on death row. In 2003, then Maurice is finally
released. >> Mhm. >> And he's released according to the DA, who's still DA at that point, Ronnie
Earl, and he says, "There isn't enough evidence to, quote, convict him right now.
>> Mhm. >> So, was it really over even though he's released, was it? >> No, it wasn't over. Um
they continued to harass him, harass me. There was definitely times when I'm he felt like he was clearly being followed.
So >> By police officers? >> Right. >> What What kind of toll did that take on Maurice?
>> I mean, being in jail took the hardest toll on him. In order to survive in there and to be
locked up for 23 hours a day, he had to somehow shut off his feelings. And so, it's hard. You don't just, you
know, come out and you're free man and your feelings turn on again. He was just a much harder, different person when he
came out. >> And I want to make it clear that they although he was in in jail for over 3 years, there was no
physical evidence that tied him to the murder. Is that correct? And no statement that tied him to the murder.
>> Correct. >> And yet you believe he was targeted by police when he was [music] released.
>> Absolutely. >> So, now we go to 2006-2007. I'm just going through the the history
here. And the the convictions of Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen are overturned.
Um it's on constitutional basis. Uh the Sixth Amendment uh allows a defendant to
be able to confront an accuser, but here you had these two quote-unquote confessions that were used against these
guys, but they were not allowed to question each other. So, they are released. And at that time, there's a
new DA. And she thinks, "Okay, I'm going to retry these guys, but I'm going to make sure I have more
evidence. So, I'm going to I'm going to retest that DNA, that uh partial male DNA
uh profile that by then we know exists, uh but it never been able to be tied to anyone." And all of the sudden she tests
it. In fact, it shows not only were those two guys excluded by that DNA, but so was Maurice and Forest, all four
guys. Did that make Maurice's life any better? >> No. I mean, that's why perception is
reality. >> Mhm. >> He was still perceived to be a murderer, a mastermind, guilty.
Um and again, us by association. So, um you know, I didn't get jobs because he was my husband.
So, it it's, you know, been very difficult for all of us for a long, long time. >> Mhm.
>> Kimberly, how did you just stay? I know I mean, I know you love Maurice, but that had to be hard.
>> How do you not stay? Yeah. >> Tell me more. >> We were together since we were 13 and
14. I think we grew up together, we made mistakes together, we had her young um together.
Um you know, I he was my best friend. So, it's it's hard that he's gone. Um it's hard
to live with what they did to him. >> Well, let's talk about that. That I think is what I think I've been putting
off going to. In 2010, do you need something at all, Marissa? We can stop for a second.
>> tissue, please. >> Of course. Of course. >> Thank you. >> I It makes me a little teary right now.
What happened in 2010? >> Um Maurice went through a stop sign. He did a rolling stop, a California stop,
whatever you want to call it. Um he parked his car at his sister's house, got out, went into the house,
and then they chased him. So, he uh you know, went through her house and went through the backyard and and
obviously started jumping fences and and running, evading. Um and they had him. >> Well, can I tell it Let me Let me read
to you what the police say. I want you to tell me what's accurate, what's not here. So, this is how the awesome police
department described what happened on that day in 2010 in December 2010. Maurice was stopped for traffic and fled
on foot. APD Officer Frank Wilson caught Pierce and the two struggled. Pierce removed Officer Wilson's knife from his
belt and then stabbed him in the neck. Officer Wilson shot and killed Pierce. Officer Wilson survived his injuries.
Marissa, is that how you would describe what happened? >> Um I I mean, I guess. I don't I don't know.
If my dad wanted to harm this officer, Frank Wilson, he My dad was a you know, a capable man. He He
if he wanted to, he he could have. And he didn't want to. He was just trying to run, you know, his mind went
into survival. That was it. He just wanted to get away. And And naturally so. I wish people, you
know, could understand that. I know that my father was not trying to harm um that officer.
>> Marissa was on the phone with him when he died. >> Oh my god. Tell me about it, Marissa.
>> I was on the phone I was on the phone when it happened. Um and that's how I knew
that he just wanted to get away because he had told me like could hear it in his voice, the fear
that was taking over. He said, "They're after me. They're after me." And um I heard him put his car
in park. I heard him open the door. I heard him run. And then um and then he let me go.
He hung up. And I believe I believe that he hung up when he knew that this officer was on him.
So that way, like I said, he's always He's always found a way to shield me. And I think that was intentional.
And he let me go, but it was only moments later that he called me back. And uh At the At the time
he whispered very quietly to me. And in my head, I believed that he was hiding, you know.
And I had just promised him like we're going to figure it out. It's okay. You're fine.
You're safe. I love you. We're going to find you. Um but he was whispering because at that point he was taking his
last breaths. Um And in those last moments he had just said I'm sorry. I don't think you're going to see me
again. And I love you. >> How did you find out, Kimberly? >> Marissa Um >> [snorts]
>> Marissa came to my house. It's >> 4:00 in the morning. >> Yeah, and she's like Daddy Daddy is
gone. And uh Yeah, I just I don't know. I I didn't know how to Like is it real or not right there? We
can't see it. But it sounded pretty real. I just felt like they they finally got him. It was hard to
hear that an Austin police officer had shot him. Um I was angry. I'm pissed off.
>> You You know, the the Austin Police Department say that the officer was It was a matter of
defending his life, that he killed him in self-defense. But you say it was murder. Why do you say that?
>> Um they've lied so much over the past 30 years in regards to the yogurt shop case. I certainly don't believe them
about the night that Maurice was shot. So, in my mind, they murdered him, and that's how I will always remember it. I
Personally, I feel like the timing of it was uh you know, Robin might get released in 2009.
APD is mad that they don't have anybody in custody to blame. They're getting pressure
still from everyone to solve the case. And uh I think they were going to get Maurice
no matter what and and make him pay for it. Cuz I don't see how he was shot over
rolling through a stop sign. Um I I just don't see it. That's how I feel. I don't think Maurice found his
knife and stabbed him in the neck. I just don't see it. >> You have questions about that night. You
definitely have some questions left. And then you're talking about So, this was 2000 December 2010.
And then it takes years, and we're talking about September 2025. The awesome police department identified
a completely different man, Robert Eugene Brashears, as the man responsible for the murders of Amy, Eliza, Jennifer,
and Sarah. >> The only The only physical evidence located at that scene has been matched
to him. Brashears died by suicide in 1999 after a standoff with police in Missouri.
And his DNA has since been And before this connection he has been connected to murders and rapes across the country.
>> How did you find out? Did you find out when we did? Or did at least the DA's office give you a call, a heads-up.
>> Nobody called me. My sister-in-law called me. Marissa's sister called me. She saw it on the news and she called
me. It just all seems surreal like until you start seeing stuff on the news and start Googling it, looking it up
yourself, you're like, is it real? Um and it was. And then I contemplated uh coming to the press conference. But I
felt like um you know, I wanted to allow the the victims' families to have their time.
So, I I didn't I didn't come. We me Marissa came to my house and we watched it together.
>> Obviously, this announcement was huge to uh the families of the girls. I mean,
you know, so um I wanted you to hear a little bit of of what Barbara, uh Sarah and Jennifer's mom had to say
about finding out that after almost 35 years, the case had finally been solved. Here's a little bit from her.
>> It has been so long and all we ever wanted for this case was the truth. We never wanted anyone to go to jail or
be charged with anything that they did not do. Vengeance was never it. It was always
the truth. >> I was there at that press conference. Um and we we and we asked as reporters,
is there any connection to this guy and the four guys that have uh been always suspected of killing the
girls and then we were told no. Is there going to be an apology to the the men who had been accused? And
they said, well, when we do more investigation if we were wrong, we'll apologize. That
I'm paraphrasing, but that's what was said. Tell me what you were feeling at that moment.
>> I mean, that's how they always treated us, so it wasn't any different. I'm I was just ready to to move on
to the the next steps of I mean, that's when Marissa went into action and started,
you know, cold calling attorneys. You know, who who will help us officially clear his name
even though he's dead. Cuz it means something. >> I think one of the uh hardest things to
hear in that press conference, and and if you were watching on television, you probably remember this, too, was to find
out that there was a missed opportunity just 2 days after the girls were killed. Um the real killer,
Brashiers, is stopped at a checkpoint. Um it was near El Paso, and he had a .380 gun with him. Uh it fit the
description of the gun that had been used by the murders. Um there was a .22 and a .380 that was
used in the murders. They know he's in a stolen car. They know he has a .380 >> Yeah, that was hard to hear.
Um the judicial system failed us in multiple states. Um Florida let him go early for who knows why.
Uh he should have still been in jail when he committed the yogurt shop murders. Um
even in '99, he shot himself with the same gun. I was like, how does he get the gun back?
Like if maybe knives would have been tested then, like maybe they would have picked
it up and figured it out. like I would like to know how when when was the last time, you know?
>> I think I should make it clear that NIBIN is that data center that keeps track of of
>> Mhm. >> ballistics uh and weapons used in in crimes. >> Yeah, it felt like a series of unfortunate events that led
to the arrest and and murder of Maurice is what it felt like. There were so many
things that had to play out and went wrong that resulted in his death. >> Is it hard that he I mean hard for you
to accept that he doesn't know? His family knows, everyone in Austin knows, and Maurice did not live long enough to
find out. >> It's hard that they knew the truth and they just didn't care. Um and that it didn't matter that they were
ruining four boys' lives. I feel that today. Like nobody really cares about the four
boys or the harm that it caused them or our families. And it's still focused more on the serial killer
um and the victims' families than the four boys. >> You don't think today that anybody
is interested or cares about what you all went through in all these years? >> as well.
Not as much. >> Yeah. Uh you began working with the Innocence Project of Texas. Marissa, it really was
important for your father to be cleared and exonerated. That did matter. >> Absolutely.
>> Was there any question that was going to happen? I mean, was it I mean, because we know that that
hearing was held, but was there any question before it was held whether in fact there would be an apology and and
there would be an exoneration of all four men including your dad? >> Not in my mind. Um, it
it came to pass and we were able to be there and experience it and see it for him.
I >> I was not there. I watched it afterwards. And when Mike Scott, who was the only one of the four who actually
testified at that hearing, took the stand, I didn't even recognize him. He looked like an old guy. In my mind, I
was still seeing the Michael Scotts even from 1999 and oh, when he went on trial.
And it really showed me how much time had gone by and the weight that had been on these these
individuals. Did that help? To finally have this hearing where at least uh, the state of Texas and most of
America could see that um, your father's name had been cleared? >> I was definitely grateful.
I was happy to see it myself. Um, but in my mind it's a little too late. There's he's not here to experience the
things that he should have been able to do too. See that the people finally hear him and
are listening to him and know his innocence cuz we've known all along. Family's known all along.
>> What about you, Kimberly? >> Um, I mean, I think it was a little cathartic to go through it, write the
statement, say what I wanted to say. I honestly thought it would never be solved in my lifetime.
So, it was kind of a relief to finally just hear it all. I mean, the the DA did apologize, you know, publicly.
That that day was a good day um for us. We're hoping that out of it um all of the things that went wrong
will be brought to light and some serious reform will will you know, come out of it.
>> All right, and that's what I want to get to cuz I know that is really the reason
why you're sitting down with us. I know that you really want to talk about the changes.
So, um the city of Austin has uh agreed to pay um all four men, and in your case
the family of Maurice Pierce, uh $35 million. And it's been reported that your family
will get $10 million. Is that correct? >> Yes. >> I think some people will look and say
that's a lot of money to people. Other people will say it's not enough. What do you think?
>> Oh, it's definitely not enough for his life. It was very hard to try to say that that was enough.
>> So, tell me about some of the changes you would really like to be you'd really like to see.
>> Um I would like a um child advocate to be appointed to any juvenile being questioned as a witness
or a suspect. Um especially in a a murder case. There should have been I mean, they didn't they violated our
rights. They didn't call our parents. They talked to us without them. Um obviously, that shouldn't happen.
Uh Paul Johnson admits that ev- you know, the entire interrogation was not uh taped, Right? Only excerpts or parts
of it. Um, that should not be allowed to happen. It should be >> You want the whole thing taped. And Paul
Johnson became the lead detective. >> Right. I don't need excerpts. I don't need, you
know, you feeding him information after you've shown him, you know, the graphic photos of the girls, you know, dead when
he was 16 years old, right? Like that that should not be what's happening. >> So, in fact, Maurice, early on, even at
age 16, they're showing him pictures of the victims to try to get him to >> Mhm.
>> to confess. >> Yes. >> And you want to see that change? >> Well, they should not be allowed to lie
to, I mean, anyone, but especially juveniles. You know, Maurice thought, "They're not allowed to lie to you.
They're the cops. They're telling the truth." Like, he honestly thought it was the truth. Um
he had no doubt in his mind they were telling him the truth. They're the law. Um, even when right? They were
questioning um, Mike, like when that the one detective puts the gun to the back of his head, you know, like, "You did
it." Like, that's that should not be allowed. Um ever. Right? If if you're getting a confession that way, that's
problematic. >> Mhm. >> That's clearly coerced. And then we also want um, all of Paul Johnson's cases
reviewed. >> And has the city of Austin or have has the APD, the Austin Police Department
promised to end some of these practices or you working towards that? >> We're working towards that. There's
seven seven different um, reform requests. >> I know this is not part of um this uh, settlement with the city, but I
have to ask as a reporter, is there some changes you'd like to see in what what we do, what I do?
>> Really dig in, maybe you know, like I said, the narrative in the beginning, I I felt like
not a lot of reporters were really truly questioning the evidence and the alibi and the
how are we here? You know, just ask some of those out of the box questions. So, even maybe you as
a reporter when a detective tells you this is who you think it is, you know, maybe
it holds validity because they're detective, right? But, that's not the case and I think that's important for us
to all realize is that everyone should be questioned. >> I mean, I think now um, you know, in in 2026, people are
questioning authorities more than we did in the '90s. Um, I think, you know, there is so much
more on um, caught on camera, right? So, it's harder for them to get away with it and hide
what they're doing um, behind closed doors. >> I have to say, Kimberly, I also think
that if this had happened today, there would have been cameras in the yogurt shop and you know, cameras outside and
this might not have happened, but um, but what your family went through it just should not happen to anyone. Um, I
I feel like I want to leave it with with the two of you describing how do you want us to see Maurice Pierce?
>> I mean, he was a a husband, a a father, a brother, an uncle. He you know, loved to work on any type of
car, motorcycle. He liked old muscle cars. Um, you know, he just would go out of his way to to help
somebody if you know, he thought um something was wrong. >> And you stood by him all those years.
What did you love about him? >> I don't know if I could point I mean I just he was he was mine.
I guess I loved the way that he loved me. >> He was a he was home. Um he was like a a you know, kind of like
that anchor. And uh he was tender and he was kind. He was always just so gentle.
He was um our home and our safe space and our uh protection, but he was also love.
Just so much love. And that's what gives me the courage to sit here is I I know that
life was heavy for him, but he still got up every morning and he still tried. Every day.
>> I want to thank both of you for talking about this and I want to know what happens and um and I really [music]
appreciate that the two of you spoke with us today. >> Thank you. >> [music]

For decades, Maurice Pierce, Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, and Forrest Welborn lived under the shadow of the Yogurt Shop Murders, a crime that left an indelible mark on Austin and forever changed the lives of the the families of the victims: Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison. All four men were ultimately declared innocent and later exonerated after investigators linked another man to the killings. After reporting on this case for more 30 years, "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty speaks with Pierce's widow and daughter about the devastating toll of a wrongful accusation, their family's fight to clear his name, a financial settlement, and what justice means when it arrives decades too late.

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Brief Summary

The episode discusses the wrongful accusations in the yogurt shop murders and the exoneration of Maurice Pierce and others after decades of injustice.

Key points

The Yogurt Shop Murders. The case of four teenage girls murdered in a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, remains haunting.
Wrongful Convictions. Four men were wrongfully accused and spent years in prison before being exonerated.
Maurice's Last Moments. Marissa Pierce shares the heartbreaking details of her father's final moments on the phone.
The Truth After 35 Years. After decades, the case was finally solved, revealing the truth behind the murders.
A Missed Opportunity. A chilling revelation that the real killer was stopped just days after the murders.
Seeking Justice and Reform. Families demand changes in the judicial system to prevent future injustices.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He died for this money.

Maurice Pierce's family discusses the implications of the settlement.

1:44WatchJun 26, 2026

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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