All language subtitles for Cold.Case.Detective.S02E05.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP.2.0.H.264-deadorbit_track3_[eng]

(solemn music)

- [Narrator] Amy Ayers, Sarah
Harbison, Jennifer Harbison,

and Eliza Thomas, all heartfelt,

nature-loving teenagers were wonderful

and immeasurable young
girls from Austin, Texas.

Their undying friendship
and shared passion

for all living things was
cut short by unsolved murders

in the waning hours of December 6th, 1991,

leaving all who knew them
across the Texas Capitol

and the entire state-at-large
grasping for answers

in a sea of evidence that
drowned us all in doubt.

As a hope to provide more
substantial reasoning,

built upon observable evidence
and situational analysis,

this is an examination

of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders,

and the horrifying tragedy left

in the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt story.

This is Cold Case Detective.

(solemn music)

(country music)

The youngest of the four
girls was Amy Leigh Ayers,

born on the final day of
January in the winter of 1978.

She was quickly introduced

into the ranching culture
and cowgirl lifestyle

that the open plains of Texas can inspire.

From a young age, she became
obsessed with the outdoors

and all that Mother Nature had to offer,

finding a special affinity for animals,

and associating with
them in her free time.

Her two major interests
were fishing and horses,

falling in love with competition shows.

As young as three years old,
Amy excelled in horse shows

across the state of Texas.

She even learned the art of cutting horses

in which a horse and its
rider attempt to separate

a cow from its herd,
and keep it singled out.

It was a fine, equestrian skill to master,

let alone for a young girl.

In short, Amy was born
to be a horse whisperer.

These deep-rooted passions carried on

into her adolescent years as well.

When she wasn't hanging
around the horse barn,

she was training her dogs
new tricks, or making friends

with strangers' pets,
withholding the uncanny ability

to attract animals on
the fly, as if her energy

and spirit made them draw near.

She took this spirit wherever
she went, whether it was

to the rodeo to support
her brother, Shawn,

or to her meetings with
the fellow yearbook staff

at Burnett Middle School.

After classes ended, Amy would venture

to Lanier High School's Junior
Future Farmers of America,

where she served as vice president,

or to the Travis County Livestock
Show where she would show

hogs, and join arts and crafts programs.

It was all prep for her
master plan, as Amy dreamt

of one day owning horses on
open farmland, while tending

to animals as a veterinarian.

With so much natural
talent, we can be sure

that these dreams would have
materialized had it not been

for that fateful final
journey to the yogurt shop

with a friend in late 1991.

The next youngest victim,

Amy Ayers' aforementioned best friend, was

15-year-old Sarah Harbison,
born on October 28th, 1976.

Sarah was the younger of two daughters

belonging to stepfather, Frank,

and birth mother Barbara Harbison.

In 1979, Barbara and her
daughters moved to Austin,

and Sarah never looked back.

Much like her future best
friend, Amy, Sarah displayed

a love for outdoor activities, and wielded

a competitive spirit at an early age.

She loved playing sports,
especially basketball.

She just loved being a part
of something, and forcing

herself to be better at
whatever she set her mind on.

Sarah never slowed down either,

taking on as many activities as she could.

Alongside basketball, Sarah also joined

the cheerleading squad, and would cheer

directly after her own basketball game,

supporting the boys' teams too.

When she got into high
school, she also excelled

on the freshmen volleyball squad too.

This hectic lifestyle didn't
bother Mr. and Mrs. Harbison,

though, as they pushed
Sarah to achieve greatness,

and follow her passions.

Thus, Sarah joined other
organizations at school,

such as the Lanier FFA Chapter,
and became a representative

on her high school's student council.

But her very favorite
extracurricular activity,

showing sheep at local county
fair competitions was shared

with her older sister,
Jennifer, another victim

of the yogurt shop mystery.

Jennifer Harbison, the eldest child

of Barbara Harbison was
born on May 9th, 1974,

two and a half years prior to Sarah.

She, her mother, and her sister had

an inseparable bond growing up.

In 1980, Barbara married Frank,
and the family of three grew

to four, cemented with true happiness

and consistent support.

Through the support,
Jennifer was much like

her younger sister in
that she was encouraged

to live up to her imaginations.

She was short and
petite, quick and clever,

but equally as confidence and athletic.

She loved to remain social
at school, also channeling

most of her energy into sports,

and the Future Farmers of America program,

where she served as president
of the local chapter,

and vice president of the district.

She led the sports fandom
between her and Sarah,

playing T-ball as a
youngster, before becoming

a stellar track and field
star in high school.

She used her athletic
abilities to ready herself

for a future career in rodeo barrel races,

the perfect dream for a
girl with her interests.

Without a doubt, she and
Sarah held many similarities

in their close relationship,
their mother describing them

as wonderfully unique, faithful,

and most of all, mature for their age.

It was Jennifer's maturity that
prodded Barbara to allow her

to work part time late-night
shifts at a minimum wage job

at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt Shop

so she could help pay for a
navy blue Chevy S-10 truck

her birth father was wrangling for her.

In a heartbreaking twist, it
was this innocent plan that led

into darkness after a few
months on the job for Jennifer,

and her older coworker, Eliza Thomas.

Eliza Thomas was born on May 16th, 1974

in Travis County, Texas.

Her parents divorced when
she was only a child,

but she remained tight-knit
with her birth mother Maria,

and grew up with a younger
sister, Sonora Thomas.

Like many of her friends and
fellow mid-Texas natives,

Eliza was fond of country
music and dancing.

When she became a teenager,
Eliza and her best friend

at the time, Michelle would go
out together to dance events.

Maria Thomas would tell
reporter Dick Ellis

after the murders, that
her favorite memories

of her late daughter
were the times when Eliza

and Michelle would meet up
before or after dancing,

get dressed up with
nice clothes and makeup,

and laugh through the
homemade photo shoots.

It was this youthful ritual
that inspired Eliza to dream

of becoming a model
someday, with her expertise

in beauty products a
facet of her career goals.

When she wasn't collecting
tubes of lipstick,

she was looking for the newest
little knickknacks to add

to her miniature collection,

mostly made up of cats figurines.

Much like her friends,
Jennifer, Sarah, and Amy,

she too loved animals,

and the Future Farmers of America program.

In fact, she used these
activities to support

her modeling aspirations,
selling the pigs she would show

at county competitions to fund
her first modeling portfolio.

It was also a big reason
why she also got a job

as the night shift closer
at the local yogurt shop,

and sadly, why she
passed away far too soon,

along with the three other
innocent girls of Austin,

Texas in December of 1991.

Let's now turn to the
timeline of events leading up

to the Austin yogurt shop murders.

(suspenseful music)

At around 4:30 PM on
Friday, December 6th, 1991,

Barbara Harbison returns
home from work to find

her youngest daughter,
Sarah Harbison, sitting

on the couch, eating a snack.

Sarah informs her mother that
she's going out that night

with her friend, Amy Ayers,
and asks if Amy can spend

the night with them.

Barbara agrees, and tell Sarah
she and Amy can get a ride

from her eldest daughter
Jennifer Harbison to a mall

near Jennifer's work, and then a ride home

after her shift ends.

A few minutes later, Jennifer
returns home from school

to prep for work.

Her mother and sister
tell her of their plan,

and she happily agrees.

Sometime after 5:00 PM,
Jennifer and Sarah depart

the Harbison household for
the Austin shopping complex,

the last time Barbara sees her children.

Jennifer drops off Sarah
and Amy at the mall,

and clocks in for the closing shift

at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop

at 2949 W. Anderson Lane with
her coworker, Eliza Thomas.

Over the next four hours
or so, the night shift

at the yogurt shop operates as usual.

At around 10:00 PM, customers
at the store report seeing

all the girls inside
happy and acting normally.

This would be the last confirmed
time that Eliza, Jennifer,

Sarah, and Amy seen alive.

Sometime within the next
hour and 47 minutes,

assumed to be around 11:00 PM,

the four friends are
entrapped at the yogurt store

by multiple assailants.

The offenders gag, sexually
assault, and eventually murder

the girls in cold blood
via gunshots to the head

with .22 caliber lead bullets.

They stack the bodies
in the shop storeroom,

pour accelerants around the crime scene,

light it all on fire, and
escape into the thick of night.

At exactly 611:47 PM the same night,

Austin Police Officer Troy Gay patrols

the Anderson line, north Austin area.

He spots a fire burning

at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop,

and calls it in to his dispatcher.

Austin Police backup arrive on the scene,

and just after midnight
on Saturday, December 7th,

authorities discover the dead bodies

of Eliza, Jennifer, Sarah, and Amy.

Eliza and Sarah are found
with their wrists tied,

with Jennifer's unbound,

but her hands positioned behind her back.

Their corpses are nude, and charred

almost beyond recognition.

Amy's body is found in
another section of the store,

a sock-like cloth tied around her neck,

with second degree burns
on about 30% of her body.

It's theorized the bodies were
stacked on top of each other,

with Amy escaping the
pile, and crawling away

before being shot once more.

All the girls are presumed to
have died before being burned.

A few days later on Monday, December 9th,

law enforcement confirms
reports that there were

multiple people involved in
the robbery turned homicide,

and there were no signs of forced entry,

and that the items used to
tie up the four girls were

all found in the store that night.

The following day on
Tuesday, December 10th,

the city of Austin, Texas
grieves with the various parents

over the loss of their four children.

A funeral is held and it is
attended by over 1,500 citizens.

On Thursday, December 12th,

state district Judge Jon Wisser
seals the autopsy reports

to sustain the evidence's confidentiality,

and protect the investigation.

At North Cross Mall on
Saturday, December 14th,

a man by the name of
Maurice Pierce is arrested

for possession of a .22
caliber gun and bullets.

Austin Police Detective
Hector Polanco brings him

into question in regards
to the yogurt shop murders,

and Pierce eventually
tells the detective that

his friend Forrest
Welborn used the .22 gun

in the four girls' murders.

Despite this development,
police report that they have

few leads on December 23rd,
after a false confession

by an anonymous teenage girl

and her boyfriend are proven untrue.

To make matters worse, the
Maurice Pierce tip is buried

in case files after the
interrogating officer,

Detective Polanco is removed
from the investigation

due to his dirty past in
coercing false confessions

from suspects on March 23rd, 1992.

Seven months later in October, 1992,

the next best lead evaporates
when Porfirio Villa Saavedra,

a suspect that Mexican
police say confessed

to his involvements,
recants his testimony,

telling American authorities

that Mexican federal agents
tortured him into coercion.

Over the next three to
four years, leads pour in

to the Austin Police Department,
but no arrests are made,

and the yogurt shop murders
quickly begin to devolve

into a tragic, cold case.

However, sometime at the end
of 1996, or the beginning

of 1997, APD Detective Paul
Johnson is newly assigned

to tackle the murders, and pulls

the old Maurice Pierce tip case
file for closer inspection.

The testimony isn't acted
upon until early 1999,

when forensic officers test
Pierce's .22 caliber gun

against the crime scene evidence.

They find it does not
match the weapon used

at the yogurt shop.

Nevertheless, police bring in one

of Maurice Pierce's alleged
cohorts, Michael Scott

multiple times between
September 9th and 14th, 1999.

After over 20 hours of
intense interrogations,

Scott confesses to playing
a role in the murders.

On September 15th, Austin
police traveled to Charleston,

West Virginia, where they
interview another alleged cohort,

Robert Burns Springsteen IV.

Springsteen is interrogated
under scrutiny for five hours

before admitting to raping Amy Ayers,

and helping kill the others.

A couple of weeks later
on October 5th, 1999,

Austin Judge Mike Lynch
signs the arrest warrants

for Scott, Springsteen, Maurice
Pierce, and Forrest Welborn.

They are officially
arrested the following day

on October 6th for capital murder.

Later that year on December
1st, police collect

the four suspects' blood and DNA samples

for crime scene analysis.

Eight days later on December
9th, another judge rules

Pierce and Wellborn
will be tried as adults,

despite being just 15 and 16.

On December 14th, Robert
Springsteen is indicted

by a grand jury, followed
by Michael Scott,

and Maurice Pierce on December 28th.

The district attorney, Ronnie
Earle says he will seek

the death penalty for both
Springsteen and Scott.

In another twist though, a
different judge dismisses

the capital murder charge
against Forrest Welborn

on June 30th, 2000 after a
second jury fails to indict him.

Despite the lack of physical
evidence against him,

prosecutors continue with their case

against Robert Springsteen
in April of 2001.

At the conclusion of the
trial, the jury finds

Springsteen guilty of
murder, and in June of 2001,

Springsteen is sentenced to death.

16 months passed by,
and a similar conclusion

to Michael Scott's trial is
reached when he's found guilty

of murder on September
22nd, 2002, and sentenced

to life in prison on September the 24th.

However, a few months later
on January 28th, 2003,

District Attorney Ronnie
Earle asked for a dismissal

of the charges against
Maurice Pierce, claiming

there wasn't enough evidence
to convict him in the moment,

and Pierce is released after spending

over three years in prison.

It wouldn't be until three
years later on May 30th, 2006,

when the Texas Court of
Criminal appeals overturned

Springsteen's conviction, claiming that

the written confession of
Michael Scott was improperly used

against Springsteen in his own testimony.

This exact same reasoning is
used again on June 6th, 2007,

when the courts overturned
Scott's conviction as well.

In a bombshell announcement by prosecutors

in the spring of 2008,
they report that advances

in DNA technology have revealed that

a previous piece of undetected DNA

from an unknown male
subject was discovered

on a vaginal swab taken
from Amy Ayers' body.

This DNA profile does not match any

of the four original suspects.

This same DNA profile is
found on the body of one

of the Harbison sisters in June of 2009,

and matches none of the over 100 suspects

the police have looked into thus far,

nor any of the forensic
officers or medical personnel

who had dealt with the corpses

in the years since December, 1991.

Later that month on June 24th, 2009,

the DA's Office tells a
Travis County judge that

they are no longer prepared for a retrial

against Michael Scott
or Robert Springsteen

without the identity of the man
to whom the new DNA belongs.

At 2:50 PM, the two men
walk out of the courthouse

with their attorneys, finally free men.

In October of 2009, all
charges are officially dropped

against Scott and Springsteen.

In the 11 plus years
since the wrongful arrests

of Maurice Pierce, Forrest
Welborn, Michael Scott,

and Robert Springsteen,
and almost 19 years

since the tragic assaults
and murders of Amy Ayers,

Sarah Harbison, Jennifer
Harbison, and Eliza Thomas,

no matches of the DNA samples found

at the yogurt crime scene
have been announced,

and there are currently
no known active leads

in the investigation.

(suspenseful music)

Without a doubt, the biggest
piece of evidence discovered

in the yogurt shop murder investigation is

the mysterious DNA profile
belonging to an unidentified male

found on two of the four bodies

after DNA technology expanded
at the turn of the millennium.

While not much is known
about the sample outside

of the gender of its
donor, it's been announced

that the profile does not match any

of the tested suspects
police have compiled

since their manhunt
began, nor does it match

hundreds of associates of
the prime suspects listed

by the Austin Police Department thus far.

Technicians have been ruled out,

fellow law enforcement
officers have been ruled out,

the first responders have been ruled out.

This means the DNA most certainly
belongs to one of the men

responsible for these harrowing
acts of rape and murder.

As we await the results
of further testing,

and for a match to be
uncovered, another set of points

to the case are critical in
understanding how hurtful

the authorities were in
their brutal mishandling

of suspects early on,
and how the deception

of the police may have derailed
the entire investigation

through their despicable use of coercion

and eliciting false confessions.

Had detective Hector
Polanco not intimidated

Maurice Pierce into claiming
his .22 caliber gun was the one

used in the homicides by
his friend Forrest Welborn,

investigators would never have
followed up this false lead,

and would never have
arrested two innocent men

along with their supposed cohorts,

Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen.

Instead, they could have
focused their time, money,

and energies into
finding a viable suspect.

Police and prosecutors
alike knew the four men had

no physical connection to the yogurt shop,

as well as having the knowledge
that Pierce's gun wasn't

the murder weapon, so to
cover up that ineptitude,

they turned to the bad cop routine.

It is a tale we have seen far too often.

If you want a better idea
of how detectives coerced

false confessions from four young boys,

hampering the search for
true justice, and destroying

four more innocent lives in the process,

you can listen to clips of
these coerced confessions

by following the link in the show notes.

You'll hear audio clips from
the elongated interrogations

full of persuasive tactics
utilized by cops who want

pleas of guilt to spill
out of the tired minds

of innocent people.

- [Police] Mike, look at me.

You're remembering what
happened, because you were

inside there, right?

- [Mike] I don't.

- [Police] You're
remembering what happened.

- [Mike] I don't actually
remember going in the building.

- [Narrator] Imagine being
an under-aged boy brought

in by police officers for
a crime you didn't commit,

cornered in a windowless,
low-lit room by men

twice your size, demanding you
say what they want to hear,

bullying images into your malleable mind,

forcing false memories upon you.

- [Police] Is that the gun you walked up

behind somebody with and shot in the head?

- [Narrator] Not only
that, but the officers used

each man's false confession
against the other,

tricking them into believing
that their friend was right,

and to deny it would be to deny

the other's seemingly true story.

It's a crippling, debilitating
sensation, and one that took

precious years away from
a proper investigation

into finding the real killers.

The Austin Police Department

and Travis County Prosecutor's
Office should be ashamed

to the highest degree,
and must take the blame.

Their rush to create answers
where there obviously were

none cost the victims' families
the justice they deserved.

It is inexcusable and disgusting behavior,

yet vital to understand in
grasping the entire picture

of the failed and fractured
yogurt shop case files.

We can now turn to the most
prominent theories surrounding

the mystery of the Austin
yogurt shop murders.

- [Police] You're the coldest
guy I've talked to in my life.

Are you a cold-blooded murderer?

- [Suspect] No sir, I'm not.

- [Police] I think you are.

I think, Maurice, it's
absolutely true about you.

(suspenseful music)

- [Narrator] The wildest part
about the yogurt shop murders

and its notoriety for the
coerced confessions is that

it didn't stop with the
four main suspects believed

to be responsible for years
until DNA cleared their names.

In fact, investigators heard
over 50 false confessions

related to the case, including one

from infamous serial killer,
Kenneth Allen McDuff.

McDuff's testimony, coming
the day of his execution, was

at first seriously considered
by police when they realized

he was in the Austin area around the time

of the yogurt shop massacre,
murdering Colleen Reed

with accomplice Alva Hank
Worley on December 29th, 1991.

However, after exhaustive
investigative measures were taken,

it was found that these
claims by McDuff were false,

a disturbing trend for a case lacking more

and more clarity by the day.

So why did so many people
come forward with fake motives

and lead authorities
astray, distracting everyone

from the real culprit still running free?

For some, like McDuff, it
was perfect fodder to receive

their twisted 15 minutes of fame.

These instigators deserve
absolutely no recognition,

and should not be named, as
their falsifications take away

from the serious matter at hand.

For others, false
confessions might have come

from further malpractices
taken by Austin Police

and case detectives who had the
previously mentioned history

in pulling the trigger on coercion.

If the four boys were
manipulated into confessing

for the case to be fast-tracked
to the solved folder,

it's not out of the realm of possibility

that others were subjected
to similar tactics.

Again, it goes without saying

these awful investigative
patterns damaged the case,

and the police who took
them were criminals

in their own right.

So while the police were
wasting time putting figurative

and even literal guns to the
heads of innocent parties,

what other theories were
discussed among case followers

and armchair sleuths?

The craziest and most
ill-advised theory was purported

in courts by the prosecutor's office

after Pierce, Welborn, Scott,
and Springsteen were cleared

by DNA evidence.

They claimed that they still
believed the four men were

guilty, but that a mysterious
fifth cohorts was the donor

of the DNA profile.

This theory was nothing but
a desperate attempt by APD

and the district attorney to save face

in an obviously bungled prosecution effort

that shouldn't be considered
further as anything

but a coward's last attempt
to frame four innocent men.

Another string of theories discussed

across the message boards
and email chains revolved

around possible serial killer suspects.

After Kenneth McDuff was ruled
out, sleuths started pointing

out other murderers with similar MOs.

The most frequently mentioned
was Paul Dennis Reid,

also known as the fast
food killer, convicted

of seven murders over a string

of three fast food chain robberies

from February to April of 1997.

Reid killed his victims
in a similar fashion

to the yogurt shop murderer, bringing them

to the building storeroom,
binding them at the wrists,

and shooting them in the
head, execution style.

While these slayings happened
in Nashville, Tennessee,

Reid had a criminal
history in Texas dating

all the way back to 1983,
getting out of prison

for an armed robbery charge in 1990.

However, because Reid was
eventually apprehended,

his DNA records would have been entered

into a criminal database,
and subsequently ruled out

as a match to the yogurt shop murders.

Reid also operated alone, and dealt

with mental disabilities
according to his family,

going against yogurt shop
crime scene evidence that

there were multiple offenders who were

likely skilled criminals,
operating with precision.

These data points also most
likely rule out involvements

of the gunman in the Lane
Bryant shooting mystery

that took place on February 22nd, 2008.

Despite the vast amount of time
between the Lane Bryant case

and the yogurt shop case,
it's hard for people to ignore

the similarities in crime scenes.

The Lane Bryant shootings also
involved all female victims

who were executed via gunshots to the head

after being trapped in
the back of their store.

Ultimately, there was
one victim who survived,

and told police that the
gunman was working alone,

and for a case that
took place in Illinois,

a thousand miles away, and 17 years apart

from the yogurt shop case,

a link between the two
is highly improbable.

Of all the theories put
forth by the community

surrounding the case, there
is one hypothesis that stands

out from the rest, an idea
about who the killers might be,

built from a couple of
eyewitness testimonies gathered

by the consumers at the I
Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop

the night of the massacre.

These statements place two
unidentified men sitting

at a booth after 10:00
PM coming across as odd,

and emitting a peculiar aura.

The first man was described
as white, standing

at around five feet, six
inches in his late twenties

or early thirties,
sporting dirty blonde hair,

and a large, black jacket.

The second figure was
described as much bigger,

a six foot white male of
average build with darker hair,

and an elongated, pointy nose,

sporting a green military
fatigue-type jacket.

He spoke with a deep,
yet crystal clear voice.

The first customer to speak
out against the two men was

Dearl Croft, who testified
for defense lawyers

in Michael Scott's criminal trial in 2002.

Croft, a former police
officer and security manager

in 1991, had visited
the Austin yogurt shop

at just about 10:00 PM on
December 6th with two friends.

He recollected how, when he
went to go stand in line,

a man wearing a green
military fatigue jacket

matching the description of
the second man was loitering,

asking other customers
to go in front of him

so he'd be at the back of the line.

When he approached Croft, he
actually asked him if he was

a former cop, and if he'd
jump ahead of him in line.

Croft denied his bizarre
request, and monitored

the man as he made his way to the counter

and ordered a soft drink.

Once he paid for the
beverage, the man then slinked

around the counter, and walked
into the back of the store.

Croft, growing more and more
suspicious, asked Eliza Thomas,

who was working the cash register,

why the man was allowed back there.

She informed Croft that
the man had asked to use

their restroom, and she
gave him permission,

acting as the shift supervisor,
but Croft couldn't shake

the strangeness of the
incident, and waited

around the front counter
for a few minutes longer

than normal, waiting to see if the man

in the green jacket returned.

When he failed to show
up, Croft left the store

with his friends that reported
the description of the man

to the police a few days after
the murders were reported on.

For reasons unknown, a
police sketch of the man

in the military jacket was never procured,

and Croft failed to
pick a recognizable face

out of a couple of suspect
lineups in the aftermath,

lineups that included
the four innocent boys.

The other major testimony
regarding the two men was pulled

from old police statements
by the Austin Chronicle

for a story published
by reporter Jordan Smith

in December of 2011.

These statements came
from a female customer

who told police she and
her husband were two

of the last customers at the
yogurt shop just before closing

at 11:00 PM on the night of December 6th.

They reported seeing the
same two jacketed men sitting

in a booth, acting in a way that made

the woman's skin crawl.

She watched them in the reflection

of the shop's front window as
the girls began to close up

the shop by refilling napkin
holders, cleaning floors,

and flipping chairs on top of tables.

Even as the couple left,
the two men remained

in their seats, acting as if
they weren't going anywhere

soon, as Jennifer Harbison locked the door

and flipped the sign to
read closed, as to dissuade

any new customers from entering.

The girls inside acted
normally, but according

to the couple, the men did not.

It's hard not to find
these shared experiences

rather intriguing.

These two men have not been
named or cleared by authorities.

For all we know, they
were never tracked down

by police, nor interviewed.

Law enforcement has stated
that they are interested

in speaking to the two
men, but as witnesses,

rather than suspects.

However, considering
their uncomfortable vibes

and peculiar behavior, those
who consider them suspects have

good reason to do so.

In one of the crime
scene photographs taken

the morning after the
murders, you can see a booth

in the background of
the dining area that has

an empty napkin dispenser
and cleared tabletop.

When customers were shown
the photo, they agreed

it was likely the booth the
two suspicious men sat at.

This means that the murders happened

in between the men leaving
and the girls being able

to finish up closing their
booth, a very slim amount

of time, considering
they were in the middle

of clearing the tables.

Thus, if the two men aren't responsible,

they at least had the best shot

at spotting the real
killers, making the mystery

of the unidentified male closing customers

the most puzzling and important of all.

(suspenseful music)

Before we divulge our hypothesis

of the 1991 Austin yogurt
shop unsolved murders,

we want to make it known
our conclusions presented

in Cold Case Detective are
purely logical speculation

based on evidence, circumstance,
and factual subtext.

We are only privy to the
same information presented

in each video, and we do not
attempt to promise certainty

or an expert guarantee on the
findings we reach in closing.

We simply observe, research, and report.

For starters, we believe that
these murders were indeed

the actions of multiple
assailants or a killer

with at least one other accomplice.

The evidence hides in the
simple fact it would be

next to impossible for a
single perpetrator to subdue

all four girls by themselves, take them

to the back storage room,
tie them up, and set

the entire place on fire
without causing a ruckus.

There are two key pieces
of data to support this.

Remember, none of the
neighboring businesses

at the strip mall where the
yogurt shop was located reported

hearing anything to suggest murder

the night of December 6th.

One business did say they
heard a few popping noises,

most likely the gunshots,
but nobody heard screaming,

or shouting, or banging,
or anything to suggest

a desperate fight was put up.

If there were multiple offenders,
keeping everything quiet

would have been a much easier task.

The young girls' friends and
families agree with this,

stating that their courage

and tough mudder personalities
would be too much

for one person with one gun to overcome.

Secondly, we are confident that

these murders were orchestrated
by career criminals,

and likely sociopaths who
were seeking to attack women,

with the resources to
do so without detection.

These horrific crimes were not carried out

by high school boys attempting to rob

the neighborhood yogurt stand.

Rather, they were
pre-meditated acts of violence,

people who sought to harm, and
strike fear in their victims.

The reason the killings
are more than likely not

a simple robbery gone
wrong is the presence

of an accelerant around the storeroom

after the fire was put out.

Most criminals do not
bring lighter fluid along

with their robberies, usually
seeking to run in and out

of their targets and leave
without physical conflicts,

plus there were plenty of
other shops around the area

that would have provided much more cash

than the yogurt shop did.

No, we believe these
murders were intentional

from the beginning.

It is highly possible
that the men who murdered

the girls were watching
one of them from afar,

maybe even prior to December 6th.

They could have made Amy and Sarah targets

after spotting them at the mall

without parental
supervision, a popular spot

for offenders to track unsuspecting women.

While there is no
evidence to suggest this,

it cannot be ruled out when
considering these killers were

concise in how they acted,
and the history of violence

against young women in general.

So who could the killers be?

While it is impossible to
know for sure, we believe

those two jacketed men
previously mentioned are

the most fitting suspects.

They were acting suspiciously, bothersome

to multiple customers,
and were the only two

of over 50 customers that evening

that have yet to be accounted for.

Not only that, but the story
by Dearl Croft leaves us

wondering if that tall man

in the green jacket wasn't
just going back to use

the restroom, but rather
scoping the shop for cameras,

or worse, a place to
commit a future assault.

They were the last two
people seen with the girls,

and wearing clothes that
could have concealed weapons.

Of course, this is all
circumstantial evidence.

However, it is also curious that

the two men who were lurking in the booth

at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop

on December 6th have not
come forward to absolve

themselves of any further suspicion.

They could have effortlessly
cleared their names

and identities through
science, submitting DNA

to be compared to the
sample obtained by police.

Until that happens, they are
the greatest suspects we have,

and must be found to
unlock further answers

regarding the entire mystery.

Until then, we must keep the faith that

the DNA profile currently
held in evidence can be used

to help aid investigators.

Sadly, the type of DNA sample
received a, YSTR strand,

also known as mitochondrial
DNA, isn't the kind

one can simply input into
a genealogy database,

and connect it to relatives.

While it can rule out
suspects when compared

with direct DNA donations,
it's hard to be used

as a backwards investigative
tool, like the DNA was used

for cases in the Golden
State killer investigation.

Not only this, but the FBI
has withheld the DNA sample

from such genealogy studies
anyway, claiming privacy laws

to be complicating its potential use

in further DNA campaigns.

Still, we will hold out
hope that a breakthrough is

just around the corner,
and in the meantime,

we will celebrate the lives
of Amy Ayers, Sarah Harbison,

Jennifer Harbison, and Eliza Thomas.

We will champion their
unique personalities,

shared passions, and
their unparalleled drive

to be nothing but
unapologetically themselves.

We will spread the hope, and happiness,

and heartfelt courage
those four girls emanated

in their daily lives, never
missing an opportunity

to inspire those around them.

We will remember their athletic feats,

their unmatched equestrian skillsets,

their farming expertise, and
their community-driven spirits.

We will remind the world that
these were four young women

full of promise, navigating
their mid-Texas neighborhoods

so that one day they could
move out to new pastures,

and shape the world at
large for the better.

The tragic rape and murder

at the I Can't Believe It's
Yogurt shop on the night

of December 6th, 1991 will
not be the defining legacies

of Amy, Sarah, Jennifer, and Eliza.

Their legacies are
defined by every positive

and life-affirming moment
before, defined by their love

for both nature and humanity.

This is a type of love that
is not burned or broken,

no matter the circumstances
of their final moments.

It is the reason their
memory will never perish

as we continue a search for their justice

into the infinite night.

This is Cold Case Detective.

(suspenseful music)