From the authors of author mastermind minds.
This is mysterious.
Mystery
surrounds us every day,
join us and listen to true stories of
mystery
from human behavior to nature and the physical
environment to paranormal
experiences.
The stories are true, even if we can't
explain them.
On Friday night, 12/06/1991,
A heinous crime was committed in I can't
believe its yogurt shop in Austin, Texas
located in a small strip mall near the
much larger north cross mall.
Hi. I'm Victoria Hard,
author of action and adventure with the Arabian
horses.
I'll be host seen this episode of the
mysterious podcast,
the yogurt shop murders.
Alta mastermind
and the readers and writers book love sponsor
this podcast.
Welcome aboard.
Lives Thomas and Jennifer Har,
02:17
year old girls
reported for their shifts at the yogurt shop
after school.
They were scheduled to work until closing at
11PM that night.
They closed the shop many times before and
the routine,
cleaning tables, stack and chairs on tables,
refill napkin dispensers,
cleaning the kitchen in the back, etcetera.
Jen of his younger sister, 15 year old
Sarah Har, and her best friend, 13 year
old Amy Heirs
initially went to the North Cross for a
few hours
before taking the short walk to the yogurt
shop to catch a ride home jennifer that
evening for a sleep over.
Eliza was a senior in high school, working
at the yogurt shop for extra money to
fund her car.
She loved reading and dancing
and was highly involved in the high school's
future farmer of America,
F chapter.
Her mother believed she would go on to
become a writer someday.
Eliza his best friend, Jennifer Heart person was
also a senior in high school. She was
an Avid athlete, the manager of the school's
drill team and a member of the track
team.
She was also member of the school's F
mfa program.
Eli eliza got the yogurt shop job first
and told Jennifer when there was an opening.
Jennifer needed the money to support her car
as well.
Sarah Har was a member of the Junior
varsity shirley squad
and a member of F mfa,
she raised lam to show at the Travis
County Fair Rodeo.
Amy Avery was the only middle school girl
in the bunch,
but she was best friends with Sarah Har.
She was active in the same chapter at
F mfa as the other girls.
In me was on her school's year book
staff. She was creative
and 1 awards at the local county fair
for her needle point work.
All 4 girls were animal lovers to the
extent that Eliza and Amy wanted to become
veterinarians someday.
The last sale rung up on the register
night at 10:46PM
for a couple who just left the movie
dinner and wanted a dessert for going home.
They saw 2 men in the shop that
looked out of place.
According to witnesses,
1 came in earlier wearing a green jacket.
He stalled at the counter allowing other customers
in front of him to place their orders
for a while.
A mall security officer parked his security car
in front of the shop and locked in,
observing the young man letting people in line
ahead of him.
The young man asked him if he was
a policeman.
The security officer nod and refused to go
ahead of the young man.
The young man ordered a coke in a
can,
went the counter and disappeared into the back
room.
The security officer asked Elisa, where was it
going?
She told him she out even in the
back to use the restroom.
The man waited around with his yogurt for
several minutes, but never saw the young man
returned to the front of the shop before
lee me.
Another young man came in ordered a coke
a can and sat with the first young
man at a day near the counter.
Customers who observed the 2, but they looked
at a place.
They whispered leaning over the table, so no
1 else could hear their conversation.
No 1 got a good look at the
pair because of the heavy jackets and collars
up that obscure their view of them.
The last customers left the yogurt shop at
about 10:48PM,
leaving the 4 girls and the 2 strange
young men.
There were no witnesses to what happened next.
The front door to the shop was locked,
and the front lights turned off.
Police assume the 2 men robbed the start
at gunpoint and heard the 4 girls into
the back room.
They forced the girls to take their clothes
off and tied them up and gag them
with their own clothing.
At least 1 of them was right
they shot all 4 girls in the back
of their head
execution style,
but the 22 caliber pistol, and a 3
87
automatic handgun.
Amy was shot twice. The first bullet mister
Bring.
The second shot was the right side of
her head.
The perpetrators stack the bodies in a pile,
use cardboard paper cups, napkins and anything make
it find fl,
poured lighter fluid or gasoline over the pile
and lid it on fire to cover evidence
of their crime
before they left to the back door, leaving
the door wide open.
The fire burned hot in enough to melt
the top rung on a heavy aluminum ladder
prop against the back wall.
The bodies of the girls were obscure in
the debris.
And Austin Ricky patrol, Troy Gay
saw the smoke coming from the back of
the shop and called the fire department.
They arrived in a hurry to ex the
flames in the shop and protect the shops
next to it.
They came in with hoses full on and
police back up.
After the fire was knocked down, Fire Dave
Dev,
saw something in the debris pile and asked,
Oh, it's that a foot.
The other fire and dug through the debris
and discovered the 4 bodies.
They notified the police.
Hi. I thought I'd take a short break
and tell you about 1 of my books.
Prince Ali, Wonder horse book 1 was our
first book.
Nancy and I worked with an editor
who misunderstood the book to be a crime
drama.
So we ripped off the first 19 chapters
to begin with crime that takes place in
the story.
After more experience and 3 more books in
the series, I've rewrote the first 1.
Prince had everything.
Talent, charisma, and a devoted best friend, Becky
Howard.
He won every time you set a hoo
in the show ring. He garnered more fans
from personal and Tv appearances.
Back he was with him every step of
the way, even riding him in the swell
day Parade in their hometown, San Juan Cap.
Disaster struck went 2 thugs put back in
a coma,
drugged him and dragged prince off to cell
for a dia
purpose.
When their buyer realized to wall lee was,
Phoenix the deal.
That landed the Pam show high in the
mountains in late March.
1 night a week later, he discovered the
corral gate un unmatched.
Prince Must every ounce of strength, courage and
stamina he had
to walk into the wilderness,
searching for the best friend he couldn't live
without.
Prince Ali and my other wonder horse books
are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and
other online books shops.
You'll find links to my books in the
show notes.
John Jones junior was the only homicide detective
on duty that night, so he got the
call. At the time, he also had a
local news crew following him around
filming for a program about
homicide Texas for their local Tv station.
He made them wait outside in the parking
lot until he taken a look at the
scene himself.
Their Amy continue rolling and showed a chaotic
scene of public safety officials tram in and
out of what they would soon burn was
the scene of a quadruple murder.
The first report from the fire department was
that 1 body was found
before Jones arrived, they inch that to 4
bodies.
It appeared Amy was not dead when the
fire was set. She managed to crawl off
the pile of bodies and a few feet
beyond before she died.
Her body was burned over 60 percent.
Amy also had a sock tiger around neck,
looking like someone tried to strangle.
None of the girls were recognizable.
Jones was able to identify the girls
from cars left in the parking lot, checking
in with the owners of the shop and
contact and the parents of the girls whose
cars were left behind.
Jennifer and Sarah's mom
wasn't really upset when they weren't home right
to closing the store.
Both girls raised animals for the Travis County
Fair,
and they typically spent time every morning and
every evening with their anne.
It would not be unusual for them to
spend a couple of hours with their animals
in the evening.
They kept their animal in a barn
between the yogurt shop and their home.
A yoga shop murders rocked Austin to the
coal
4 beautiful young girls were murdered for a
few hundred dollars in the till.
A private group of entrepreneurs offered a 100000
dollar reward for information leading to the arrest
of the murders.
The coroner office completed their
on the girls and included vaginal swabs in
case the murders left Dna behind.
They had very little to go on.
Because of the fire and resulting water damage
from the fire department washed or burned away
any other evidence in that found for the
investigators.
They did recover the bullets used to kill
the girls, so they knew what weapons came
into play.
A few days after of the murders.
16 year old Maurice Pierce was in the
North Cross mall with a 22 caliber pistol
his pocket.
He was arrested and logged in for questioning
by the police.
The gun was the same caliber when used
in the recent murders.
When Marines was interrogated
over and over and over and finally confessed
to the murders.
The investigators involved, Kari loose
because this confession was credible.
He didn't have the facts right, and he
couldn't answer the questions they were asking him.
He did mention and 3 other friends during
the interview.
Robert Springs,
Michael Scott, Maurice Pierce and Forest Well
became the prime suspects in the case.
They were all teenagers at the time
between 16 and 18 years old.
And
The police interviewed more than 1200
potential suspects over the next few years.
Most didn't fit or had an ali for
the time.
2 men 1 of her questioning were in
Mexico.
Austin investigate contacted Mexican authorities, who questioned the
2 man before sending them off to prison.
They both died in prison and Mexico
on local charges.
Others who told people they were involved in
the murders were found to be in jail
at the time it couldn't possibly be committed
to crime.
Or we're not in the area at the
time or didn't have the correct answers to
the questions please asked.
Springs
Scott Piers and Well
remained their top suspects.
They were questioned numerous times.
Sadly, they're questioning lasted hours at a time,
and several resulted in outrageous behavior by the
investigators.
1 pulled a handgun and held it to
a young man's temple.
At other times, the voice ended up sleep
deprived as teams of ante kept at them
for hours on
The police finally arrested Springs and Scott for
the murders.
They admitted they had admitted their involvement in
the case on to du rest during these
interrogation.
Each point of the finger at the other
1 for the murders,
they dropped the cases against Piers and W
for lack of evidence.
In 19 99, Springs and Scotland went to
trial.
They were convicted and sentenced,
Springs got the death penalty
while Scott got life in prison.
Springs dean and Scott's defense teams argued for
years to heard by the Texas Court of
appeals
for defects in the original trials.
Our law says if someone accuses you of
a crime,
you had the right to confront
In court, cross
examination is done by the defense attorney for
anyone who accuses their client of committed a
crime.
Springs and Scott claimed the other man committed
the crime case.
Both were in jail at the time. Each
had a separate trial so they were not
in the courtroom simultaneously.
The defense argued distance each man accused the
other and convictions were the result, the fact
that neither was allowed to cross examine the
other violated their rights and the law.
The court of appeals agree and over through
their convictions.
The court released both men on bond in
2009.
Prosecutors fully intended to put them in back
on trial.
They learned about a new Dna test that
could prove their case and ordered it.
In is a y dash s str r,
and it searches for mail Dna only.
The vaginal swabs of girls were put through
that test.
No 1 knew what the new test results
would reveal.
As a result of the new test, a
partial mail dna profile was obtained from 1
of the victims.
To the surprise of the prosecutors office, the
Dna sample didn't match any of the 4
young men suspected at crime.
Springs Dean and Scott were released after spending
10 years in prison for a crime didn't
commit.
All 4 cases were closed based on that
evidence.
Attorney Amber
Be
played a role Scott in Springs
defense teams.
She was, the police had it all wrong
when they arrested the 4 young men.
She believes to this day. They should have
fixed it on the 2
unidentified customers from the yogurt shop.
During the investigation, 52 customers who came into
the yogurt shop that day questioned by the
police investigators.
Some were even under h no to gather
information on the 2 strange men shop that
night.
No 1 could give them a precise enough
description of the 2 men.
The only evidence that
that was suggested was that they drove a
green car that night.
Over the years dozens confessed to the quadruple
homicide, but were released.
There's stories of guilt, just that
store race.
Rife with false confessions and lacking in Dna
matches,
the case of the so called yoga shop
murders has left all with suspects race more
than 1200 of them and included the arrest
of 4 boys twice years apart.
This case has yet to be solved.
Hi, Victoria again. I just wanted to thank
you for listening today. You can find links
to the author mastermind.
The readers and writers book club and my
books in the show notes will be back
soon for another episode of mysterious.
See it in.