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Men once wrongfully accused of Austin yogurt shop murders seek formal exoneration
New evidence links murders to serial killer Robert Brashers, prompting formal exoneration of four men and potential compensation of $80,000 per year of wrongful imprisonment.
- On Thursday, a judge at the Travis County Justice Center will consider a formal declaration of innocence for four men, with the livestreamed hearing starting at 9 a.m. in an auxiliary courtroom.
- Cold‑case detectives say DNA and ballistics evidence linked Robert Eugene Brashers to the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders after renewed work in 2025.
- The four were arrested in late 1999 following thousands of leads; Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott were convicted on confessions they said were coerced, later overturned, and charges dismissed in 2009 after new DNA pointed to another suspect.
- If the judge finds actual innocence, the defendants would be entitled to compensation under Texas law, which provides $80,000 per year for incarceration, offering closure to family members including Maurice Pierce's wife and daughter.
- The broader investigative record shows pattern similarities that, since 2018, forensic developments linked the case to other crimes and to a suspect who died in 1999, prompting exoneration efforts.
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Judge declares 4 men wrongly accused of 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders innocent
A Texas judge on Thursday declared four men who were wrongfully accused of the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders innocent, formally clearing their names in a courtroom for the first time since the killings of four teenage girls that haunted the city for decades. “You are innocent," state District Judge Dayna Blazey said during a hearing in a packed Austin courtroom. The declaration was aimed at closing a dark chapter for the men and their families…
·Orlando, United States
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Associated Press News+11 Reposted by 11 other sources
Men once wrongfully accused of Austin yogurt shop murders seek formal exoneration
A Texas judge is set to consider a formal declaration of innocence for the men who were wrongfully accused of murdering four teen girls at a yogurt shop in Austin in 1991.
·United States
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Total News Sources24
Leaning Left4Leaning Right2Center15Last UpdatedBias Distribution71% Center
Bias Distribution
- 71% of the sources are Center
71% Center
L 19%
C 71%
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