Home > Austin Legal > Archives > Yogurt shop category
Yogurt shop
September 22, 2011
Grand jury does not indict officer who shot Maurice Pierce
Update 3:21 p.m. A statement released by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg prior to a press conference today said that Maurice Pierce had a .14 blood alcohol content when he was shot by an Austin police officer in December 2010. Earlier
A Travis County grand jury today declined to indict Austin Police Officer Frank Wilson for fatally shooting Maurice Pierce, who was once charged with Austin’s infamous 1991 yogurt shop murders.
Police have said that Wilson acted in self-defense in December 2010 when he shot Pierce after Pierce had taken Wilson’s knife and slashed his trachea and carotid artery during a confrontation in a North Austin residential neighborhood.
The incident began when police tried to pull over Pierce after witnessing him run a stop sign in the 12000 block of Carrera Drive, which is near McNeil Drive and Parmer Lane, police have said. Pierce stopped and ran from officers who gave chase, with Wilson soon catching up to Pierce, police have said. Wilson attempted to deploy his Taser on Pierce, who grabbed a knife from Wilson’s belt and slashed him with it, police have said.
Wilson then fired the single shot that killed Pierce, police have said.
Pierce’s former lawyer and family members have said he probably ran because of a fear of law enforcement that stems from what they called his wrongful arrest and three-year jailing in the yogurt shop case.
Pierce was one of four men charged with capital murder in 1999. He was accused of killing Amy Ayers, 13, Eliza Thomas, 17, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop near Northcross Mall.
He was never brought to trial. But after prosecutors dismissed charges against two co-defendants last year, police said they still considered Pierce and the other men suspects.
The case remains unsolved.
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg has scheduled a 3 p.m. press conference to discuss the grand jury inquiry.
Permalink | Comments (10) | Post your comment Categories: Yogurt shop
December 24, 2010
Lawyer: Pierce afraid of police because of yogurt shop case jailing
A lawyer for Maurice Pierce, the man fatally shot by an Austin police officer last night, said Pierce likely ran away during a traffic stop out of a fear of law enforcement that stems from what she called his wrongful arrest and jailing in Austin’s infamous 1991 yogurt shop murders.
Darlina Crowder represents Pierce on evading arrest and aggravated assault on a public servant charges in Collin County and said the judge in those cases recently ordered a psychological evaluation of Pierce in part to evaluate his fear of police.
‘”He had been in jail for such a long time on those cases up until he was exonerated and released. that every time he gets detained he is traumatized and runs because he is so scared of the police,” Crowder said.
Pierce, 35, was set to go to trial in Collin County on March 1.
Pierce was 16 when Amy Ayers, 13, Eliza Thomas, 17, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, were shot and set on fire on Dec. 6, 1991 during a robbert at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store near the Northcross Mall.
Pierce was arrested with a .22-caliber gun days after the killings and told police it was used in the murders. That claim was later dismissed by investigators after they interviewed Pierce, his friend Forrest Welborn, and Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen IV, who they believed were all together that night.
Ballistics tests showed the gun probably was not used in the crime, but in September 1999 police re-interviewed Scott and Springsteen, who in long interviews confessed to playing a role in the killings and implicated Pierce.
Despite the arguments of lawyers for Scott and Springsteen who claimed the confessions were coerced by overzealous investigators, the men were convicted at trial. The cases against Pierce were dismissed in January 2003 after prosecutors said they did not have the evidence to convict him.
The Springsteen and Scott convictions were overturned on appeal and the charges were dismissed last year after DNA found in a vaginal swab taken from one of the victims did not match the DNA of either defendant, or Pierce or former co-defendant Forrest Wellborn.
Pierce told reporters after his release from jail that he was moving to the Dallas area to be near his wife and daughter.
On April 16, 2008, a Plano police officer stopped Pierce for speeding, an arrest affidavit said. The officer asked Pierce why he seemed nervous, and he told her that “he had been accused of several offenses in the past that he had not committed,” the affidavit said.
After being informed that he would be arrested for an outstanding warrant, Pierce threw the car in reverse and then drove off, dragging one officer, the affidavit said.
Crowder said another officer tripped during the confrontation although neither officer was seriously injured.
About two weeks later, Austin police tracked Pierce to a home in 12000 block of Carrera Drive in Northwest Austin, near where he was shot Thursday night.
Austin police said that on May 2, 2008, Pierce “violently resisted” arrest before he was subdued by multiple officers who used a Taser stun gun.
Charges of assault on a public servant were later filed and are pending against Pierce in Travis County.
After his arrest, Pierce was jailed in Collin County before he was released on bond on the Travis and Collin County charges, Crowder said.
Pierce had permission to live with his family in Austin and return to Collin County for court dates. She said he has made every court date.
Crowder said that it became clear early in her defense of Pierce in Collin County that he would not be treated like a normal defendant. She was told by a prosecutor there that prosecutors from Austin called and said they “had real concerns that Maurice was involved in the yogurt shop cases regardless of the fact that he was exonerated,” Crowder said.
Crowder believes that is why Collin County prosecutors’ best plea bargain offer to Pierce was a 30-year-sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. Even though the top charges against Pierce were punishable by up to life in prison, Crowder called the plea bargain offer “absolutely ridiculous” and said a typical plea deal in such a case would involve a sentence of deferred adjudication, a form of probation.
Permalink | Comments (50) | Categories: Yogurt shop
December 15, 2010
Former yogurt shop murder defendant charged in West Virginia
A man once sentenced to death in the 1991 slayings of four teenage girls at a North Austin yogurt shop has been charged with three misdemeanor crimes in a Charleston, W. Va., court related to a traffic wreck last month, according to officials there.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned the capital murder convictions of Robert Springsteen IV and co-defendant Michael Scott and prosecutors dismissed the charges in October 2009. District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said at the time that a retrial would be too risky because a vaginal swab taken from one of the teenage victims revealed male DNA that did not come from either man or previous co-defendants, although she said she still considered them suspects.
Springsteen, 36, returned to West Virginia, where he had lived before his arrest in the yogurt shop case. (He is shown at right after the capital murder charges were dismissed last year.)
According to the Magistrate Court Clerk’s Office in Charleston, Springsteen has been issued a summons to appear next month on misdemeanor charges including reckless driving and leaving the scene of a wreck related to a Nov. 24 incident.
No further details were available, the clerk said.
Springsteen could not be reached for comment. Alexandra Gauthier, who was one of Springsteen’s lawyers in the Austin capital murder case, said she does not represent him in West Virginia and had no comment.
The Dec. 6, 1991, killings of four teenage girls at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane is one of the most brutal crimes in Austin history. After flames were extinguished at the shop, which was set ablaze to cover the crime, 13-year-old Amy Ayers was found dead along with sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, and Eliza Thomas, 17.
Scott and Springsteen both confessed to playing a role in the crime during lengthy interrogations in 1999.
Lawyers for the men later argued that the confessions were coerced under psychological pressure. The Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that parts of Scott’s statement was improperly introduced at Springsteen’s trial and Springsteen’s statement was improperly used at Scott’s trial.
The DNA evidence that led to the dismissal of charges emerged while prosecutors prepared for retrials. When the cases against the men were dismissed, Lehmberg said investigators had compared the DNA profile discovered in a vaginal swab taken from Ayers with profiles taken from more than 130 people but failed to find a match.
Those people included associates of Scott and Springsteen, police, firefighters and others who were at the yogurt shop, family members of the girls and others.
Permalink | Comments (40) | Categories: Yogurt shop
January 11, 2010
Yogurt shop tangle chronicled in television special
Austin’s 1991 yogurt shop murder case was featured on a CBS television show Saturday night, about ten weeks after the October dismissal of charges against Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, both once convicted of capital murder in the case.
The show “48 Hours Mystery” chronicled elements of the 18-year-old case from the beginning and featured interviews with Springsteen, the original investigators and family members of the four teenage girls who were murdered in December 1991 at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane.
In 1999 Springsteen and Scott each said in interviews with Austin police that they participated in the killings. Their lawyers later argued that those confessions are false and came under psychological pressure from detectives.
Perhaps the most compelling part of the CBS account was when former Austin police lead investigator John Jones said he recently reviewed the confessions in the case and does not think Scott and Springsteen are guilty.
The convictions were overturned on appeal and Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg cited recently-discovered DNA evidence in dismissing the charges against both men last year.
Lehmberg said that DNA found in vaginal swabs taken from 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers does not match Scott, Springsteen or two previous co-defendants. Investigators are continuing to search for the source of that DNA, but have tested over 100 people, including crime scene workers, relatives of the girls and friends of Scott and Springsteen.
Police and prosecutors have said they remain convinced that Scott and Springsteen are guilty. Read an account of the evidence in the case here.
Watch the “48 Hours Mystery” episode about the yogurt shop case here.
Permalink | Comments (13) | Categories: Yogurt shop
October 28, 2009
Charges dismissed in yogurt shop case
UPDATE 2:02PM
Travis County prosecutors moved to dismiss the murder indictments against the two remaining defendants in the 1991 yogurt shop murders after announcing in court today that they are still looking for the person whose DNA was found last year in one of the four teenage victims.
Assistant District Attorney Efrain De La Fuente said in court that the decision came because state District Judge Mike Lynch has ordered that a continuance in the case to conduct further DNA testing would not be considered.
“We are still testing,” he said.
The packed courtroom was quiet after Lynch ordered the dismissals. Defendants Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen, who were once both convicted in the case, hugged their lawyers and supporters in court.
Outside the courtroom, lawyers for the defendants called on authorities to find the real killers.
“Those men that did this back in 1991, they left DNA in there,” said Scott lawyer Carlos Garcia. .”And I don’t know if those guys are still alive …but we have your DNA and sooner or later we are going to match your face to it.”
Springsteen lawyer Joe James Sawyer said that he and his client believe that it is the families of the slain girls who have suffered the most.
“We should reserve our sympathy for the families of those girls,” Sawyer said. “That is paramount.”
Scott, gripping his wife’s hand, was reserved outside court.
“This has been a long time in coming,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.”
At a press conference following the hearing, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg issued a statement that said in part: “Make no mistake, this is a difficult decision and one I would rather not have to make. I believe it is the best legal and strategic course to take and is the one that leaves us in the best possible posture to ultimately retry both Springsteen and Scott.”
EARLIER
A critical hearing is set for this afternoon in the capital murder cases against two men accused in the 1991 killings of four teenage girls at a North Austin yogurt shop.
If prosecutors try to avoid setting a trial date, then state District Judge Mike Lynch may consider dismissing the cases against defendants Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott based on their rights to a speedy trial, Lynch wrote in an August order. Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg could also decide to dismiss the case on her own.
The hearing is set for 1:30 p.m. in Travis County’s 167th District Court. Lehmberg has scheduled a press conference following the hearing.
In June, Lynch released the men from jail on their own recognizance after prosecutors said they wanted more time to identify the source of male DNA found in vaginal swabs taken from victim Amy Ayers, 13. Scott, Sprignsteen and two previous co-defendant were excluded as contributors of that DNA.
Prosecutors have not yet determined whose DNA it is, according to defense lawyers who have been kept apprised of the testing.
In a strongly worded order in written in August, Lynch said that the lawyers in the case must announce they are ready for trial today. “Extreme circumstances would be required to obtain a continuance,” he wrote.
If either party announces they are ready for trial and later asks for more time, Lynch wrote, “it would be a violation of this order” if there was no new reason for the continuance request.
Today’s hearing is the latest critical juncture for a case that has taken many turns since Dec. 6, 1991, when the bodies of Ayers, sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 17 and 15, and Eliza Thomas were found, each bound with their own clothing and shot in the head, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt Shop on West Anderson Lane.
In 1999, Scott and Springsteen confessed. Their lawyers later said those confessions were coerced under psychological pressure and lengthy interviews by police. Both were convicted but those convictions were overturned when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found that Scott’s confession was improperly used at Springsteen’s trial and Springsteen’s confession was improperly used at Scott’s trial.
Prosecutors ordered testing using new, previously unavailable DNA technology, and found the DNA on Ayers.
Defense lawyers say that additional testing found the same unknown male’s DNA in a vaginal swab taken from victim Jennifer, and another partial DNA profile in Sarah, who was also killed in the crime. They also found additional unknown male DNA on clothing used to bind the wrists of Eliza.
The DNA results were obtained using technology not previously available. The Y-STR profiles can not be run through databases of DNA taken from convicts and others and must be individually compared to known DNA profiles.
Scott and Springsteen have been excluded as contributors of any of the DNA found at the crime scene.
In June, Lehmberg said the DNA found on Ayers had been compared to DNA taken from 130 people, including associates of the defendants, crime scene workers and others. None matched, she said.
Lehmberg in June would not say whether she go to trial without first identifying whose DNA was found on Ayers.
Lynch wrote in his order that he would not grant the district attorney more time to prepare the case to conduct further DNA testing.
If the cases are dismissed by either Lehmberg or Lynch it is likely that they could be re-filed after additional investigation.
To read about the challenges the DA faces in prosecuting the case, go here.
Permalink | Comments (75) | Categories: Yogurt shop
August 11, 2009
Yogurt shop hearing delayed until October
A hearing scheduled Wednesday for two men accused in Austin’s infamous yogurt shop murders has been re-scheduled until October.
Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen, accused of killing four teenage girls at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt Shop on West Anderson Lane in 1991, were released from jail on personal recognizance bonds in June after prosecutors said they were not prepared to go to trial. District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said she needed more time to conduct DNA testing to find out whose male DNA was found in March 2008 in a vaginal swab taken from 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers, DNA that was later found in another victim.
The DNA does not belong to either defendant or two previous co-defendants in the case.
In an order filed late Tuesday, state District Judge Mike Lynch set the case for Oct. 28. He wrote he would set a trial date at that time.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Yogurt shop
June 24, 2009
Yogurt shop defendants released from jail
2:50 p.m.: Preceded by his lawyer and walking arm in arm with his wife, Michael Scott walked out of the Travis County Jail downtown, followed by co-defendant Robert Springsteen, who was joined by his lawyers.
Scott did not comment. Springsteen said, “It’s wonderful, and I’d like to thank God, and my lawyers and my family for this opportunity.”
EARLIER: Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott, locked up since 1999 when they confessed to a role in the grisly 1991 yogurt shop killings of four teenage girls, are awaiting their release from jail after a judge ordered them free on bond today.
The release order comes after prosecutors this morning asked for state District Judge Mike Lynch to delay Scott’s capital murder trial, which had been scheduled for July 6. Prosecutors said they needed more time to conduct DNA testing to find out whose male DNA was found in March 2008 in a vaginal swab taken from 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers, DNA that was later found in another victim.
Scott’s lawyers opposed the trial delay. With Springsteen’s lawyers they have steadfastly maintained their clients’ innocence, saying the confessions were coerced. The discovery of the unknown male DNA on Ayers fueled their defense.
Lynch granted an unspecified delay in the trial date and simultaneously ordered Scott and Springsteen released on personal recognizance bonds, meaning they do not have to pay any money for release. He reset the case for a hearing Aug. 28.
“Of course I am concerned about their being at liberty,” Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg said at a press conference after the hearing. “I think they are guilty of horrible murders. But I ultimately believe that the successful prosecution of them hinges on making this decision.”
Scott’s wife, Jeannine Scott, said nothing short of a dismissal of charges will satisfy her.
“It’s just another tactic; it’s another delay,” she said. “The evidence already shows they have the wrong men.”
The sudden development in the case marks the first time prosecutors have expressed any hesitancy in trying the men, who were previously convicted of capital murder in the case.
Scott, 35, got a life sentence from a Travis County jury and another jury gave Springsteen, 34, a death sentence. He spent four years on death row before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the execution of people who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes to be unconstitutional.
Both convictions were later overturned on appeal, after courts found Scott’s statement to police was improperly used at Springsteen’s trial and Springsteen’s statement was improperly used at Scott’s trial.
Ayers, Sarah Harbison, 15, her sister Jennifer Harbison, 17, and Eliza Thomas, 17, were bound and gagged with their own clothing and each was shot in the back of the head on Dec. 6, 1991, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane.
The killers set the crime scene on fire, an early complication to the police investigation. A string of confessions, which police later dismissed as false, further complicated things, as did the proliferation of details about the crime that investigators sought to keep secret.
In November 1999, police called Scott at his Buda home and asked him to come downtown to talk. They were following up on a tip they had once dismissed — Scott’s friend Maurice Pierce told them days after the murders that a .22 caliber gun he was arrested for carrying in Northcross Mall had been used in the killings.
Detectives interrogated Scott for more than 20 hours over five days and after several hours he slowly admitted to going to the yogurt shop with three friends, including Pierce, for a robbery turned bad. Police later went to West Virginia, where Springsteen had been living, and he agreed to speak with them, eventually admitting a role in the crime.
After Scott, Springsteen, Pierce and Forrest Welborn were arrested in 1999, ballistics testing showed that Pierce’s gun was likely not used in the killings.
In fact, no physical evidence was presented at trial tying Scott and Springsteen or two previous co-defendants to the killings. Charges against one of those co-defendants were dismissed after two grand juries declined to indict him in 2000. Charges against the other were dismissed in 2003, with prosecutors citing lack of evidence.
In preparation for the new trials, prosecutors and defense lawyers ordered DNA tests using technology not previously available.
Scott’s and Springsteen’s lawyers say male DNA was found on vaginal swabs taken from Sarah and Jennifer Harbison in additon to Ayers. The same male whose DNA was found in Ayers was found in Jennifer Harbison, according to prosecutors and defense lawyers. Defense lawyers contend that that person’s DNA could also be in Sarah Harbison, but a DNA profile found in Sarah Harbison was incomplete. Finally, DNA of an unknown male was found on a wrist ligature used on Thomas, defense lawyers said.
Prosecutors said the Sarah Harbison DNA was too minimal to be conclusive and the DNA found on Eliza Thomas could have come from contamination.
Experts for both sides concur that none of the DNA came from Scott, Springsteen, Welborn or Pierce.
The DNA that has been discovered in the past 15 months comes from relatively new Y-STR technology, which cannot be entered into law enforcement DNA databases.
Lehmberg said that prosecutors have ordered the DNA compared with that of more than 130 people — including firefighters on site the day of the killings, friends of Scott’s and Springsteen’s, and lab technicians — but have not found a match.
Defense lawyer Carlos Garcia questioned whether they have anyone else to ask. Lehmberg said later that they did.
In an interview last week and one Monday, prosecutors refused to commit to trying the case on July 6. On Tuesday morning, Lynch wrote in an order that if he granted prosecutors a postponement, then he would release Scott and Springsteen on personal recognizance bonds.
Reading from a statement at a press conference, Lehmberg said: “The reliable scientific evidence in the case presents one, and one only, unknown male donor. Given that, I could not in good conscience allow this case to go to trial before the identity of this male donor is determined, and the full truth is known.
“I remain confident that both Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott are responsible for the deaths at the yogurt shop but it would not be prudent to risk a trial until we also know the nature of the involvement of this unknown male.”
Permalink | Comments (70) | Categories: Yogurt shop
Yogurt shop murder defendants to be released from jail
State District Judge Mike Lynch this morning ordered yogurt shop murder defendants Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen released from jail pending trial after postponing Scott’s previously scheduled July 6 re-trial at prosecutors’ request.
Travis County prosecutors said they wanted more time to determine whose DNA was found in March 2008 in vaginal swabs taken from 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers. That DNA was later found in another teenage victim.
Defense lawyers for Scott opposed the request, saying they feared that prosecutors would use it to find additional evidence against their client.
Michael Scott’s wife, Jeannine Scott, said she is happy her husband is coming home after almost 10 years behind bars, but nothing short of a dismissal of charges will satisfy her.
“It’s just another tactic, it’s another delay,” she said. “The evidence already shows they have the wrong men.”
At a press conference, Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg read from a statement that said, in part: “The reliable, scientific evidence in the case presents one, and one only, unknown male donor. Given that, I could not in good conscience allow this case to go to trial before the identity of this male donor is determined, and the full truth is known.
“I remain confident that Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott are both responsible for the deaths at the yogurt shop but it would not be prudent to risk a trial until we also know the nature of the involvement of this unknown male.”
Lehmberg was joined at the press conference by Police Chief Art Acevedo and other police and prosecutors.
“Of course I am concerned about their being at liberty,” she said. “I think they are guilty of horrible murders. But I ultimately believe that the successful prosecution of them hinges on making this decision.”
Acevedo said that he supports Lehmberg’s decision to seek a continuance in the case.
“We do believe we have the right suspects in custody,” he said.
After the press conference, Acevedo said his detectives are continuing to work the case, talking to friends and associates of defendants Scott and Springsteen to see if they know anything about the case.
“I told my investigators, our department strongly supports them” and will provide whatever resources they may need, Acevedo said.
Permalink | Comments (29) | Categories: Yogurt shop
June 23, 2009
Judge says yogurt shop defendants will be released if trial is postponed
4:49 p.m.: Judge Mike Lynch this afternoon scheduled a hearing at 9 a.m. Wednesday “on the court’s scheduling order” in Michael Scott’s case. There was no further indication on what will be discussed.
EARLIER:With the first re-trial in Austin’s 1991 yogurt shop slayings scheduled in two weeks and Travis County prosecutors continuing to search for the identity of the person whose DNA they say was found inside two of the victims, the trial judge wrote in an order today that if prosecutors seek to delay the trial he will release the two capital murder defendants from jail on bond.
State District Judge Mike Lynch this morning entered a “scheduling order” in the case which calls for jury selection to begin in Michael Scott’s trial at 9 a.m. on July 6.
A trial has not been set in co-defendant Robert Springsteen’s case. Previously Lynch said only that the trial would happen the week of July 6.
The order sets deadlines for pretrial motions and other administrative matters in Scott’s case and states “any motion for continuance will not be entertained absent truly emergency circumstances.
“As previously stated on the record,” Lynch wrote, “any such motion by the state would, if granted, result in this court granting both this defendant and Robert Springsteen release on personal recognizance bonds.”
Scott and Springsteen have been jailed since their 1999 arrests in the Dec. 6, 1991 killings of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 17 and 15, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head, and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence.
Scott, 35, and Springsteen, 34, confessed to participating in the killings in 1999, though both have recanted, their lawyers saying they caved to hours of psychological pressure. Two men — Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn — were also initially charged in the case after being implicated by Scott and Springsteen, but those charges were later dismissed as prosecutors cited lack of evidence.
The convictions were thrown out on appeal and new DNA testing has been ongoing in preparation for their re-trials.
Scott and Springsteen’s lawyers say DNA from three unknown males has been found in vaginal swabs taken from three teenage victims and on clothing used to bind the wrists of the fourth teenage victims. The lawyers say this evidnece disproves the state’s previous theory of the case and exonerates their clients. None of the DNA matches Scott, Springsteen or two previous co-defendants. Prosecutors have ordered the DNA compared to more than 100 people — firefighters at the scene the day of the killings, friends of Scott and Springsteen, lab technicians, etc. — but have not found a match.
Prosecutors contend that the new test results only conclusively show the presence of one unknown male in the vaginal swabs. In an interview Monday, Travis County District Attorney would not commit to trying Scott the week of July 6.
“We remain confident that we have two individuals who are responsible, and we are continuing to investigate the one unknown male donor that was discovered … in March of ‘08,” she said. “We will continue to assess.”
On Monday, Lynch denied Springsteen’s request for a bail reduction based on the DNA results, writing that the evidence needs a fuller analysis than he was able to give. Read a story from today’s Statesman on Lynch’s decision here.
Permalink | Comments (14) | Categories: Yogurt shop
June 22, 2009
Judge says yogurt shop DNA needs fuller analysis
A judge today denied a request for a bail reduction by Robert Springsteen, accused of killing four teenage girls in 1991 at a North Austin yogurt shop.
Springsteen’s lawyers argued to state District Judge Mike Lynch last week that testing of evidence conducted in the past 15 months found the presence of DNA from three unknown males in vaginal swabs taken from three victims and from clothing used as a wrist ligature on the fourth.
They argued that none of the DNA matched Springsteen, co-defendant Michael Scott or two previous co-defendants, proof they say that longtime claims of innocence by Scott and Springsteen are true.
Prosecutors argued that the DNA from only one unkmown male was discovered in biological samples taken from the girls, discounting the other results as unreliable.
Today, Lynch ruled in writing that reaching a conclusion on the evidence requires a more extensive analysis of the evidence than he performed in recent weeks, one that would occur during a trial.
Lynch wrote that he limited the scope of an inquiry into Springsteen’s claims and request for freedom pending trial to save time, resources and to avoid tainting the pool of potential jurors at Scott’s trial, scheduled for the week of July 6.
“That trial is this court’s number one priority,” he wrote.
Instead of having DNA experts testify and be subject to cross-examination at the bail-reduction hearing last week, Lynch ordered lawyers to submit the views of their experts in written filings, which were sealed. The lawyers argued their sides during a hearing Thursday.
Lynch noted in his order that Springsteen’s motion for bail reduction requires Springsteen to prove that the DNA evidence requires Lynch to release him from jail.
“The burden is on the defendant,” he wrote, unlike at trial where the burden of proof is on the prosecution.
He later wrote that given that burden, limiting the scope of the hearing “most significantly hamper(s)” Springsteen.
Prosecutors argued that some of the evidence that they considered unreliable was detected by the defense through testing so called “low-copy number DNA samples.”
Lynch quoted one source, which he did not name, on low copy DNA samples in his order Monday. That source called the testing an “extremely powerful technique that enables scientists to produce DNA profiles from traces of biological material, sometimes as small as a single cell.”
“At the same time there are certain limitations to this technology that are extremely important for correct interpretation of the results.”
Lynch wrote: “In order to fully assess the accuracy and significance of the testing done in this case, a much more lengthy, extensive and rigorous opportunity for examination and cross-examination of the experts is necessary.
“This robust review will occur at trial before the trier of fact.”
The killings of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 17 and 15, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane on Dec. 6, 1991, was one of the city’s most shocking. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head, and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence. Investigators believed that at least some of the victims were sexually assaulted.
Scott, 35, and Springsteen, 34, were arrested in 1999 after both confessed to participating in the killings. Both men have recanted, their lawyers saying they caved to hours of psychological pressure, including unethical questioning, placed by Austin police detectives who interviewed them. Two men — Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn — were also initially charged in the case after being implicated by Scott and Springsteen, but those charges were later dismissed as prosecutors cited lack of evidence.
Scott and Springsteen were both convicted by juries of capital murder. Their convictions were overturned on appeal. Both men have been jailed since their arrests. Springsteen is being held on $500,000 bail on each of four capital murder counts. Scott’s lawyers did not request a bail reduction, choosing instead to focus on his upcoming trial. No trial date has been set for Springsteen.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Yogurt shop
June 18, 2009
Yogurt shop defendant's lawyers ask for client's release; prosecutors challenge DNA results
State District Judge Mike Lynch said he would rule by Monday on Robert Springsteen’s request for a bail reduction so he can be set free pending his trial in the 1991 murders of four girls at an Austin yogurt shop.
During a hearing today, Springsteen’s lawyers argued that he should be set free because recent testing of vaginal swabs taken from three victims and a wrist ligature used on another victim shows the presence of male DNA that did not come from Springsteen, co-defendant Michael Scott or two previous co-defendants.
Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle argued that the test results only conclusively show the presence of one unknown male.
Testing has not ascertained whose DNA was found. Defense lawyers say the results exonerate Springsteen and Scott.
“We can’t replace or give him back the nearly 10 years he’s lost sitting in jail on these charges,” Springsteen lawyer Joe James Sawyer said in court. “I think he is entitled to release. I think there is a scientific basis for … this.”
The killings of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 17 and 15, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane on Dec. 6, 1991, was one of the city’s most shocking. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head, and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence. Investigators believed that at least some of the victims were sexually assaulted.
Scott, 35, and Springsteen, 34, were arrested in 1999 after both confessed to participating in the killings. Both men have recanted, their lawyers saying they caved to hours of psychological pressure, including unethical questioning, placed by Austin police detectives who interviewed them. Two men — Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn — were also initially charged in the case after being implicated by Scott and Springsteen, but those charges were later dismissed as prosecutors cited lack of evidence.
Scott and Springsteen were both convicted by juries of capital murder. Their convictions were overturned on appeal. Both men have been jailed since their arrests. Springsteen is being held on $500,000 bail on each of four capital murder counts. Scott’s lawyers did not request a bail reduction, choosing instead to focus on his trial set for the week of July 6. No trial date has been set for Springsteen.
Because of the fire, there was little physical evidence at the scene and none linking Scott, Springsteen, Pierce or Wellborn to the scene. That’s why the DNA results found using Y-STR testing protocols unavailable before previous trials could be so crucial.
Sawyer outlined for Lynch the previously undiscovered DNA that defense lawyers contend has been found in the last 15 months.
DNA from an unknown male was found in vaginal swabs taken from Amy Ayers. That same person’s DNA was discovered in Jennifer Harbison.
Another male’s DNA was found in Jennifer’s sister Sarah, who was also killed.
A third male’s DNA was found on clothing used to bind the wrist of Eliza Thomas.
In addition, Sawyer said that the DNA from Jennifer Harbison’s boyfriend was found in both Jennifer and Sarah Harbison. He said this is proof that the sisters were sexually assaulted by the same man, causing the transfer of the boyfriend’s DNA from Jennifer to Sarah.
The DNA from more than 100 people, including associates of the defendants, crime scene workers, police officers, lab technicians and relatives of the girls, has been compared to the recently-discovered DNA. There have been no matches.
It was testing ordered by prosecutors that yielded the DNA profile found in Amy Ayers. At that point, Sawyer said, prosecutors stopped testing new items for DNA evidence. Defense testing yielded the other results.
Van Winkle said a prosecution-hired expert said that the male DNA found on Sarah was not a robust enough sample to yield any conclusions. She said the wrist ligature DNA could have come from crime-scene workers.
Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg made a rare courtroom appearance at the hearing. Afterward, she made brief comments to the media.
“It is as we believed that there is one unknown male donor in the evidence that we had tested in March 2008,” she said. “It’s not as the defense would have it that there are multiple donors.”
Outside court, Sawyer noted that Austin detectives repeatedly asked Springsteen if he raped Amy while interrogating him in 1999 and that he eventually said he did.
“Someone did have sex with that little girl,” Sawyer said. “It was not Robert Springsteen or any of the men they say. “
Sawyer said Springsteen’s statement is the reason why the state submitted the vaginal swabs taken from Amy for testing in preparation for the retrials.
They wanted evidence against Springsteen, Sawyer said, “instead they got the truth.”
Permalink | | Categories: Yogurt shop
Key DNA hearing under way in yogurt shop case
UPDATE 1:36 p.m.:The hearing in Judge Mike Lynch’s court is under way. Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg is present, a rare courtroom appearance for her. Lynch said he wants lawyers to make general statements as to what the results mean and not get too bogged down in technical details.
EARLIER:Today is the long-awaited hearing on yogurt shop murder defendant Robert Springsteen’s bid for freedom pending trial because of recent DNA test results that defense lawyers contend exonerate Springsteen and co-defendant Michael Scott and clears two former co-defendants.
The hearing, initially set for tomorrow but moved up because of a scheduling conflict, is set for 1:30 p.m. in state District Judge Mike Lynch’s court in the downtown Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center.
Lynch will take arguments from prosecutors and defense lawyers but will not hear from witnesses. He ordered that all evidence be presented in writing in advance. The affidavits from DNA experts have been sealed.
The killing of Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson Lane on Dec. 6, 1991, was one of the city’s most shocking. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head, and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence.
Scott, 35, and Springsteen, 34, were arrested in 1999 after both confessed to participating in the killings. Both men have recanted, their lawyers saying they caved to hours of psychological pressure, including unethical questioning, placed by Austin police detectives who interviewed them. Two men —Maurice Pierce and Forrest Welborn — were also initially charged in the case after being implicated by Scott and Springsteen, but those charges were later dismissed as prosecutors cited lack of evidence.
Scott and Springsteen were convicted by juries of capital murder. Their convictions were overturned on appeal. Both men have been jailed since their arrests.
Scott has not requested to be set free on bail, his lawyers choosing instead to focus on his trial set for the week of July 6. Springsteen’s trial date has not been set.
Prosecutors in March 2008 informed defense lawyers that testing of the rape kit taken from Amy, the 13-year-old victim, detected the DNA of an unknown male. Later testing by the defense found the same man’s DNA in vaginal swabs taken from another victim and the DNA of another unknown male in vaginal swabs taken from a third victim, according to lawyers and court filings.
Prosecutors have said they stand by their case, pointing to the confessions. When they first discovered the male DNA in Amy in 2008, prosecutors said they would find out whose DNA it was through testing, suggesting that it could belong to a crime-scene worker or medical examiner who worked on the case. More than 100 people’s DNA have been compared to that sample— including previous suspects, associates of the defendants and public safety workers — and none has been a match.
Permalink | Comments (12) | Categories: Yogurt shop
May 21, 2009
Lanier High student queries judge on yogurt shop case
State District Judge Mike Lynch regularly hosts Austin high school students in his courtroom to give them a peek at the criminal justice system. This morning he paused a busy docket call to talk from the bench to a group of Lanier High students.
After he explained what happens in his court — it’s a felony trial court that hears cases such as auto theft, aggravated sexual assault and murder— one of the students, who were seated in the jury box, spoke up.
“Are you in charge of the yogurt shop murder case,” asked sophomore Bianca Becerra, referring to the horrific killing of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop in 1991.
“Yes ma’am,” Lynch said.
Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott are charged with the killings and face capital murder charges in Lynch’s court.
“What do you have to say about that?” Becerra asked.
“Nothing,” Lynch responded, “Except that it’s a long difficult case.”
He then appeared to recall the case’s connection to Lanier High. Three of the victims were Lanier students when they were bound, gagged shot in the head and set on fire at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt Shop on Anderson Lane on Dec. 6, 1991.
Lynch went on:
“It’s a very arduous case for everybody involved in it from whatever side you’re involved. It’s a very complicated, difficult case. Past that, I can’t really say anything because I’m the judge sitting in it, and my job is to … remain totally neutral.
“I have never really commented. I’ve had maybe several hundred calls from news people all over the country, from every T.V. show you’ve ever seen or thought about and every local reporter have all tried to get me to answer the very question you just asked.
“You were correct, the 167th District Court is the case the court is assigned to. Right now the first trial is tentatively set for July.”
Scott’s trial is tentatively set for the week of July 6. Springsteen is set for a bail reduction hearing in June.
Becerra is 15 and was not born when the killings happened, but she and her teacher, Tom Cave, explained to a reporter after her conversation with Lynch that the case is still very well-known to students at Lanier.
Victims Eliza Thomas, 17, and Jennifer Harbison, 17, were seniors at Lanier, and Jennifer’s sister Sarah Harbison, was a freshman. The final victim, 13-year-old Amy Ayers was an eighth-grader at Burnet Middle School.
Permalink | Comments (26) | Categories: Yogurt shop
May 18, 2009
Yogurt shop hearing postponed until June
Tomorrow’s long awaited bail reduction hearing for yogurt shop murder defendant Robert Springsteen has been postponed, said Alexandra Gauthier, one of Springsteen’s defense lawyers.
State District Judge Mike Lynch postponed the hearing after defense lawyers informed him on Friday that their DNA experts could not prepare written affidavits on the testing they have performed in the case in time for the hearing, Gauthier said.
On May 5, Lynch ordered that all evidence in the case be presented in writing rather than in live testimony.
That did not give DNA experts hired by Springsteen’s defense team enough time, Gauthier said.
“My lab director can’t just drop everything for this case,” Gauthier said.
“It takes longer to prepare an affidavit covering everything, all potential challenges,” then to just answer questions, she said.
Lynch ordered the hearing in January after Springsteen’s lawyers filed a motion that claimed that recent DNA evidence exonerates him and co-defendant Michael Scott in the killings of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop in 1991.
The men are accused of killing Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson lane December 6, 1991. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence.
Scott and Springsteen both confessed to participating in the killings but later recanted and said they were coerced. Both were convicted of capital murder. Their convictions were overturned on appeal.
New DNA testing conducted in anticipation of their retrials yielded previously undiscovered male DNA profiles on three of the victims, according to statements by prosecutors and defense lawyers and defense motions in the case.
Those profiles do not match those of Springsteen, Scott or two previous co-defendants, said defense lawyers, who add that they believe that the recently discovered male DNA belongs to the real killers.
Prosecutors, citing the confessions, have said they stand by their case.
Gauthier said the hearing would be rescheduled for sometime in mid June.
Lynch has ordered that the affidavits filed in the case would be filed under seal. He wrote in an order that each side will be able to argue the merits of the bail reduction.
Scott’s case is tentatively set for trial in July.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Yogurt shop
May 13, 2009
Affidavits on DNA evidence in yogurt shop case to be sealed
The details of yogurt shop murder defendant Robert Springsteen’s bail reduction hearing next week will be kept secret under an order entered today by the judge in the case.
State District Judge Mike Lynch ordered the hearing after Springsteen’s lawyers argued that recent DNA evidence exonerates him and co-defendant Michael Scott in the killings of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop in 1991.
Lynch last week ordered that instead of live witness testimony, defense lawyers and prosecutors would present their cases on the DNA evidence in writing, including with written affidavits from witnesses.
Today Lynch ordered that those affidavits and other evidence should be filed with the Travis County District Clerk under seal. Lynch’s order did not give a reason for the secrecy, and he could not be immediately reached. On Tuesday Lynch declined to comment on the hearing.
In his order last week, Lynch said the lawyers could make oral arguments on the evidence in court.
Scott’s lawyers had previously said they would join Springsteen’s request for a hearing on bail in the case, but they have abandoned that request to focus on his upcoming trial, tentatively scheduled for the week of July 6. Springsteen will be tried after Scott, according to prosecutors.
The men are accused of killing Amy Ayers, 13; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt shop on West Anderson lane December 6, 1991. The girls were bound and gagged with their own clothing. Each was shot in the back of the head and the killers set the crime scene on fire, leaving little physical evidence.
Scott and Springsteen both confessed to participating in the killings but later recanted and said they were coerced. Both were convicted of capital murder. Their convictions were overturned on appeal.
New DNA testing conducted in anticipation of their retrials yielded previously undiscovered male DNA profiles on three of the victims, according to statements by prosecutors and defense lawyers and defense motions in the case.
Those profiles do not match those of Springsteen, Scott or two previous co-defendants, said defense lawyers, who add that they believe that the recently discovered male DNA belongs to the real killers.
Prosecutors have cited the confessions in standing by their case.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Yogurt shop
May 12, 2009
First yogurt shop trial planned for week of July 6
The retrial of Michael Scott, charged with capital murder in the 1991 yogurt shop killings of four teenage girls, appears headed for trial in July, according to the judge and one of Scott’s defense lawyers
In recent meetings that were not open to the public, defense lawyers, prosecutors and state District Judge Mike Lynch tentatively agreed to begin jury selection in Scott’s trial the week of July 6, defense lawyer Carlos Garcia said today. Lynch confirmed Garcia’s statement.
Garcia said because the trial is so soon, Scott will not be part of a bail reduction hearing scheduled in Lynch’s court next week.
“Our thinking was that we were better served concentrating on preparing for trial,” he said. “There’s just too much to do.”
In another development in the case, Lynch has ordered that all testimony in the May 19 bail reduction hearing should be presented in writing instead of through live questioning of witnesses. In an order filed May 5 Lynch cited “judicial efficiency and economy.”
Robert Springsteen’s lawyers requested the hearing in light of recently discovered DNA evidence that they say exonerates Springsteen. It had been described by defense lawyers as a “mini trial” in the infamous case. Now, while Lynch said he would allow the lawyers to argue about the DNA evidence, it is unclear if the written evidence in the hearing will even be publicly available.
Lynch declined to comment on the hearing.
“It’s better with a complex issue to have experts questioned as to the veracity of the experts’ opinions,” said Springsteen lawyer Alexandra Gauthier. “It’s very disappointing not to have that opportunity in open court to do that.”
Lynch had initially said that the hearing would pertain to both Springsteen and co-defendant Michael Scott. But unlike Springsteen’s lawyers, Scott’s lawyers have not filed a motion requesting a bail reduction and Lynch’s May 5 order addresses only Springsteen’s case.
The Dec. 6, 1991, killing of Amy Ayers, sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, and Eliza Thomas at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt on West Anderson Lane is one of the most infamous crimes in Austin history.
Springsteen and Scott, who confessed to the killings but later recanted those confessions, were convicted of capital murder in Amy’s killing in 2001 and 2002 respectively. Their convictions were later overturned, with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruling that Springsteen’s confession was improperly used at Scott’s trial and Scott’s confession was improperly used at Springsteen’s.
While gearing up for retrials in the cases, both the prosecution and defense ordered DNA testing of previously obtained evidence.
According to previous statements made by prosecutors and defense lawyers and motions filed by defense lawyers, new testing of biological evidence obtained from rape examination kits from three of the victims has discovered three previously undetected male DNA profiles. Those profiles do not match those of Springsteen, Scott and two previous co-defendants, lawyers have said.
The Statesman reported this year that seven jurors from the previous trials would have voted differently if they had known about the recent DNA evidence.
Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle said that Lynch’s order that all testimony be presented in writing will speed up the hearing but would not otherwise affect the proceedings.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Yogurt shop
March 24, 2009
May hearing set on DNA evidence in yogurt shop case
A judge today scheduled a two-day hearing in May to determine whether the men charged with the 1991 yogurt shop murders of four teenage girls should be released pending trial because of recently discovered DNA evidence, according to lawyers in the case.
The announcement came after state District Judge Mike Lynch met in his chambers with prosecutors and lawyers for defendants Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen.
Springsteen lawyer Alexandra Gauthier said the May 19 and 20 hearing would address only the DNA evidence in the case. She said the hearing was not scheduled sooner to give prosecutors more time to conduct follow-up DNA testing.
The Dec. 6, 1991, killing of Amy Ayers sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt on West Anderson Lane is one of the most infamous crimes in Austin history.
According to statements made by prosecutors and defense lawyers and motions filed by defense lawyers, new testing of biological evidence obtained from rape examination kits from three of the victims has discovered three previously undetected male DNA profiles. Those profiles do not match those of Springsteen, Scott and two previous co-defendants, lawyers have said.
Defense lawyers say the evidence exonerates Scott and Springsteen. Prosecutors have said they stand by their case.
Scott and Springsteen, who confessed to the crime but then recanted those confessions, had previously been convicted of capital murder in the case but those convictions were overturned on appeal. The Statesman reported earlier this month that seven jurors from the previous trials would have voted differently if they had known about the recent DNA evidence.
Permalink | Comments (11) | Categories: Yogurt shop
March 17, 2009
No progress in yogurt shop case
Prosecutors and lawyers for two men facing retrial in the 1991 killings of four teenage girls in a North Austin yogurt shop met with the judge in the case behind closed doors today.
Joe James Sawyer, who represents defendant Robert Springsteen (pictured at right), was the only lawyer to make public comments to members of the media after the session in state District Judge Mike Lynch’s chambers.
Sawyer said lawyers would meet again with Lynch next week, at which time he expected Lynch would set a date for a hearing on recently obtained DNA evidence in the case.
Sawyer and lawyers for Springsteen’s co-defendant Michael Scott (pictured at left) say the evidence exonerates their clients and are asking that Lynch set them free pending trial.
According to statements made by prosecutors and defense lawyers and motions filed by defense lawyers, new testing of biological evidence obtained from rape examination kits from three of the victims has discovered three previously undetected male DNA profiles. Those profiles do not match those of Springsteen, Scott and two previous co-defendants, lawyers have said.
Scott and Springsteen, who confessed to the crime but then recanted those confessions, had previously been convicted of capital murder in the case but those convictions were overturned on appeal.
Lynch initially set a hearing for earlier this month but that was delayed as prosecutors said they needed to review recent DNA testing that was conducted by a defense expert.
Prosecutors have said they stand by their case, given the confessions and the previous jury verdicts. The Statesman reported earlier this month that seven jurors from the previous trials would have voted differently if they had known about the recent DNA evidence.
Sawyer said that he is certain that prosecutors will take the case to trial. No trial dates have been set.
Permalink | | Categories: Yogurt shop
February 25, 2009
Hearing in yogurt shop murder cases postponed
A judge has postponed a hearing that had been scheduled for next week to decide whether two men facing retrial in the 1991 yogurt shop murders should be released from jail.
State District Judge Mike Lynch scheduled the hearing last month after lawyers for Robert Springsteen IV asked him to reduce Springsteen’s bail because of recently discovered DNA evidence that defense lawyers say exonerates the men.
Lawyers for co-defendant Michael Scott said they would file a similar motion, although they have not filed one yet.
Prosecutors have rejected defense claims that the DNA evidence disconnects Scott and Springsteen from the crimes.
Prosecutor Efrain De La Fuente said that the hearing as scheduled would be premature because prosecutors only recently received reports on DNA testing conducted by defense experts that would have been a subject of the hearing.
He said lawyers in the case will meet with Lynch on March 17 to determine when the hearing can be held.
“We are waiting to see what our expert has to say on it,” he said.
Defense lawyers agreed to the postponement.
Defense lawyers have written in court documents that recent testing has yielded previously undiscovered DNA evidence, including male DNA on vaginal swabs taken from teenage victims Sarah and Jennifer Harbison and on clothing used to tie the girls up at the crime scene.
Last year, prosecutors said their recent testing found a previously undiscovered male DNA profile on a vaginal swab taken from 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers.
Scott, Springsteen and two previous co-defendants were not contributors to those samples, according to lawyers.
Prosecutors have ordered the DNA compared to 77 people, including crime scene investigators, lab technicians and others but have found no matches.
The Dec. 6, 1991, killing of Amy, Sarah, Jennifer and 17-year-old Eliza Thomas at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt on West Anderson Lane is one of the most infamous crimes in Austin history.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Yogurt shop
January 7, 2009
Hearing set on new DNA in yogurt shop murders
This story has been updated from its original version with comments by Assistant District Attorney Gail Van Winkle.
A judge today said he would hold a March 4 hearing to determine whether the two men facing re-trial in the 1991 yogurt shop murders of four teenage girls should be released from jail in light of recent DNA evidence that defense lawyers say exonerates the men.
Lawyers for Robert Springsteen this week filed a petition that claimed that his detention pending trial is illegal given the recently discovered evidence that male DNA found on vaginal swabs taken from three of the victims does not match Springsteen, Scott or two previous co-defendants.
Lawyers for co-defendant Michael Scott said in court Wednesday they would likely file a similar motion.
In setting the hearing off for almost two months, state District Judge Mike Lynch said the issue is “not really ripe” because the recent DNA test results are preliminary and have not been reviewed by the district attorney. Alexandra Gauthier, one of Springsteen’s lawyers, and Jeannine Scott, wife of the defendant, said outside court that they were frustrated that the hearing was not ordered to take place sooner.
“If the DNA doesn’t match then it wasn’t these guys,” Jeannine Scott said. “They need to let these guys go home and get on with their lives.”
Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle said in a phone interview this evening that she is not surprised that Judge Lynch set the hearing but that it would be premature to comment on the recent DNA test results.
“We have no written report that does a written comparison,” she said. When it comes, the DNA evidence would be submitted to a prosecution expert for further testing and comparison, she said.
Prosecutors stand by their case, she said.
“We have confessions from both defendants,” she said. “They were convicted by two previous juries and we have never had DNA evidence so what we’re saying is we believe in those convictions, we believe in the case and we will continue.”
Springsteen lawyer Joe James Sawyer said last week that forensic testing of state’s evidence ordered by defense lawyers recently yielded multiple previously undiscovered male DNA profiles. The profiles were found on vaginal swabs and other evidence taken from victims Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17 respectively.
The DNA does not match Springsteen, Scott or previous co-defendants Maurice Pierce and Forrest Wellborn. Charges against Pierce and Wellborn were dismissed.
Testing by the prosecution last year found DNA from an unknown male on vaginal swabs taken from victim Amy Ayers, 13. That DNA also did not match any of the current or former defendants.
Prosecutors have steadfastly denied that the DNA found last year on the swabs taken from Ayers exonerates the men, suggesting that the swabs were contaminated by crime scene investigators. But last year defense lawyers reported that dozens of DNA profiles of public safety and lab workers on the case had been compared with the unknown DNA with no match.
Those comparisons have yet to be made to the DNA recently found that came from the Harbison sisters. Last week, Van Winkle said that the DNA found on the Harbison sisters could have come from someone not involved in the crime.
The Harbison sisters, Ayers and Eliza Thomas, 17, were killed at an I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store near Northcross Mall. The store was robbed and set on fire, which destroyed much of the physical evidence. No DNA was recovered from Thomas’ body, Sawyer said.
No one was charged in the case until 1999.
Prosecutors dismissed an indictment against Pierce, and charges against Wellborn were dismissed after a grand jury declined to indict him.
Springsteen and Scott were both convicted of capital murder based mostly on confessions. During Springsteen’s confession, he said he sexually assaulted Amy. An appeals court tossed out both convictions, ruling that Scott’s statement was inappropriately introduced at Springsteen’s trial and Springsteen’s statement was inappropriately introduced at Scott’s trial. No new trial dates have been set.
Also at today’s hearing, Lynch said that he would likely allow two New York lawyers to assist in Scott’s defense at trial. Those lawyers - Robert Romano and Martha Stolley - have specific knowledge of complicated forensics issues that Scott’s current lawyers do not possess, said Scott lawyer Dexter Gilford. The lawyers would work pro-bono, Gilford said.
Scott’s lawyers declined to be specific on that knowledge outside court, citing trial strategy.
Jeannine Scott, the defendant’s wife, said she is happy for the help. She implored prosecutors to look elsewhere for the killers.
“They are looking in the wrong direction,” she said. “They need to stop wasting our time and the taxpayers’ money. “
Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Yogurt shop
October 29, 2008
Yogurt shop cases delayed until at least February
DNA testing requested by the two defendants in the 1991 yogurt shop murder cases will likely take until the end of January to complete, lawyers said Wednesday, pushing the first retrial in the infamous cases until February 2009 at the earliest.
During what state District Judge Mike Lynch called a “status check” on the case, the lawyers said they had worked out most details on transferring evidence in the case to a private laboratory and on performing DNA tests on about a half-dozen “alternative suspects” named by the defense. Those suspects were not identified.
Lynch, who has consistently noted discord between prosecutors and defense lawyers in preparing for the trials, applauded lawyers for their recent cooperation.
Robert Springsteen, 33, and Michael Scott, 34, are each charged with four counts of capital murder in the 1991 killings at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt on Anderson Lane near Northcross Mall.
Killed in one of Austin’s most heinous crimes were Amy Ayers, 13, Eliza Thomas, 17, and sisters Sarah Harbison, 15, and Jennifer Harbison, 17.
Springsteen and Scott were each convicted in the case but an appeals court in 2006 and 2007 overturned those convictions.
Outside court, defense lawyers Carlos Garcia and Joe James Sawyer said prosecutors have still not figured out whose DNA was discovered this year on Ayers’ body. Because the male DNA did not come from Springsteen or Scott — or two men previously charged in the crime — Garcia and Sawyer have proclaimed the evidence means their clients are not guilty. Prosecutors disagree and have said testing to determine the source of the DNA is ongoing.
Scott and Springsteen will be tried separately, with Scott’s case going first, prosecutors have said.
Permalink | | Categories: Yogurt shop
September 17, 2008
Still no match to unknown DNA in yogurt shop case
Prosecutors in the cases against two men facing retrial in the 1991 yogurt shop murders have yet to figure out whose DNA was discovered this year in swabs taken from one of the four teenage victims, according to lawyers in the case.
Joe James Sawyer, who represents Robert Springsteen, said after a pretrial hearing Wednesday that prosecutors have ordered the DNA compared with 90 people and found no matches. In a phone interview later in the day, prosecutor Gail Van Winkle said that that number is greatly inflated, but declined to say by how much.
This year, it was disclosed that investigators discovered unknown male DNA in swabs taken from the body of 13-year-old victim Amy Ayers. It did not match Scott or Springsteen — or Forrest Wellborn and Michael Pierce, who were previously charged in the case.
Sawyer and Scott’s lawyers say the evidence exonerates the men; Van Winkle disagrees.
The lawyers spoke about the evidence after the hearing in which state District Judge Mike Lynch, at the defense’s request, clarified a recent order that relaxes restrictions on lawyers’ out-of-court statements.
Lawyers now may discuss evidence in the case but may not share documents, photographs or other evidence with anyone not directly associated with the case.
Also at the hearing, Lynch told defense lawyers and prosecutors to declare by the next hearing — Oct. 29 — what further forensic testing they want in the case. No trial dates have been set, but Lynch suggested Scott’s case could be set early next year, with Springsteen’s to closely follow.
Ayers was killed along with Eliza Thomas, 17, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, during a robbery at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store near Northcross Mall.
The store was set on fire, destroying much of the physical evidence.
The case stymied police until 1999, when they arrested the four men.
Scott and Springsteen were both convicted of capital murder, based mostly on their confessions. Lawyers for the men said their statements were coerced and noted that police had received dozens of other confessions that were discounted.
Both convictions were tossed after appeals courts ruled that Scott’s statement was inappropriately introduced at Springsteen’s trial and Springsteen’s statement was inappropriately introduced at Scott’s.
The cornerstone of Scott and Springsteen’s defense at trial will likely be the still unknown DNA taken from Ayers’ body.
Sawyer said that the state has compared it with DNA profiles of Ayers’ friends and family members, as well as of a list of people who may have come in contact with Ayers’ body or the sample, including police, lab technicians and prosecutors.
Van Winkle declined to say whose DNA has been compared with the sample taken from Ayers, but said the testing is ongoing.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Yogurt shop
August 20, 2008
Yogurt shop defense grows more aggressive
Defense lawyers for Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen said during a pretrial hearing today that they may request court approval to order DNA testing related to dozens of people whom they call alternative suspects in the 1991 slayings of four teenage girls at a North Austin yogurt shop.
The testing would determine if anyone on the list, which includes serial killer Kenneth McDuff, can be linked to the killings, said Carlos Garcia, Scott’s defense lawyer.
The lawyers also asked state District Judge Mike Lynch to allow them to speak more freely to the media about the case and accused prosecutors of intentionally mishandling evidence to suppress the truth.
The arguments came from what is becoming an increasingly aggressive defense for both Scott and Springsteen, who each stand charged in Travis County with four counts of capital murder. They are accused of killing 13-year-old Amy Ayers; Eliza Thomas, 17; and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, during a robbery at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store near Northcross Mall.
The store was set on fire, destroying much of the physical evidence.
Scott and Springsteen were each previously convicted but those verdicts were thrown out on appeal. No new trial dates have been set.
Scott and Springsteen were both convicted of capital murder, based mostly on confessions. Lawyers for the men said their statements were coerced and noted that police had received dozens of other confessions that were discounted.
“They got it wrong,” Garcia said outside court Wednesday. “They got the wrong guys.”
Garcia and Joe James Sawyer, who represents Springsteen, said their clients’ innocence was proven this year when previously undiscovered DNA taken from Ayers’ body did not match either suspect.
The DNA also is not a match with Forrest Welborn, whose murder charges in the case were dismissed after a grand jury declined to indict him, and Maurice Pierce, whose indictment in the case was later dismissed by prosecutors, said a petition filed this year on Springsteen’s behalf.
In response to that petition, made public in April, prosecutors said they were conducting more DNA testing to determine the source of the DNA. Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle told the American-Statesman at the time that the discovery does not exonerate Scott and Springsteen.
Sawyer opened today’s hearing by asking Lynch to lift a gag order in the case, which prohibits lawyers from discussing evidence outside of court. Sawyer said that he asked because of Van Winkle’s remarks about the DNA.
“The state went out and told the public they knew whose DNA this was,” Sawyer argued in court. .”They don’t. It’s a mis-impression and we’re entitled to rebut it.”
“I think you just did,” Lynch said. He later told Sawyer to file a written motion about the gag order, which the judge calls a protective order, and said he would rule on it later.
After Sawyer finished arguing, Garcia told the judge he would like to know if the state planned to conduct DNA testing of the alternative suspects. Lynch told prosecutors they did not have to answer, and they did not. Outside court, Garcia said he wants the alternative suspects’ DNA tested to see if it matches the DNA found on Ayers.
Finally, Garcia said in court he has witnessed prosecutors handling evidence in the case without gloves, what he called an intentional effort to sabotage any future forensic testing. Lynch noted that prosecutors are already under an obligation to preserve evidence but invited defense lawyers to prepare for him a proposed order that more specifically directs prosecutors to wear gloves when handling evidence.
Prosecutor Efrain De La Fuente said some evidence has been contaminated through no fault of prosecutors. That evidence was submitted at trial and handled by the jury in the previous cases and then was submitted to the appeals courts.
Permalink | | Categories: Yogurt shop
June 11, 2008
Yogurt defense lawyer lashes out at prosecutors
A lawyer for Robert Springsteen, facing retrial in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop slayings of four teenage girls, chided prosecutors Wednesday for failing to disprove his contention that DNA evidence disclosed this year exonerates his client.
Joe James Sawyer, shown at right, spoke outside court after an otherwise uneventful pretrial hearing in the case of Springsteen’s co-defendant Michael Scott, whose lawyers also say the DNA evidence proves him innocent.
Both men now disavow confessions they gave Austin police in 1999, saying they were coerced. An appeals court threw out their previous convictions, saying Scott’s confession was improperly allowed at Springsteen’s trial and vice versa.
They stand accused of capital murder in the killings of Amy Ayers, 13, Eliza Thomas, 17, and sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17. They died during a robbery at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt store near the Northcross Mall, which was set on fire in what prosecutors say was an attempt to cover the crime.
In April, prosecutors said that in preparation for the retrials, they ordered new DNA testing of swabs taken from Amy’s body. Prosecutors said previously undiscovered DNA was found and it did not come from Scott, Springsteen or two men initially charged as co-defendants — Forrest Welborn and Maurice Pierce.
Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle said at the time that the discovery does not prove Scott and Springsteen are innocent and said prosecutors were conducting DNA testing to determine the source of the newly discovered DNA.
“The district attorney said I was wrong, that she was going to prove I was wrong,” Sawyer said. “Where is the evidence?”
Van Winkle said she is awaiting the results of testing comparing the new DNA with samples produced by investigators in the case, reasoning that they may have contaminated the evidence during the investigation.
Sawyer accused them of dragging their feet.
“The law has passed them by,” Sawyer said, referring to the appeals court rulings. “The science has surpassed their arguments,” he said of the DNA evidence.
“The state is left with nothing more than the fevered conjuring of a primitive voodoo.”
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: Yogurt shop
May 28, 2008
Judge tells Yogurt lawyers to arm wrestle
State District Judge Mike Lynch said in court today that the discord between prosecutors and defense lawyers in the capital murder cases related to Austin’s infamous Yogurt Shop murders is the worst he has seen in more than 20 years around the courthouse.
“I am transfixed by this extraordinary difficulty you all have in working with each other on this case,” Lynch said during a pretrial hearing for Michael Scott, one of two defendants facing retrial on capital murder charges in the 1991 deaths of four teenage girls at a North Austin I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt. “I know it’s an emotional case,” Lynch said. “It’s a trying case.”
Lynch spoke during the latest in a string of pretrial hearings commonly defined by defense lawyers asking for access or copies or notification about certain types of evidence and prosecutors resisting.
Sisters Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, 15 and 17, Amy Ayers, 13, and Eliza Thomas, 17, were shot and killed at the yogurt near Northcross Mall. Prosecutors have said they would try Scott first. His trial has been delayed because of the pretrial evidence testing, but could begin in the fall.
Scott and Robert Springsteen IV were convicted of capital murder, based mostly on confessions, but an appeals court found the confessions were improperly used at trial. They both contend they are innocent and their lawyers point to a recent finding by prosecutors that previously undiscovered DNA that did not come from either of two men was found on one of the four teenage victims.
Prosecutors have said that the finding doesn’t exonerate Scott and Springsteen. They said they are still conducting DNA testing to see who the DNA came from.
In court Wednesday, Carlos Garcia, a defense lawyer for Scott, asked Lynch to order prosecutors to notify the defense any time they get results about that testing. Assistant District Attorney Efrain De La Fuente said he would provide written reports when they are produced by lab technicians but did not want to provide the defense updates on conversations about the testing.
“Why wouldn’t you want to provide that?” Lynch asked. “It’s (testing) on a lot of people and it takes time, judge,” De La Fuente said.
Lynch said when prosecutors are sure that any testing results are correct, they should notify the defense.
Also Wednesday, Scott’s defense lawyers filed a motion to review more evidence in the possession of prosecutors. Lynch told the parties to get together to see what they could agree on and submit any outstanding disputes to him at the next hearing, scheduled for June 11.
“Lock yourself in a room and arm wrestle,” Lynch told the lawyers.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Yogurt shop
