Tuesday marked 25 years since the Yogurt Shop Murders which till the day remain unsolved. December 6, 1991 the day the city lost its innocence and dozens were left in pain for the loss of four teenage girls who were brutally murdered inside a yogurt shop and later set on fire resulting in the contamination of the crime scene leaving no clear suspect. Four were arrested but only two were trailed which were later set free due to new finding of DNA on the youngest victim, and questions were left if any of the evidence was affected by the recent problems and closing of the Austin Crime lab.
On December 6th 1991, Eliza and Jennifer were getting ready to close the "I Can't Believe it's Yogurt Shop" on Anderson Lane, tagging along for the ride after being at the North cross mall was Jennifer's younger sister Amy and her friend Sarah, the girls were suppose to go and have a sleep over at Sarah's house, and were last seen alive at 10pm. The girls were "stripped, bound, shot and burned," the youngest, Amy, was also sexually assaulted. At first, Police and Fireman thought it was just a fire in the yogurt shop, hundreds of gallons of water were used, dozens of fireman entered the scene without realizing it was a crime scene until they discovered the bodies of the teenage girls stacked on top of each other.
The scene was contaminated resulting in small evidence found, eight years later four suspects were arrested but only two were set for trail, Robert and Michel confessed to the murders, after being convicted the two were released after new finding of DNA on the youngest victim Amy, although there is still no clear suspect APD and the families continue to be hopeful to have closure to this cold case. Concerns that if the recent problems and closing of the Austin Crime Lab had affected the evidence of the Yogurt Shop Murders, but Detective Swann stated that it has all been tested by other labs.
This day was a big impact for the City of Austin, a memorial still stands for the loss of the teenage girls and hopes of catching the murder have not died. It has been twenty-five years since the murders remain unsolved, but for many it seems like only yesterday this tragedy occurred. Families want questions answered since very little was said twenty-five years ago. In the hopes to bring this case back to the court room, Det. Swann states that all they need is a DNA sample of the person they think it could be and get to a point where they have a national database for different types of DNA.
I'm writing in response to my colleague Nahely Garcia's story 25 Years Later, Still No Clear Answers in the Yogurt Shop Murders Case. Being since i'm not from Austin, I had never heard of this case. Sometimes we get so caught up in our daily rituals that you tend to escape the harsh misfortunes of reality. Listening or reading to stories such as this one slow me down in terms of just making me take a breath and appreciate life. Nice job Nahely!
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten this tragic event. I remember when I was younger (this event happened before I was born) and I first heard about this. I was watching a TV show with my dad, probably Dateline or something similar. Since my dad was around when this happened, he provided more insight into what happened. As we watched the show my dad told me more about the event, since I was little when I watched this I don't think I understood fully. It is nice to be reminded of what happened with information regarding the event. Even though I had forgotten, it should remain in the back of our heads. The case is old which makes it harder to provide new information and evidence even with new technology. Even though the case is cold, the families deserve closure. I enjoyed reading this article, it refreshed my memory of a historic Austin event. Nahely provided facts and details to provide information for her article. She provided a new hope for finding the horrible person(s) behind this crime and a new insight with recent events. Great article.
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