Yogurt-shop suspects released

AUSTIN (KXAN) - The two suspects in the 1991 murders at a local yogurt shop walked free on Wednesday afternoon after more than 10 years in jail, and will now await trial with their families and friends instead of behind bars.

An Austin judge ruled Wednesday morning the prosecutors in the yogurt-shop murders can postpone the trial for suspects Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen, and allowed them to leave jail on a personal recognizance bond.

Springsteen and Scott are accused of raping and murdering four teenage girls at the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt! shop in North Austin in 1991. Much of the evidence at the crime scene was destroyed when the perpetrators set it on fire.

“It’s wonderful, and I’d like to thank God and my family and my attorney for this opportunity," Springsteen said in a news conference outside the courthouse Wednesday afternoon.

But as they celebreted, Maria Thomas - whose 17-year-old daughter Eliza was among the victims - said there have been many terrible days since her daughter was murdered. But Wednesday, she said, is up there as one of the worst.

"I just can't believe it, can't believe it. I can't believe it," she repeated after hearing news of their release. "How do you let these guys walk on the streets if they murdered four girls?"

On Dec. 6, 1991, police found four teenage girls bound, gagged and burned, some atop each other, at the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt! shop on Anderson Lane.

All were friends, two were sisters and one of the girls, Eliza Thomas, worked there. They were closing up for the night before it happened. They were: Amy Ayers, 13; Sarah Harbison, 15; Jennifer Harbison, 17; Eliza Thomas, 17.

Maria Thomas, Eliza's mother, doesn't live in Austin anymore, but in a telephone interview she said she still believes Springsteen and Scott are guilty of the murders.

"They confessed," she said. "Only they could have known certain details. I completely and totally believe they have the right people."

Meanwhile in Austin, asked for Scott's reaction, attorney Tony Diaz pointed to his client, who was hugging friends and family nearby.

"I think that smile speaks for itself, ladies and gentlemen," Diaz said. 

Meanwhile, Scott's attorney asked the media to leave the suspects and their families alone. Diaz also explained that the men still have a long road ahead of them.

Because while walking away from the Travis County Criminal Justice Complex had to feel good, looming over their heads is the reality they could be back in a courtroom again.

"We have reached a milestone in this case but we are not satisfied. We are not satisfied with the release of Mike Scott on a personal recognizance bond. We are expecting total vindication," Diaz said.

Watch Springsteen and Scott walk out of jail, and the following press conference:

 

To see a timeline of this case, click here.

Travis County District Judge Mike Lynch decided to allow a trial continuance at the request of prosecutors, who wanted more time to gather evidence on an unknown suspect whose DNA was found at the 1991 murder scene.

“The promise I made him is that he’s never going back,” said Joe James Sawyer, Springsteen’s attorney. “We’re going to win this case, and I don’t care how that’s done – trial, dismissal, whatever. I’m grateful that science has come to the point that we could do this year, and last year, what we couldn’t possibly do when we tried this case the first time.”

The original date for Scott's trial was set for July 6; Springsteen's trial was scheduled to come soon after.

They were met by intrusive heat and a dozen news cameras as they took their first free steps in a decade.

News crews waited more than five hours for Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott to walk out the doors of the Travis County Jail at 500 W. 10th Street.

The men were accompanied by their attorneys and family members.

Scott's wife, Jeannine Scott, said she is glad to have her husband home and will only be satisfied when he has been exonerated.

"I’ll be happy when they never have to step foot in this courthouse again," said Jeannine Scott.

The next hearing in the case is set for Aug. 12.

"Robert … hasn’t been free for 10 years," Sawyer said. "That’s one hell of a long time to be locked up. He needs some time to himself. He’s even going to consent to spend some to his lawyer. I’m damn glad he’s free.”

Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg held a media conference with Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo at her side directly following the Judge's ruling.

"The reliable scientific evidence int he case presents one, and only one, unknown male donor," said Lehmberg. "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 know the nature of the involvement of this unknown