Saturday (February, 5 2022) an all-new CBS “48 Hours” investigating the death of Eliza Thomas, Sarah Harbison, Jennifer Harbison and Amy Ayers
The February 5 edition of “CBS: 48 Hours” airs at 10PM ET/PT on CBS. You can watch previous episodes at CBS and ParamountPlus.
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48 HOURS and correspondent Erin Moriarty have been reporting on this case from the beginning and investigate the latest developments in “The Yogurt Shop Murders,”
Three decades ago, four teenage girls were brutally murdered in a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas. The horrific crime has haunted their families, the city, and the investigators who chased every lead in the case to a dead end. Could new information finally help solve the case?
“I can see them, I can still see the inside of that place,” says John Jones, the first investigator on the case, now retired from the Austin Police Department. “That stuff’s … indelibly burned in my mind.”
“48 Hours” Latest Developments in “The Yogurt Shop Murders”
The story starts on Dec. 6, 1991, when Eliza Thomas, Sarah and Jennifer Harbison and Amy Ayers were tied up and shot. The yogurt shop was then set on fire. For decades, investigators worked to find suspects. There were eventually arrests and even convictions. But those convictions were overturned, leaving the case unsolved today.
“There is a kind of torture that continues by the fact that it’s unsolved and it’s ongoing,” says Sonora Thomas, who was 13 when her sister Eliza was killed.
“It’s always there,” says Jones.
There may be some positive news, however. A small sample of male DNA was found on one of the victims. With DNA research advancing, investigators hope there will be a match that solves the case.
“Do you believe that there is right now, some evidence that could lead to the killers?” Moriarty asks Texas defense attorney Joe James Sawyer.
“Yes,” Sawyer says.
“Is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end?” Jones asks.
