Who Killed the Yogurt Shop 4? Pt. 2 W/ Nic from True Crime Garage

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!Hello and welcome… to EPISODE 52, of WHO KILLED…?PURCHASE WHO KILLED THESE GIRLS? BY BEVERLY LOWRYThank you to Nic from the True Crime Garage Podcast. He is a library full of information about this case. Don’t forget if you’re going to CrimeCon 2020 in Orlando please use my PROMO Code AMY2020. I am your host Bill Huffman and on this week’s show, I will begin the arduous task of covering an infamous case out of Austin, Texas, the yogurt shop murders.This case has been covered by the likes of 48 Hours a number of times. Inside Edition and a plethora of podcasts.The reason I wanted to take a look at this case is I just finished Beverly Lowry’s book, Who Killed these girls? and it reinvigorated my interest in the case. I will do my best to do it justice and next week I may even have a special guest to discuss the case.Let’s get this week’s episode rolling, Who Killed the Yogurt Shop 4?December 6, 1991 started off like most days in Austin, Texas for Sarah and Jennifer Harbison. They got ready for school, packed their book bags and headed off for the day. It was an overcast day for the city, with temperatures maxing out around 72; a cool Texas Friday. Austin, Texas in 1991 was just coming into its own as a nationally known place where creativity can thrive.Not only is Austin, the capital of Texas, but it also holds the title of Live Music Capital of the World.In 1994, the city created the Austin Film Festival and filmmakers and actors such as Mike Judge, Richard Linklater, and Matthew McConaughey call Austin home.In 2002, Austin City Limits was founded and became one of the premier live events in the U-S drawing groups from all over the world to perform.Sarah would be working that’s night shift so her plans were already set. She would be working with Eliza Thomas, another classmate at Lanier high school. For Sarah and Eliza their shift was going to be just like any other Friday night they worked together at the I Can’t Believe it’s Not Yogurt shop. And the shift started exactly that way. This was 1992 and the frozen yogurt fad was still in full swing; with lines at most times. The chain the girls worked for had hundreds of stores in multiple states. Amy Ayers, a friend of the girls, and Jennifer Harbison, Sarah’s little sister came up to the shop to hang out. A normal routine for any teenager who has friends working by themselves. Their place of employment can become an ideal new hangout spot... We’ve all been there. As the shift progressed, patrons came and went. It was a Friday night so the store was busy and the girls would be closing late. Around 11:45 PM that same night a local police officer was on patrol when he took notice to smoke coming from the yogurt shop. As the call went out to the fire department the blaze quickly became a two-alarm fire, requiring assistance from other departments to extinguish the fire. In all, some fifty firefighters were needed to get the fire under control and prevent it from spreading to other stores.What started off like any other day ended in horror for the four girls at the shop, the families, friends, the first responders and the community of Austin.As the fire was being put out, nobody on the scene had any idea what they were about to find. As the firemen moved into the building to finish extinguishing the hot spots, and any other little fires only to find something… I am sure they wish they could all forget.In the back of the store, near the exit they found bodies piled on one another.As the medical examiners were called in the grief the first responders were going through was clear. It was also obvious something horrible had occurred as the firefighters emerged dazed and confused.One veteran police officer said he was stunned by the senseless killings of four teenage girls, all of whom were shot twice in the back of the head in a yogurt shop that was then set afire. "I've been on the force 10 years and lived in Austin 20 years and this is the worst I remember," said Sgt. Scott Cary. People had always believed the city to be safe, as cliche as that is, but now they were entirely gripped by fear.On December 8th, 1991 A RELEASE from the Associated Press detailing the carnage these firefighters faced and the trauma these girls were forced to endure.Police were at a loss but said robbery may have been a motive for the slayings and fire may have been used to cover the crime. As the scene became overcome with rescuers, investigators and the media police said they have no suspects in the case. As the fire was put out that, investigators were asking any customers who were in the I Can't Believe It's Yogurt store around closing time Friday to come forward and talk to them. The victims, all from Austin, were identified as Jennifer Harbison, 14; her sister, Sarah Harbison, 15; Eliza Thomas, 17; and Amy Ayres, 13. Officials said Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas were store employees and that Amy Ayres was a friend. Autopsies were being conducted. "Based on preliminary investigative work, robbery is being considered as a possible motive for the killings," according to a statement from police. "In our try for a why we like to hang our hat on that they were being robbed, I don't know that for sure, that's a possible out there, but I don't know if we're dealing with someone who's high on drugs," homicide detective John Jones told KLBJ Radio."I certainly hope so, because it doesn't look like the act of a sane, rational individual,"he said. Cary said police had not ruled out the possibility that the assailant, or assailants knew one or more of the victims. The owners of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Yogurt issued the following statement shortly after the incident. "We are shocked, saddened and outraged at this bizarre incident," said Patty Reupke, the company's director of marketing. "Our first thoughts are with the families. We don't know yet any additional details. We are in contact with the police awaiting further information." Sgt. John Jones, who is in charge of the investigation said, "This is four girls that are now dead. For what reason? Surely they did not have that much money in there. The price of life seems to be getting cheaper and cheaper these days," Jones said. The Tarrant County medical examiner's office said three bodies were burned beyond recognition, but there was little doubt about the identities. Dental records would eventually be used to confirm the identifications. Austin police are sifting through available leads, hoping to come up with something that will produce an arrest. "Unfortunately, we haven't developed any real strong suspects. We are getting a lot of names, but nothing that appears like it's going to break the case," Lt. Andrew Waters said Sunday. "We are still going on the theory that robbery was the motive. We don't have any reason at this point to believe anything else," Waters said. Police were asking any customers who were in the store around closing time Friday to come forward.After reports of the fire, murder and robbery hit the wires, investigators in Las Cruces, New Mexico, had an uncanny feeling.The police went on to say they were looking into the slayings at the Austin yogurt shop for any possible link to a 1990 bowling alley robbery that left four dead in Las Cruces. Capt. Fred Rubio said a detective from the Las Cruces Police Department told Texas officials Monday about last year's slayings in New Mexico. Four girls, ranging in age from 13 to 17, were shot twice in the back of the head in Austin. The case has similarities to the Feb. 10, 1990, Las Cruces shootings, which remain unsolved. In the New Mexico slayings, two men robbed Las Cruces Bowl of $5,000 and shot all the witnesses in the back of the head. The robbers set a blaze to cover up the crime, but one of the victims was able to call for help. Killed in that shooting were Paula Holguin, 6; her sister Valerie Teran, 2; Amy Houser, 13; and Steve Teran, 26, Valerie's father and Paula's stepfather. Rubio said the Las Cruces Police Department has not gone over the cases in detail with Austin police. "We haven't gotten to the nuts and bolts of it yet. It was very unfortunate the way it was done. It's just like ours," said Rubio, chief investigator on the Las Cruces case. Texas investigators said robbery appears to have been the motive in the yogurt shop slayings. One difference in the cases the yogurt store victims' hands were tied behind their backs. The victims in the bowling alley shootings were not tied up.As the investigation went no where quickly fear began to grip a city that it once believed to be safe.With hindsight being 20-20, I can see how the media embraced the idea of selling panic and fear. In the local Austin paper, the Statesman, the killings of four teenagers have created a new fear of crime. "You wonder when you go out the door if you'll; come back," says Barbara Fields of Austin. "I just don't really feel safe." Statistically and comparatively speaking, Austin is a safe city. But when you have a killer or killers targeting young girls fear becomes the driving force behind decision making at the time.Tell me if you don’t hear panic written within the context of this next passage? “As senseless and random the yogurt shop slayings were, they have galvanized the community as few incidents or issues could,” cutting through our collective consciousness to a fragile sense of security barraged by a ceaseless stream of major crimes. A convenience store clerk is shot to death behind the counter. A cab driver stabbed to death behind the wheel. A woman is killed after leaving a dance hall. A man is stabbed to death as he arrives for work at a furniture store. A girl is sexually assaulted as she walks to elementary school. A college co-ed is beaten to death on the street. Police search for serial rapists in Hyde Park and Northwest Hills.Statistically, Austin looks like a safe place to live, to work, to go to school, raise a family. But dozens of unrelated, serious