Interview:
Margaret Brown,
director,
"The Yogurt Shop Murders"
Directed by part-time Austinite Margaret Brown, the four-part HBO documentary series The Yogurt Shop Murders examines the December 1991 unsolved murders of four teenage girls: 17-year-old Jennifer Harbison, her 15-year-old sister Sarah Harbison, 17-year-old Eliza Thomas, and 13-year-old Amy Ayers. The four girls were found shot dead in the yogurt shop that Jennifer Harbison and Eliza Thomas worked at in the 2900 block of West Anderson Lane. Their bodies were burned as a result of a fire set in the yogurt shop. After years of investigating, the Austin Police Department suspected four local men of participating in the murders: Robert Springsteen, Michael Scott, Maurice Pierce, and Forrest Welborn. Springsteen and Scott confessed to their involvement and were arrested, placed on trial, and found guilty of the murder of Amy Ayers. Through four episodes of The Yogurt Shop Murders, Margaret Brown offers portraits of the four murder victims; breakdowns the APD’s controversial years-long homicide investigation; problematic police interrogation methods used throughout the United States that can lead to false confessions; the circumstances that led to the overturning of Springsteen and Scott’s convictions; and the DNA evidence that the APD’s Homicide Cold Case and Missing Person Unit hope will finally help solve the four murders. While Brown conducted new interviews for The Yogurt Shop Murders, she also uses previously unseen interviews and footage shot in 2009 for an unfinished documentary on the four murders made by Austin filmmaker Claire Huie. The Yogurt Shop Murders, which counts Emma Stone and her husband/producing partner Dave McClary, premiered locally during this year’s SXSW Film & TV Festival. Episodes 1 and 2 of The Yogurt Shop Murders are available to stream on HBO Max. Episode 3 premieres at 8 p.m. central Aug. 17 on HBO followed by Episode 4 at 8 p.m. central Aug. 24. Margaret Brown, who splits her time between Austin and England, previously directed the documentary features Be Here to Love Me, The Order of Myths, The Great Invisible, and Descendant. Aired: Aug. 13, 2025. Web site: https://www.hbo.com/the-yogurt-shop-murders |
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