The city of Austin has agreed to a $35 million settlement with four men who were wrongfully accused in the 1991 murders of four teenage girls at a yogurt shop. The payment includes $10 million for the widow and daughter of Maurice Pierce, who died in 2010 before his exoneration.
The four men were cleared in February when investigators connected another suspect, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the killings of Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison.
Maurice Pierce's widow Kimberli Pierce described the money as "blood money" and said the family's focus remains on reforms to prevent similar cases. She and her daughter Marisa have proposed changes such as requiring a child advocate during questioning of minors and banning deceptive interrogation tactics.
The case began in December 1991 when the girls were tied up, shot, and left in the burning shop. Pierce was arrested days later but released without charges at the time. He spent three years in jail after later arrests before his release in 2003.
Pierce was shot and killed by police during a 2010 traffic stop. His family plans to review the circumstances of his death and has called for accountability measures in Austin police investigations.
