He Was a Suspect in the Yogurt Shop Murders for Thirty Years. He Can't Forget

Forrest Welborn spent decades branded as a suspect in the 1991 murders of four teenage girls at an Austin yogurt shop. The killings - sexual assault, gunshots, and a fire - became one of Texas’s most notorious crimes, and evidence was badly compromised when firefighters’ hoses washed through the scene. Police attention turned to Welborn and his friend Maurice Pierce after an off-duty officer found Pierce carrying a .22-caliber pistol, the same caliber as bullets recovered from the victims. During an overnight interrogation, Pierce said Welborn had borrowed the gun and confessed to the killings. Police then wired Pierce and sent him to draw out a confession from Welborn, who said he had only joked about the crime. Welborn was arrested with three other young men in 1999; the charges against him were dropped nine months later.

The accusations nevertheless defined Welborn’s life: he lost work and relationships, faced threats and harassment, and withdrew from people for decades. In 2025, police identified a serial killer and rapist as the actual murderer, and Welborn was officially declared innocent. He received millions of dollars in compensation, but rejects the district attorney’s apology and remains consumed by anger, especially toward Pierce and the other suspects who accused him. Now fifty and running a rough-edged saloon south of Austin, he has friends and a community that celebrated his birthday, yet public vindication has not erased the betrayal or its lasting damage. His experience shows how a failed investigation and a coerced, false accusation can continue to punish someone long after criminal charges disappear.