Weekly Briefs: SCOTUS will hear inmate’s appeal of DNA testing; prosecutor accidentally shoots himself
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Image from Shutterstock.
Supreme Court will hear death row inmate’s DNA test bid
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear the case of a Texas death row inmate who said DNA testing would establish his innocence. After inmate Rodney Reed lost a bid in state court to obtain the test, he challenged the Texas law governing post-conviction DNA testing under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act. At issue is whether he filed the suit too late under the statute of limitations. Does the clock begin to run when a state court denies the DNA test? Or does the clock start when all state court DNA litigation, including appeals, have ended? Reed was convicted of the rape and murder of a woman married to a former police officer. He said he was having an affair with the murder victim, and that is why his DNA was found on her body. Reed’s lawyers have pointed to the woman’s fiance, a former police officer, as a possible suspect. He pleaded guilty in 2008 for kidnapping and improper sexual conduct with a woman while on duty. The case is Reed v. Goertz. (The New York Times, SCOTUSblog, Bloomberg Law, the Texas Tribune, SCOTUSblog case page)
Prosecutor accidentally shoots himself at courthouse
A Georgia prosecutor accidentally shot himself in the leg in an office at the Effingham County Courthouse earlier this month. Assistant District Attorney Matthew Breedon said his gun fired when he drew it from his holster to show to a co-worker who wanted to buy the same type of firearm. (The Associated Press, WJCL)
Supreme Court will review law requiring companies to accept court jurisdiction
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania law that requires companies to consent to state court jurisdiction if they do business in the state. At issue is whether such laws violate the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. The case was brought by a railroad employee who wants to sue his employer in Pennsylvania state court for exposure to asbestos and chemicals that allegedly caused his cancer. The case is Mallory v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co. (SCOTUSblog, Law.com, Reuters, SCOTUSblog case page)
Ex-lawyer who fought Chevron leaves prison
Disbarred environmental lawyer Steven Donziger has completed his six-month sentence for refusing to surrender his electronic devices and disobeying other court orders in a RICO lawsuit against him by the Chevron Corp. Donziger only served about a month and a half in prison before he was released to home confinement to serve out the rest of the sentence, according to a previous New York Law Journal story. He also spent time in home detention awaiting trial. In all, he said, he was confined for 993 days. The RICO suit claimed that Donziger had fraudulently obtained a $9.5 billion pollution judgment against the Chevron Corp. in Ecuador. A judge awarded the Chevron Corp. $800,000 and then appointed a special prosecutor after the Chevron Corp. alleged that Donziger was stonewalling efforts to collect. A judge convicted Donziger of contempt and imposed the sentence. (Gizmodo, Salon)
Biden issues first pardons and commutations
President Joe Biden used his clemency powers for the first time Tuesday, when he pardoned three people and commuted the sentences of 75 nonviolent drug offenders. One of those pardoned is Abraham Bolden, 86, who was the first Black Secret Service agent to serve on a presidential detail. He has claimed that his prosecution for trying to sell a copy of a Secret Service file was retaliation for exposing racism in the Secret Service in the 1960s. Bolden’s first trial ended in a mistrial because of a hung jury. He was convicted in the second trial, even though key witnesses admitted to lying at the request of the prosecutor. (The New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, White House press release)
BOERNE, Texas – The Friends of the Boerne Library are raising funds through the Festival of Trees fundraiser to support the library’s passion project to document the city’s genealogy and history records properly.
The Festival of Trees, organized by the Friends of the Boerne Library, brings a lot of joy and color to the season, but the fundraiser is taking on more meaning for the library staff this year.
Sandy Johnston, the general services coordinator for the library, says about 15 trees and eight wreaths have been donated by local businesses and families to help bring in funds.
The staff has taken on a passion project which started in April, and the funds will be headings toward the archives department.
“That’s helping digitize all of our records and things like that that people will be able to access,” Johnston said. “Once we get through the digitizing we put together, we’re going to work with different organizations on the cemetery and do headstones and replace headstones. It’s a big project.”
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The staff has discovered many unmarked graves and missing obituaries or errors in the archived information through the process.
Natalie Morgan, the assistant director at the library, says the project will help families from anywhere in the world trace back their ancestors buried in the Boerne Cemetery.
“We went from this very simple project to now this very involved project that’s bringing families together. It’s bringing life to a story that may not have ever been seen before,” Morgan said.
Morgan says many graves are only marked by a number, and some of those headstones are buried under dirt and grass.
One of those graves belongs to 18-year-old Arthur Benson, who died in 1910 of tuberculosis. The staff has been able to find information that says he came from the Midwest to be treated in Boerne, known for its sanitariums.
Benson died before his mother and sister could arrive by train. His grave is marked by the number 96 written over a cement slab.
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“Arthur, 18-years old, does not have a headstone, and he’s so far away from home. He’s just lonely in the cemetery, and no one even knows he’s there,” Morgan said.
The staff estimates there are more than 100 unmarked graves in the cemetery. They’ve been able to trace about five of those to a name and story. They hope to do more.
“There’s so many people out there that we’re never going to know about because they died without anybody hearing about what their story was,” Morgan said.
The Festival of Trees and Silent Auction is happening from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The bidding can be done over the phone as well.
Those interested can email Johnston at [email protected] or call 830-249-3053.
Trees can be viewed at 451 North Main Street in Boerne.
Video above: Witness says killer was a man in 2020Lawyers for the accused Killer Clown, Sheila Keen Warren, claim within the past 13 months state prosecutors secretly interviewed, held hearings and retested evidence surrounding the alleged confession of a man who reportedly said he was the real killer in the 30-year-old murder of Marlene Warren.”For ten months, the State failed to disclose that a potential suspect in the murder of Marlene Warren was in PBSO’s custody, and the suspect was interviewed by detectives,” defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld wrote in a motion filed Thursday.Previous coverage: Killer clown defendant wants out of jail; cites lack of evidenceRosenfeld said in 1991 an inmate in Maine provided information that another inmate, Edward Bahr, confessed to murdering Warren on the doorstep of her Wellington, Florida, home in 1990. Warren was shot in the face by someone dressed as a clown and bearing a bouquet of flowers and balloons.Keen Warren’s attorneys said while lead Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bill Williams traveled to Maine, the state never listed Bahr as a witness.According to the motion, Bahr told Williams that “’he would tell him everything he knows’” concerning the death of Marlene Warren if Williams ‘could promise him he would not get the electric chair.'”Rosenfeld said when Detective Williams told Bahr that he could not promise him that, Bahr requested to speak to an attorney before answering any more questions. Detective Williams reached out to Bahr’s attorney in Maine, who claimed that he no longer represented Bahr. After searching for counsel, Detective Williams finally got in touch with an attorney from the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office. The attorney spoke with Bahr and then invoked his right to remain silent and right to counsel.’Killer Clown’ lawyers: Prime evidence may be contaminated, seek state attorney spokesman depositionKeen Warren’s attorneys said in their motion they inadvertently learned during an evidence review that in Feb. 2021, a cold case detective removed items from the evidence locker for retesting including: “two balloons, a ribbon, a hair/fiber, a car tag, a Publix paper bag, a straw wrapper, rental papers, a Kleenex box, a barcode sticker, and a gum wrapper.”The motion said those items were tested for fingerprints, including those of Bahr. They said they also recently learned when Bahr was in Florida last year, PBSO picked him up on an outstanding grand theft warrant and prosecutors visited him at the jail, and subpoenaed him for a hearing.Because Bahr refused to answer questions during the hearing, the judge held him in contempt and sentenced him to five months in the Palm Beach County Jail.While serving his time, they said Bahr agreed to a search of his garage at his home in Texas for additional evidence and a detective flew to Texas to conduct that search.More information: Prosecutors outline case against killer clown being released on bond appealKeen Warren’s lawyers said they were told none of this information, as they claim the law requires — even when they had discussions with the prosecutor.”Mr. (Reid) Scott knowingly remained silent about the contempt hearing, the execution of the search warrant in Texas, and the interview (or interviews) with Bahr. This is inexcusable,” they wrote.The defense claims all of this came to light when they conducted a recent evidence review and noted seven new photographs were in evidence — photographs they said the state had shown to Bahr as part of their questioning.Now they are asking the judge to delay the trial and compel the state to hand over all the evidence and witnesses they claim have not been provided so far.WPBF 25 News Investigative Reporter Terri Parker attempted to reach out to Bahr and has not yet heard back.Keen Warren was arrested in 2017 for Warren’s murder after prosecutors said new developments in DNA testing pointed to her as the suspect.She was an employee of Marlene Warren’s husband and rumored to have been having an affair with him before the murder. The pair later quietly married and moved to Virginia where they ran a restaurant.She has pleaded not guilty and has remained in the PBC jail with no bond since her arrest almost four years ago.A hearing will be held Thursday afternoon.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
Video above: Witness says killer was a man in 2020
Lawyers for the accused Killer Clown, Sheila Keen Warren, claim within the past 13 months state prosecutors secretly interviewed, held hearings and retested evidence surrounding the alleged confession of a man who reportedly said he was the real killer in the 30-year-old murder of Marlene Warren.
“For ten months, the State failed to disclose that a potential suspect in the murder of Marlene Warren was in PBSO’s custody, and the suspect was interviewed by detectives,” defense attorney Greg Rosenfeld wrote in a motion filed Thursday.
Previous coverage: Killer clown defendant wants out of jail; cites lack of evidence
Rosenfeld said in 1991 an inmate in Maine provided information that another inmate, Edward Bahr, confessed to murdering Warren on the doorstep of her Wellington, Florida, home in 1990. Warren was shot in the face by someone dressed as a clown and bearing a bouquet of flowers and balloons.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office
Edward Bahr
Keen Warren’s attorneys said while lead Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bill Williams traveled to Maine, the state never listed Bahr as a witness.
According to the motion, Bahr told Williams that “’he would tell him everything he knows’” concerning the death of Marlene Warren if Williams ‘could promise him he would not get the electric chair.'”
Rosenfeld said when Detective Williams told Bahr that he could not promise him that, Bahr requested to speak to an attorney before answering any more questions. Detective Williams reached out to Bahr’s attorney in Maine, who claimed that he no longer represented Bahr. After searching for counsel, Detective Williams finally got in touch with an attorney from the Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office. The attorney spoke with Bahr and then invoked his right to remain silent and right to counsel.
‘Killer Clown’ lawyers: Prime evidence may be contaminated, seek state attorney spokesman deposition
Keen Warren’s attorneys said in their motion they inadvertently learned during an evidence review that in Feb. 2021, a cold case detective removed items from the evidence locker for retesting including: “two balloons, a ribbon, a hair/fiber, a car tag, a Publix paper bag, a straw wrapper, rental papers, a Kleenex box, a barcode sticker, and a gum wrapper.”
Hearst Owned
Sheilla Keen Warren
The motion said those items were tested for fingerprints, including those of Bahr.
They said they also recently learned when Bahr was in Florida last year, PBSO picked him up on an outstanding grand theft warrant and prosecutors visited him at the jail, and subpoenaed him for a hearing.
Because Bahr refused to answer questions during the hearing, the judge held him in contempt and sentenced him to five months in the Palm Beach County Jail.
While serving his time, they said Bahr agreed to a search of his garage at his home in Texas for additional evidence and a detective flew to Texas to conduct that search.
More information: Prosecutors outline case against killer clown being released on bond appeal
Keen Warren’s lawyers said they were told none of this information, as they claim the law requires — even when they had discussions with the prosecutor.
“Mr. (Reid) Scott knowingly remained silent about the contempt hearing, the execution of the search warrant in Texas, and the interview (or interviews) with Bahr. This is inexcusable,” they wrote.
The defense claims all of this came to light when they conducted a recent evidence review and noted seven new photographs were in evidence — photographs they said the state had shown to Bahr as part of their questioning.
Now they are asking the judge to delay the trial and compel the state to hand over all the evidence and witnesses they claim have not been provided so far.
WPBF 25 News Investigative Reporter Terri Parker attempted to reach out to Bahr and has not yet heard back.
Keen Warren was arrested in 2017 for Warren’s murder after prosecutors said new developments in DNA testing pointed to her as the suspect.
She was an employee of Marlene Warren’s husband and rumored to have been having an affair with him before the murder. The pair later quietly married and moved to Virginia where they ran a restaurant.
She has pleaded not guilty and has remained in the PBC jail with no bond since her arrest almost four years ago.
Dianna Lowery and Larry Leroy Moore appear in images released by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office.
Dianna Lowery was only 25 years old when she was found strangled to death and sexually assaulted in her own bathtub in 1987. Now, over 35 years later, the man authorities say killed her has finally been convicted of murder.
Larry Leroy Moore, 69, hails from Prescott, Arizona. He was originally arrested in 2005, but the case against him was dismissed, according to San Antonio ABC affiliate KSAT. In 2018, the cold case was reopened and Moore was charged again. On Friday, March 26, 2022, Bexar County jurors deliberated for six hours before finding him guilty.
“He was 33-years-old at the time,” Bexar County Assistant Criminal District Attorney Talia Triesch told jurors during closing arguments, according to an account by Courthouse News Service. “He played basketball, threw darts, mowed lawns sometimes . . . he also raped and murdered his tenant. Why did he do it? What’s the motive? We may never know. But that he did do it — that we know.”
Prosecutors in the case did not seek the death penalty. Under Texas law, Moore will be automatically sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 40 years behind bars.
Lowery was renting a duplex apartment from Moore in San Antonio at the time she was killed. Her boyfriend, Dale Andrew Martin, returned to find her strangled to death on Jan. 29, 1987.
“She never made it in to work,” Triesch said. “Andy got home like normal but that’s where normal ended and this nightmare began.”
In testimony during the three-day trial. Martin said he followed the “smell of death” after getting home after work on the evening of the murder. Eventually, he discovered a horrifying scene. Lowery was sexually assaulted, bound and gagged with duct tape over her mouth, covered in injuries all over her body, still wearing her bathrobe and stuffed into the bathtub with excrement on her socks.
Moore’s wife took the stand as well. During her own testimony, she discussed an email conversation she once had with her son about an “awful crime” her husband had once committed.
“It had to do with killing somebody,” Gretchen Phelps said when asked to explain the contours of that email exchange. “He talked to me about a situation where a younger woman got killed.”
Larry Leroy Moore appears in court. (Image via KSAT-TV screengrab.)
Garon Foster, a forensic serologist from the Bexar County Crime Lab, also testified. He said he first became involved in the Lowery case in 2004. At the same, limited DNA testing was unable to rule Moore out as a suspect and he was subsequently arrested — though, as noted above, the first slate of charges was eventually tossed. In 2020, additional DNA testing narrowed things down substantially, the testimony reportedly revealed.
“It is a 780 quintillion times more likely that they originated from Dianna Lowery and Larry Moore,” Foster said while referring to DNA samples from a rape kit as well as from Lowery’s bedsheet and comforter. “Mr. Moore does match.”
The defendant maintained his innocence.
“It doesn’t make sense, there’s no motive,” defense attorney Mark McKay said on Friday. “There’s no reason to kill her.”
The attorney also criticized the investigation and the evidence collection methods used as “detective myopia,” saying much of the evidence against his client was too old and unreliable to count on.
Jurors, however, believed the state’s version of events.
“At the end of the day, the jury saw the job that needed to be done, and they did the job,” Triesch said. “And we’re grateful.”
A 60-year-old Dallas man has been nabbed in a grisly slaying 38 years ago after DNA testing linked him to the cold case, prosecutors said.
Edward Morgan was busted in the 1984 killing of Mary Jane Thompson, who was found strangled near out-of-use train tracks, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said in a statement Friday.
Thompson was 21 years old when she took a bus to a medical clinic that turned out to be closed, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Two days later, her body was discovered near the railroad tracks behind a warehouse.
She had been sexually abused and strangled with her own leg warmers, the paper said.
Thompson, who worked two jobs, in a florist shop and a restaurant, had moved to Dallas just six months before she was killed after living in Houston and Los Angeles. She had aspired to be a model.
Dallas police had reopened her case in 2009 and conducted DNA testing on swabs from the original autopsy, but the results matched an unknown male DNA profile, the Morning News reported.
The case was reopened a second time in 2018, and new testing techniques similar to those used to identify California’s notorious Golden State Killer, including tapping into ancestry databases, were able to match the DNA to Morgan, NBC News reported.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announced how authorities used new technology to trace Edward Morgan’s DNA.Twitter/@Dallas_DA
Investigators did not say how they narrowed down their search to Morgan, but said the case was submitted in 2020 for forensic genetic genealogy analysis and Morgan was identified as the suspect.
“It is not every day we are able to solve a 38-year-old cold-case capital murder,” Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Leighton D’Antoni said. “It takes a singular dedication and authentic commitment to justice to see it through.”
Advances in diagnostics have led to cancer screenings that can find the disease at its earliest signs when a therapeutic intervention has a greater chance of success. But making these tests the standard of care will take a little more time. Phil Febbo, chief medical officer at Illumina, said wide adoption will require more awareness of these tests as well as more evidence showing that they work. The gene sequencing giant is doing its part to boost awareness. One of the employee benefits the company offers for those 55 and older is an early detection test.
“I plan on getting it every year,” Febbo said.
Febbo spoke Thursday during a panel discussion at CB Insights Future of Health conference. He was joined by Alicia Zhou, chief science officer of genetic testing company Color. Illumina might be best known for supplying the reagents and equipment used in genetic testing, including cancer diagnostics. But the company’s offerings now include Grail, a diagnostics company that spun out of Illumina and was required earlier this year. Grail developed a test that detects genetic indicators of cancer from a liquid biopsy, a small sample of blood.
The liquid biopsies from Grail and others are intended to detect cancer early, which in turn enables earlier treatment, Febbo said. To help support adoption of these tests, he said that companies need to generate evidence to show that these tests don’t flag false positives. Febbo said that in clinical trials, the false positives for the Grail test were comparable to established screening tests, like mammography. As more evidence from these tests is generated, the case will become stronger for their adoption, Febbo said.
Zhou said that finding greater adoption of genetic testing will require a change in how such these tests are perceived. The high cost of a genetic test meant that who qualifies for such testing was limited. But those costs have been coming down, which means that genomic testing can be used as a piece of data alongside other factors to assess a patient’s health. Scalability of genetic testing is about dropping the price of these tests and making them more widely accessible, Zhou said.
Covid-19 introduced Color to more accessibility issues. As the pandemic unfolded, the company expanded its scope to include Covid testing and vaccine distribution. That led the company to think about barriers to access, Zhou said. More than just having vaccines available, Zhou said it’s important to bring those vaccines to where people are, such as community centers and faith-based organizations. Those sites need to have flexible hours in order to accommodate those who can’t get away from work during the day. Zhou added that community and faith organizations can also help to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
“The work doesn’t stop when you get the approval for the vaccine,” she said. “You need to think about the distribution.”
Zhou and Febbo said that many of the changes sparked in healthcare during the pandemic are changes for the better. A lot of communication between patients and their physicians has moved to Zoom, and Febbo said patients and providers have come to realize that they don’t need to do everything in person. Zhou said the lockdowns led diagnostic companies to search for new ways of reaching patients. Drive through testing, for example, is not something the industry would have tried if not for the pandemic, she said. Clinicians and diagnostic companies found other workarounds. Zhou noted that some testing previously done with an in-person visit to a clinical site can now be done by sending a test kit to a patient’s home.
“These are things we’ll hold on to after Covid,” Zhou said.
Three decades ago, four teenage girls were brutally murdered in an I Can’t Believe It’s 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,” John Jones, the first investigator on the case, tells “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty. “That stuff’s … indelibly burned in my mind.”
The story starts on December 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.
THE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
It’s been 30 years since John Jones began the painstaking search for the killers of four teenage girls in an Austin, Texas, yogurt shop.
He has long since retired from the Austin Police Department and moved out of Texas. But copies of some of the case files moved with him.
“Every year marks another year … you know, that there’s no closure,” retired Austin Detective John Jones told “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty. “I still have insomnia, 30 years after the fact.”
CBS News
Erin Moriarty [with Jones in his home office]: What is all of this here?
John Jones: These are my notes. … Oh, that’s the big book…this one is really from day 1 … hypnosis, polygraph, confessions.
Erin Moriarty: (picks up coffee mug) You know, I notice this sitting here.
John Jones: Yeah.
Erin Moriarty (reads coffee mug): “We will not forget.” You haven’t.
John Jones: Nope. I can’t.
The images of December 6, 1991, remain all too vivid.
John Jones: I can definitely still see it.
It started with that call from dispatch to go to a scene of a fire, that would turn into something far worse:
JOHN JONES: What do you’ll got out there? I’m en route … airport 35.
DISPATCH: We’ve got a fire …
JOHN JONES (1991 on radio): OK. I’m copying the fire part, but you cut out on the first part of that though.
DISPATCH: … apparently a robbery and homicide. There’s, uh, three fatalities.
JOHN JONES: That’s 10-4, we’re en route (turns on siren).
John Jones: And then about halfway out there, they call again on the radio and said we found a fourth body.
A local TV news crew happened to be filming Jones on a ride along that night.
JOHN JONES (on radio): What place of business is this at?
DISPATCH: It’s the I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt.
JOHN JONES: OK.
John Jones: The fire department had just knocked down the fire. … there was still a lot of water in there … a lot of smoke still. … it was all muted grays, blacks there was no color in there with the exception of the girls.
The girls were quickly identified. Two had been working at the shop, closing up that night: Eliza Thomas and Jennifer Harbison were both 17 years old. Jennifer’s 15-year-old sister, Sarah, and their friend, 13-year-old Amy Ayers, had met them there to head home.
Inside the yogurt shop were the charred bodies of four teenage girls ranging from 13 to 17 years old. The victims clockwise from top left, Amy Ayers, Eliza Thomas, Sarah Harbison and Jennifer Harbison.
AP Images
The four girls had been gagged, tied up with their own clothing, and shot in the head. Investigators would learn at least one of the victims had been sexually assaulted. The yogurt shop had also been set on fire, destroying potential evidence.
John Jones: There was smoke and soot on every surface, kind of made fingerprinting kind of difficult.
This was a crime like none Austin had seen before. Jones knew he needed help, and from the scene, contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, The FBI, and Texas Department of Public Safety.
John Jones: As soon as we knew what type of guns we were looking for, that information went out nationwide.
Gunshot wounds showed that two different types of guns were used, leading investigators to believe there were at least two killers on the loose.
Erin Moriarty: What were the two guns?
John Jones: .380 and a .22. … And we recovered all of the rounds.
The weapons, though, were not found, and a task force worked to come up with potential suspects.
John Jones: They were from all spectrums. I mean, we looked at everybody from family members to drifters.
And while police tracked down leads, the families and the City of Austin grieved.
The Harbison family lost their only children: daughters Jennifer, a hard-working high school senior, and Sarah, who was enjoying sports and clubs as a high school freshman. Their mother, Barbara, spoke with “48 Hours” in 1992.
Barbara Harbison: My life was focused around them from here to eternity. Someone took eternity away from me.
Bob Ayers is the father of the youngest victim, Amy, a country girl with a love for animals.
Bob Ayers: I lost my daughter. I lost my first dance. … I won’t see her graduate. I won’t see her become a veterinarian. … She was a Daddy’s girl.
Sonora Thomas, 13 years old when her only sibling, Eliza, was murdered, had a hard time dealing with the loss of the sister she looked up to.
Sonora Thomas: I remember the shock … I remember fantasizing for days that my sister had somehow escaped and run away and … she was going to come back … And so that’s what I was kind of holding onto.
Her parents struggled as well.
Sonora Thomas: My family never talked about my sister after she died.
Erin Moriarty: Never?
Sonora Thomas:No. It’s too, it’s too painful.
Eliza Thomas, right, was 17 when she was murdered inside the yogurt shop. In this photo taken a few months before her death, Eliza is seen with her younger sister Sonora who was 13 when her sister died. In 2021, Sonora told “48 Hours, “I remember fantasizing for days that my sister had somehow escaped and ran away and was hiding … I was constantly fantasizing that she was going to come back.”
Sonora Thomas
Sonora did as best she could, picking up some pieces of her sister’s life. Eliza, an animal lover, had a pig she planned to enter in livestock show. Just a few months after the murders, Sonora took over those duties.
While Sonora may have seemed to be coping, the reality, she says, was far different.
Erin Moriarty: You had to grow up quickly.
Sonora Thomas: Very quickly … I would say I fell apart under that pressure.
John Jones: We knew they were hurting because, you know, we were hurting too.
Jones, a parent himself, felt the families’ grief. He promised to do all he could to help them.
John Jones: We told them what we could. And … I assured them that we would keep them apprised as to everything that was happening, and we did.
Jones also made a pledge to the families involving the shirt he wore on the night of the murders.
John Jones: I kind of made a promise to them … that the next time they saw me with that green and white shirt on that that was a signal to them that, you know, we knew who did it.
And Jones seemed assured they would find the killers.
John Jones: We stayed in constant contact with the behavioral science unit at the FBI in Quantico … they said that I should, as the face of the investigation, I should project an air of confidence … that would cause the bad guy to shiver in his boots. … So look in the camera and be confident.
And, when we followed him working the case in 1992, he did just that.
JOHN JONES: Let me just say this, whoever you are out there, you are going to be mine one of these days….
But trying to figure that out was daunting.
“48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty and Detective John Jones in 1992.
CBS News
John Jones (at police station in 1992): 342 people that have been listed as suspects, but we’re looking at pages and pages of suspects here.
One of those early suspects was a teenager named Maurice Pierce. He was arrested eight days after the murders at a mall near the yogurt shop, carrying a .22 caliber gun, the type used in the murders.
John Jones: The .22s were unmatchable.
Erin Moriarty: So, you can’t say it wasn’t his gun? But there was no way to match it.
John Jones: No.
Erin Moriarty: But there was no way to match it.
John Jones: — to prove that it was his gun. He gave a statement, matter of fact, I took his statement. And he implicated three other boys.
Soon after the yogurt shop murders, detectives questioned four teenage boys. Maurice Pierce, top left, was arrested for having a gun at a local mall. Forrest Welborn, top right, Michael Scott, bottom left and Robert Springsteen were the friends Pierce was hanging out with that day. They were all questioned and released.
AP Photo
Jones says Maurice Pierce claimed he was driving a getaway car and that three acquaintances, Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen, were involved in the murders. But Pierce’s story began to fall apart.
John Jones: It started to crater when we wired him up to go talk to Forest. And we were listening in on the wire, and it was pretty obvious Forest didn’t know what Maurice was talking about.
And when Welborn, Scott and Springsteen were brought in for questioning, they too denied any involvement. It was decided there was not enough evidence to charge them and the search for other suspects continued.
CHASING LEADS
Two months after the yogurt shop murders, with no viable suspects, police were chasing leads — no matter where it took them.
The task force became aware of a counter-culture type group of local residents known to be into the supernatural.
DET. MIKE HUCKABAY [at roundtable, 1992]: They’re into vampires, the occult, graveyard rites. … They go out and dance and take pictures on tombstones.
And investigators began to hear that this group might be connected to something far more serious.
John Jones (2021): The — the tips were that they were talking about the murders.
Erin Moriarty: Talking about the yogurtshop murders.
John Jones: The yogurt shop murders, yes.
There was one woman in particular whose name kept coming up in connection with these tips. The task force planned a raid on her home, hoping to see if any evidence might be found there.
John Jones: It was creepy in there.
John Jones: But as it turns out, a lot of that stuff was rat bones and theatrical parts. But … it was a good lead. … Till we finally figured out that, uh, they’re just living a make-believe life (shaking his head).
The raid may have been a bust, but it wasn’t long before the task force had its eyes on another person of interest.A police sketch shows a man that multiple eyewitnesses told police they saw sitting in a car outside the yogurt shop on the night of the murders.
John Jones: And it was somebody we really wanted to talk to. … So, we put it out there.
And the response they got came from an unexpected source.
John Jones: A couple of other investigators from the Sex Crimes Unit came up and go … “We have a sketch that looks just like that.”
Investigators say neo of the suspects in a sexual assault, left, bore a striking resemblance to that man witnesses reported sitting in a car outside the yogurt shop the night of the murders.
Austin Police Department
Threeweeks before the yogurt shop murders, a young woman in Austin had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Police had released a sketch of three men wanted in connection with that crime.One of those suspects bore a striking resemblance to that man witnesses reported sitting in a car outside the yogurt shop.
John Jones: You know, I just kind of went zip when I saw the — the composite.
A tip came in that the men wanted in the kidnapping and sexual assault case had fled to Mexico. Two were caught and arrested; one who resembled the person of interest in the yogurt shop sketch. The development made national news.
In the fall of 1992, two men wanted for an unrelated kidnapping and sexual assault in Austin were arrested in Mexico. The man on the right bore a striking resemblance to someone witnesses reported seeing outside the yogurt shop on the night of the murders. When questioned by Austin investigators the men initially denied any involvement in the yogurt shop murders, but when interrogated by Mexican authorities they confessed. However, details they gave didn’t match the evidence found at the crime scene and when Austin detectives re-questioned the men they recanted.
Austin Police Department
John Jones: When they got caught in Mexico, we went down there … to interview them. Jones’ team questioned the men. And so, too, did the Mexican authorities.
John Jones: But the Mexican government … announced to the whole world that … they confessed, and they were going to try them for the murders down there.
Erin Moriarty: They confessed to the yogurt shop murders?
John Jones: Yes, they did.
But Jones learned those confessions had details that didn’t match the crime scene. Even the caliber of guns they claimed to use was wrong.
John Jones: There were too many inconsistencies in the … confession.
So, Jones’ team reinterviewed the men, and he says this time they recanted just about everything. It made Jones and the other investigators wonder if those confessions were coerced by the Mexican authorities. The once promising lead fell apart .
John Jones: (exhales) It was depressing.
Over the following years, there would be other confessions, ones that were willingly given.
John Jones: You know, we faced six confessions.
Erin Moriarty: Six people who confessed?
John Jones: Yeah. Written.
Erin Moriarty: That confessed to this crime?
John Jones: Yes, they did.
Erin Moriarty: And they didn’tdo it?
John Jones:Nope.
In 1994, after nearly three years of leading the investigation, John Jones was moved out of the homicide division. He says it was a mutual decision. Austin Police wanted fresh eyes working the case, and Jones felt it was time to move on. Other detectives took over and, as time passed, the victims’ families were left wondering why no one had been arrested. Amy Ayers’ mother Pam spoke to “48 Hours” in 1996.
Pam Ayers [fighting back tears]: They’re probably out there leading a life as normal as they’ve ever had. And ours is never going to be the same.
That same year, Eliza Thomas’ mom moved away from Austin … and the painful reminders.
Maria Thomas (1996): Running into people who were constantly asking how the case was going was very hard on me, and especially my daughter Sonora.
Sonora’s life had taken a downward spiral.
Sonora Thomas: In my high school years, things really deteriorated. … Drugs, using alcohol, being hospitalized, going to a boarding school for, you know, disturbed teenagers, things like that.
The case seemed stalled, until October 1999.
RADIO NEWS REPORT: Some breaking news — Austin police have arrested four men in connection with the yogurt shop murders of 1991.
“The whole city was in shock … Everywhere we drove, you know, there were these billboards with a picture of my sister on it,” Sonora Thomas aid of her sister, Eliza.
CBS News
There were finally arrests, but would it answer the question on the billboard that had been haunting Austin for nearly a decade?
SUSPECTS ARRESTED
NEWS REPORT: After nearly eight years, Austinites are getting some answers in the case of the yogurt shop murders…
MAYOR KIRK WATSON (at 1999 press conference): I want to start off by thanking y’all for joining us here today. … For almost eight years, we’ve all waited to hear the words that our police department is close to a point of solving a crime that has haunted our very souls. … Today, we finally get to hear those words.
When four men were arrested in the fall of 1999 for the yogurt shop murders, relief was felt citywide.
MAYOR KIRK WATSON (at press conference): Sarah, Jennifer, Amy, Eliza, we did not forget.
The girls’ families struggled to take it all in.
Sonora Thomas: There had been so many false leads for such a long time. It was hard to know how to think about it and how to feel about it.
In October 1999, nearly eight years after the yogurt shop murders, Austin police announced the arrest of four suspects in the case. Pictured clockwise from top left are Maurice Pierce, Forrest Welborn, Robert Springsteen, and Michael Scott. All four men had been questioned within days of the murders, but the lack of any hard evidence connecting them to the crime meant that none of them were charged at the time.
CBS News/AP
But there were finally names and faces to blame: Maurice Pierce, Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen. To the task force, they were familiar names and faces. They were the same young men that John Jones and his investigators questioned just eight days after the murders and ultimately released for lack of evidence.
John Jones: I was confident and remain confident to this day that we got as far with them as we could then. But that doesn’t mean that … there wasn’t something developed later that would cause them to actually go out and arrest them. So, I was going, “yes, good job.” … I was ready to dig out the hideous green and white shirt.
But before that shirt could come out of the closet—the one he promised the girls’ families he would wear when the case was solved — Jones wanted to know more about what led to the arrests.
Joe James Sawyer: There was no physical evidence. Nothing.
Joe James Sawyer was appointed as Robert Springsteen’s attorney.
Erin Moriarty: What made them go back and charge these guys?
Joe James Sawyer: Because the new officers, when they reopened the cold case, convinced themselves that “we let them slip through our fingers. We had to have had the murderers in the beginning.” In part, they decided that because they had nothing else.
There was no new physical evidence suddenly tying any of the four men to the crime, but what police did have were two newly obtained confessions— one from Michael Scott and another from Sawyer’s own client, Robert Springsteen. Michael Scott’s confession came first. He was questioned over four days:
Michael Scott, seated right, is pictured in 1999 being questioned by Austin Police. His 20-hour interrogation took place over the course of four days, during which Scott confessed to taking part in the yogurt shop murders. Days later, Robert Springsteen also confessed under questioning. Despite both men later claiming their confessions were coerced, they would eventually be convicted.
Austin Police Department
OFFICER (1999 interrogation): Come on Michael, you’re doing good. Tell us. Let’s do this today. Let’s do it.
MICHAEL SCOTT: I remember seeing girls. … I remember one girl screaming, terrified.
Scott told investigators that he and the others only intended a simple robbery. He said they cased the yogurt shop earlier that day. And then, after dark, he said, they came back armed with two guns.
MICHAEL SCOTT (interrogation): I hear the gun go off. I only pulled the trigger once…. I hear another gun go off.
Investigators claimed that Springsteen later corroborated much of what Scott said. But after intense questioning, he went further.
OFFICER (interrogation): You f——g know if you f——g raped her, just say it.
ROBERT SPRINGSTEEN: I stuck my d— in her p—- and I raped her.
Springsteen told them he shot one girl and raped her.
Joe James Sawyer: He was so tired of this. He’d already been questioned. He’d already been through that mill. He thought, you know what? I’ll tell you any damn thing you want.
Sawyer maintains his client is innocent and says the confession was coerced. In 2009, Robert Springsteen explained to “48 Hours” why he would admit to doing something so horrible—something he says he didn’t do.
Robert Springsteen speaks to Austin police in 1999. “Until they obtained what it was they wanted to hear, they were not going to allow me to leave. And I basically — they broke me down,” Springsteen told “48 Hours” correspondent Erin Moriarty.
Austin Police Department
Robert Springsteen: I was berated and berated and berated by the police officers. Until they obtained what it was they wanted to hear, they were not going to allow me to leave. And I basically— they broke me down.
Erin Moriarty: Let me just ask you, did you have anything to do—
Robert Springsteen: No. I did not.
Erin Moriarty: — with the murders at the yogurt shop?
Robert Springsteen: No. Never.
Even though Joe James Sawyer didn’t have Michael Scott as his client, he says he has serious concerns about his confession, too.
OFFICER (INTERROGATION): Is that the gun you shot somebody with, Mike? Is that the gun you walked up behind somebody with and shot in the head?
Joe James Sawyer: I frankly couldn’t believe it. … They terrorized him. And he was afraid to say no.
Forrest Welborn denied having anything to do with the murders, but police were convinced he was the lookout that night and Michael Scott placed him at the scene. Erin Moriarty spoke to Welborn in 1999 in jail shortly after his arrest.
Erin Moriarty: Were you there that night?
Forrest Welborn: No.
Erin Moriarty: Were you there as a lookout?
Forrest Welborn: No. I’m innocent.
Erin Moriarty: You had nothing to do with this?
Forrest Welborn: Nothing at all.
Forrest Welborn had been questioned multiple times by investigators over the years, and he never wavered. “Were you the lookout?” asked Erin Moriarity. “No. I’m innocent,” Welborn replied.
CBS News
Welborn had been questioned multiple times by investigators over the years, and he never wavered. He, like the others, first came on police radar when, in 1991, just days after the murders, Maurice Pierce had been caught with that .22 caliber gun at the mall near the yogurt shop. Pierce told the detectives back then that he had given the handgun to Welborn and that it had been used in the yogurt shop murders.
Erin Moriarty: Why would he say that?
Forrest Welborn: I don’t know.
Welborn has always maintained his innocence despite pressure from the police.
Forrest Welborn: They would get right in my face and, you know, tell me everything I said was a lie.
Remember, false confessions in this case were nothing new. Jones said that six written false confessions were obtained when he was in charge. So, when he learned that the two confessions were all the new investigators seemed to have, it gave him pause.
John Jones: I go, well, maybe I shouldn’t get that shirt out just yet.
It wasn’t long before the case against the men began crumbling. Charges against Forrest Welborn were dismissed after two grand juries failed to indict him. And later on, charges were dropped against Maurice Pierce for lack of evidence. Everything fell apart except the cases against Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen. And with Scott and Springsteen’s confessions, the victims’ families felt prosecutors had a strong case.
Barbara Ayres-Wilson (outside courthouse, 2010): These young men have been implicated and they have confessed. And they can withdraw it, but the truth is, they actually were there, and they actually did the murders.
A DNA BREAKTHROUGH?
In 2001, nearly 10 years after the murders of Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers and Sarah and Jennifer Harbison, the yogurt shop murder trials began. Both defendants — Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott — faced the death penalty.
Joe James Sawyer: The only thing that ever tied Robert or Mike Scott to that crime scene were their confessions.
Confessions that both defendants said were coerced. The two were tried separately. Springsteen’s trial was first. Neither of the men would testify against one another. So instead, prosecutors used their confessions against one another, reading parts of the confessions to the juries. Springsteen’s lawyer, Joe James Sawyer, was frustrated that he couldn’t cross-examine Scott.
Joe James Sawyer: I thought the trial was massively unfair to my client and that it was being done systematically and with deliberation.
The trial lasted three weeks. The jury deliberated for 13 hours and then, reached a verdict.
JURY FOREPERSON: We the jury find the defendant Robert Springsteen IV guilty of the offense of capital murder …
Guilty. Springsteen was condemned to death row.
In 2002, Michael Scott went on trial. He was convicted as well. He was sentenced to life in prison. But the case didn’t end there. Fifteen years after the murders, came a shocking turn of events.
NEWS REPORT: In a 5-4 decision, the court behind me said that Michael Scott’s constitutional rights were violated during his trial and therefore should get a new one.
Both Scott and Springsteen’s convictions were overturned on constitutional grounds. The Sixth Amendment gives defendants the right to confront accusers — and remember, in Scott and Springsteen’s trials, their confessions were used against one another, but they weren’t allowed to question each other in court.
Joe James Sawyer: And the relief … the relief was incredible.
But that relief for the defendants came as a devastating blow to the victims’ families. We later spoke to Eliza Thomas’ mother, Maria, about that moment.
Maria Thomas: Every time I hear those words, “that their rights were violated,” I just feel like I’m going to go insane. … Their rights are violated. Our girls were murdered.
Sonora Thomas: It ruins your sense of fairness. It ruins your sense of — that we live in a just world.
Even though their convictions were overturned, Scott and Springsteen were not released. A new district attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg, was determined to retry them. In an effort to find more evidence, her office had ordered DNA tests on vaginal swabs taken from the victims at the time of the murders. It’s called Y-STR testing — and was fairly new in 2009 when “48 Hours” spoke with D.A. Lehmberg.
Rosemary Lehmberg: This technology searches for male DNA only
A partial male DNA profile was obtained from one of the victims believed to have been sexually assaulted. And no one expected what it would reveal.
Erin Moriarty: Does that DNA match any of the four young men who were originally accused and two of them who’ve been convicted?
Rosemary Lehmberg: It does not.
The DNA did not match any of the original four suspects, including Scott and Springsteen. And that’s significant because Springsteen, in that confession he said was coerced, told investigators he raped one the girls.
CeCe Moore is a DNA expert and genetic genealogist whom we asked about the case and the role of Y-STR DNA in criminal cases.
CeCe Moore: It is a tool that can eliminate almost everyone … It should eliminate everybody but the suspect.
Erin Moriarty: If their Y-STR does not match, they did not contribute that DNA?
CeCe Moore: Because of … where that DNA was found, yes, in this case, it’s very important.
The district attorney was focused on finding the source of that DNA — she wondered if Springsteen and Scott had another partner.
Rosemary Lehmberg: I remain really confident that … both Springsteen and Scott were responsible for killing those four girls.
In 2009, with no matches on that DNA, D.A. Lehmberg dropped charges against Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott. After nearly 10 years behind bars, they were released — but not exonerated,
AP Photos
But in 2009, with no matches on that DNA, Lehmberg dropped charges against Springsteen and Scott. After nearly 10 years behind bars, they were released — but not exonerated, leaving open the possibility they could be retried at a later time.
ROSEMARY LEHMBERG (at press conference): This was a difficult decision and one I’d rather not have to make.
The question remained though: whose DNA was it?
Amber Farrelly: I know who it is.
Joe James Sawyer: The killer’s.
Erin Moriarty: You’re convinced that that —
Amber Farrelly: That is a certain truth.
Amber Farrelly was part of both Scott and Springsteen’s defense teams. She came up with a theory that the mystery DNA might belong instead to two never-identified men who witnesses reported seeing sitting in the yogurt shop just before it closed.
Amber Farrelly: Those two men were described wearing fatigued-colored jackets. …They were very slouched over, whispering, like they were — it was a very close conversation in a booth.
Officials tried to track down those two men as well as the source of the DNA. And then, in 2017, an Austin police investigator searched a public online DNA database to see if he could get a hit. And, unbelievably, he did.
Michael McCaul: I thought, my God, we actually have a chance, a shot to solve this crime after so many years.
WHO KILLED THESE GIRLS?
Congressman Michael McCaul: I really thought this was it – I really thought we had a chance to solve it.
United States Congressman Michael McCaul, like so many others from Austin, hoped that the recently uncovered DNA in the Yogurt Shop murder case might finally bring answers to the victims’ families.
Congressman Michael McCaul: We’ll never forget that tragic day. It’s stained in my memory.
Twenty-five years after the murders, the Austin Police Department went searching for a match to the Y-STR DNA that had been found on the yogurt shop victim believed to have been sexually assaulted. And, in 2017, they got a break. On a public DNA database used for population studies, investigators thought they had found a match.
Congressman Michael McCaul: I’ve seen DNA … prove homicide cases. … the DNA evidence is really the key here.
But that sample from the crime scene was not a complete DNA profile, it was just Y-STR — the male portion of DNA. And, it was not a very detailed sample, having just 16 markers.
CeCe Moore: Sixteen STR’s is not a very powerful match … there could be millions of people with that same profile … So, in genetic genealogy … We usually use 67 or 111 markers, or maybe even more.
Erin Moriarty: But isn’t it a place to start?
CeCe Moore: It is … It’s not absolute, but if there’s nothing else to work with, it is certainly something to look into.
Still, it seemed to be the most promising lead in years. But there was a problem: the seemingly matching sample on the public database had been submitted anonymously by the FBI. It belonged to a federally convicted offender, arrestee, or detainee, but had no name attached to it. When Austin authorities tried to get a name, the FBI would not provide it, citing privacy laws.
Congressman Michael McCaul: There are some restrictions on privacy … And so, it gets into some very sort of, dicey issues.
Frustrated, officials reached out to Congressman McCaul for help.
Congressman Michael McCaul: And so, I pressed the FBI very hard.
Finally, in early 2020, the FBI agreed to work with the Austin Police Department to see if further testing could be done on that Y-STR DNA from the crime scene.
Congressman Michael McCaul: I was very excited about it. The idea that we could bring this case to closure for the families and bring those responsible to justice.
More advanced testing came up with additional markers: 25 instead of the original 16. But as so often happened in this case, what seemed so promising, turned into disappointment.
Some of the additional markers did not match the FBI sample. In other words, what seemed to be a match, was not. In a letter to Congressman McCaul, the FBI explained the new results “conclusively exclude the male donor of the FBI’s sample … as such, the FBI Y-STR profile is not an investigative lead.”
Congressman Michael McCaul: And that was the greatest disappointment because we really thought we had it.
Erin Moriarty: If it didn’t match that individual, doesn’t it still mean there’s somebody out there — this DNA belongs to somebody, right?
Congressman Michael McCaul: It does. It does. And that’s why we’re not going to rest till we find the match.
Erin Moriarty: How important then, is this DNA profile that exists … to solving this case?
Congressman Michael McCaul:I mean, it’s everything.
With DNA research advancing so quickly, there is real hope that one day, that sample of DNA obtained 30 years ago, may finally solve this case. Still, it will not erase the pain or loss of lives.
Sonora Thomas: Every year that goes by, I get farther and farther away from my sister, yeah. And I worry about losing memories.
“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.
CBS News
Sonora Thomas struggled for years with panic attacks and physical pain, until, with the help of therapy, she realized it was connected to the murder of her sister Eliza. With a unique understanding of what trauma victims experience, Sonora wanted to help others like her, and became a therapist.
Sonora Thomas: There’s so many moments, you know, when your heart is open, you know, you’re joyful. But there’s also this loss that’s always accompanying your life.
Sonora found it helpful to look for ways to remember Eliza.
Sonora Thomas: When we got married, we had a flower and an empty chair at our ceremony, and my sister was mentioned.
Compounding Sonora’s pain, her mother died in 2015. Maria Thomas passed away with so many unresolved questions about the murder of her daughter.
Sonora Thomas: There is a kind of torture that continues by the fact that it’s unsolved and it’s ongoing.
John Jones (shaking his head): It’s always there.
“I’ll always be associated with that case. There’s no getting away from that, said retired Austin Detective John Jones. “I just hope one of these days we can put this thing to bed.”
CBS News
John Jones is still haunted by the fact that the case is unsolved, and by what he saw that gruesome night. He has suffered from PTSD through the years.
John Jones: I had completely shut down to where all my energy was directed at the case.
Erin Moriarty: It took a toll on you, didn’t it John, even 30 years afterwards?
John Jones: Well, yeah. It would on anybody, I think — not as much as the families, you understand.
Erin Moriarty: I know.
John Jones: Whatever pain I’m having pales in comparison to what they’re going through.
These days, Jones finds solace singing in his church choir.
John Jones: I can relax when I’m in church.
Erin Moriarty: Leave the world behind? Leave outside?
John Jones: No, I know it’s just past the door.
And when he’s in that outside world, the families of Amy Ayers, Jennifer and Sarah Harbison and Eliza Thomas, are never far from his thoughts.
John Jones: I feel bad for them. That it’s still not solved.
But Jones has hope. He has kept that shirt he wore the night of the murders — the shirt he promised to never wear until the case was solved.
Erin Moriarty: Thirty years later, it’s still sitting in there.
John Jones: It’s still sitting there. It is.
And sometime soon, John Jones looks forward to wearing it again.
John Jones: I just hope one of these days we can put this thing to bed, for the families’ sake.
If you have information about the Yogurt Shop Murders, call 512-472-TIPS.
Produced by Ruth Chenetz, Stephanie Slifer and Anthony Venditti. Michael McHugh is the producer-editor. Marlon Disla and Michelle Harris are the editors. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.
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THE WOODLANDS, Texas, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Othram Inc., the leading forensic sequencing laboratory for law enforcement, is pleased to announce the appointment of industry veteran Andrew Singer as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Singer will lead efforts to expand Othram’s operations throughout North America, delivering on the company’s mission to enable justice for all victims and their families.
Mr. Singer joins Othram after a successful 14-year tenure at Bode Technology, most recently serving as the Vice President of Operations Sales and Global Marketing where he was responsible for applying DNA testing technology in novel ways to help law enforcement solve crimes. Over more than a decade, he substantially grew market share for the company, while becoming a thought leader in the forensic community.
“I am incredibly excited to join Othram and be a part of their mission to create a safer and more just world. Othram has demonstrated a commitment to providing best-in-class DNA testing capabilities while providing answers for previously ‘unsolvable’ crimes,” said Andrew Singer. “There are thousands of families that have been impacted by crime or the loss of a loved one and so many of them are still waiting for answers.”
Othram is the world’s only laboratory purpose-built to combine genome sequencing with advanced human identification applications. The laboratory, based in The Woodlands, Texas, is also the only facility in the United States or Canada offering end-to-end, in-house processing from forensic evidence to investigative leads. Over the last three years, this technology has helped law enforcement crack hundreds of cases at the local, state, and federal level, many of which had been unsolved for decades.
“Justice is a basic human right and Othram is developing the underlying infrastructure to deliver justice to all victims and their families.” said Othram CEO David Mittelman. “We are thrilled that Mr. Singer is joining us on this important mission.”
About Othram Inc.
Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence. Othram’s scientists are experts at recovery, enrichment, and analysis of human DNA from trace quantities of degraded or contaminated materials. Founded in 2018, and located in The Woodlands, Texas, our team works with academic researchers, forensic scientists, medical examiners, and law enforcement agencies to achieve results when other approaches fail. Follow Othram on Twitter or visit othram.com to learn how we can help you with your case. Visit dnasolves.com to learn how anyone can make a difference in helping solve the next cold case.
AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Natera, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTRA), a leader in personalized genetic testing and diagnostics, today announced new data recently presented on the clinical utility of Signatera, its personalized and tumor-informed molecular residual disease (MRD) test, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s 2022 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI). The oral presentation included an updated analysis from the landmark CIRCULATE-Japan trial analyzing a cohort of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.
More than 3,000 CRC patients are now enrolled in CIRCULATE-Japan, the largest prospective, multi-center, MRD-guided trial in CRC, using Signatera to monitor MRD status in patients with stage I-IV CRC up to 96 weeks post-surgery. The latest analysis of more than 1,000 patients from the observational GALAXY arm of the study highlighted three novel findings that were presented at the conference:
Signatera positivity is predictive of treatment benefit: patients who were MRD-positive at 4 weeks post-op benefited significantly from adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT), across all stages of disease.
Signatera-negative patients did not benefit from ACT: patients with high-risk stage II and stage III disease who were MRD-negative at 4 weeks post-op did not derive significant benefit from ACT (p-value of .63).
Signatera dynamics during ACT is predictive of treatment benefit: 68% of ACT-treated patients cumulatively cleared their ctDNA by week 24 and had significantly better outcomes relative to those who remained ctDNA-positive, with a hazard ratio of 15.8.
In addition, the single time point post-surgical sensitivity of Signatera in stage II and III CRC was 67.6%. This sensitivity analysis included over 5 times more cancer recurrences than previously reported in Reinert, et. al.1
“Definitive evidence has now been presented that personalized MRD testing can guide adjuvant treatment decisions, particularly for MRD-positive patients who clearly benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy,” said the CIRCULATE-Japan study’s principal investigator, Dr. Takayuki Yoshino, of the National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan. “We see these results as an important step forward in establishing MRD-guided adjuvant therapy as the standard of care for colorectal cancer patients worldwide.”
“Current guidelines recommend combination chemotherapy for all patients with stage III CRC, yet it is known that up to 40% are cured by surgery alone. Our study demonstrates that MRD testing can help stratify and predict which patients are likely to benefit from systemic therapy,” said Alexey Aleshin, M.D., VP of oncology medical affairs at Natera. “We are extremely pleased with these groundbreaking results from CIRCULATE-Japan and are optimistic they may change practice guidelines.”
The full presentation, as shown at ASCO GI, is available here.
About Signatera
Signatera is a custom-built circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) test for treatment monitoring and molecular residual disease (MRD) assessment in patients previously diagnosed with cancer. The test is available for both clinical and research use, and has been granted three Breakthrough Device Designations by the FDA for multiple cancer types and indications. The Signatera test is personalized and tumor-informed, providing each individual with a customized blood test tailored to fit the unique signature of clonal mutations found in that individual’s tumor. This maximizes Signatera’s accuracy for detecting the presence or absence of residual disease in a blood sample, even at levels down to a single tumor molecule in a tube of blood. Signatera is intended to detect and assess how much cancer is left in the body, to identify recurrence earlier and to help optimize treatment decisions.
About Natera
Natera™ is a global leader in cell-free DNA testing, dedicated to oncology, women’s health, and organ health. Our aim is to make personalized genetic testing and diagnostics part of the standard of care to protect health and enable earlier and more targeted interventions that help lead to longer, healthier lives. Natera’s tests are validated by more than 100 peer-reviewed publications that demonstrate high accuracy. Natera operates ISO 13485-certified and CAP-accredited laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) in Austin, Texas and San Carlos, California. For more information, visit www.natera.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and are not a representation that Natera’s plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Natera’s expectations as of the date of this press release, and Natera disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including with respect to our efforts to develop and commercialize new product offerings, whether the results of clinical or other studies will support the use of our product offerings, the impact of results of such studies, our expectations of the reliability, accuracy and performance of our tests, or of the benefits of our tests and product offerings to patients, providers and payers Additional risks and uncertainties are discussed in greater detail in “Risk Factors” in Natera’s recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in other filings Natera makes with the SEC from time to time. These documents are available at www.natera.com/investors and www.sec.gov.
Contacts
Investor Relations: Mike Brophy, CFO, Natera, Inc., 510-826-2350
Media: Kate Stabrawa, Communications, Natera, Inc., [email protected]
References
Reinert T, Henriksen TV, Christensen E, et al. Analysis of plasma cell-free DNA by ultradeep sequencing in patients with stages I to III colorectal cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2019;5(8):1124–1131.
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