2026年6月26日 / 美国东部时间早上7:00 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻（CBS News）
作者：梅根·马库斯
莫里斯·皮尔斯是1991年德州酸奶店谋杀案四名被错误指控的男子之一，他的遗孀和女儿证实，他们已经与奥斯汀市签署了一份数百万美元的和解协议。
金伯利·皮尔斯和玛丽莎·皮尔斯在播客《48小时：逐案追踪》的新一期节目中接受了记者艾琳·莫雷蒂的采访。莫雷蒂报道酸奶店谋杀案已有30多年。
莫里斯·皮尔斯的遗孀金伯利明确表示，他们的优先事项从来都不是经济赔偿。“对我们来说，这是血钱。他就是为这笔钱而死的，”金伯利·皮尔斯说。“重要的是改革和需要做出的改变，不仅是在奥斯汀，显然全国各地都需要这样做。”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DRT2wy20X4
他们还详细讲述了他们认为莫里斯·皮尔斯2010年被警察枪杀时发生的事情。
莫里斯·皮尔斯与迈克尔·斯科特、罗伯特·斯普林斯汀和福里斯特·韦尔伯恩一同，是1991年12月6日奥斯汀四名少女谋杀案的四名被错误指控者。伊丽莎·托马斯、艾米·艾尔斯以及詹妮弗·哈比森和萨拉·哈比森姐妹被捆绑、枪击后留在酸奶店内，随后店铺被纵火。
这四名男子于今年2月被洗清罪名，此前调查人员将另一名男子罗伯特·尤金·布拉舍与这起谋杀案联系起来。奥斯汀市随后提出了3500万美元的和解方案。由于莫里斯·皮尔斯已于2010年去世，他应得的1000万美元份额将由金伯利和玛丽莎·皮尔斯继承。
案发八天后，16岁的莫里斯·皮尔斯在一家商场被逮捕，当时他携带一把.22口径手枪，这与案件中使用的手枪口径一致。金伯利·皮尔斯表示，警方告诉莫里斯·皮尔斯，他的枪就是作案凶器。他随即提到了自己的朋友福里斯特·韦尔伯恩。随后莫里斯·皮尔斯被装上窃听器，与韦尔伯恩进行对话，但调查人员最终认定韦尔伯恩和其他人对谋杀案一无所知，当时并未提出任何指控。
玛丽莎·皮尔斯表示，在她父亲被讯问时，没有任何证据，“只有一名侦探和一份陈述，一份完全虚假的陈述。这让人觉得邪恶。”
近八年后的1999年，在斯科特和斯普林斯汀认罪后，四人全部被捕。他们后来翻供，称自己是被迫认罪的。斯普林斯汀和斯科特被审判并定罪，但后来基于宪法理由推翻了这些定罪。随后的DNA检测排除了这四人的作案嫌疑。莫里斯·皮尔斯从未被定罪，但在2003年获释前，他在狱中度过了三年时光。
金伯利·皮尔斯表示，她的丈夫回家后变得冷酷强硬。她认为警方在他获释后继续骚扰莫里斯和他们的家人。2010年，莫里斯·皮尔斯因一起常规交通拦截被拦下，他徒步逃跑，随后被一名奥斯汀警官开枪击毙，该警官称皮尔斯用刀刺伤了他。
玛丽莎和金伯利·皮尔斯告诉《48小时》，他们打算重新调查莫里斯·皮尔斯死亡当晚的情况。玛丽莎·皮尔斯以充满情感的新细节透露，事发时她正与父亲通电话。她认为父亲当时惊慌失措，只是想逃跑，并没有伤害任何人。她描述了父亲的最后时刻：“在那最后的时刻，他刚说完‘对不起，我觉得你不会再见到我了，我爱你’。”
《48小时》就皮尔斯夫妇关于骚扰的指控以及他们对莫里斯·皮尔斯2010年死亡的疑问联系了奥斯汀警察局。警方表示他们没有额外评论。
对皮尔斯一家来说，和解只是一个起点，而非终点。他们提出了七项拟议的改革措施，希望奥斯汀市能够批准，包括在未成年人接受讯问时指定儿童辩护人、禁止欺骗性审讯策略、向青少年宣传他们的权利，以及建立问责措施以解决警方调查中的隧道视野问题。
在一份分享给《48小时》的声明中，皮尔斯一家写道：“真正的正义不仅在于事后承认伤害，更在于建立保障措施，防止未来的家庭遭受同样的痛苦。”
“It’s blood money”: Family of exonerated man in Texas yogurt shop murders speaks out after settlement
June 26, 2026 / 7:00 AM EDT / CBS News
By Megan Marcus
The widow and the daughter of Maurice Pierce, one of the four men wrongfully accused in the 1991 Texas yogurt shop murders, have confirmed they signed a multimillion-dollar settlement with the city of Austin.
Kimberli and Marisa Pierce spoke with correspondent Erin Moriarty in a new episode of the podcast “48 Hours: Case by Case.” Moriarty has reported on the yogurt shop murders for over 30 years.
Maurice Pierce’s widow Kimberli made clear that their priority has never been financial compensation.”It’s blood money for us. He died for this money,” Kimberli Pierce said. “It’s about the reform and the changes that need to happen, not only in Austin, but apparently across the country.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DRT2wy20X4
They also went into great detail about what they believe happened when Maurice Pierce was shot and killed by police in 2010.
Maurice Pierce was one of four men, along with Michael Scott, Robert Springsteen and Forrest Welborn, who were wrongfully accused in the murders of four teenage girls in Austin on Dec. 6, 1991. Eliza Thomas, Amy Ayers, and sisters Jennifer and Sarah Harbison were tied up, shot and left inside the yogurt shop as it was set ablaze.
The four men were exonerated in February after investigators linked another man, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the killings. The city of Austin subsequently offered a $35 million settlement. Because Maurice Pierce died in 2010, his share of $10 million will go to Kimberli and Marisa Pierce.
Eight days after the killings, 16-year-old Maurice Pierce was arrested at a mall, carrying a .22, the same caliber handgun connected to the crime. Kimberli Pierce said police told Maurice Pierce that his gun was the murder weapon. He responded by mentioning his friend Forrest Welborn. Maurice Pierce was then wired up and sent to speak with Welborn, but investigators ultimately determined that Welborn and the others knew nothing about the murders, and no charges were filed at that time.
Marisa Pierce has said there was no evidence when her father was questioned, “only a detective and a narrative, a narrative so completely false. It feels evil.”
From left, Maurice Pierce, Forrest Welborn, Michael Scott and Robert Springsteen were exonerated in February 2026 after investigators linked another man, Robert Eugene Brashers, to the December 1991 killings of four teenage girls in an Austin, Texas, yogurt shop. CBS News/AP
Nearly eight years later, in 1999, all four men were arrested after Scott and Springsteen confessed to the murders. They later recanted, saying they had been coerced. Springsteen and Scott were tried and convicted, but later those convictions were overturned on constitutional grounds. A subsequent DNA test excluded all four men. Maurice Pierce was never convicted but spent three years in jail before his release in 2003.
Kimberli Pierce said her husband came home a hardened man. She believes police continued to harass Maurice and their family after his release. In 2010, Maurice Pierce was stopped for a routine traffic stop, fled on foot, and was shot and killed by an Austin police officer who said Pierce had stabbed him with a knife.
Marisa and Kimberli Pierce told “48 Hours” that they intend to review the circumstances surrounding the night of Maurice Pierce’s death. Marisa Pierce revealed in new, emotional detail that she was on the phone with her father at the time. She believes he panicked and was only trying to get away, not to hurt anyone. She described her father’s last breaths: “And in those last moments, he had just said I’m sorry, I don’t think you’re gonna see me again, and I love you.”
“48 Hours” reached out to the Austin Police Department about the Pierces’ allegations of harassment and their questions about Maurice Pierce’s death in 2010. The police department said they had no additional comment.
For the Pierce family, the settlement is a starting point, not an end point. They have put forward seven proposed reforms they hope the city of Austin will approve, including appointing a child advocate whenever a minor is questioned, prohibiting deceptive interrogation tactics, educating juveniles about their rights and establishing accountability measures to address tunnel vision in police investigations.
In a statement shared with “48 Hours,” the Pierces wrote: “Real justice is not only about acknowledging harm after the fact but about creating safeguards that prevent future families from enduring the same pain.”
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