IT
IT WAS
IT WAS A
IT WAS A TRAGEDY THAT STRUCK AT THE VERY HEART OF AUSTIN.
FOUR TEENAGE GIRLS MURDERED IN A
YOGURT SHOP IN
1991.
NOW, 28 YEARS LATER, FORMER KVUE
REPORTER DICK ELLIS
RETURNS TO VISIT THE FAMILIES OF
THE GIRLS WHO
STILL STRUGGLE WITH THEIR LOSS.
TONIGHT, THE SECOND PART OF OUR
CRIME FILES SERIES ON
THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS.
MUSIC
MUSIC :
MUSIC : THIS WAS AT A TIME WHEN THIS
DIDN'T HAPPEN IN AUSTIN.
:
: THIS
: THIS WAS AT A TIME WHEN THIS DIDN'T HAPPEN IN AUSTIN.
THESE WERE CHILDREN. THEY WERE
17, 18 AND 13, AND WHAT
HAPPENED TO THEM WAS JUST
HORRIFIC.
:
HORRIFIC. : THESE GIRLS WERE REALLY
BEAUTIFUL
BEAUTIFUL GIRLS. THEY RAN TRACK, THEY WERE CHEERLEADERS. THEY DID ALL
SORTS OF GOOD, SALT-OF-
THE-EARTH TYPE THINGS. THEY
WERE WONDERFUL. THEY WERE
BEAUTIFUL. AND
BEAUTIFUL. AND
THEY'RE
THEY'RE DEAD. A BACKYARD WEDDING IN 1989. IT WAS HERE AT HER
MOTHER'S WEDDING THAT MOST OF
WHAT LITTLE HOME
VIDEO THERE IS OF ELIZA THOMAS
WAS TAKEN. CUTTING
UP IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA, OR
SOME QUIET TIME WITH HER
MOM ON THE COACH, ARE SOME OF
THE FEW VIDEO
MEMORIES THERE ARE OF 17 YEAR
OLD ELIZA.
ELIZA WANTED TO BE A MODEL. AND
SHE LOVED COUNTRY AND
WESTERN MUSIC AND DANCING.
I THINK ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I
MISS THE VERY MOST WAS
WHEN SHE AND HER FRIEND MICHELLE
WOULD GO OUT
DANCING AND MICHELLE WOULD COME
OVER AND THEY
WOULD SPEND ABOUT AN HOUR OR SO
GETTING READY. AND
THEN THEY HAD THIS.
. RITUAL OF TAKING PICTURES OF
EACH OTHER.
THEY WOULD PUT THEIR ARMS AROUND
EACH
EACH OTHER, AND THE HOLD THE CAMERA ONE WOULD HOLD THE CAMERA
AND CLICK, THEN THE NEXT ONE
WOULD DO IT.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THE LEVEL OF
THEIR DESPERATION
WANTING TO KNOW WHO DID THIS,
AND
AND THEIR
AND THEIR DESPERATION NOT WANTING TO BELIEVE THAT THEIR DAUGHTERS HAD
BEEN KILLED.
BARBARA NOW AYRES-WILSON
LOST HER ENTIRE
HERITAGE.BOTH OF HER DAUGHTERS. THESE BALLOONS HERE ARE FROM SARAH'S LAST
BIRTHDAY.
BIRTHDAY.
BARBARA
BARBARA AND FRANK SARACI SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN THEIR DAUGHTERS' ROOMS. THE GIRLS, CLOSE IN AGE
AND THE
THINGS THEY LIKED TO DO, HAD
THEIR INDIVIDUAL
ACTIVITIES AS WELL.
JENNIFER AND SARAH SHARED A
PASSION: FFA - RAISING SHEEP.
AND THE FUNNY THINGS IS, THEY
JUST
JUST REALLY LOVED THOSE ANIMALS THEY JUST LOVED THEM.
WE
WE HAVE
WE HAVE PICTURES OF THEM KISSING ON THE FACE, NOSE TO NOSE. THEY WERE SO FUNNY.
IN FACT, THIS IS JENNIFER'S PIN
FROM THE YOGURT STORE
FOR HER UNIFORM. I DIDN'T KNOW
THIS WAS HERE.
WE HAD A HERD YESTERDAY THAT RAN
THROUGH OF 40
DEER.
DEER. THERE ARE LOTS OF DEER AND THEY ARE SO BEAUTIFUL TOO.
SO, WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO
KNOW ABOUT
BARBARA TODAY?
THAT I'M WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT
GOD'S BLESSED ME AND HE'S
GIVEN ME 7 GRANDCHILDRE N AND
I'M GOOD I'M REALLY,
REALLY GOOD. JENNIFER AND SARAH
ARE ALWAYS WITH ME
AND I THINK I'VE MADE THE BEST
OF A WORSE SITUATION I
MAY BE WRONG, BUT I THINK I HAVE
MADE THE BEST OF A
WORSE SITUATION.
IF THERE WAS EVER ANYONE WHO
NEARLY WAS BORN IN
THE SADDLE IT WAS AMY AYERS.
RAISED ON RANCHES IN
CLEBURNE AND JACKSBORO, AMY WAS
A LITTLE SELF-
CONSCIOUS ABOUT BEING A COWGIRL
WHEN HER FAMILY
MOVED TO AUSTIN IN 1985.
WHAT DOES THIS ROOM REFLECT OF
HER?
WELL I THINK IT SHOWS YOU SOME
OF HE INTERESTS.
GEORGE STRAIT IS ON EVERY WALL
IN HER ROOM. SHE'S AN
ANIMAL LOVER. SHE REALLY LOVED
CATS, AND HORSES
WERE HER FAVORITE
WE'RE SUFFERING EVERYDAY AND ITS
NOT GETTING
ANY BETTER. I HATE TO SAY. THEY
SAY
SAY IN
SAY IN TIME IT WILL, BUT ITS NOT ANY BETTER TODAY THAN IT WAS THE SATURDAY
MORNING THEY TOLD ME IT
HAPPENED.
WE'RE MAKING IT. ITS NOT THE
LIFE
LIFE WE
LIFE WE WOULD LIKE TO BE LIVING. THERE ARE HAPPY MOMENTS, BUT THERE ARE SAD
ONES. IT'S JUST SOMETHING YOU
MUST LEARN TO LIVE WITH. AND
THIS IS THE HAND THAT WE WERE
DEALT,
DEALT, AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE ANYTHING ELSE FROM ME. I'VE GOT TWO
GRANDKIDS, A SON AND A
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW, AND THEY
KEEP ME GOING. IF IT WEREN'T FOR
THEM,
THEM, I
THEM, I DON'T WHERE I WOULD BE - BUT WE'RE MAKING IT WE'VE COME A LONG WAY. WE'VE
ALWAYS HAD A GOOD
MARRIAGE AND I CAN'T SAY IT'S
BEEN DAMAGED IN ANY WAY. IF
ANYTHING, IT'S MADE US STRONGER
TOGETHER.
MUSIC
TOGETHER. MUSIC
MUSIC
IF
IF YOU
IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE YOGURT SHOP MURDERS...
REGARDLESS OF HOW
INSIGNIFICANT YOU THINK IT MIGHT
BE, HERE ARE SOME
PHONE NUMBERS YOU CAN CALL...
YOU CAN REMAIN
ANONYMOUS.
BOTH NUMBERS ARE ON YOUR SCREEN
AND ON KVUE DOT COM...