The prosecution began with a history of Fuentes’ 26-year career with the police department. After a lengthy interview, Fuentes was asked to read Scott's statement to the jury. (Details of Scott's statement available in this summary.)
“I have confessed to my father and my best friend in my part in the girls death,” Scott told detectives on Sept. 14, 1999.
Scott said that on Dec. 6, 1991, he, Pierce, Springsteen and Welborn were at Northcross Mall and Pierce said he needed money and the easiest way to get it was to rob some place.
Scott talked about casing the yogurt shop and then returning later to commit the robbery. He said as they got out of the car to go into the shop Pierce and Springsteen had drawn their guns and that Pierce told him to bring along Zippo lighter fluid to cover their tracks. In his statement, Scott admitted to sexually assaulting one of the girls and shooting two of them in the head. He said he stole a knife from the yogurt shop. He also said that he stacked the bodies of (three of) the girls and then topped them with paper products, poured the lighter fluid on them and set them on fire.
In other statements to police, Scott said that he had smoked a lot of marijuana to fight the nightmares he was having about that night.
The defense kept Fuentes on the stand until 4:25 p.m. with cross-examination. Attorney Carlos Garcia questioned him on interrogation and investigation techniques, his experience as a homicide investigator and his knowledge of the case.
Garcia’s main point to the jury was that although Fuentes took Scott’s statement, he had not read through any of the Maurice Pierce tips file that led to Scott’s questioning, or any of the crime scene reports or scientific analysis of the crime scene data. He said that Fuentes could not spot inconsistencies between the evidence and Scott’s statement. Fuentes admitted that he had never compared the two for accuracy.
Parents of victims testify
Bob Ayers, Amy’s father, was the second witness called. He was questioned by lead prosecutor Robert Smith.
He began his testimony with a deep breath and said Amy was an eighth-grader at Burnet Junior High School and that her relationship with Sarah Harbison, her best friend, was a special one. He said he knew girls through the agricultural program at Lanier High School. He told of the girls’ plans to shop and meet at the yogurt shop for a sleepover at the Harbison house. He said he and his wife Pam left Amy at the house to go Christmas shopping because the Harbisons were on the way to pick her up. It was the last time they saw her.
A lot of the parents’ testimony centered on what clothes the girls were wearing. Photographic evidence was later introduced by the defense of several pieces of clothing that didn’t belong to any of the girls or other employees of the yogurt shop. Bob Ayers said Amy had her brother’s leather bomber jacket, which has not been recovered. Ayers’ leather belt is also still missing.
When showed a picture of Amy to be introduced into evidence, through tears he said, “This is picture of my daughter.” Under cross-examination Ayers said that his daughter always wanted to be a veterenarian. She was born and raised on a ranch, he said. She showed cutting horses. “Luckily, she was a daddy’s girl. Me and her spent a lot of time together. Momma got it toward the end of that teen year. She was always in Wranglers and boots. She loved to fish. She loved her brothers. She was just a good little girl.”
Barbara Ayres Wilson, the mother of the Harbison girls, was the next witness. She was questioned by Darla Davis. She told of her daughters Jennifer, 17, a senior at Lanier who worked at the yogurt shop and Sarah, 15, a freshman at Lanier. Jennifer was president of her FFA chapter and vice president of the regional organization. Sarah raised lambs for show and was on the student council and a junior varsity cheerleader.
Ayres said she got home early on Friday, Dec. 6, 1991, to find Sarah sitting on the sofa, in a good mood, peeling an orange and smiling. Through tears, Ayres said Sarah didn’t have basketball practice and she was happy that she was going to get to spend time with Amy. She asked where Jennifer was – at her boyfriend’s house. She said the two were in a very serious relationship. She said “they were seniors and were looking at a junior college that would take a young baseball player and a little girl who wanted to be his wife.”
Ayres said eventually Jennifer came home to pick up Sarah, then to pick up Amy and head to work. She said 6 p.m. was the last time she saw them.
She too was asked describe what her daughters wore. On cross-examination, Garcia asked Ayres about the unidentified clothing. He asked her about the sizes and weight of the girls. She couldn’t remember one of the girl’s weight. Garcia asked her if she remembered to tell him another day. “You can find it on the autopsy report,” she answered.
He also asked her about death threats Jennifer received at home, two in one day, in November 1991. Ayres said she dismissed the calls as pranks but her daughter was scared so her husband at the time had the phone traced.
James Thomas, Eliza’s father, was called next and questioned by Smith. He said his daughter was a 17-year-old senior at Lanier High School. She had worked to buy her own car and pay her own insurance. He stopped by the yogurt shop with his wife Norma Fowler on the night of the murders. They stayed for about 20 minutes, he said, talking to Eliza.
Thomas also was questioned about his daughter’s clothing. He said he remembered other girls being in the shop in a booth who could have been Amy and Sarah but he did not know them. Garcia also questioned him about the clothing.
Maria Thomas, Eliza’s mother, was the last witness called. She now lives in Oregon but lived in Austin at the time. She said she spent the morning of that day driving Eliza to visit the pigs she raised for show. She saw Eliza again between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. when she stopped by the yogurt shop. She said there were very few people there and she stayed for 20 or 30 minutes. Eliza was washing dishes in the back while Jennifer helped customers. She said Amy and Sarah came into the shop with pizzas.
Thomas said a man she and Eliza knew came into the store and ordered yogurt. She said two young men came into the store, and one asked to use the bathroom and the other ordered something, but she didn’t know what. The boys were white and about the same age as the girls, she said. She said the man she knew left, then she left herself, but the boy who used the restroom never came back out.
She, too, was questioned about the clothing. Garcia questioned Maria Thomas about a timeline to establish when she was in the shop. At 6:30 she talked to Eliza because she had to be at work by 7 p.m. She said at 8:45 p.m. she got home and went to the gym. But it was closed so she went to the yogurt shop, arriving just after 9 p.m. However, the man that she and Eliza knew said he was there at 9:45 p.m.
Garcia asked why statements she gave in 1992 and 1997 didn’t mention the two boys. She said she couldn’t remember. She said after speaking with the man she knew in the store she may have remembered more. Garcia asked if her memory was tainted by the man. She said she didn’t know. Garcia asked if she had ever been shown pictures or lineups of the four boys prior to 1999. She said no.
After hearing from five witnesses, at 5:48 p.m., court was recessed until Friday morning.
The first two rows of the prosecution’s side of the courtroom were filled with the usual complement of family members. A victim’s services agent gave the family members pink goodie bags with tissues and candy. Barbara Ayres, mother of the Harbison girls, kept her hands busy with Silly Putty as she waited through Fuentes’ cross-examination. One the defense’s side was Jeannine Scott, the defendant’s wife, and her mother.
Springsteen attorneys Alexandra Gauthier and Berkley Bettis also made an appearance.
The judge also told the jury that there would be no court on Labor Day.
