Dec. 6, 1991 went down in history as the night Austin lost its innocence. It was one of the city's most notorious crimes: the yogurt shop murders.

Four teenage girls were murdered inside an I Can't Believe it's Yogurt franchise in North Austin.

Barbara Ayres-Wilson lost two daughters that night.

"These girls were slaughtered, they were slaughtered and it was
just awful," she said.

Seventeen-year-olds Eliza Thomas and Jennifer Harbison started to close up the store on Anderson Lane that night. Also inside was Jennifer's 15-year-old sister Sarah and their friend Amy Ayers, 13.

What happened in the next hour would change Austin forever. The four teenage girls were bound, gagged, raped and shot in
the head. The crime scene was then set on fire. Memories are all that's left.

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	Yogurt shop murders It's been 15 years since four teenage girls were murdered inside a frozen yogurt shop in North Austin.

Ayers was an eighth-grader at Burnet Middle School. Thomas and Jennifer were seniors at Lanier High School, and Sarah was a freshman there.

At the memorial site in the parking lot of the old store, friends heading to eat in the nearby strip mall on Wednesday stopped to say hello and give their condolences to Ayres-Wilson.

The paint is peeling off the fence, the landscape gravel is almost gone, yet the names and memory lay set in stone. It's a memorial that reminds Austin of the horrific murders that happened here 15 years ago.

"Times have changed, kids have grown up and life goes on for some. And we can't help but take this day to reflect on the ones that didn't make it," Ayres-Wilson said.

The unexpected tragedy made a drastic change in the lives of
their families.

"Your whole life revolves around before that happened and after it
happened. Oh, that happened before the girls were murdered or after that they were murdered. That's a point of reference in my life," Ayres-Wilson said.

	For more information
Check out News 8 Austin's comprehensive coverage of the yogurt shop murders, including a timeline of events.

Ayres-Wilson has since divorced and remarried after the deaths of Jennifer and Sarah. Eliza's parents, Maria and James Thomas, also divorced and both moved out of the state. Amy's parents Bob and Pam still live in Central Texas.

Those who knew the girls say it's a time of reflection, not on
what happened that night 15 years ago, but on who they were.

"The murders is how their life ended but who they were was really special," Ayres-Wilson said.