The Yogurt Shop Murders

As a true crime aficionado, I was really excited for this documentary. The YSM is one of the most fascinating unsolved cases ever, imo. I really hope this picks up the pace soon. Very boring. Almost nothing about the actual crime. Seems like bio on the personal lives of friends/family/police at the time. Very disappointing so far.

I'm at a loss as to how-given the misery and loss blast zone around this crime, atop the intricacies and boondoggles of the investigation-HBO put forth such a listless, unfocused documentary.

The first episode did a tremendous job of bringing the girls and their families' loss to life. Barbara Ayres-Wilson (Sarah and Jennifer's mother) describing the anguish of family as she broke the news of lost souls to them, one by one, brought me to tears.

And then the doc went off a cliff...

Episode two gave us the spectacle of a private detective (with her posse of armchair vultures) directing grief-stricken parents to hang wind chimes in her tree ('Isn't it fun?') to represent their daughter's voice. And the school administrator showing us a plaque for a girl she never knew. This is vital, how?

Episode three illustrates the utter failure of the Austin PD-plus the judge who apparently flunked constitutional law-and the mind-blowing truth that anyone connected to law enforcement still believes Robert Springsteen or Michael Scott had anything to do with this.

I'm left wondering if the filmmakers had to pull punches to get the families' and Austin PD's cooperation. And why, three episodes in, we've yet to hear a theory of the crime, or see anything like a crime scene reconstruction.

Hard stuff, yes. But how else do you solve it?

I was hoping to see the case (as well the girls and their families) brought to urgent life. As in, something that might produce fresh leads?

What I hoped to see, and didn't, was any hint of a new investigative push.

A great documentary could've been made of the lives lost and unsettled aftermath for all affected. Or the volume and impact of false confessions. But TYSM is not that.

I can't stand to watch another episode.

I feel so sad for the families that this series did not do the story justice. It was so slow and drawn out. As my husband and I watched the first episode, we felt it was a little scattered and slow, but gave it the benefit of the doubt and continued watching. After it finished, we hoped the second episode would be better. We were skeptical but hopeful. We waited the week and watched the second. It was maybe a smidge better in some regards, worse in others. Unfortunately, we gave up and won't be watching the remaining episodes. I'll read about it and watch other docs or YouTube videos to learn more about this story.

The two episodes I have seen so far have been excruciatingly slow and boring beyond belief. This entire series thus far has been less about the actual case itself, and more about how it has impacted people close to the case in the most uninteresting approach possible. A great example is in episode 2, when the filmmakers visit the school of one of the victims to show us a small memorial for her at night, talking to someone who works for the school who has no relation to the victims and may not have even been alive when the murders took place.

With no new developments in this case and seemingly no interesting directions to go, this has to be one of the worst true crime documentaries I have ever seen.

The first episode was informative and the whole series could have been wrapped up in 2 hour long episodes. The next episodes became increasingly boring and hard to watch as there was no information after the DNA and the whole series is spliced together news clips, understandably emotional discussions with family members and cuts to the woman who did the original work that was shelved and revived. It should have been condensed. She is also looks strange, as if she just got out of bed, for all her on air segments. Hair messy, no make-up or decent clothing, and monotone answers. I would like to see a documentary on missing New England nurse Maura Murray next. Hopefully science will be able to determine the offender from the partial DNA sample in the future but many times, the criminal will have died.