What they said

Austin 360 Staff

Posted: Oct. 6, 1999

 

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson:

"There probably has been no single event in our community that has made us feel less like a sleepy college town than the murders of those four young girls. For almost eight years we've all waited to hear the words that our police department is close to solving a crime that has haunted our very souls. ... Today we finally get to hear those words.

As a community, we can hopefully, finally, begin the process of healing.

These families and friends of the girls have somehow managed to persevere with the knowledge that someday this crime would be solved. They make us able to say 'Sarah, Jennifer, Amy and Eliza, we did not forget.'"

 

Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle:

"No one who lived in this community will ever forget hearing about this crime the next morning. We have all taken it personally for all these years."

 

Austin Police Chief Stan Knee:

"I am extremely proud of the police department. For eight years they have dealt with this horrible crime. They have worked leads that wound up in dead-end alleys. But they have kept up their energy levels and their focus ... and brought these four individuals into custody to hold them accountable ... for the brutal murder of four little girls."