It wasn't until 1997 that police took another hard look at a man interviewed within days of the shootings. Pierce, who was 16 at the time, had been arrested carrying a .22-caliber pistol in a mall a week after the slayings. It was the same caliber pistol used to kill the girls. Pierce had told police the gun was used in the killings but that he lent it to Welborn. Investigators decided then he was lying, and neither man was arrested.
Police say both men confessed and knew intimate details of the crime.
Lawyers for both men say their statements were coerced. In fact, defense lawyers say, outside of those statements, investigators have little, if any, evidence against their clients. There are no fingerprints, DNA or even a probable murder weapon. Prosecutors have not revealed what other evidence they may have. But under Texas law, Springsteen's own words may be all prosecutors need.