Barbara George was found shot in the back room of the Clinton Township comic book store she owned with her husband, Michael. It was shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, July 13, 1990. Michael said he had left the store around 4:30 p.m. to take their daughters to his mother’s house in Hazel Park. His mother backed him up. The original investigator accepted the alibi, and the case went seventeen years without charges. [1]
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The call to the store
When police reopened the investigation in 2007, they took another look at a customer’s call to the store that Friday. Michael Renaud was sure he had spoken to Michael George, who seemed in a hurry to hang up. His estimate of the time shifted. He first put it at 6 p.m., then between 5:15 and 5:45, and later said 5:15 to 5:30 was most likely. His recollection gave jurors a reason to question whether George had stayed at his mother’s house. The shooting itself had no eyewitness, and the appellate court’s account identifies no physical evidence linking George to it. [1]
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The robbery explanation
George said Barbara could have been killed during an attempted robbery. He filed a claim for 77 comic books he said were stolen and collected $12,604 from the property insurer. He separately collected $125,000 in life insurance. Prosecutors argued that he had used a false claim to support the robbery account. They also presented evidence that he wanted out of the marriage and was seeing a woman he later married. [1]
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The tip sheets
In 2008, a jury convicted George of murder and three other offenses. The trial judge ordered a new trial after the defense learned that prosecutors had failed to disclose police tip sheets. One, dated July 29, 1990, suggested a possible alternative suspect who knew both Georges and might have had a reason to rob the store. The tip gave the defense a way to question what police had done with other leads. In 2010, the appeals court upheld the new-trial order. [1]
At the 2011 retrial, the defense again presented the alibi and questioned the investigation, this time with the tip evidence available. Jurors convicted George of first-degree premeditated murder, insurance fraud, false pretenses and a firearm offense. The court imposed a life sentence for the murder. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed in 2013, and the state Supreme Court declined review in 2014. [1] [2]
Case brief
Clinton Township, Michigan · 1990
- Recorded outcome
- First conviction in 2008 set aside; retrial convictions in 2011 affirmed May 21, 2013; Michigan Supreme Court denied leave February 28, 2014.
Key moments
People in this case
- Michael George
Convicted of murdering Barbara George
Photo in public profile · Michigan Department of Corrections · enter 684257 and select the matching result
Look closer · 9 visuals
Inside the evidence.
Open a visual to explore what it contributed to the case—and the limits of what it shows. Photographs, historical reproductions and original illustrations are individually labeled. Open the notes for each image’s source, credit, and limitations; setting photographs do not depict crime scenes.
A phone call with a moving time
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Renaud maintained who answered but gave different time estimates.
The illustration is not a phone-company log or recording.
An alibi spanning two towns
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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The court described a return trip as a permissible jury inference.
No exact route, driving time or witnessed return is claimed.
What the robbery left behind
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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The remaining valuables challenged the robbery theory alongside insurance evidence.
This is not an inventory photograph.
The missing tips mattered
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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Failure to disclose alternative-suspect material helped undo the first conviction.
The tips did not prove that another named person committed murder.
Evidence and inference
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The second judgment rested on a combined circumstantial case.
No single diagram makes the disputed call conclusive.
Two juries, two legal stages
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The final reviewed conviction followed a retrial.
The 2014 leave denial is separately linked.
Macomb County Courthouse in Mount Clemens
Geographic context photograph — not a crime-scene image.
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Macomb County Courthouse in Mount Clemens. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene image or evidence of an event shown on the map.
This photograph provides setting or historical context. It is not an authentic crime exhibit. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
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St. Paul of Tarsus Church in Clinton Township
Geographic context photograph — not a crime-scene image.
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St. Paul of Tarsus Church in Clinton Township. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene image or evidence of an event shown on the map. No affiliation with the victim or the case is implied.
This photograph provides setting or historical context. It is not an authentic crime exhibit. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Dclemens1971 · Image source · CC BY 4.0
The Detroit skyline, regional context
Geographic context photograph — not a crime-scene image.
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The Detroit skyline, regional context. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene image or evidence of an event shown on the map.
This photograph provides setting or historical context. It is not an authentic crime exhibit. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Michael Tighe · Image source · CC0
★ Key evidence used in a conviction · ✓ Exclusion or reversal · ◇ Disputed evidence · ⊘ Excluded at retrial · ◆ Identity / investigative finding, not a conviction. A symbol does not mean one item proved the whole case.
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Follow the dated entries, then select an event to find its regional setting. Shared-location pins open a group of events. Evidence symbols identify important findings and their limitations.
Open the map in its own window ↗Sources & further reading
- People v. George, 307879 — Michigan Court of Appeals1990 evidence, contested alibi, missing tips, 2008 and 2011 trials, judgment affirmance. Unpublished opinion.
- People v. George, 495 Mich 946 — Michigan Supreme Court orderDenied application for leave to appeal, rather than a new trial finding.
Editorial review: 2026-11-12 · 414 words