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store but not that night. >> they said we can't go through somebody was killed. >> she was a young wife and mother minding the store for her husband, was it robbery? revenge? or something else? >> we might want to look at his relationship with his employee. >> years past without an arrest, but for one prosecutor this cold case was personal. >> that was the case that was unsolved. >> the clues that lovers tranquil, cash and updated lady. >> he said it looked like a woman in figure, a really thin guy. >> mystery with so many head snapping turns. it took two trials. >> you 18 years for justice, only to have the carpet pulled off from under you. >> to uncover the truth. >> we have a verdict. >> what was it the truth? >> and adultery is a person who has an evil thing, that does not make a murderer.

>> i looked at him and said let's go to the comic book store and help with the party. we pulled up at the party the police stop this, i knew immediately all the crime scene tape was there and they said you can't go through, were investigating a homicide. they're investigating the comic book story. >> the comic book story was a mom and pop shop at a strip mall outside of detroit, out by the register, fans of the fancy big guy, hulk, ex man, but in the storage space and back was an ugly reality. one of the shop owners, the woman was on the floor with a life draining out of her. customers had found her. >> most of the time we were there friday night. it >> was july of 1990 friday the 13th when tom and lenore board stopped by the comic book stopped before going out to dinner.

they liked buying from that woman there, barbed. >> she knew our names, mediately when we would walk and she would light up with a smile. many times she would actually come around the counter to greet us. >> but not on this early evening, just after 6 p. m. tom and lenora had thumbed through the bins and found their comic, but no one was there to take their money, not barb or her husband michael, the co-owner. >> it wasn't uncommon that someone wouldn't get the cash register, but this was a longer than normal time so we thought we would stick around just to make sure, you know, because we liked her. >> the teenage customers were itchy to go. they peeked into the back room. they were the first to see barb. >> they cried out, "there's somebody back here. " and at that time, tom and i rushed to the back storage area and found barb -- on the floor. >> we thought she perhaps had fallen backwards and hit her head. >> i noticed that she was blue

around her mouth. her pupils were dilated and big. and i could not find a pulse. >> lenora happened to be a nurse and took charge. she noticed only a small amount of blood and concluded that barb had suffered a heart attack or a seizure. she told her husband to call 911, while she began administering cpr. >> i had never done cpr on someone that i knew and loved. it was, "please god, let this be ok. she's a mother. " >> as the ambulance rushed barb to the hospital, lenora ward felt she'd done her professional best, but she wasn't at all sure her prayers would be answered. >> i knew that she was medically in dire straits. >> the woman rushed into the emergency room that evening was 32-year-old barbara george. she'd put on weight after having the two children, but she was physically fit, an enthusiastic softball and volleyball player. doctors and nurses began working feverishly to get a pulse, thumping the woman's chest in rapid bursts.

-- but after 15 minutes, it was all over. a doctor pronounced barb george dead. it fell to the nurse to clean up the body for the family to view. that's when she saw it. >> when we were straightening up her hair--we noticed some blood on the top of her head. i noticed there was a small hole. my first thought as a nurse was there had to be a bullet hole there. >> it didn't seem like a could happen to such a good person. >> back at the comic book shop friends and family continue to arrive for what was supposed to be a surprise birthday party that night for michael george. barb's husband. what a pleasant night it should have been. with toes, the singing of happy

birthday and all of the superheroes from his beloved marvel and action comics looking on. all those guess now stone to find the party turned into a crime scene. and barbed, the hostess, dead. >> coming up, what could be two key clues to solving the mystery. right after the murder, witnesses reported seeing a speeding car. >> and we both thought to ourselves and then send it to each other, that cars going too fast. and a man waiting outside the comic book shop. >> and it was a dark outfit for the time of the year. a fisherman's cap, some would describe it. >> when dateline continues. continues ♪breeze driftin' on by...♪ ♪...you know how i feel.♪ you don't have to take... [coughing] ...copd sitting down. ♪it's a new dawn,...♪ ♪...it's a new day,♪ it's time to make a stand. ♪and i'm feelin' good.♪ start a new day with trelegy. no once-daily copd... ...medicine has the power

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just look around. this digital age prevention. we're living in, it's pretty unbelievable. problem is, not everyone's fully living in it. nobody should have to take a class or fill out a medical form on public wifi with a screen the size of your hand. home internet shouldn't be a luxury. everyone should have it and now a lot more people can. so let's go. >> they're holding the wall the digital age is waiting. shop comics world had been barb and michael's george passion. he collected thousands of comics over the years, and he like superheroes adventures way more than he liked selling

insurance. so with some help from barbs parents they took the challenge and open their little shop in a michigan strip mall in the winter of 1988. joe's barbs brother and we met joe removing dense and pins from cars. back in 1990 he was -- amid her on the softball fields where she was a standout. i >> used to go to her games and remember going to the tournaments with the family, you know, she was your typical older sister. she was always there to help you. >> favre had been brought up in a traditional polish catholic family and when she found her man, michael george marriage became the organizing principle of her life. we are happy right? >> very happy, yes. she couldn't wait. >> and when children came along, two girls barbara george seemed complete. >> her kids were her pride and joy, i think that was everything to her. the >> night of friday the 13th,

brother joe and his then girlfriend now mary drove over to the comic shop for what was supposed to be a celebration. barb surprise party in the store for michael, he was turning 30. michael's mother was going to keep the two kids at her house for the weekend while they took off after the party for a cozy couple of days at a lodge. that would've been a friday night and i was going to be a romantic weekend? >> right. >> a weekend not meant to be, because by the time joe and mary got to the comic bookstore just after 9:00 that was confusion, cop cars. >> we pull up and joe road in the police stopped us and they said you can't go through were investigating a homicide, somebody was killed. >> i mediately thought mike because i thought no one hated my sister, absolutely nobody. >> but the victim wasn't mike, it was joe's sister and it was up to detective sergeant donald to make sense of the senseless. he had been the investigator on-duty when the hospital called that they had a woman

come in with a single gunshot to the head. >> so now we had a full blown homicide. >> you know it's gonna be a long night? >> yes. >> as a detective teams scoured the strip mall dumpsters for maybe a tossed weapon, clothing, something, he turned the few facts he had so far. a woman with children gunned down, execution style, in the back of a little comic book store. police interviewed merchants and customers at the mall, and then anyone had seen anything out of the ordinary? it turned out tom and lenore did. the couple who had given barbara first aid had picked up on something when they had first arrived that evening. a speeding car outside of the comic book shop. >> we both thought to ourselves and then sent it to each other, boy, that car is going to fast. later they would wonder if that was the getaway car. but another observation came to them, who was that guy working outside of the comic book shop? >> he had a dark outfit for the time of the year, a fisherman's cap, that's how i would describe it. >> another man visiting the

strip mall would say he saw a different suspicious character, someone wearing what appeared to be a fake beard. possibly a bearded lady. >> the shop was small, the percentage was wide, aisles of bins filled with comic books out front by the register and a door to the back storage room. barbara george had been found just inside the back room. on the far wall was a locked door that led to the alley. >> inside the comics corner -- >> crime scene techs became videotaping the crime scene. >> this was the cash register. >> there were seven and $50 still in the cash register untouched. in a glass case just behind the till o wall of collectible vintage comics, the good stuff. they hadn't been ransacked. in the storage area, some pins had been toppled over, but the emt might have done that as they rushed in to assist barb george as she lay on the floor. more than $400 would be found in her pockets, good jewelry she was wearing wasn't taken.

later, the medical exam unaided determinants shop owner had been shot from above, the bullet entering almost the very top of the skull, indicating she had been crouching. another bullet has been fired first, police believe. it missed and went through a swimsuit calendar on the wall and into the empty shop on the other side of the sheet rock. if it was a robbery at the comic bookstore it was an unusual one. just after 8:00 detective stephen was told that the husband of the victim had just arrived. >> he identified himself and he said what this going on? we said there has been incident here and was hard to tell you but your wife has been injured. >> injured? >> i told him -- >> not dead? >> we never told him what happened to her. >> he doesn't know what has happened to his wife? >> to our knowledge she had no idea what was going on. and we said you need to go over to the hospital because your wife is seriously injured. >> at the hospital, michael george was informed that his wife had died of a gunshot wound to the head. a few minutes later mary and

his brother in law joe came rushing in. the girlfriend was undone by the awful news. >> i'm blown away, i'm shocked, i wasn't even related to her and i was devastated and i was crying and i was upset. >> but there was someone who didn't seem as upset as mary was. the new widower, michael george. why was she so suspicious of the comic book man? coming up. >> there wasn't one tear in his eye, no swelling going on in his eyes, he had nothing going on, it was all an act. >> and untroubled husband it's a very troubled marriage. >> i didn't see -- their arms were crossed, you wouldn't think that he had any here in the world the way he was carrying out without. >> we started receiving phone calls, we might want to look at his relationship with his employee named rene. >> a little cozy, check it out? >> yes. >> when dateline continues. dateline continues s a shrimp, when you get both. introducing new dockside duos.

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to death in the storage room of the comic book shop she owned with her husband michael, six hours after her murder michael george had returned from the hospital to show the chief detective sergeant -- around what was now a crime scene. the bathroom where barbara was shot is also where he said a robbery must have happened, he noticed two important white boxes were gone. soon as he walked in the back room, he looked and said there were two cardboard boxes full

of very expensive comic books missing. >> so he is saying i had some expensive stuff -- >> to boxes of comic books -- >> and they're gone? >> they're gone. >> he made a written list of stolen comic books from the white boxes an estimated their value $12,600 he later filed an insurance claim for vintage addition of spider-man, green lantern an iron man to name a few. he's talking about robbery, that's his -- >> that's his whole scenario, it has to be robbery. >> at the comic book shop michael george told the detectives he had no idea what had happened to his wife. he said he last seen her only after 4:00 when she believed him behind the counter. he said he took their two kids over to his mom's, and remained there napping on her couch until a little before 8:00 when he returned to the comic book store. detectives document asked michael george to questions that a cop would, when the wife has just been murdered. >> let's get this off right now, where they're any girlfriends? no. or you having any affairs? . no we having any problems with the marriage?

know everything is fine. >> mary sham with the coffin of barbara's brother couldn't make up what he was feeling because his eyes were concealed behind dark sunglasses. >> something that a blind person would wear, something you see stevie wonder where. >> mary sense that michael was acting strange even goofy only increased after a visit to the trailer park home where michael george and barbara had lived. she and joe, barb's brother, had gone over to give michael some support during tough days. >> he comes in and her vacuum is saying that he grabbed the vacuum and embraces the vacuum and he showed more emotion with this vacuum that he did the whole time. >> what is he saying to the vacuum? >> he saying, this was barbara's vacuum, oh my god, she's never gonna use this vacuum again. and then he would go to a blender and say she would never be in this kitchen again. are >> you thinking what's up with this guy? >> i'm looking at him like he was a screwball, cure you are grieving over all these appliances and there wasn't one tear in his eyes, no swelling going on in his eyes, he had

nothing going on, it was all an act. >> the police meanwhile were chasing down bank robbers, insurance policies looking for leads on the speeding car. the man in the greek fisherman's cap, the so-called bearded lady and whether this could have been a botched robbery after all. they were also getting a crash course on the value of vintage comics. unhappily for them the case detectives hadn't found the gun, and hope for forensics like a bloody print just weren't there. the investigators were getting calls on the qt about michael george maybe having across front. when did you learn about his shop assistant name rene? >> that was two days later. we start receiving phone calls from people advising this that we might want to look at his relationship with his employ name rene. >> a little cozy, check it out? >> yes. >> it was barb george who met and befriended renee, renee at their children's school, and brought her to work at the

comic book store. renee had five children and needed the money, her floundering marriage had ended in divorce just three weeks before barbs murder. not long after they married barbara, mary shamo remembers dropping it unexpectedly a comic book shop along with her boyfriend joe and they got a shock. they sought michael and renee, the shop assistant, canoodling. >> they didn't see us pull up, they were close and they were giggling in their arms crossed over to each other and when you lose somebody in your life you kind of look around at the world and say what is going on? what does the world keep moving when i just lost somebody so important? and here this man is just -- he's happy as a clamp. you wouldn't think he had any care in the world where he was carrying out with her. >> michael and renee would set up a new home together with the help of 130,000 lights insurance payout on barb that he had received as beneficiary. is he becoming what cops call a person of interest? >> yes, at that point he was. at that point he had to be. >> he talked to the police casually at the store that

night, then in a more formal interview with the police station six days later, but there would be no followups, according to detective michael george said he would hire an attorney, lawyer. up >> they'd stop talking? >> exactly. >> this is a big unsolved case. >> yes. >> how much frustration is building within the family? >> what can you do? i mean, you can take the law into your own hands but what is going to happen with that? >> did you ever thought about it? >> i felt it. there are times where i felt that i should do something. but, you know i'm a catholic. i couldn't live with it. >> in the comics, superheroes are -- but the comic book shop in the strip mall wasn't. it closed its door in 1992. michael george, the shopowner, and his new wife rene had moved town, they had several some 375 miles east of detroit in --

population 4000. an old coal mining town. on the main drive there they had opened their new shop comics world. with his two kids and renee's five being raised together in their spacious new home, they found friends in the town among the other parents involved in their kids sports teams. michael coach pastor brad's daughter in basketball, he had never missed a game. >> tremendous family man, respected business person in the community. >> jeff lively had the electrical supply chop three blocks down from comics world. >> his life was for the kids. and, i would have to save his life was for running. he treated her like gold. >> the georges endeared themselves were towns -- where families went back for generation and raising money for the make-a-wish foundation. beside his good work, his friend say he was just fun. >> he always had a smile on his face, always joking, everybody enjoyed being around him.

>> michael george had all but severed ties with his murdered wife's family. uncles and in and back in clinton town, michigan rarely saw barbers two girls. come the year 2000, was michael george you've been aware that the longtime chief of police in his former town had passed away? chief robert smith had died without solving the nagging case of the comic book murder. naggin case of the comic book murder. everywhere this time was aware of that, crime and probably more so myself because my dad was chief of police at the time. >> i have written by that story thousand times, just like by every time we go down there, there was something he said. >> it was still gnawing at him? >> there's no question about it. >> four years after his father's death, he was elected to the prosecutor's job. he became responsible for all the criminal cases in clinton town ship and beyond. >> and i can't tell you how

many people came up to me and said that a family member of theirs had been murdered or had been killed and nothing had been done. and you could see the desperation on their face. and they really thought that the system had passed them by. if iâm going to be the chief law-enforcement officer of this county, i can't let people out there think that we don't care. so we started a cold case unit very soon after i came in. >> one of prosecutor smith's first acts in office was to send out a letter to all the police departments in his county asking police chiefs and detectives to look at their old unsolveds with "fresh eyes. " >> i did it with michael george in mind. there's no question in my mind that at the time, while i was hoping that we'd get a lot of cases, i was hoping that clinton township would pick this case up. >> and maybe resolve one for the old man? >> that's it. that's it. that was the case that was unsolved for my old man, for my dad. >> just as he'd hoped, the clinton township p. d. re-opened the dusty comic book murder case and what a surprise the detectives found there. how

could they have missed it all -- >> coming up -- a phone call to the comic book shop that seemed to come out a very bad time. >> he sounded like he was busy, it wasn't already. >> did he say, you know, busy to people in the shop, i gotta go. >> no, it just kept coming back to mind. it was a funnel effect, we started off looking at a lot of things, a lot of people. it just narrowed down to just like a funnel. >> when dateline continues. i'll remember that chapter of my life forever. we laughed, we cried, we protected that progressive home & auto bundle day and night. we were all of us dazzling... like knights sworn to protect our kingdom. we knew it wouldn't last forever, but... that's what made it special -- you know we'll be back tomorrow, right? yeah, but it'll never be today again.

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hot beats flu. our murdered, llewellyn and people have been killed in powerful tornadoes ripping through parts of alabama and georgia. rescuers had to dig into collapsed homes to treat free trapped survivors there. thousands of homes and businesses are without power, just as temperatures are forecast to drop below freezing. and funeral plans are underway for lisa marie presley.

the daughter of elvis presley. she died thursday, after suffering a cardiac arrest. lisa marie will be buried next to her father and son benjamin at graceland mansion in memphis, tennessee. now, back to dateline. tennessee. now, back to dateline. the comic book murder files came out of the archives, and the little -- township for, us to remember that killing at the strip mall. and he took it personally, that someone out there had gotten away with murder. the lieutenant had identified with the victim. >> i was approximately the same age, and had children the same age, and maybe that was just something that stuck with me. >> this is a tough one to pick up the staff. >> i knew that going in, but i had already operated under the theory, you don't shoot you don't score. and i thought i outed to myself, but i outed to barb to. >> detective needed help,

google fashion shoe leather cops, to make the calls not on doors, so he recruited jimmy hall and leni rico, the three of them went into the old boxes, re-reading yellowing police reports. but there's a reason the crimes go into the cold case files, a lack of evidence. the three wondered, if they had one of those here. >> they seem to normal, and finally when we can see the conclusion that it's doable, we need to notify the family, that's why we finally contacted them. >> the cold case detectives were painfully aware of giving barb george's family falls of active 17 years. but in early 2007, the detectives laid out what they found, warts and all to barbara's brother joe and other family members. >> and we were honest with them, we don't know how successful we're gonna be here. >> still, after that meeting with the detectives, barb's family and friends allowed

themselves to be optimistic. >> i told my sister when we walked out of that police station, i said, "something will come out of this. " >> joe and mary -- his girlfriend back then -- had broken up after barbaraâs murder, but they remained close over the years. >> joe called me and he told me what was going on. and my and it's a good, good god's gonna get him. >> the detective started their investigation, as though it were july 13th 1990. and the 19 11 call had just come in. all three of them knew this wasn't going to be an episode of csi, with forensic science saving the day. >> no weapon, no blood smears, no-- >> nothing. >> -- hair fibers -- >> in terms of what people are used to seeing nowadays, with dna and things like that--we didn't have it. we just had to do detective work. >> which means? >> get out there and interview people. >> they say without preconceived theories they

chased down all the old leads again, the speeding car, the mystery man in the greek fisherman's cap. and re-examined the old motive: was it possible that barbara had been shot to death over a pricey collectable comic book? the cold case detectives interviewed over 100 people, and of all those fresh 2007 interviews, the one they did with one man turned out to be the game-changer. his name is mike renaud, a girls'softball coach, now confined to a wheelchair after a swimming pool mishap a few years ago. back in 1990, renaud was a college senior and a "spiderman" fanatic. the detectives learned, renaud had placed a call to the comics world store on july 13, the night of the murder. he thought it had been about 5:30 p. m. or so, about 30 minutes before the murder. the avid collector wanted to know why one of his comic books had zoomed in value. a voice he knew very well answered the phone. it was michael george, the shop owner.

>> he sounded like he was busy. he was in a hurry to get off the phone. >> did he say, you know, âiâm busy. there are people in the shop. i got to go. " >> no, no. it was just a short-- >> just something you could hear in his voice or the way he-- >> we would b. s. a little bit. and there was no time for b. s. >> the cold case cops had struck gold. mike renaud's story was the missing puzzle piece that detectives had been looking for years. renaud's account, if true, did nothing less than demolish michael georgeâs alibi that he'd been napping at his mother's at the time his wife was murdered -- around six pm. renaud's phone call story meant george was lying. renaud swore that he'd talked to the store owner at the comic book shop and their brief conversation must have taken place just minutes before barb was killed. the embarrassing thing about this nugget of a clue was that mike renaud had told the very same story to the police back in 1990, the day after the murder. what looked like a case-breaker in 2007 had simply slipped

through the cracks back when. they'd had it in the case file all along. in clear handwriting, there it was, a record of renaudâs july 14 phone call to the police: "mr. renaud stated that he called'comic world'... (around) 5 30 and talked with the owner michael george. >> well, that's the one piece that was missing. even so, it was a piece that still had flaws as evidence. there were no existing phone logs to corroborate his story or to pin down the exact time he said he placed the call. to this day, former detective donald steckman doesn't know how that note from renaud went astray, but he says he was unaware of the comic book collector's story of talking to the husband in the shop minutes before the murder. >> well, how did you not see it? well, i never saw. if we have seen it, we would not be sitting here today discussing this case 18 years later. >> no doubt-- >> -- be going to-- >> no-- >> -- trial--

>> no doubt about it. >> -- by 1991? >> no doubt about it. >> and now the investigative leads pointed just one way: toward the husband. >> it just kept coming back to mike. and it was like a funnel effect. we started off looking at a lot of things and a lot of people. and it just narrowed down -- just like a funnel. it was time for the cold case detectives to take a road trip to pennsylvania, a trip across miles and time. they were going to make a surprise visit to michael george at comics world. -- >> coming up? >> i think those little wrong place at the wrong time. >> this is a vendetta? in the barbara -- >> exactly and that something entirely different from what he told the police back in 1990. >> after 17 years, a conversation i suspected killer never expected. >> if you're going to show tomorrow, i get a lawyer. >> when dateline continues.

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detectives punched up a quest for comics world in pennsylvania, in pennsylvania's southeast. it was 2007, 17 years after the murder, and lie commandoes synchronizing their watches, the detectives had decided to execute simultaneous surprise interviews on michael george's turf. >> we had teams of detectives go to all three locations exactly the same time.

>> it would be michael at the store, his wife renee at the house, and michael's mother at her home, back in hazel park, michigan. >> unannounced? >> unannounced. >> when they found comics world, the two detectives waited for some customers to leave, checked their watches, then sauntered in. >> we were probably about a minute behind the other detectives. so, when we walked in mike george was on the phone. and, we assume he's talking to renee, his wife. and, he says, "no, there's nobody here. " and, he had his back to us as we walked through the door. he turned around, he goes, "they're here. " and he got off the phone and he just looked pretty sick at that point. >> det. hall switched on the tape recorder he'd concealed in his jacket. >> introduced ourselves. mike was pretty much unemotional. he said, "hey, come on in. have a seat. " started talking to him. >> this is some of that conversation: >> we are re-opening that case. we have a few questions for you. want to talk to you about it. >> okay. >> what did the police tell you back then, our department? >> they had leads. they never,

you know, told me what the leads were. >> he didn't say much at the beginning. >> i mean, does he say this is great news? >> no, very unemotional. >> âi've wondered for 17 years. what's happening? i've been waiting for you guys? >> no, he doesn't give-- >> no. >> does not give the typical response like, âyou found somebody? â or, âwell, that's good. â you know, like you said-- >> what do you have? >> after 17 years, michael george claimed a flickering memory for events. >> i remember the funeral. i don't remember anything. i remember the funeral because there were so many cars. >> is he getting sweaty, twitchy, anything? >> oh, he was very nervous. >> he was very pale. >> very nervous. >> didn't make eye contact. most of the interview his head was looking down towards the table. >> in 1990, with a conversation with a lead detective at the store after the murder, michael george had speculated that barb was killed in a botched robbery, someone after valuable vintage comic books. george said the

cops had to be wrong. he knew he'd been ripped off. >> i knew stuff was gone. >> okay, what was taken, maybe the cops are missing something. >> very old books. >> okay. what kind of books were they? >> they were golden age books. the whole case was gone, the whole box was gone. >> he couldn't remember exactly how many comics were taken or the amount. and he never offered up that robbery motive, until we brought it up. >> although he was sketchy mostly tales, he had no trouble coming up with a totally new answer, when the cops asked him to speculate on why barbara, of all people, had been murdered? listen, as his theory switches from robbery to prevent. >> i think barb was at the wrong place at the wrong time. i think somebody wanted to get back at me. i don't know who it was, but i should have been there so they could get back at me. and so she could raise these two girls instead of me. >> so this was a vendetta and what, barbara took the bullet that was meant for him? >> exactly, and that was something entirely different from what he told the police

back in 1990. >> is that as interesting as everything else you heard that night? >> absolutely. >> they're interesting, he came up with -- >> meanwhile, the prosecutor back in michigan, the son of the onetime police chief -- was deeply curious about how the swoop-down interview was going. >> were you surprised to hear that he talked to them? that he hadn't lawyered up or said, "i am getting on the phone to my attorney right now"? >> very surprised. but i really think he was so shocked by the fact that we're still looking at him. so shocked that he didn't know what to do. and that's why we didn't call him. that's why we didn't give him a heads up. >> as the interview continued, michael george as he hadn't in 1990 now owned up to his philandering. >> describe for me your marriage to her at the time of her death? >> it was rocky because we had all the pressures. i'd just quit my job to open up that store. you know, we would have our fights, we would have our arguments. >> you say it's rocky, and people have fights and arguments like that. what was the cause (of) most of it? anything like extra-marital affair? >> yeah, yeah.

>> on her side or on your side? >> my side. >> late in the 90-minute interview, the conversation circled back to an earlier theme: robbery, the supposed theft of the detectives asked if anyone knew that he kept pricey books in the back storage room. that's when things got testy and george's previously passive tone becomes more direct and confrontational. >> then i am just trying to find out how that that individual, the suspect, would have known they were there, that's all. unless it was an inside job, or unless -- >> they weren't taken. >> -- they weren't taken, it was big insurance fraud. >> so you're saying i am lying now. >> no, no, i, no. i'm just, iâm just saying that, that's a possibility, mike. you have to look at all options. >> so now you're saying that i lied about the books being gone. so now, so now what you're saying is i better get a lawyer. >> we didn't say that. >> yeah, you did. you just said one of the possibilities. >> that is a possibility. >> insurance. okay, stop. if you're going to show up

tomorrow, let me know, i will get a lawyer, because this is bulls--now. >> the next day, in fact, he would need a lawyer, a criminal defense lawyer. the michigan detectives, and the pennsylvania state police, arrested him at his workplace, the comic book store. as he was led away after a later court appearance, he loudly proclaimed that police had nabbed the wrong man. was he right? >> no, i didn't do it. i was with my daughters and my mom. they know. they know i didn't do this. >> the cold case had turned red-hot. michael george was returning to michigan. -- that's because there was not. it would come down to a single witness and his recollection of a solitary phone call he said he made on friday the 13th, 1990. >> coming up --

a twist in court filled with a predicament. >> did you expect it was possible, he was gonna come out and say, this is dismissed? we don't have a case here. >> initially, it never crossed my mind. after five hours, you start to worry. >> that's probably the toughest moment i ever had as a lawyer. >> when dateline continues.

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>> in a michigan courtroom, not far from his old comic book store, michael george was standing trial, charged with a first degree murder of his then wife, barbara. >> he was the husband from hell. >> in early 2008, the man who intended to put george away was steve kaplan. then the trial went to the cold case unit. >> he knew getting the comic book man with nothing but circumstantial evidence, no weapon, no witness, no dna, made this case a tough 1 to 1.

something he'd never let onto the jury, of course. >> we will prove to you that it was a murder. and if it's a murder, there's only one person in this world who had a reason to kill this wonderful person, and that's michael george. >> for caplan, proving it oil bowl down to a case of who you trust. janet george, michael's mother, she said her son was sleeping on the couch at the time of the murder. or with the jury except the word of the comic book collector mike were not? he said the defendant was in the store about that time, and answering his phone call? >> answered the phone? >> how long the truck did find it at that time? >> less than five minutes. >> i woke up between 5:15 and 5:45. >> do you remember how he seemed to you? >> he seemed like he was in a hurry. >> how important is he to your case? >> without him we cannot when this case, because without him, we cannot place the defendant, physically in that store, close to the time of barbara's

shooting. >> and then came a routine moment that we've all seen in courtroom dramas on tv, the prosecutor in this wave, steve, caplan rose and told the judge, and the defense response in this michigan courtroom, just as productively, was to try to get the case thrown out, not enough evidence. they argued -- and asking the judge for what's called a directed verb it. >> when you just don't know, you have to pull the plug. you have to say that's it. >> and then it got really strange. >> and you say, "your honor, the state has not proved its case. we ask that you dismiss it right now, that it not go to the jury. " >> right. >> it happens all the time. >> right. and we did. >> and almost always you're rebuffed. >> that's right. and almost always you're rebuffed within about 10 to 15 seconds. >> that didn't happen here. >> no.

>> this time judge james m. biernat listened intently for 20 minutes as michael george defense lawyer argued that there was no way the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was in the comic book shop with a gun in his and. >> the judge is obligated to make a call to say whether or not there was sufficient evidence to justify this. >> the prosecutor knew that by law, the judge has to regard all evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution. he took just 30 seconds, and parried with a brief citation of case law arguing why the case should go to the jury. and then the judge retired to his chambers to ponder this motion to dismiss. in first-degree murder trials it hardly ever happens in american courtrooms, less than 1 percent of the time, that the case would be short-circuited before it ever got to a jury. but the judge

was out, and he stayed out for hours. >> what was going on? eric smith, the county's chief prosecutor: well, i could tell you what was going on in the prosecution's end. we were fit to be tied. we've all tried hundreds of cases. and these motions for directed verdicts are dismissed almost immediately. >> did you expect it was possible he was going to come out and say, "this case is dismissed. jurors, you're released. we don't have a case here. " >> well, initially, never crossed my mind. after a couple hours, it still hadn't crossed my mind. after five hours you start to worry. >> for the defense, carl marlinga was feeling better by the hour. >> i remember walking outside with my client and saying this is obviously good news. i cannot lie to you. judges don't take this long to decide these motions. >> after hours of watching the clock go around, the defendant, out on 1 million dollar bond, praying with his circle of friends and family in the hallway, the judge, at last, returned to the bench. >> the court has been reviewing this matter for approximately five hours. i think an extraordinary length of time to

review any motion for directed verdict. >> he started, there was a case to be made for the defense's position, he started. >> albeit, it could be argued that this evidence is marginal. >> then he seemed to point out the merits of the prosecution's argument. >> this is in many ways a classic murder case. if the evidence is believed by the jury, then the jury could reach a finding of guilt. >> on the one hand. and the other. where was the judge going? >> so, the court at this point they're substitute its judgment for that of the jury. >> he decided for the prosecution. there was enough evidence to go forward. >> the directed verdict is denied. >> the defense had lost a five-hour long high-stakes game and apparently by the closest of margins. >> that's probably the toughest moment i ever had as a lawyer. >> you thought you might have had it. >> i thought i might have delivered this guy from this

horrible, horrible experience of not only having lost his wife, but then being falsely blamed for it after all of these years. i thought, i thought the ordeal was almost over. >> the jurors filed back in for the defense case unaware of how close they'd come to being thanked and sent home without ever hearing any more evidence. fired up by the knowledge that the judge had almost tossed out the case, the defense set out to counter the prosecution's crucial phone call, it seemed to place the defendant at the scene. >> michael could not have been at the store, committing this murder. elite defense attorney said it was impossible to be in two places at once. and so, he called michael george's mother as has alibi witness, to tell the jury that michael arrived at her house sometime after 5 pm on that friday's 13th. >> he said, he was tired. he was gonna taken up for a while. >> this is george then testify took her two grand daughters to the school playground. >> now, when you got back, did you observe michael at all? >> yeah.

>> where was he? >> he was on the couch, sleeping. >> now, it would be up to the jurors to decide whether they believe michael george's mother, or the witness who said michael george answered his phone call. decision day, march 17, 2008. michael george prayed quietly to himself. his freedom, his family, the life he'd enjoyed in pennsylvania were at risk for ever. a murder conviction meant mandatory life, no possibility of parole. >> all right, all rise for the jury, please. >> the jury of eight women, four men, fouled nervously as one juror explained. >> my hands were sweating, and i took a look at michael george, and i saw his family. i was numb and scared the same time. >> my brother tells me, your heart is beating fast. i said, yeah it is. i mean, this is it. >> coming up -- the verdict. >> number one, first degree murder. we find the defendant -- >> when dateline continues.

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gunning down his wife in the back room of their comic book shop. his future was about to be decided. the foreman read the verdicts. >> count under one, first degree murder. we find the defendant guilty. >> guilty of first degree murder. michael george slumped and sobbed in his attorneys arms. >> please be seated. >> barb's sister and two brothers seemed to share a gasp of relief. >> it took away my oldest sister, she did not see it to see me get married, she didn't get to see my son being born,. she will never get to see him do anything. i mean, he took a part of me away. >> across the room, the convicted man's younger daughter, one of barbs two children, collapsed into her stepmother, renee. >> michael george would go on

weeping for a full two minutes. but lieutenant keg crease, cold case detective who rediscover the crucial evidence, was unmoved by george's tiers. >> mike showed no emotion back in 1990 and now he cries. my impression of that is that mike is crying for himself, it was devastating. >> it was just devastating. >> barely able to stand, george was helped to the podium to face the judge. the same judge who had apparently been a heartbeat all way from dismissing the case altogether. >> the jury has found you guilty of all charges. at this time i am remanded you to the custody of the compound sheriffs department. >> the comic book man was now a convict.

>> his hands were cuffed and deputies led him away. >> i had no doubt that the verdict that we came to was the correct one. >> the jurors had returned to their deliberation, they said they could hear george sobbing but that did not shake their confidence in the verdict. they said it had come down to the testimony to the man who said that he had called about a spider-man comic. >> i think you all hear that he was saying he was tripped up by answering that phone call from michael. >> he should not have been there when mike gold. >> the cold case unit started by prosecutor eric smith with this case in mind, and one want to conviction. >> a thought he is finally going to face just punishment that he deserves. >> smith had notched one up for his, dad the late police chief, or so he believed. >> my next thoughts were to my old man. i thought, i wish she was here

to share this with but i know he is smiling. the losing defense lawyer voice the kinds of comments that you would expect to hear. >> i think the jury got it wrong, i believe that we had a strong shot with this judge to be able to get not reversal, or a new trial. >> but that was not brave blaster. in this case, michael george's defense attorney was being prophetic. six months later, the defense tried again, a motion for a new trial before the same judge. one of the grounds for the appeal was prosecutorial misconduct. >> this is not a robbery, it's not a robbery. it is a murder. >> what happened was in his closing argument, the prosecutor had a display for the jury. >> this timetable -- is >> and out of the judges i shot began assembling pieces of a photo, like pieces of jigsaw puzzle. the punchline when you put the picture together, voila, jurors, there is your killer. >> it may be quite clever or corny, but either way the

prosecutor may have overstepped his bounds. the image of the finished puzzle was a mugshot of michael george that was never introduced into evidence and according to defense lawyers showed him in a bad light. a judicial error the defense argued, strike one. strike two was newly decided evidence in the police case files, possibly favorable to the defendants. judge -- had had enough. >> judge ruled michael george should get a new trial in the 1990s comic book store murder case. >> they threw out the jury's guilty verdict, and is giving once convicted michael george another chance to prove his freedom. >> it was elation, the greatest injustice that i had ever been associated with as a lawyer had just been corrected. we are going to get a new trial. >> defense attorneys carl marlin, and joe -- always believed in their clients innocence and now they want another chance to prove it. >> michael was devastated by the verdict.

and suddenly he's got a new life, suddenly he has faith again in the system. >> i think he had two things working, he had new evidence and some unfairness in the closing argument, on top of this real heartfelt feeling by judge -- that an innocent man had been convicted. >> the county prosecutor, eric smith, was not buying any of it. the judge seems to have directed that there be a new trial because of prosecutorial misconduct. >> he hung his hat on a lot of things, and that was clearly one of them. a census case began, it appears that he had not been comfortable with this case and what he did was set aside a murder conviction, which is unheard of. >> smith was beside himself, even though the judge's controversial decision was eventually backed by michigan's highest courts. >> he waited 18 years for justice and you finally get justice, only to have it, the carpet pulled out from under you. >> after the 2008 guilty

verdict, barnes brother went to her grave site to show the good news. >> we finally got him, he did not get away with it and you can rest now. >> but now there was the just just blockbuster decision. >> it all the horn our hearts, we thought it was over. >> barb family would have to go through the painfully ordeal all over again, with even more uncertainties this time around. though the jury had found michael george guilty, the judge clearly had serious doubts. a new jury could go either way, especially since the defense now had new evidence or possible alternate killers, and just dug up dirt on the prosecution's star witness. but to completely new prosecutors were revved up for the coming courtroom battle, steve fawkes, and bill kahlo, teaming up to make michael george face the music one more time. the trial of the comic book murder, volume two, was now at

hand. >> coming up, a different jury, different prosecutors. >> michael george fell prey to two issues, known to comic man. sex and money. >> will there be a different verdict? when dateline continues. e continues. with three times the pet hair fighting ingredients. just one sheet helps remove pet hair from your clothes! looking good starts in the dryer with bounce pet. nexium 24hr

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in the nearly 3 years since the last comic book murder trial, michael george had been locked up in the county jail. where he said inadequate care caused a vitamin b 12 deficiency that crippled him. he was now confined to a wheelchair, as a 2nd trial got underway before a new judge, barry should now ski. >> officially calling the case of people versus george, whose present? >> but if the defendants disability and made him appear feeble and more sympathetic to jurors, the new prosecution team of -- and steve foxwood work hard to demonize him. >> michael george fell prey to 2 issues. most known to common man. sex and money. >> what was your theory for the

jury? >> i think motive is important. and it was easy. $130,000 in insurance proceeds. and the fact that he really didn't want to be married, he didn't like his wife, he found her completely unattractive. >> he wanted a new life. >> in his opening argument, prosecutor steve fox told jurors that a 1990, michael george was having a torrid affair with a shop assistant. renee. now his 2nd wife. >> he wanted to get rid of his overweight wife, and move on to something better. >> before the murder, the husband wasn't bothering to hide his disdain for his wife barbara. according to this prosecution witness. >> raise your right hand. >> teresa testified that she anderson went to comics world the saturday before the murder. michael, barbara and their 2 young daughters were in the store when teresa walked in. >> i had remark to him how beautiful his little girls were. >> what did you? say >> that if it wasn't for his daughters, that he would not have been with his wife.

that he found her unattractive and heavy and if it was up to him, he would take the girls and moved to florida. >> what was your reaction to that response? >> i couldn't believe it said something like that to me while she was right there in the store. >> and that same customer was shocked again, days later, when michael made which she thought was a passive -- versus own wife viewing at the funeral home. >> he gave me a very inappropriate hug. it would've been a hug but i would only have given my husband. >> meaning? >> it's a very intimate hug. >> a little creepy. but the following saturday, as was their custom, teresa and her son stopped by comics world. michael slipped her a note. >> would you read that note for the jury? >> you look very, very, very pretty today. thanks for coming in. sincerely, michael. >> publicly scornful of his wife, heading on other women, and now, a longtime friend of barbara's was testifying that her friends and family were all

well aware of capital t trouble in the marriage. got you treats gotta -- weeks before the murder. >> she was crying. very upset. michael wanted a divorce. >> and if she convey to you whether she would agree to that? >> oh, she did not want to divorce. >> prosecutor fox then asked the witness about seeing the defendant at barbs funeral. >> i overheard mike saying to his mother, yelling out, mom, did you call the insurance company? it just didn't sound good. because of the phone conversation ahead with barb and then now her death. >> michael george, a one-time insurance salesman himself, received $130, 000, tax free, from his wife's life insurance policy. not bad money in 1990. a witness who worked with michael in the insurance business was asked about the money. >> what is documented there? >> this is a claim statement for payment of the proceeds. >> who signed the claim?

>> michael george. looks like. >> on what? >> 7 18 of 90 -- >> july tint of 1990? >> yes sir. >> real where that they got married on july 17th 1990? >> womanizer, scoundrel, the prosecution dissected michael georgia's character. and referred to him as the only possible killer. >> our concentration was to show that he was the only guy that he was the one that had to have done it, because no one else on earth would have. >> speak loudly, your first name is? kim >> yes. >> prosecutors called this witness, who work at a nail salon in the same strip mall as comics world. >> i would say that i would witnessed about 30 to 35 arguments. >> she testified she heard many a heated arguments between michael in barbara that summer. but the one she overheard that afternoon, friday the 13th, sounded even uglier. >> it was much louder, he was much angrier. seemed much more violent. >> then once in the past?

>> yes. >> less than 4 hours later, barbara george would be discovered by customers on the floor in the back of comics world. yet, in this public places strip mall, customers coming and going, cars, no witness remembered hearing gunshots, though to have been fired. no one remembered seeing anyone leave the store. and no witness saw michael george of the story from the time he left, after 4 o'clock, until he drove up at 8 o'clock, for what was to be his birthday party. by then, police were all over the scene. >> he told us we was, identified himself, and wanted to know what happened in the store. >> lead detective, donald -- then of clinton township pd, testified that michael said his working at comics world. >> i advised him, there had been an incident at the store, and his wife had been injured. >> did he ask you about her condition? >> no. >> did he ask you about how it happened? >> no. >> he told the husband that then lieutenant donald brooke would be driving into the hospital where he could find

out about his wife. >> the former lieutenant testify that michael started chatting without prompting. >> he made a statement that i thought was noteworthy. >> what was that statement? >> something must have fell or dropped on her in the backroom. >> why is that statement interesting to you? >> because i never told him that misses george's in the back room of the store. >> he knows things you should've known? >> he knows evidence that only the shooter window. not realizing how unique that information is. >> later that night, according to police, michael george told investigators, 2 white boxes of expensive comics were missing. and that poor barbara must've stumbled into a robbery gone bad. a theory police and prosecutors subsequently rejected. >> this is why it's not a robbery. the dining room was on barnett, we know at least 20 500,000. their summer $20 cash in the registers. they were untouched. the expense of comics behind the glass, were untouched.

the safe, untouched. the safe was in the back storage room, where michael claimed the missing boxes of comics had been. >> what's unique about that, these 2 white boxes were unmarked, they didn't say expensive comic books here. >> missing comics were never found. the prosecutors believe they were never stolen either. even though michael recovered a 12,600 dollar insurance claim for them. >> there's 100 unmarked white boxes in that room. the only way to know which ones could grab, would be as if it's an inside job. >> but the only inside job, according to the prosecutors, was the murder itself. >> the reason it an inside job, is because of the accessibility to -- that door. >> that door was central to the prosecutor's theory of the murder. michael george, they said, snuck in the back door and concealed himself until his wife was alone in the store. when she came into the back room, their belief was, he fired 2 shots.

the first one hitting a swimsuit calendar in the wall, the 2nd striking barbed in the top of her head as she was ducking away. >> the murder took place and where he went from there, out the backdoor and gone. >> slipping into the alley sight unseen. but not before doing what only he could do, he told the jurors. >> they stuck in the way he came in. he left. through the backdoor. locking that look. double locked. >> indeed, the door was locked from the outside when police arrived. something prosecutors claimed only michael george could do. >> you have to have those keys. >> no one but the defendant had keys to the backdoor, prosecutors maintain. and they added, any supposed robber would have fled through the busy front door. and certainly would've been spotted. >> there were too many witnesses that started walking in within a minute to 2 minutes of that gunshot. no one saw anyone leaving with boxes of comic books. no one saw anyone running out

the front door. >> and what about the people who were spotted by witnesses around the comic book shop minutes before and after the murder? the guy in the green fisherman's cap. the suspicious character who seems to be wearing a fake beard. the so-called bearded lady. police even made a sketch of the bearded lady. the prosecutor said none of the would-be suspects ever amount to anything. except in the case of the bearded lady. prosecutors theorized that this person may have been michael george's accomplice. now, the prosecutors would offer up their star witness, the sole person who could say the husband was indeed in the store, as the minutes we're counting down to murder. comic collector, mike renal. but this time, the defense was ready with new evidence to challenge not only his credibility, also his memory. coming up, -- >> in 1990, you used marijuana and you drink alcohol on the

weekends, did you know? >> the strategies to go nuclear on him? >> i wouldn't say nuclear, no. we were just gonna bring out the facts. when dateline continues. e continues. but her moderate to severe eczema could make it hard for her. my skin was so itchy. and my outfit was uncomfortable. now, my skin's not as itchy. now we're staying ahead of her eczema. there's a power inside all of us, to live our passion. and dupixent works on the inside, to help heal your skin from within. it helps block a key source of inflammation inside the body that can cause eczema. so they can have clearer skin and less itch. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. healing from within is a wonderful thing.

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our top stories. at least 19 people are dead and 20,000 households are without power, after days of unrelenting storms in california. another storm is expected to hit parts of the state today, with wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour. and today, marks the beginning of the nfl playoffs, to mark the below bills will place of against the miami dolphins. bills fans wondering this, will dim or hamlin make an appearance at that game? the 24-year-old safety was released from the hospital earlier this week, after his tragic collapse on the field. now, back to dateline. once again, michael george's guilt or innocence would likely condemn to the man who made an

innocent phone call about a spider-man comic book. >> we would like call mike -- >> in the first trial, the jurors had bought his account of speaking to the shop owner over the phone, apparently just minutes before the murder. the judge, however, had seemed skeptical. but now, 12 new people would be deciding the case. so, prosecution and defense lawyers had to start afresh with the all important star witness. the stakes couldn't be higher. >> michael -- without him, you had a case? >> he's the only one who posted an event at the scene, he's the only one that alone can destroy the defendants alibi. >> without him, we don't issue a warrant. >> defense lawyers -- knew their clients freedom depended both on their challenging renaud story, and reinforcing the defendants alibi. >> it's a witness on the prosecution side. >> what we had to focus on, and what we hoped to direct the jury to focus on, was specifically that alibi. >> the defendant's 1990 story

was that he left his clinton town ship shop, sometime after 4 pm, to go to his mother shows. she lived in hazel park, about half hour away. it's michael george's alibi that he was at his mother's house from about 4:30 to 7:30. a little after he arrived, his mother said she took her grandchildren to the park, and he was sleeping on the couch when they got back, sometime after 6:00. barb was murdered a little after 6:00. if michael george's account is true, he was at his mother at that time, and therefore, could not be the killer. but, according to prosecutors, michael george wasn't napping on the couch at all. they contended, he returned to comics world and sneak into the storage room with a gun, when barb left to order pizza for his birthday party. and about what time was that? >> between five and 5:30. >> that's the timeframe when this -- as a friend of barbs came to the store. it was locked and she had to wait for barb to return to the pizza place. >> if she's not in the store at

5:30, she couldn't possibly into the phone in 5:30, correct? >> correct. >> so, if somebody into the phone at 5:30, enough to be someone other than her? >> correct. >> now, prosecutors questioned the one witness they said who could identify who answered the phone, -- >> michael renaud. >> mike renaud. in 1990, a decade before his disabling accident, yet he was married at a young daughter and was holding down two jobs. >> we also attending school? >> yes, i was going to whiteside. >> how old you do there? >> i graduated come loud a. >> the prosecution wanted the jury to regard him as both a serious person and a knowledgeable comic book collector. >> before july 13th, 1990, how frequently would you go to the store? >> at least once a week. >> the day of the murder, he testified, he actually stopped by comics world before work. but renaud critical story for the jury had to do with the phone call he made later in the day to the shop. he had a collectors question about a spider-man comic he

owned. >> he called because he was excited that some book had jumped from $8 to $40. >> did you contact anyone to discuss? the reasons for it going up in value? >> yeah, i called mike. >> he knew the voice, he knew the time that he would be there, and that's the whole case. >> tell me about the demeanor of michael jordan that phone call. >> he answers were very short. it seemed to be in a hurry to get off the phone. >> you might wonder, esther many people did, if michael george was lying in wait to murder his wife in just moments. why would he be so dumb as to pick up a ringing phone in the store. >> he picks it up, for one of two reasons. either as a businessman, it's a coal in his one a lose business. or number two, it is accomplice from the outside. letting him know what's going on. >> couldn't investigator simply pulled the phone logs and verify his story, by seeing what time the records show the call coming in? not in 1990.

the phone company didn't keep those kinds of logs on local calls. but remember, his story had fallen through the investigative cracks altogether. until a cold case koch, craig key, came upon it in 2007. and in that rediscovered file, was a statement saying that a guy named renaud had called the police department the day after the murder. he wanted the detectives to know that he'd spoken with michael george, in the comic shop, at 6 pm on the fateful day. >> after you hung up the phone with the department, did you think about it further? >> yes. >> why? >> i did not want to get mike in trouble if i was wrong on my time. >> and according to those newly discovered police records, renaud had called the police back almost immediately, to amend the time it spoken to michael george. >> what did you advise police, this time when you call back? >> it was closer to 5:30 instead of six. >> there were multiple calls to police. we actually saw that as a strength, rather than weakness.

he's actually trying to help michael george, he's trying to tell the police, don't get him in trouble because of me. it's establishing that he's not in this because he has some ill will against the defendant or is just making it up for 15 minutes of fame. >> that's not how the defense team saw renaud, they thought he was basking in the limelight of a big murder trial. >> we think he's just kind of exaggerating his own importance in his mind, he saw a way to become important in a homicide investigation. >> when the defense had his crack at renaud on cross examination, it wanted the jury to question his motives, memory, and credibility. >> first of all, this guy mike renaud makes himself sound like he's a good body of michael george, talked him all the time, michael george as a member of it all. >> as the defense told, multiple calls to the police changing his times, indicated that this witness didn't have a good handle on his recollections. and was there for, unreliable. >> he called back several times, being on certain of the time when he was making the call. >> if the call to michael

george happened at all, the defense disputes that it did, defense attorney -- believed it must have been placed before the shop owner left for his mother's house. that was more than an hour before the murder. >> so, you're saying renaud is not just mistaken in his times, he is -- >> he's a little bit motive. >> he's a person of mischief. >> we think he wanted to become a hero. >> in fact, since the last trial, renaud had tried to bolster his story by adding new facts, according to the defense. renaud revealed for the first time, he went to the clinton township police department, days after the murder, to make a report in person. his tough cross examination but out renounce -- was it best hazy. >> the person that you met with in the face to face conversation, do you know the name of that person? >> i do not. >> how about the gender, male or female? >> it was a male. >> old or young? >> i cannot say. >> was this person in a uniform or in a suit or sport coat, or shirt? >> i cannot say. >> do you remember seeing a

badge? >> i cannot say. >> did you ever see a police report that was generated as a result of that interview? >> no. >>. was it another example of inept police work? or a figment of renaud imagination? >> other the police department lost a very important police report, or the lack of police notes's effect because the interview never happened. >> isn't it true that you invented, that is you made up, this conversation? >> i did not do that. >> but now, the defense was moving on. telling the jury there may be a reason why renaud memory is so hazy. back in those days, the lawyers asserted, he was often in a haze of pot smoke. >> can you even remember the time that you were high? >> relevance, argumentative. >> the strategy is to go nuclear on mike renaud i. >> wouldn't say nuclear, no, we regard as bring out the facts. >> in 1990, you used marijuana,

and you drink alcohol on the weekends, did you not? >> i was in college, that would not surprise me. >> the homicide that we're talking about occurred on friday july 13th. your two initial calls into the clinton township police occurred on saturday july 14th of 1990. we are agreed that friday and saturday our weekend days, correct? >> correct. >> when questioned whether he got high on the only weekend that mattered, july 13th and 14th 1990, renaud had to admit he just didn't remember. >> you could've used it, or you could not have used? you don't remember? >> correct. >> again, the defense's goal was to raise reasonable doubt with the jury about his recall and credibility. >> marijuana can cause a time distortion, so, we're talking to a person who might not have the best handle on time. >> now that the defense believed it had shredded run odds story, it was ready to

tell the story who really murdered barbara george. coming up, another possible suspect in an impossible strange disguise. >> he said it look like a woman in a fake beard, or a thin guy, women lee hopes or something. >> it's a fake beard and mustache and on july day, with little theater, productions or halloween parties. this is just too suspicious in these circumstances. >> when dateline continues. continues ugh-stipated... feeling weighed down by a backedup gut" miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. ...free your gut. and your mood will follow. it's the lightning round! what is... madagascar!

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to his second wife, renee, for almost 20 years. through thick and thin, they still seemed very much in love. this case will show you -- >> but at its 2011 trial, the defense acknowledged, right up front, that during his first marriage, michael would never have won an award for husband of the year. >> this was not a matter of suspicion, innuendo, discuss

with a person for having an affairs. this is a matter of evidence. >> so lead defensive attorney, reminded jurors that the defendant was on trial for murder. >> an adulterer is a person who's done evil things, but that does not necessarily make them a murderer. >> the victims shoe can be seen. >> as for any hard evidence that michael george killed his wife in cold blood, the defense maintained it just didn't exist. >> and you have no weapon, no witnesses, no forensics. >> nothing. >> there's nothing to tie your guy. >> zero, zilch, not a. the ties into the crime. >> the jury, your honor. we're happy to say that we rest. >> and then, just in the first trial, came that moment when the prosecution rested. and the defense filed a motion saying, your honor, they haven't proved their case. >> there is no physical evidence which links michael george to the crime. >> but this time, there was no five-hour retreat to chambers for the judge to think about. her ruling came in seconds.

>> the court is finding that the prosecution has presented substantial evidence -- >> the defendant teared up. >> there was enough evidence the judge declared to go forward. >> basic inclusion, gentlemen, is that the motion is denied. >> so, with that setback, none unexpected, the defense began its three pronged line of attack. that the original police work was an apt, that there was evidence someone knew that someone else committed the murder, and thirdly, that michael george had a strong alibi. >> we decided that our strongest evidence was the alibi. and that would normally be sufficient to win. but knowing that, we were dealing with michael's history and the affairs that could make him an unlikable character, joe and i realize that we really almost had to prove innocence. >> michael george told police, he had left the store with his daughter's a little after 4 pm that friday. they went to his mother gianna taos about 30 minutes away. he said he was asleep on his

mother's couch when tragically, his wife was shot. janet george, the mother, had testified in the first trial and backed up her sons asleep on a couch story. >> he was on the couch. >> but defense attorneys altered their strategy for trial number two. >> ma'am, do you swear from other get a read word for word of it in that transcript. >> i do. >> mom did not testify in person this time around. the defense had a stand in read jaded georgia's 2008 testimony in the record. and accounting which michael arrived at her house a little after 5 pm that. she said he was tired, so we took it up, well she took her granddaughters to a nearby playground. >> now, when you got back, did you observe michael at all? >> yes. >> where was he? >> he was on the couch, sleeping. >> if the jurors believe the story being recited to them, michael george could not possibly have been on his shop around 5:30 answering the phone. that's when the star prosecution witness, mike renaud, said he talk to them.

>> janet george, his mother, is the heart of his alibi. she's alive, why did you put on the state? >> tough call. we agonized about it. the problem with janet george is that she loves her son, but she's a wildcard. her memory is fading. >> the lawyers were confident about their decision not to call the mother, because they had a strong witness to substantiate parts of her story. >> okay, have a seat right up. here >> peggy -- was gianna georgia's next door neighbor. on that friday the 13th, like most days, peggy said she got home from her job between 5:45 and 6:00. >> as you get close to your house, did you see anybody? >> i saw janet and the two girls in the school playground at the end of our street. >> when you saw them there, what if anything did they do? >> we just waved. >> and as you pulled into your house, what if anything did you see in front of gianna's house? >> there was a van parked in front of the house.

>> okay, did you recognize who's been it was? >> i assumed it was one of michael's vince, yes. >> in the prosecution's theory of the timeline, there was a missing link of logistics. how did michael get from his mother's place, back to the store, in time to kill barbara? the neighbors sighting of his van outside his mom's, could plant the seed of reasonable doubt. >> she has no dog in the fight. she's not a close, close bosom buddy or lifelong personal friend of janitor michaels, she's a neighbor. why wouldn't you believe her? >> when you take the combined testimony of janet george and peggy -- you have solid evidence that he was at someplace else. >> and that neighbor was a person that the defense team had found on its own. the police had never knocked on doors to corroborate michaels alibi, of being at his mother's. evidence in itself, the defense argued, of shoddy police work. even the former police

lieutenant, admitted on cross examination, that aspect of the investigation could have been better. >> if you are the officer in charge of this case, would you have conducted a canvas of his mother's neighborhood to see if people could have placed him there at or about the time of the homicide? >> yes, sir. >> inept police work was a defense team. for instance, the police never tested michael george for gunshot residue the night of the murder. >> the rear entry door -- >> and also failed to dust the prosecutions critical back door for fingerprints. >> if the bad guy reached for the handle to try and get out that way, he would've left some prince. but we'll never know that, because the police didn't dust them. >> there's some plastic storage bins. >> and police photos inside the comic shop store where barbara was found, seemed to show a lot of clutter, locking that backdoor. how could michael george have gotten in or out past all of that? >> does that look like the room when you saw it in the back? >> shown a photo, the formerly

detective didn't know how to read that junk, apparently in the way. >> -- drug leaning up against the door? >> i can't tell whether his perspective here, it's hard to tell. >> the defense felt it had already raised enough reasonable doubt to secure a not guilty verdict. and even though they and norway had to, the lawyers wanted to offer the jury other possible murder suspects to consider in a scenario of a robbery gone bad. >> the defense calls mr. -- thomas quentin. >> the defense put on a witness who told a story about being with two friends outside a comic book shop in flint, michigan, some 50 miles away from michael george's shop. a sinister looking guy, he said, was peddling what appeared to be hot comics. >> a man approached us in a parking lot, and asked to take a look at some old comics that he wanted to sow. >> this new defense witness said he came forward only after watching the first comic book murder case on dateline. he testified that the venn teenagers didn't trust the seller, and bought nothing from him. >> the vibe that they're gonna

gentleman was giving us, told us that no way. >> the witness said, that encounter took place july 14th, 1990. significantly, the day after barbara george's murder. >> his friends called by the prosecution, contradicted him. instead it actually happened weeks earlier. >> and we were walking towards the building -- >> but the defense wasn't out of alternative suspects. one of the store customers, who had initially come upon bourbon george, thomas ward, recalled seeing a specific man looking about when he got to comics world, a little after 6 pm. >> it appeared that this individual was looking, trying to gaze into the store, quite focused in a quite focused fashion. >> ward said you remember the man because of his distinctive hat. >> a greek fisherman's cap, black cap. >> a cap like this. >> let me show the defense exhibit 105. >> it was pretty similar to that. >> and still, another new witness testified, in 1990, she briefly dated a guy who wore a

short brimmed hat like this. >> a guy who carried a gun, was up to no good when it came to the comic book stores they frequented. >> i realized after we left these comic book stores, that he was stealing these comic books. >> these were all possible suspects the defense claimed. >> but on the top of its list of curiosities, was someone who became known as the bearded lady. >> we were coming around -- >> witness, joe, gray a friend of the george's, came to the store before 6:00 to drop off supplies for michaels birthday party. >> gray was at the fan -- who got a gander of something strange. >> he said, and like a woman in a fake beard, or belief in guy with a woman lee hips or something. >> gray and his friend were so concerned about this weird bearded lady out front, they even warned barbara george to be on the lookout. it didn't feel right. >> i would somebody wear a fake beard, maybe someone was coming to the party as a joke? maybe they're trying to rob the place? >> it was drone gray's friend who would help police to make a

sketch of the so-called, bearded lady. >> i believe that the person with the fake beard and mustache is the killer. >> that your solution of this? >> that's right, it's a fake beard and mustache, on a july day, with no little theater productions or halloween parties. this is just too suspicious in these circumstances, that person is the killer. >> what would 12 fresh jurors believe this time? the comic book murder case, volume two, had one final chapter left. coming up. >> all right, gentlemen we have a verdict. >> all rise, for the jury. >> when dateline continues. >> when dateline continues. enough was enough. i talked to an asthma specialist and found out my severe asthma is driven by eosinophils, a type of asthma nucala can help control. now, fewer asthma attacks and less oral steroids that's my nunormal with nucala. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma.

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grueling case, in search of an ending. barbara george had been shot to death in 1990, her husband was arrested in 2007. his first trial ended in a guilty verdict that was later overturned. now, after a six-week retrial in 2011, a second jury was behind closed doors deliberating. 21 years in all.

and once again, michael george had not testified as was his right. >> his lawyers had put him through a mock cross examination that sprang leaks. they said his memory was faulty after all that time. >> i put together a pattern of cross-examination questions where he had to say, and remember about 20 times in a row. and we had two solid alibi witnesses. it's almost malpractice to put him on the stand. >> but the prosecutors believe his reluctance to testify was more about him not being able to stand up to the grilling he would've faced in a real cross-examination. >> my wife was murdered, that's the most important day of my life. and i forgot what happened that day? it's because maybe i talk myself out of wanting to remember. >> i wanted to hear what he had to say. >> these jurors had the entire panel was disappointed that it didn't hear the story from michael george's own mouth. >> i think you can see a lot about a person when they talk about themselves. >> dateline talk to ten of the 12 jurors, they told us their

first straw vote revealed a split, seven guilty's, five not. >> and you're not guilty's, what needed to be persuaded? >> it was the robbery. >> clarification. >> it was clarification and a couple really had an idea that maybe the robbery did happen. >> the central question for each juror, which story to believe. the comic book collector who said he talked on the phone to michael george, in the shop, just before the murders. or, the defendants mother, his alibi witness, that he was napping on her couch across town at the same hour. >> to me, ultimately, it came down to michael the renaud testimony and the phone call that he made that placed michael george at the scene at the crime. >> did the defense damage mic? credibility by attacking him as a marijuana smoking beer guzzling college kid? not to this jury. >> i think they're trying to personally attack him to get us to all believe that, of course, he couldn't remember anything, because he was a drug abuser. >> several jurors questioned the mother's recollection of

events. >> i'm not saying she would lie for him, but, i mean, would you stick up for your kids? >> the jurors talked through for three days. and finally took a vote. >> gentlemen, we have a verdict. >> their job was done. >> all right, for the jury. >> michael george core cried quietly, his wife renee remained stoic. on the benches across the court, barb's brother, hoped for justice from a second jury. >> it's 12 people. you don't know what they're thinking. >> the four person read the verdicts. >> first degree premeditated murder of barbara george, guilty first degree premeditated murder. >> guilty. murder in the first degree. and guilty of the counts as well. felony firearm and insurance fraud. michael george didn't break down this time. he closed his eyes and seemed to talk to himself. behind him, his wife renee buried her head. bob's brother contained his joy out of respect for his nieces, who lost their mother and now their father. >> it's a little bit

bittersweet, they still have to come to the realization that their father is a murder. >> the prosecutors quietly congratulated each other on the conviction. >> it was a huge relief to know that finally, the family is getting what they deserve. they're getting the justice they deserve. >> michael george was laid out of the courtroom to begin the rest of his life in prison. no possibility of parole. a terrible injustice, as a staunch attorney sought. >> i've lived with this case for four years. i just don't see evidence that he was there committing the crime, and i've prosecuted killers, and i've defended killers, this man is not a killer. >> i don't know why god is putting putting us through this. but i do know he loves. us >> six weeks after the verdict, michael george did finally speak out, but as a convicted murderer, and his pro former sentencing hearing. >> the catastrophe of putting people away that are innocent, has not started with me, it will not end with me. before this, i've never been accused of any crime, domestic

violence, i have no police record, no problems with drinking or drugs. i can only hope and pray that the lives that are destroyed by people being overzealous in the police community will find mercy in got above. >> barb's brother, joe, expected nothing and said he got it. >> once again, no apology. he thinks he's better than everybody else. and he thought he was gonna get away with. >> and his barbs family sought, since 1990, he did get away with murder. until county attorney, eric smith's -- cold case unit finally made him pay. >> you talk to barbara? >> yes. >> it doctor in that courtroom that day? >> yes. >> what did you say? >> that i love her. then we miss her. and that we finally got him. hopefully, he can rest in peace. you know, we can move on. powerful relief so you can restore and recover. theraflu hot beats cold.

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