shot in the head. it didn't seem like it could happen to suwe were shocked. >> reporter: murder in a comic book store. >> now inside the comics corner -- >> strange crime scene. strange suspect. >> he said it looked like a fake beard. >> i believe that the person with the fake beard and moustache is the killer. >> reporter: but soon the case grew cold. maybe it wasn't the bearded lady.tration is building within the family? >> what can you do?

a witness who spoke to the killer the night of the murder. >> he sounded like he was busy. he was in a hurry to get off the phone. >> that's the one piece that was missing. >> reporter: but would it be enough? >> it's true that we didn't have forensic evidence supporting our case.ate under the theory, "you don't shoot, you don't score." >> reporter: was this shot a shot in the dark? he says, "is your heart beating fast?" and i said, "yeah, it is. i mean, this is it." >> i looked at him and said the comic bookstore. i knew immediately, the crime scene tape was there, they said you can't go through, we are homicide. they're investigating the comic

and pop shot outside detroit. the fantasy big guys, spidey, hulk, x-men.rage space in back was an ugly reality. one of the shop owners was on the floor.her. >> multiple times there friday night. >> it was july of 1990, friday the 13th.nora stopped by the comic book shop before going to dinner. they liked to buy from the woman there, barb. name when we walked in, she would light up with a smile. many times would come around the counter to greet us. is summer evening. it was just after 6:00. tom and lenora picked out a no one was behind the counter to take their money, not barb or her husband michael. >> it wasn't uncommon someone he cash register, but this was a longer than normal time. we thought we would stick around

in the shop browsing, they, too, were itching to pay and go.rst to peek into the back room and see barb. >> cried out there's somebody back here. and i rushed to the back storage area and found barb on the floor. >> we thought she perhaps had and hit her head. >> i noticed she was blue around her mouth. her pupils were dilated and big. and, um, i could not find a pulse. >> lenora, a customer happened to be a nurse and took charge. she noticed only a small amount of blood and concludered heart attack or seizure and she told her husband to call 911 while she began administering cpr.one cpr on someone that i knew and loved and i thought please, god, let this be okay. she's a mother. >> as the ambulance hospital, lenora ward thought she'd done her

at all sure her prayers would be answered. dire straits. >> the woman rushed into the emergency room was barbara george. she doctors wea pulse. one e.r. nurse was kris kehoe. >> if you give 100 compressions tter the chance to revive her. >> after 15 minutes it was all over. a doctor pronounced barb george, the mother of two dead. it was up to nurse kehoe to clean up the body for the family to view. that's when she saw it.straightening up her hair we noticed blood on the top of her head. i noticed there was a small my first thought as a nurse was that it had to be a bullet hole there.

the nice woman behind the counter, shot. >> shot in the head and it didn't seem like it could happen to such a good person. >> back at the comic bookshop, friends and family showed up for a birthday party for her husband. singing of happy birthday and all of the superheroes froel and action comics looking on. all those guests now stunned to find the party turned into a crime scene.stess, was dead. two possible clues to solving the mystery, right after the murder witnesses reported seeingnd a man waiting outside the comic book shop. >> and he had on a dark outfit for that time of the year.

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hole in the wall shop, comics world, had been barb and michael george's just go for it passion. he collected thousands of comicsnd he liked superheroes adventures way more than he liked selling insurance, >> i used to go to her games. i remember going to the tournaments and she was the

>> he was because up in a -- bash was brought up in a polish family. when she found herman, marriage became the organizing principl >> was she a happy bride? >> very happy. she couldn't wait. >> and when children came along, two girl, barbara george seemed complete. >> her kids were her pride and joy, and i think that was everything to her. >> the night of friday the 13th brother joe and his then girlfriend now mary shamo drove ov was to be a celebration. barb's surprise birthday party in the store for michael. he was turning 30. michael's mother was going keep the two kids at her house for the weekend while barb and michael took off after touple of days at a lodge. >> so that would have been a friday night and it 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 before 9:00, was there ars. >> we pulled up and joe rolled

can't go through. we're investigating a homicide. >> i immediately thought mike because i thought no one hated my sister. absolutely nobody. it was joe's sister and it was up to detective sergeant donald steckman to make sense of the eless. he'd been the investigator on duty when the hospital called that they'd had a woman come in with a single gunshot to the head. >> now we had a full-blown homicide. >> you know it's going to be a long night. the detective's team scoured the strip mall dumpsters for maybe a tossed weapon, clothing, something, he turned over the few facts he had so far. a woman with children gunned down execution style in the backtle comic bookstore, police interviewed merchants and ordinary? it turned out tom and lenora

picked up on something when they arrived, a speeding car in front of the comic bookshop.ght to fast. >> later, they wondered if that was the getaway car, but another observation tugged at them, who was the guy lurking outside the comic bookshop?on a dark outfit for that time of the year, a greek fisherman's cap is how i would describe it. >> another man would say he saw icious character, someone wearing what appeared to be a fake beard, ed lady. it was wide. aisles and bins filled with comic books out front by the register and a door to the back storage room. barbara george had been found back room. on the far wall was a locked door that led to the alley in the rear. >> now we're inside the comics' cotechs began videotaping the crime scene.

register, untouched. case just behind the till, the collectible vintage comics and they hadn't been ransacked.he storage area, some bins were toppled over, but the emts might have done that as they ran to assist barb george as she lay on the floor. george as $400 was in her pocket and the good jewelry wasn't taken. later the medical examiner would determine it the shop owner had been shot from above, indicating she'd been crouching. another bullet had been fired first, police believed.nt through a swimsuit calendar on the wall and into the empty shop on the of the sheet rock. if it was a robbery at the comic bookstore, it was an unusual one. just after 8:00, detective steckman was told that the husband of the victim had just arrived. nd he said what's going on? we said well, there's been an incident here and we're sorry to

injured. >> injured, not dead. happened to her. >> he doesn't know what happened to his wife. >> to our knowledge we had no idea what was going on. you have to go over to the hospital because your wife is ously injured. >> at the hospital, michael george was informed that his wife had died of a gun shot wound to the head. a few minutes later, mary and rushing in. the girlfriend was undone by the awful news.'m blown away in shock. i wasn't even related to her, and i was devastated and i was crying and i was upset. >> but there was someone that m as upset as mary was, the new widower, michael george. why was she so suspicious of thec book man? an untroubled husband with a very troubled marriage. >> we started receiving phone calls. we might want to look at his relationship with his employee renee. >> real cozy. you checked it out?

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barbara george had been shot to death in the storage room of the comic book shop she owned with her husband michael. michael george had returned from the hospital to show the chief

around what was now a crime e. the back room where barbara was shot was where a robbery must have happened. nt white boxes were gone. >> as soon as he walked into the back room he said there were two cardboard boxes full of very expensive comic books missing. >> so he's saying i had expensive stuff. >> two boxes of comic books and they're gone.e made a list of stolen comics and estimated their value at $12,600 and he later filed claims for missing spider-man, green lantern and n. to name just a few. >> he's talking about his robbery. >> his whole scenario was it had to be robbery. >> michael george told the no idea what happened to his wife. he'd last seen her a little after 4:00 when she relieved him behind the counter. he said he took their two kids over to his mom's and remained there napping on her couch until

detective steckman asked him questions the cop would when a wife was murdered.y girlfriends? no. were you having any affairs? no. any problems with your marriage? no.ine. at the funeral days later mary shamo, the girlfriend of barb's uldn't make out what he was feeling because his eyes were concealed behind dark, dark sunglasses. like something a blind person would wear.ou'd see stevie wonder wear. >> and mary sensed that michael was acting strange, 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 isd he grabs the vacuum and embraces the vacuum like he showed more emotion with this vacuum than he did the whole time. >> what's he saying to the vacuum?b's vacuum and oh, my gosh, she's never going to use this vacuum again and he would go to a blender and she's

>> are you thinking what's up with this guy? ike a screw ball. here you are grieving over the vacuum and these appliances, there was no tears in hisgoing on. it was all an act. >> the police, meanwhile, were chasing down bank records, insurance policies looking for lead 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.for them, the case detectives hadn't found the gun and hoped for forensics like a bloody print just weren't there, getting calls on the q.t. about michael george maybe having a girlfriend. >> when did you learn about a shop assistant named renee. >> that was two days later.tarted receiving phone calls

might want to look at his named renee. check it out. >> yes. >> it was barb george who befriended renee the their children's school and brought her to work at the comic bookstore. renee had five children and her floundering marriage had ended in divorce just three weeks before barb's murder. not long after they buried mbers dropping in unexpectedly at the comic bookshop along with her boyfriend joe and the pair got a they saw them canoodling. >> their arms were crossed over to each other and when you lose and you look around at the world like what's going on? why does the world keep moving when i just lost someone so important and here this man is and he's as happy as a clam.nk that he had any care in the world the way he was carrying on with her.

help of $130,000 life insurance hat he 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.the police casually at the store that night and then in a more formal interview with the police station six days later, but there would be no follow-ups.ective steckman, michael george said he would hire an attorney. lawyer up. >> he'd stop talking. >> exactly. >> this is a big, unsolved case? >> yes. how much frustration is building with the family? >> what can you do? can't take -- you can take the law into your own hands, but what's going to happen with >> did you ever talk about it? >> i felt it. there was times i felt, you i should do something, but, you know, i'm a catholic. i couldn't live with it.

are ageless, but the comic book shop in the clinton strip mall wasn't.ors in 1992. michael george, the shop owner and his new wife renee had moved from town. they settled some 375 miles southeast of detroit in windberg, pa, population 4,000.ning town. on the main drag there, the georges had opened their new shop, comics world.kids and renee's five being raised together in their spacious new home they found friends among the other parents involved in their kids sports teams. coached the pastor's daughter in basketball. he never missed a game. >> tremendous family man. respected business person in the community.ectrical supply shop three blocks down from comics world. >> his life were the kids and i would have to say his life was for renee. like gold.

where families went back generations by raising money for wish charity and giving comics to the public library.s good works, they say he was just plain fun. >> the guy always had a smile on his face and also always joking and everybody enjoyed being around him. >> he had all, but severed ties with the murdered wife's family. uncles and aunts rarely saw barbara's two girls.ear 2000, was michael george even aware that the longtime chief of police in his former town had passed away.th had died without solving the nagging case of the comic book murder. >> everyone in this town was ime, and probably myself more so because my dad was the chief of police at that time. >> chief smith's son, eric smith. >> i had driven by that store a thousand times with my old man bout every time we drove by there there was -- there was something he said. >> still gnawing at him.

>> four years after his father's death eric smith was elected chief prosecutor in macomb county, michigan. he became responsible for all of the criminal cases in clinton township and beyond. >> i can't tell you how many people came up to me and said ily member of theirs had been murdered and been killed and nothing had been done and you could see the desperation on their face and they really thought that the d them by, and i thought if i'm 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 after i came in. >> one of prosecutor's smith's first acts in office was to send out a letter to all of the police departments in his county asking police chiefs and ok at their old unsolveds with fresh eyes. >> i did it with michael george in mind. y mind that at the time 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.

dad. >> just as he'd hoped, the clinton township p.d. re-opened book murder case and what a surprise the detectives find there, someone did have a vital piece of information about the night of the murder, but his story had the cracks. how could police have missed it all those years?the comic bookshop that seemed to come at a very bad time. >> he sounded like he was in a busy and in a hurry to get off the phone. r.he blend you need suave professionals works as well as salon brands. live beautifully

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the comic book murder files came out of the archives, and the lead detective blowing off the dust was lieutenant craig keith. he'd been on the clinton township force long enough to remember the killing of 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 d children the same age and maybe that was something that just stuck with me. >> this is a tough one to pick up the stack. >> yeah. i knew that going in, but i always operate under the theory don't shoot, you don't score and i owed it to myself, because it was something i had told myself, but i owed it to barb, too.ective needed help, good, old-fashioned shoe leather cops to make the calls and knock on doors.veteran detectives jimmy hall and lenny rico. the two of them went into the old boxes, reading and re-reading yellowing police report, but there's a reason crimes go into the cold case

of evidence.wondered if they had one of those here. >> is this even doable and finally when we came to the that it's doable, we need to notify the family and that's when the family contacted them. >> the cold case detectives were painfully aware giving barb george's family false hopes after 17 years, but in early 2007 the detectives laid out what they find warts and all for barbara's brother joe and other family members. >> we were honest with them and we don't know how successful e here. >> still, after that meeting with the detectives, barb's family and friends allowed themselves to be optimistic. >> i told my sister when we station, i said something will come out of this. >> joe and mary, his girlfriend back then had broken up after barbara's murder, but they remained close over the years. >> my dad was in the hospital at

cancer and i told my dad what was going on, and he could barely even talk and he lit right up and he said, good. good. god's going to get him. >> the detectives started their investigation as though it were july 13, 1990. the 911 call had just come in. all three of them knew this wa "csi" forensic science saving the day. >> no weapon, no blood smears -- >> in terms of what people are eing nowadays with dna, we didn't have it. which means get out there and interview people. >> they say without eories they chased down the old leads again, the speeding car, the man in the old greek fisherman's cap and d lady and re-examined was it possible that barbara had been shot to death over a pricey >> thank you, sir. >> the cold case detectives

people and of all those fresh 2007 interviews, the one they did with this man turned out to e changer. his name is mike renan a girl's softball coach, now confined to eelchair after 2003. in 1990, he was a college senior and a spiderman fanatic. on july 13, the night of the murder, detectives learned he had placed a call to the comics he thought it had been around 5:30 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 ge, the shop owner. >> he sounded like he was busy and in a hurry to get off the phone. >> did he say i'm busy, there are people in the shop, i have to go. >> no, just short. >> just something you could hear

>> he would b.s. a little bit was no time for b.s. >> the cold case cop had struck gold. mike's story was the missing puzzle piece the detective his been looking for for years. if renaud' does nothing less than demolish michael george's alibi that he was napping at his mother's house when barb was murdered around 6:00. renaud's call meant george was lying and he was certain he talked to the comic store owner at the shop and that that brief conversation must had taken >> the embarrassing bit about this nugget of a clue is that mike had told the very same story to the police in 1990, the day after the murder. what looked like a case breaker 007 had simply slipped through the cracks back then. they'd had it in the case file all along. in clear handwriting, there it was. a record of renaud's july 14, phone call to the police.d he called comic world around 5:30 and talked with the owner michael george.

missing. >> even so, it was a piece that as evidence. there were no existing phone ate renaud ale logs to corroborate renaud ale ' s story or to pin down the exact time he said he placed the call. tective donald steckman doesn't know how that note from renaud went a stray, but he said he was unaware of the comic book collector's story about talking to the owner of the shop minutes before the murder. >> how did you not see it? if we had seen it we would not be sitting here today. >> you would have been for an arrest and indictment in 1991. >> no doubt about it.tigative lead pointed just one way, toward the husband. >> it just kept coming back to mike and it was a funnel effect. we started off looking at a lot eople and it just narrowed down just like a funnel. >> it was time for the cold caseke a road trip to pennsylvania. a trip across miles in time.

surprise visit to michael george was the one-time husband finally collectible?ears a conversation a suspected killer never expected. >> if you're going to show up tomorrow and let me know because

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>> we had teams of detectives go to all three locations at exactly the same time. >> michael at the store, his wife renee at the house and michael's mother at her home rk, michigan. >> unannounced.

>> when they found comics world es waited for customers to leave, checked their watches and sauntered in. >> we were about a minute behinddetectives and he was talking to renee, his wife and he says no, there's nobody here and he had his back to us as he walked to the door and he turned around and he said they're here he phone and he looked pretty sick at that point. >> detective hall switched on the tape recorder he'd concealed in his jacket.ntroduced ourselves. mike was pretty much unemotional and he said hey, come on in. have a seat and started talking to him. >> this is some of that conversation. a few questions for you. want to talk to you about it. what did the police tell you? >> they never told me what the leads were.

beginning. >> did he say this is great news? and you've solved it. >> didn't get the typical response, you found somebody? >> nothing. he just started staring. >> 17 years on, michael george claimed a flickering memory for >> i don't remember. >> he became sweaty, twitchy, anything?as very pale. didn't make eye contact. most of the interview his head was looking down towards the table. >> in 1990 his late-night conversation with the lead detective at the store after the murder, michael george had speculated that barb was killed

books. >> what was taken? >> very old books. >> he couldn't remember exactly how many comics were taken or amount. >> although he was sketchy details he had no problem coming up with an answer on why barbara of all people had been murdered, listen as michael's theory switches from robbery to nge. >> 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. i should have been there. >> this was a vendetta and that, what? barbara took the bullet that was meant for him. >> exactly. that was different from what he olice back in 1990. >> is that as interesting as anything else you heard? >> absolutely.

michigan, the son of t one-time police chief was deeply curious about how the swoopdown interview was going. >> were you surprised to hear that he talked to them and that he hadn't lawyered up or said i'm getting on the phone to my ow? >> very surprised. i 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 head's up.interview continued, michael george as he hadn't in 1990 now owned up to his philandering. >> late in the 90-minute interview the conversation circled back to the earlier the supposed

knew that he kept the good stuff in the back storage room.n things got testy and listen as george's previously passive tone becomes more directnfrontational. >> i am trying too to -- to find out how the individual would know they were there, unless it b. insurance fraud. >> so you're saying i'm lying? >> i'm saying that's a possibility. at all options. >> now you're saying i lied about the books being gone? so now what you're saying is i better get a lawyer. >> we didn't say that.. you just said one of the possibilities. >> that is a possibility. >> okay. if you're going to show up know, i'm get a lawyer. this is bullshit now. >> the next day, in fact, he would need a lawyer. a criminal defense lawyer.

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. >> there's no way.i didn't do this. >> the cold case had turned red hot. michael george was returning to michigan and would stand trial gree murder of his wife. a case prosecutors knew would be csi and show-me forensic evidence, that's because there was none. so it would come down to a single witness and his recollection of a solitary phone call he said he made on a friday13, 1990. a twist in court few would have predicted. >> initially, never crossed the

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>> all rise. far from his old comic book store michael george was standing trial, charged with the first-degree murder of his then wife barbara.the husband from hell. >> in early 2008 the man who intended to put george away was steve kaplan, then the trial prosecutor for the county's cold case unit. >> it's true, we didn't have case. book man with nothing, but circumstantial evidence, n, no dna this was a tough one to win, something he never let on to the jury, of course. >> we will prove to you that it

in this world who had a reason to kill this wonderful person and that's michael george. >> for kaplan, proving it all boiled down to a case of who do you trust? would the jury believe janet george, michael's mother? was sleeping on her couch at the time of the murder or would the jury accept collector mike renaud? he said the defendant was in the store around that time answeringcall. >> who answered the phone? >> michael george. >> how long did you talk to the defendant at that time? >> less than five minutes. you call the defendant? >> anywhere between 5:15 and 5:45. >> do you remember how he seemed to you? >> he seemed like he was in a hurry.ortant is he to your case? >> without michael renaud we cannot win this case because without michael renaud we cannot pl

of barbara's shooting. >> and then came a routine moment that we've all seen in courtroom dramas on tv. the prosecutor in this case, the judge. >> your honor, the people rest. >> and the defense response in this michigan courtroom just as to try to get the case thrown out. not enough evidence. the state hadn't met its burden argued carl marlinga and asked for the judge for what's called >> when you just don't know you have to -- you have to pull the plug. you have to say that's it. >> and then it got really strange.r honor, the state has not proved its case. we ask that you dismiss it right now jury. it happens all of the time. >> right. and almost always you're rebuffed. >> that's right. and almost always you're rebuffed withiconds. >> that didn't happen here. >> no.

intently for 20 minutes as defense lawyer argued that there was no way the prosecution had proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the the comic defendant was in the comic book shop with a gun in his hind. >> the trial judge is obligated to make a call to say whether or not there was sufficient ify this. >> prosecutor kaplan knew that by law the judge has to regard all evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution.seconds and queried with a brief citation of case law arguing why the case should go to the jury. >> the evidence presented to the question of fact to the jury whether michael george is the murderer and the motion should be denied. >> and then the judge rers to ponder this motion to dismiss and ponder he did, staying out for hours. >> eric smith, the county's chief prosecutor. >> well, i -- i can tell you what was going on in the

we were fit to be tied.hundreds of cases, and these motions for directed verdicts are dismissed almost immediately. >> did you expect it was possible that he would come out and say th jurors, you're dismissed. we don't have a case here. >> well, initially, it never crossed my mind. after a couple of hours it never after five hours you start to worry. >> carl marlinga was feeling 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.f watching the clock go round, the defendant, out on $1 million bond praying with his circle of friends and llway, the judge at last returned to the bench. >> the court has been reviewing atter for approximately

extraordinary length of time to review any motion for directed verdict. >> he started, was there a case to be made for ton. >> albeit, it could be argued that this evidence is marginal. then he seemed to point out the osecution. >> this is in many ways the classic murder case. if the evidence is believed by the jury then the jury could nding of guilt. >> on the one hand, and the other. where was the judge going? so the court, at this point, cannot substitute its judgment jury. >> he decided for the prosecution. there was enough evidence to go >> the directed verdict was denied. the defense had lost a five-hour long high-stakes game and apparently by the closest of margins. >> tha moment i ever had as a lawyer. >> you thought you might have had it.

guy from this horrible, horrible of not only having lost his wife, but having falsely blamed for it for all these years, i thought the al was almost over. >> the jury filed back in for the defense case unaware how close they'd come to being thanked and sent home without hearing more evidence. if the judge had indicated he had doubts about the case, what had doubts about the case, what would the jury think once the defense played its trump card, michael george's alibi witness? the verdict. count number one, first-degree

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michael george was on trial for gunning down his wife in the back of their comic book shop. fired up by the fact the judge missed the case, the phone call that placed the defendant at the scene. >> michael could not have been ry committing this murder. >> he said it was impossible to be in two places at once.ibi witness to say he arrived at her house

13th. >> said he was tired. >> when you got back, did you observe michael at all? >> yeah. >> where was he?eeping. >> now it was up to the jurors to decide if they believe his mother or the witness that said michael george answered his phone call. decision day., 2008. michael george prayed quietly to life he'd enjoyed in pennsylvania were at risk a murder conviction meant of parole. >> all rise for the jury, please. >> the jury of eight women and n nervously as one juror explained. >> my hands were sweating, and i took a look at michael george, and i saw his family, and i was at the same time. >> my brother turns to me and says is your heart beating fast? yeah, it is..

>> count number one, first-degree murder. we find the defendant guilty. >> guilty of first-degree murder. michael george slumped and his attorney's arms. please be seated. barb's sister and two brothers seemed to share a gasp of e took away my oldest sister. she didn't get to see me get married. she didn't get to see my son being born. she'll never get to see him do i mean, he took a part of me away. >> across the room the convictedger daughter, one of barb's two children, collapsed into her stepmother, renee. michael george would go on weeping for a full two minutes. >> i didn't do this! >> but lieutenant craig keith, the cold case detective who

tears. >> mike showed no emotion back in 1990 and now he cries and my impression of that is mike is crying for himself.ing. it was just devastating. >> barely able to stand, george was helped to the podium to face the same judge who had apparently been a heartbeat away from dismissing the case altogether. >> the jury has found you guilty of all charges.his time i'm remanding you to the custody of the macomb county sheriff's department. >> the comic book man was now a convict. >> put your hands behind your back. >> george! >> i didn't do this. his hands were cuffed and deputies led him away. >> i had no doubt that the verdict that we came to was the

>> their deliberation room. they said they could hear george sobbing, but that didn't shake their confidence in their verdict. they said it had come down to the testimony of the man who said he called about a comic. >> i think i hear you all saying he was tripped up by answering that phone call from michael renaud. >> yes. when mike renaud called. >> the cold case unit started by prosecutor eric smith with this won a conviction. >> i really thought he was finally going to face the just punishment he deserves. >> and smith had notched one up ved. >> my next thought went right to my old man. i wish he was here to share this with, but i know he's smiling.fense lawyer voiced the kinds of comments you'd expect to hear. >> i think the jury got it wrong. not right reversal or a new trial. >> but that wasn't brave

defense attorney was being prophetic. later the defense tried again. a motion for a new trial before the same judge. one of the grounds for the appeal was prosecutorial >> this is not a robbery. not a robbery. it's a murder. >> what happened was in his the prosecutor had a display for the jury. >> his timetable is -- and out of the judge's eye shot began assembling pieces of a photo like a jigsaw puzzle.en you put the picture together, jurors, there's your killer.maybe cornball, but either way the prosecutor may have overstepped his bounds. the image of the finished puzzle l george that was never introduced into evidence and according to defense lawyers showed him in a bad light. prejudicial error the defense ne. strike two was newly discovered

files possibly favorable to the defense.nat had had enough. >> a judge ruled michael george should get a new trial in the 1990 comic bookstore murder case. out the murder verdict and is now giving michael george another chance to win his freedom. >> it was just elation. it was, like, okay. the greatest injustice that i had ever been associated with as a lawyer has just been corrected. we are going get a new trial. >> carl marlinga and joe always believed in their client's innocence and now they won another chance to prove it. >> michael was devastated by the verdict. >> i didn't do this. >> suddenly he's got new life. suddenly he has faith again in the system. >> i think he had two things working.nce and unfairness in the closing argument on top of this real heartfelt feeling by judge

been convicted.osecutor eric smith wasn't buying any of it. >> the judge seemed to have directed that there be a new trial because of prosecutorial he hung his hat on a lot of things and that was one of them. since the case began it appeared he was not comfortable with this case and what he did was set ich was unheard of. >> smith was beside himself even though the controversial decision was backed by michigan's highest courts.t 18 years for justice, and you finally get justice only to have it -- the carpet pulled out from under you. the 2008 guilty verdict, barb's brother had gone to her grave site to share the good news. >> we finally got him, you know? , and, you know, you can rest now. >> but now there was the judge's blockbuster decision.e in our hearts. it was something that here we thought it was over.

go through the painful ordeal all over again and with even more uncertainties this time around.y 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, more possible alternate killers and just dug up dirt on the prosecution's star witness. but two completely new prosecutors were revved up for om battle. steve fox. and bill cataldo teaming up rge face the music one more time. the trial of the comic book was now at hand. a different jury, different prosecutors. >> michael george fell prey to to common man, sex and money.

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september 2011, in the rs 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 im. he was now confined to a wheelchair as his second trial got under way before a new owski, but if the defendant's disability made him appear feeble and more sympathetic to you are jurors, ion team would to demonize him. >> michael george fell prey to the two issues most known to common man, sex and money. >> what was your theory for the jury? think motive is important, and it was easy.

and the fact that he really didn't want to be married. he didn't like his wife. he found her completely unattractive.e wanted a new life. >> in his opening argument, prosecutor steve fox that in 1990 michael george was having a torrid his second wife. >> he wanted to get rid of his overweight wife and move on to someone better. >> before the murder the husband wasn't bothering to hide his disdain for his wife barbara to this prosecution witness. she and her son went to comic world the saturday before the murder. he store when theresa walked in. >> i had remarked how beautiful his girls were. >> what did he say? >> if it wasn't for his daughters that he would not be with his wife and that he found unattractive and heavy and if it was up to him he would take the girls and move to florida.

>> i couldn't believe he had said something like that to me ght there in the store. >> and that same customer was shocked again days later when michael made what she thought was a pass at her during his ownt the funeral home. >> he gave me a very inappropriate hug. it would have been a hug that i would only have given my husband. 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.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 other women and now a longtime friend of barbara's was testifying that her friends and family were all of capital t, trouble, in the marriage. kathy got a call weeks before the murder.

mike wanted a divorce. she convey to you whether she would agree to that? >> oh, she did not want a divorce. >> prosecutor fox then asked the defendant at barb's 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 i had with barb and then now her death. >> michael george, a one-time salesman himself received $130,000 tax-free from his wife's life insurance policies, not bad money in 1990. a witness who worked with michael in the insurance ed about the money. >> what does the document say? >> this is a claim statement for

>> michael george, looks like. >> on what day? >> 7/18 of '90. >> july 18, 1990. >> yes, sir. >> are you aware that barbara george was buried on july 16, 1990. >> womanizer, scoundrel. the prosecution dissected his 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 who had to have done it because no one else on earth would have. >> speak loudly.is kim? >> prosecutors called this witness who worked at a nail salon in the same strip mall as >> i would say i witnessed 30 to 35 arguments. >> she testified shield hear many arguments between michael and barbara that summer, but the one she heard that day, friday glier. >> it was much louder. he was much angrier and seemed t. >> yes. >> less than four hours later, barbara george would be discovered by customers on the floor in the back of comics

strip mall, customers coming and going, cars, no witness remembered hearing gunshots, though two had been fired and no one remembered seeing anyone and no witness saw michael george at the store from the time he left after 4:00p at 8:00 for party. scene. >> he told us who he was, identified himself and wanted to know what happened in the store.tective donald township p.d. testified that michael said his wife was working at comics world. >> i advised him there had been an incident at the store and hiseen injured. condition? >> no. >> did he ask you about how it happened? that then lieutenant donald brook would be driving him to the hospital where he could find out about his wife. >> the former lieutenant testified that michael started ithout prompting.

thought was noteworthy.s that statement? >> something must have fell or dropped on her in the back room. >> why is that statement interesting to you? >> because i never told him that mrs. george was in the back roomre. >> those are things he should have known. >> he knows evidence that only the shooter would know not realizing how unique that information is. >> later that night according to police, michael george told ors the two white boxes of expensive comics were missing and that poor barbara must have stumbled into a robbery gone bad. >> a theory police and prosecutors subsequently ed. >> this is why it was not a robbery. the diamond ring was on her hand and we know it was worth at least $2500. there was $700 in the register.comics behind the glass were untouched. the safe, untouched.

claimed the missing boxes of these two white boxes were unmarked and they didn't say expensive comic books here. >> missing comics were never found, but prosecutors believe they were never stolen, either, ael recovered a $12,600 insurance claim for them. >> there were a hundred unmarked white boxes in that room, the only way to know which ones to grab would be if it was an . >> the only inside job according to the prosecutors was the murder itself.eason it's an inside job is because of the accessability to that door. >> that door was central to the prosecutor's theory of the murder. michael george, they said, and concealed himself until his wife was alone in the store. when she came into the back room their belief was he fired two shots.one hitting a swimsuit calendar in the wall, the second striking barb in the top of her head as she was ducking away.

where he went from there our the back door and gone. >> slipping into the alley, sight unseen, but not before doing only what he could do.e left through the back double locked. >> indeed, the door was locked from the outside when police arrived. something prosecutors claimed only michael george could do.ave to have both keys? no one but the defendant had e back door, prosecutors maintained, and they added any supposed robber would door and would have been >> there were too many witnesses that started walking in a minute to two minutes of that gunshot. no one saw anyone leaving with boxeno one saw anyone running out >> what about people spotted by witnesses minutes before and after the murder?reek's

character who seemed to be wearing a fake beard. the so-called bearded lady.etch of the bearded lady, but prosecutors say none of the would-be suspects ever amounted to anything except in the case of the bearded lady.rize that this person may have been michael george's accomplice. now the prosecutors would offer witness, the sole person who with could say the husband was indeed in the store as the minutes were counting down to murder.mike renaud. but this time the defense was ready with new evidence to challenge not only renaud's credibility, but also his memory. in 1990 you used marijuana and you drank alcohol on the

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once again, michael george's guilt or innocence would likely come down to the man who said he made an innocent phone call about a spider-man comic book.d call mike renaud. >> in the first trial, the jurors bought his account of speaking to the shop owner over rently minutes before the murder. the judge, however, had seemed skeptical. but now 12 new people would be deciding the case.tion and defense lawyers had to start up fresh with the all-important star witness. the stakes couldn't be higher. >> michael renaud, without him would you have a case? >> no. he's the only one that puts the defendant at the scene.e that alone can destroy the defendant's alibi. >> without him we warrant. >> they knew their client's freedom depended on them

>> it's a win-win for the prosecution's side. >> what we hoped to direct the jury to focus on was specifically that alibi.endant's 1990 story was that he'd left his clinton township shop some time after 4:00 p.m. to go to his mother's house. she lived in hazel park about a it was michael george's alibi that he was at his mother's to 7:30. a little after he arrived, his mother said he took hehe park and he was sleeping on the couch some 6:00. barb was murdered a little after if michael george's account is true, he was at his mother's at that time and therefore could not be the killer. prosecutors michael george wasn't napping on comics world and sneaked into the storage room with a gun when barb left to order pizza for his birthday party and about what time was that?

>> that's the timeframe when this woman, a friend of barb's store. it was locked and she had to wait for barb to return from the pizza place. >> if she was not in the store at 5:30, she couldn't have ne. if someone answered the phone it would have to be someone other than her? >> correct.rosecutors questioned the one witness who could identify who answered the phone. >> michael renaud. >> yes, sir. >> mike renaud. in 1990 a decade before his nt renaud was married and had a young daughter and was holding down two jobs. >> were you also attending school? >> yes. i was going to wayne state. >> how well did you do in wayne state?ated cum laude. the prosecution wanted to regard renaud as knowledgeable and a comic book collector. >> before july 13, 1990 how he store? >> at least once a week.

work, but renaud's critical story with the jury had to do with the phone call he made later in the day to the shop. he had a collector's question about a spider-man comic he owned.ed because he was excited that some book had jumped from $8 to $40. >> did you contact anyone to discuss the reasons for it going >> 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 oforge, and the answers were very short and he seemed to be in a hurry to get off the phone.der as many people did if michael george was lying in wait to murder his wife in just moments, why would he be 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 call and he doesn't want to lose business or numb

>> couldn't investigators simply pull the phone logs and verify renaud's story by seeing what showed the call coming in. not 22 years ago. the phone company didn't keep those kinds of logs on local remember, renaud's story had fallen through the investigative cracks altogether until a cold case cop craig in that re-discovered 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 with michael george in the comic shop at 6:00 p.m. on the fateful day. after you hung up with the department, did yourther? >> yes. >> why? >> i did not want to get mike in trouble. 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 he'd spoken to michael

back? of 6:00. >> there were multiple calls to police. we saw that as a strength rather >> he's trying to help michael george and he's trying to tell 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 he's making it up for 15 minutes of fame. >> that's not how the defense they t the limelight of the big murder trial. >> we think he's just in his mind. he saw a way to become importantvestigation. >> when the defense had its crack at renaud on cross-examination, it wanted the jury to question his motives, bility. >> first of all, this guy mike renaud makes himself sound like he's a good buddy of michael george.all the time. michael george doesn't remember him at all. >> renaud's multiple calls to the police changing his times indicated that this witness

recollections and was therefore, >> he calls back several times being uncertain of the time when he was making the call. >> if the call to michael georgeand the defense disputes that it did, defense attorney marlinga believed it must have been placed before the shop owner left for his mother's house. that was more than an hour r. >> so you're saying renaud is not just mistaken with his times, that he is -- >> he's a person of mischief. >> we think he wanted to -- to become a hero., since the last trial renaud had tried to bolster his story by adding new facts according to the defense.r the first time that he went to the clinton township police department days after the murder to make a report in person. marlinga's tough that renaud's memory of that police interview was at best, hazy. >> the person that you met with in the face-to-face conversation. do you know the name of that person?

male or female?. >> i cannot say. >> this was person in a uniform or in a suit, sport coat or a suit? >> i cannot say. >> do you remember seeing a badge? >> i cannot say.see a police report that was generated as a result of that interview? >> no, sir. >> there is, in fact, no police report of that interview.xample in the defense's theme of inept police work or a figment of renaud's imagination?ce department lost a very important police report or the lack of police notes is a fact because the interview never happened. >> isn't it true, sir, that you hat 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 ory is so hazy. back in those days, the lawyers asserted, he was often in a haze of pot smoke. >> can you even remember were high? >> objection. argumentative.

nuclear on mike renaud? wouldn't say nuclear. we regard it just bring out the facts. and you drank alcohol on the weekends, did you not? at would not surprise me. >> the homicide that we're talking about occurred on friday friday july 13th, your two to the clinton township police occurred on 4th of 1990. we are agreed that friday and saturday are weekend days, correct? >> correct.ed 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 have used it, or ve used it. you do not remember? >> correct. >> the goal was to raise reasonable doubt about renaud's

person that does not have the best handle on time. >> now that the defense believedrenaud's story. it was ready to tell the jury who really murdered barbara george. suspect in an impossibly strange disguise. >> he said it looked like a woman in a fake beard, a really womanly hips or something. get ready! new superstar mascara by l'oreal. super dramatic lashes.

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michael george had been married 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 his 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. not a matter of

with the person for having affairs. this is a matter of evidence. >> so lead defense attorney carl he defendant was on trial of murder. >> an adulterer is a person that does evil things but that does make him a murderer. >> the victim's shoe could be seen. >> as for any hard evidence that michael george killed his wife maintained it just didn't exist. >> and you have no weapon, no witnesses. >> no. >> no forensics. >> nothing. nada, nothing that ties him to the crime. >> the jury, your honor, the people rest.e first trial came that moment when the prosecution rested and the defense filed a motion saying, your honor, they haven't proved their case.hysical evidence which links michael george to the crime. >> but this time there was no five-hour retreat to chambers

her ruling came in seconds. >> the court is finding that the prosecution has presented substantial evidence. the defendant teared u evidence, the judge declared, to go forward. >> the conclusion, gentlemen, is that the motion is denied. so with that setback, not unexpected, the defense began d line of attack. that the original police work was inept, that there was it new, this someone else committed the murder and thirdly, that michael george had a strong alibi.at our strongest evidence was the alibi, and that would normally be sufficient to that we are dealing with michael's history and the affairs that could make him an unlikable character, joe and i realized that we really ove innocence. >> michael george told police that he'd left the store with his daughters a little after 4:00 p.m. that friday. they went to his mother janet's inutes away.

mother's couch when, tragically, his wife was shot. janet george, the mother had first trial and backed up her son's asleep on the couch story. >> on the couch. >> defense attorneys altered their strategy for trial number two. you swear that you will read word for word everything that's in that transcript? >> mom didn't testify in person this time around. the defense had a stand-in lead ead read janet george's 2008 testimony into the record, in a time that michael arrived after 5:00 p.m. that day. she said he was tired while she a nearby playground. >> when you got back, did you observe michael at all? >> yeah. >> he was on the couch sleeping. >> if they believed the story, michael george couldn't possibly have been at his shop at 5:30 answering the phone.ar prosecution

talked to him. >> janet george was the alibi. why didn't you put her on the stand? >> tough call.d about it. the problem with janet george is that she loves her son, but she's a wild card. memory is fading. >> the lawyers were confident about their decision not to call the mother because they had a strong witness to substantiate ry. >> okay. peggy was janet george's next-door neighbor.he 13th, like most days, peggy said she got home from her job between 5:45 and 6:00. >> as you got close to your house did you see anybody?w janet and the two girls in the school street. >> when you saw them there, what, if anything, did they do? >> we just waved.pulled into your house what, if anything, did you see in front of janet's house? >> there was a van parked in

did you recognize whose van it was? >> i assumed it was one of michael's vans, yes.n the prosecution's theory of the time line, there was a missing link of logistics. how did michael get from his mother's place and back to the store in time to kill barbara? 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 and michael's. she's a neighbor. why wouldn't you believe her? >> when you take the combined et george and peggy you have solid evidence e else. >> and that neighbor was a person the defense team had found on its own. the police had never knocked on doors to corroborate michael's eing at his mother's, evidence in itself, the defense argued of shoddy police work.

lieutenant admitted on cross-examination that aspect ofn could have been better. >> if you were the officer in charge of this case, would you have conducted a canvass of his d to see if people could have placed him there at or about the time of the homicide? >> yes, sir. >> that police work was the defense theory. for instance, the police never gunshot residue the night of the murder. >> in the rear entry door. >> and also failed to dust the n's critical back door for possible fingerprint. >> if the bad guy touched the handle to get out that way, he some prints, but we'll never know that because the police didn't dust that. >> there were some plastic storage bins. >> and police photos inside the comic storeroom where barbara utter blocking the back door. how could michael george have gotten in or out with all of that.at look like the room.

know how to read that junk apparently in the way. >> was that leaning up against the door?the perspective. it's hard to tell. >> the defense felt it had raised enough reasonable doubt verdict and even though they in no way had to the lawyers wanted to offer the jury other possible murder suspects considered in a bbery gone bad. >> the defense calls mr. thomas clinton.ut on a witness who told a story about being with two friends outside a comic bookshop in flint, michigan, some 50 miles away from michael george's shop. a sinister-looking guy was peddling hot comics.hed us in the parking lot and asked us to take a look at old comics that he wanted to sell. >> this new defense witness saidafter watching the first comic bookcase on "dateline."

seller and didn't buy anything from him. >> the vibe the gentleman was giving us told us no way. at encounter took place july 14, 1990, significantly, the day after barbara george's murder, but his friends, called by the prosecution contradicted him and happened weeks earlier. >> we were walking towards the building. >> the defense wasn't out of alternative suspects. customers who had initially come upon barbara george, thomas ward recounted seeing a suspicious man lurking about when he got to comics d a little after 6:00 p.m. >> it appeared that this individual was looking, trying to gaze into the store quite focused, in a quite focused fashion.e remembered the man because of his distinctive hat. he had a greek fisherman's cap, >> >> let me show you defense exhibit 105. >> yeah. >> and still another new witness

briefly dated a guy who wore a med hat like that. a guy who carried a gun and was up to no good and was up to no good with the comic book stores.at he was stealing these comic books. >> these were all possible suspects the defense claimed, f the list of curiosities was someone who became known as the bearded lady.ess joe gray, a friend of the georges came to the store before 6:00 to drop off supplies for michael's birthday party. gray was with a friend who had gotten a gander of something strange. >> he said it looked like a woman in a fake beard, a really manly hips or something. >> gray and his friend were so concerned about this weird bearded lady out front they warned barbara george to b it didn't feel right. >> why would somebody wearing a fake beard? maybe someone would come to the party as a joke or maybe they ob the place. it was joe gray's friend who

the so-called bearded lady. >> i believe the person with the fake beard and mustache is the killer.ur solution of this? >> it's a fake beard and ly day with no no theater productions or halloween parties and this is just too suspicious in these circumstances, that person is the killer. >> what would 12 fresh jurors e? the comic book murder case volume 2 had one final chapter left. he said victoza works differently than pills. and comes in a pen. to lower blood sugar and a1c. it's taken once a day, any time. victoza is not for weight loss, but it may help youht. victoza is an injectable prescription medicine

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the comic book murder was a grueling case in search of an ending, barbara george had been 1990. her husband was arrested in 2007. his first trial ended in a

six-week retrial in 2011, a second jury was behind closed doors deliberating. and once again, michael george hadn't testified as was his right. his lawyers had put him through a mock cross-examination that they said his memory was faulty after all that time. >> i put together a pattern of cross-examination questions where he had to say i don't 0 times in a row and we have two solid alibi witnesses. it's almost malpractice to put him on the stand. >> but the prosecutors beliece to testify was more about him not being able to stand up to the grilling he would have faced in a real cross-examination. was murdered, that's the most important day of my life and i forgot what happened that day? it's becaumyself out of wanting to remember. >> i wanted to hear what he had to say. >> these jurors said the entire panel was disappointed that it didn't hear the story from

about a person when they talk about themselves. >> "dateline" talked to 10 of the 12 jurors and they told us the first vote revealed a split.ilties, five not. >> and your not guilties, what? needed to be persuaded? >> it was the robbery. >> the clarification.ication and a couple had an idea that maybe the robbery did happen. >> the central question for each believe, the comic book on the phone to michael george in the shop just before the murder or the defendant's mother, his i witness that he was napping on her couch across town at the same hour. >> to me, ultimately, it came down to michael renaud's testimony and the phone call that he made that placed michael george at the scene of the crime. >> so did the defense damage ke renaud's credibility by attacking him as a marijuana

not to this y were trying to personally attack him to get us to believe that he couldn't remember anything because he was a drug abuser. several questioned the mother's events. >> i'm not saying she would lie for him, but, i mean, would you stick up for your kids? >> the jurors talked it through for three days and finally took a vote.men. we have a verdict. their job was done. >> all rise for a jury. >> michael george cried quietly. his wife renee, remained stoic.cross the court, barb's brother hoped for justice from a second jury. >> it's 12 people. you don't know what they're thinking.n read the verdicts. first degree premeditated murder of barbara george guilty, first degree premeditated murder. guilty, murder in the first uilt oat other counts, as well. felony firearm and insurance fraud. this time. he closed his eyes and seemed tomself.

her head. barb's brother contained his joyor his nieces their father. >> it's a little bit bittersweet. they still have to come to the realization that their father's a murderer.rs quietly congratulated each other on the conviction. finally the family was getting what they deserved, the justice they deserved.e was led out of the courtroom to begin the rest of his life in prison, no possibility of parole.ce as his staunch defense attorney saw it. >> i was left with this case for four years and i don't see any evidence that he was there mmitting these crimes. i prosecuted killers, defended killers, this man was not guilty. >> i don't know why god has put i do believe he loves us. >> six weeks after the verdict, michael george did finally speak out, but as a convicted murderer sentencing hearing.

people away that are innocent has not started with me and will not end with me. before this, i've never been rime, nor domestic violence. i have no police ridiculous, no problem 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 god above. >> barb's brother joe expected nothing and said he got it. >> once again, no apology. he thinks he's better than anybody else as going get away with it. >> as barb's family saw it since 1990 he did get away with murder until eric smith's cold case unit finally made him pay.talk to barbara? >> yes. >> did you talk to her in the courtroom that day? >> yes. >> what did you say? >> that i love her.ss her and that we finally got him and hopefully she can rest in peace and we can