After a lengthy deliberation, Macomb County, Mich., Circuit Judge James Biernat this morning upheld the jury’s conviction of retailer and convention organizer Michael George in the 1990 murder of his first wife Barbara.
Defense attorney Carl Marlinga had argued that the evidence wasn’t sufficient for the March 17 conviction of his client on charges of first-degree murder, felony firearm, insurance fraud and obtaining money from an insurance agency under false pretenses.
George faces life in prison without parole.
Update: The Detroit Free Press has more extensive coverage, including quotes from attorneys and Barbara George’s family.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:53 am
How soon until a network latches on to this and makes a movie of the week?
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:47 pm
this schmuck shoud’ve just taken the insurance $$$ he got after her death and RAN FOR THE HILLS!!!
(i.e. leaving the country for another country w/o extradition)
the NBC dateline special on this case was pretty well done, I must say. I think the transcript is still up…
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Since this has happened most of the people in the Detroit comic book community thought that George was guilty. What surprises me is how it took the police 20 years to convict him on evidence that was available 20 years ago.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 pm
George! We’re all behind you!
I mean, we would be if your cellmate wasn’t in the way.
Don’t drop the soap.
N.B. this post references a much earlier blog post on Newsarama Blog regarding this topic.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:57 pm
The facts and interviews of the special were mostly*** well done — the comic book trappings that Dateline added were downright embarrassing.
I lean towards guilty, by I can understand all of the confusion and debate. Always hard for a jury/judge/anyone to convict anyone of anything with circumstantial evidence.
I said “mostly” above, only because although I know there must have been an investigation into the firearm used and Michael’s history (or lack-there-of) of firearm ownership/use, etc. They didn’t mention any of that in the story. No gun was ever recovered? Did Michael ever own a gun? Etc. I would have liked to have known that.
JR
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I used to go to his store COMIC WORLD in MI. and met him quit a few times at the Pittsburgh COMIC CON. He always did seemed kinda CREEPY!
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
I still can’t get over how guilty and creepy that photo makes him look.
May 23rd, 2008 at 5:30 pm
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080523/METRO03/805230421/1361
What throws me for a loop here is that we again must wait a few weeks for the sentencing. Maybe I missed something, but the trial is done, his defense attempt to overturn has failed, so why didn’t the judge just get it over with and pass sentence?
The Mandatory Sentence is Life without Parole, so I doubt the Judge has a lot of choice on the matter as to what the sentence will be. Also his lawyer (Marlinga) stated they will file for new trial, but who knows how that will go.
Whats too bad about this was that the cops 20 years ago were indeed the Keystone Cops and didn’t do a great job investigating this and that the report about the phone call was buried in the file and overlooked.
Also to those that think that photo makes Mike look creepy, if you did business with this…..person… back in Michigan especially after the murder, well lets just say you wouldn’t need that photo to feel that way.
Glad I was able to give the detectives information on the case, and I’m glad that karma and justice has finally caught up to him.
May 23rd, 2008 at 6:40 pm
yeah we are all behind you, because we would be scared to death to have you behind us…
rot in your cell…the only big POKER games you will be playing is with your big burley cellmate…he’ll be the poker and you will be the pokee
don’t worry renee will take care of herself while she is spending all of your hard earned blood money
until the civil suit!!!
May 23rd, 2008 at 10:10 pm
Easy there Face on Mars.
As to Renee, I have no sympathy for her and never did. I never thought highly of her back in the Michigan days at all, and far as I’m concerned she is a homewrecker at the very least.
My sympathy goes to Barb’s family, the daughters of Barb and Mike as they were 4 and 2 at the time their mother was taken from them, and to Barb herself.
As to a Civil Suit…..I wonder if there really will be one? If Mike was tried 18 years ago then I could see a Civil Suit being done, but now after the case had gone cold for so long?
May 24th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Judging from the majority of comments in these and the other articles, people seem less happy about justice being served and more happy about the potential of totally-hot male-on-male rape.
I worry about you guys sometimes.
May 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Well prison cellmate jokes/comments are inevitable in things like this.
Still I’m more focused on justice long overdue being served. Still a bit boggled that we have to wait another month for the Mandatory Life Sentence to be handed down to him.
May 27th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Man, this dude could have killed me and my friend Nick 100s of times. Fortunately, there was no money in it.
May 29th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Well I too felt uneasy dealing with him before and after the murder for assorted other reasons but his behavior after the murder when from arrogant jerk to downright creepy.
Still aside from the phone call his alibi was already weak: He takes the kids to grandma’s (his mother) house then takes a nap while grandma takes the kids to the park, thus leaving him ALONE in the home.
No one in the home the entire time he was said to be there, thus no one can say that he was indeed napping on the couch the whole time.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:54 am
“How soon until a network latches on to this and makes a movie of the week?”
Exactly 2 months, it seems.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:01 am
Ironically Ed Kramer of Dragon*Con was finally released after seven years house arrest for his pedophilia charge, though he still has to stay away from kids 16 and under.
Just how many other major cons are run by felons & other sleazeballs? Wouldn’t be surprised to hear about someone from Comic-Con in San Diego getting busted for something sooner or later. Lotza oogie vibes coming from that racket.