And i said, yeah, it is. I mean, this is it. I looked at him and said lets go down to the comic bookstore. I knew immediately, the crime scene tape was there, they said you cant go through, we a investigating a homicide. Theyre investigating the comic bookstore. The comic bookstore was a mom and pop shot outside detroit. The fantasy big guys, spidey, hulk, xmen. In the Storage Space in back was an ugly reality. One of the shop owners was on the floor. Customers found her. Multiple times ere friday night. It was july of 1990, friday the 13th. Comic book shop before going to dinner. They liked to buy from the woman there, barb. She knew our r me when we walked in, she would light up with a smile. Many times would come around the counter to greet us. But not on this summer evening. It was just after 6 00. Tom and lenora picked out a comic but no one was behind the counter to take their money, not barb or her husband michael. It wasnt uncommon someone wouldnt be at the cash register, but this was a longer than normal time. We thought we would stick around because we liked her. Some teenage customers were in the shop browsing, they, too, were itching to pay and go. They were the first to peek into the back room and see barb. Cried out theres someby back here. At that time tom and i rushed to the back storage area and found barb on n e floor. We thought she perhaps had 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 custouer happened to be a nurse and took charge. She noticed only a small amount of blood and concluded that barb had suffered heart attack or seizure anshe told her husband to call 911 while she began administering cpr. I had never done cpr on someone that i knew and loved and i thought please, god, let this be okay. Shes a mother. As the ambulance rushed barb b to the hospital, lenora ward thought shed done her professional best and she wasnsn answered. I knew she was medically in dire straits. George. She doctors were working to get a pulse. One e. R. Nur was kris kehoe. If you give 100 compressions a minute, the better 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. Thats when she saw it. When we were straightening up her hair we noticed blood on the top of her head. I noticed there was a small hole. My first thought as a nurse was that it had to be bullet hole there. Imagine that, Barbara George, the nice woman behind the counter, shot. Shot in the head and it didn seem like it could happen to such a good person. Friends and family showed up for a Birthday Party for her husband. Singing of happy birthday and all of the superheroes from his beloved marvel and action comics all those guests now stunnod to find the party turned into a crime scene. And barb, the hostess, was dead. Two possible clues to solving the mystery, right after the murder witnesses reported seeing a speeding car and a man waiting outside the comic book shop. And he had on a dark outfit for thatime of the year. A fishermans cap, is how i would describe it. At kay, the numberone jewelrlrstore. In america. Levian chocolate diamonds. For the sweetest thing in your life. Aaaaaaaand were back at Cricket Wireless switch and get a brand new lg risio for 19. 99, or take a spin with the Samsung Galaxy grand prime for 29. 99 Cricket Wireless. Something to smile about. Feel a spark of emotion light up every inch of you. Feel warm inside. Feel our big beautiful cane. Feel glade. Lilly. She pretty much lives in her favorite princess dress. But once a week i let her play sheriff so i can wash it. I use tide to get out those week old stains and downy to get i ifresh and soft. You are free to go. Tide and downy their hole in the wall shop, comics world, had been barb and Michael Georges just go for it passion. He collected thousands of comics over the years and he liked than he liked selling insurance, i used to go to her games. I remember going to the tournamentntand she was the typical sister. He was because up in a bash was brought up in a polish family. When she found herman, marriage became the organizing principle of her life. Was she a happy bride . Very happy. She couldnt wait. And when children came along, 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 over to the comic shop for what was to be a celebration. Barbs surprise Birthday Party in the store for michael. He was turning 30. Michaels mother was going keep the two kids at her house for the weekekd while barb and michael took off after the party for a cozy couple 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 confusion, cop cars. We pulled up and joe rolled down the window and the Police Stopped us and they said you cant go through. Were investigating a homicide. Somebody was killed. I immediately thought mike because i thought t one hated absolutely nobody. But the victim wasnt mike. It was joes sister and it was steckman to make sense of the senseless. Hed been the investigator on duty when the hospital called that theyd had a woman come in with a single gunshot to the head. Now we had a fullblown homicide. You know its going to be a long night. Yeses as the Detectives Team scoured the strip mall dumpsters for maybe a tossed weapon, clothing, somethinin he turned over the few facts he had so far. A woman with childregunned down execution style in the back of the little comic bookstore, Police Interviewed merchants and customers at the mall, had anyone seen anything out of the ordinary . It turned out tom and lenora ward did, the couple who had gigin barb first aid, and picked up on something when they arrived, a speeding car in front of the comic bookshop. And we both thought to ourselves, that car is going too 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 . He had on a dark outfit for that time of the year, a greek fishermans cap is how i would another man would say he saw a different suspicious character, someoeo wearing what appeared to be a fake beard, possibly a bearded lady. The shop was small, deeper than it was wide. Aisles and bins filled with comic books out front by the register and door to the back storage room. Barbara georgead been found just inside the back room. On the far wall was a locked door that led to the alley in the rear. Now were inside the comics corner. Crime scene techs began videotaping the crime scene. The cash register. There was 750 still in the cash register, untouched. In a glass case just behind the till, the collectible vintage comics and they hadnt been ransacked. In the storage area, some bins were toppled over, 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 wasnt tan. Later the medical examiner would determine it the shop owner had been shot from above, indicating shed been crouching. Another bullet had been fired first, police believed. It missed and went through a swimsuit calendar on the wall and into the empty shop on the 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. He identified himself and he said whats going on . We said ll, theres been an incident here and were sorry to tell you, but your wife has been injured. Injured, not dead. We never told him what t happened to her. He doesnt 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 serisly injured. At the hospital, Michael George was informed that his a few minutes later, mary and his brotherinlaw joe came rushing in. The girlfriend was undone by the awful news. Im blown away in shock. I wasnt even related to her, and i was devastated and i was crying and i was upset. But there was someone that didnt seem upset as mary was, the new widower, Michael George. Why was she so suspicious of the comic 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 . Yes. Low prices on everything you need happy tax refundays from walmart. The citi double cash card comes in very handy with cash back twice. With 1 when you buy and 1 as you pay. With two ways to earn on purchases, it makes a lot of other cards seem one sided. Get ready new superstar mascara by loreal. Super dramatic lashes. One primer thickens to the max supervolumized two black fiber formula stretches to the max superextended superstar. Barbara george had been shot 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 chi detective sergeant steckman around what was now a crime scene. The back room where barbara was shot was where a robbery must have happened. He noticed two important 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 hes saying i had two boxes of comic books d theyre gone. Michael george de a list of stolen comics and estimated their value at 12,600 and he later filed claims for missing spiderman, Green Lantern and ironman. To name just a few. Hes talking about his robbery. His whole scenario was it had to be robbery. Michael george toldldhe detective he had no idea what happened to his wife. Hed 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 moms and remained there napping on her couch until 8 00 when he returned to the comic bookstore. Detective steckman asked him questions the cop would when a wife was murdered. Were there any girlfriends . No. Re you having any affairs . No. Any problems with your marriage . No. Everything was fine. Shamo, the girlfriend of barbs brother couldnt make out what he was feeling because his eyes were concealed behind dark, dark sunglasses. Like something a blind person would wear. Or youd 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, barbs brother had gone over to give michael mome support during tough days. He comes in and her vacuum is sitting there and he grabs the vacuum and embraces the vacuum like he showed more emotion with this vacuum than he did the whole time. Whats he saying to the vacuum . Oh, this was barbs vacuum and oh, my gosh, shes never going to use this vacuum again and he would go to a blender ananshes never going to be in the kitchen again. Are you thinking whats up with this guy . I am looking at him like a screw ball. Here you are grieving over the vacuum and these appliances, there was no tears in his eyes and nothing going on. It was all an act. Insurance policies looking for leads on the speeding car, the man in the greek fishermans cap, the socalledearded lady and whether this could have been a botched robbery after all. Th were also getting a crash course on the value of vintage comics. Unhappily for them, the case detectives hadnt found the gun and hoped for forensics like a bloody print just werent there, but the investigators were getting calls on the q. T. About Michael George maybe having a girlfriend. When did you learn about a shop assistant namedenee. That was two days later. We started receiving phone calls from people advising us that we might want to look at his relationship with his employee named renee. A little cozy. Check it out. Yes. It was barb george who befriended renee the their childrens schooooand brought her to work at the comic bookstore. Renee had five children and needed theheoney. Her floundering marriage had weeks before barbs murder. Not long after they buried barbara, mary shamo remembers dropping in unexpectedly at the comic bookshop along with her boyfriend joe and the pair got a shockeroo. They saw them canoodling. Their arms were crossed over to each other and when you lose someone in your life and you look around at the world like whats going on . Why does the world keep moving when i just lost someone so important and here this man is and hes as happy as a clam. You wouldnt think that he had any care in the world the way he was carrying on with her. Michael and renee would set up a new home together with the help of 130,000 Life Insurance payout on barb that he received as beneficiary. Is he becoming what cops call 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 and then in a more formal interview with the Police Station six days later, but there would be no followups. According to detective steckman, hire an attorney. Lawyer up. Hed stop talking. Exactly. This is a big, unsolved case . Yes. Yes. How much frustration is building with the family . What can you do . Cant take you can take the law into your own hands, but whats going to happen with that . Did you ever talk about it . I felt it. There was times i felt, you know, that i should do something, but, you know, im a catholic. I couldnt live with it. In the comics, superheroes are ageless, but the com are ageless, but the comic book shop in the clinton strip mall wasnt. It closed its doors 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. On the main drag there, the georges had opened their new sh, comics world. With his two kids and renees five being raised together in their spacious new home they found friends among the other parents involved in their kids sports teams. Michael coached the pastors daughter in basketball. He never missed a game. Tremendououfamily man. Respected business person in the community. Jeff had the Electrical Supply shop three e ocks down from comics world. His life were the kids and i would have to say his life was for renee. He treated her like gold. They endeared themselves to a toun where families went back generations by raising money for the make a wish charity and giving comics to the public library. Besides his 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 uncles and aunts rarely saw barbaras two girls. Come the year 2000, was Michael George even aware that the longtime chief of police in his former town had passed away. Chief robert smith had died without solving the e gging case of the comic book murder. Everyone in this town was aware of that crime, and probably myself more so because my dad was the chief of police at that time. Chief smiths son, eric smith. I had driven by thastore a thousand times with my old man and justbout every time we drove by there there was there was something he said. Still gnawing at him. There was no question about it. Four years after his fathers death eric smith was elected chief prosecutor in Macomb County, michigan. He became responsible for all of the criminalases in Clinton Township and beyond. I cant tell you how many people came up to me and said that a Family Member of theirs had been murdered and been killed and nothing had been done and you could see the they really thought that the stem had passed them by, and i thought if im going to be the chief Law Enforcement officer of thth county i cant let people out there think that we dont care. So we started a cold case unit very soon after i came in. One of prosecutors smiths first acts ioffice was to send out a letter to all of the Police Departments in his county asking volice chiefs and detectives to look at their old unsolveds with fresh eyes. I did it with Michael George in mind. There was no question in my mind that at the timeme was hoping that wed get a lot of cases i was hoping that Clinton Township would pick this case up. And maybe resolve one for the old d n. Thats it. That was the case that w unsolved for my old man, for my dad. Just as hed hoped, the Clinton Township p. D. Reopened the dusty comic 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 how could police have missed it all those years . A phone call to the comic bookshop that seemed to come at a very bad time. He soded like he was in a busy and in a hurry to get off the phone. R. 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