George Ronald York was born on February 6, 1943, in the United States. Not much is documented about his childhood, but as a young adult he enlisted in the United States Army, where he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, in 1959. It was there that he met James Douglas Latham, a fellow private.

In May 1961, both men went AWOL, citing racial integration in their barracks as a reason for their desertion. York and Latham, aged 18 and 19 respectively, left Fort Hood with the intention of traveling to York’s hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.

The violent spree began on May 26, 1961, in Mix, Louisiana, where York and Latham assaulted Edward Guidroz and stole his vehicle. On May 29, in Jacksonville, Florida, they murdered Althea Ottavio and Patricia Hewett, strangling both women with their own stockings.

From there, the spree escalated:

• On June 6, they attempted to rob a man in South Carolina but failed.
• On June 7, they murdered John Whittaker in Tullahoma, Tennessee and stole his car.
• On June 8, they murdered Albert Reed and Martin Drenovac in Illinois.
• On June 9, they murdered Otto Ziegler in Wallace, Kansas, and robbed his gas station.
• On June 10, they murdered Rachel Moyer, an 18-year-old motel maid in Craig, Colorado.

Later that same day, June 10, 1961, the pair were arrested in Utah for violating the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act after transporting stolen vehicles across state lines. Once in custody, York and Latham bragged to investigators about the killings, admitting to eight or nine murders. Authorities later confirmed seven deaths and two survivors.

Though they could have been tried in several states — each of which would have sentenced them to death by electric chair or gas chamber — the duo was extradited to Kansas, where hanging was still legal. They were tried and convicted for the murder of Otto Ziegler, the Kansas gas station owner.

On November 8, 1961, Judge Benedict P. Cruise sentenced them both to death by hanging.

While on death row, York and Latham became known for their cold, mocking demeanor. They were incarcerated alongside Perry Smith and Richard Hickock, the infamous killers depicted in In Cold Blood. According to author Truman Capote, the pair showed no remorse and joked about their crimes.

On the morning of June 22, 1965, both men were executed by hanging at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing. James Latham was hanged first, stating, "I'm not mad at anybody."
George York followed with his final words: "There is nothing to say but that I'm going to heaven."