Michael Carl George was born in 1957 in Hartwood, Virginia. Little is publicly known about his early life, but he later worked as a computer operator. In 1979, George became involved in the disappearance of 8-year-old Larry Wayne Perry from Dumfries, Virginia. Initially, George claimed that Perry accidentally shot himself during a target-shooting session. He stated that he panicked and buried the boy's body in a ravine. Due to the lack of physical evidence and the absence of the body, George was allowed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and abduction in 1984. He was sentenced to five years in prison but was released in 1986 after serving two and a half years.

On June 16, 1990, 15-year-old Alexander Eugene Sztanko left his family's former home in Woodbridge, Virginia, to ride his dirt bike along a power-line trail. George abducted Sztanko, handcuffed him to a tree, sexually assaulted him, and tortured him using a stun gun on his genitals. He then shot the boy in the head with a 9mm handgun. George hid the body and marked its location on a map.

The next day, police found George loitering near the crime scene. He was arrested for trespassing, and a search of his vehicle and home revealed weapons, handcuffs, a stun gun, and a map marking the location of Sztanko's body. Forensic evidence, including blood and seminal fluid, linked George to the crime.

George was convicted of capital murder, abduction with intent to defile, robbery, and use of a firearm in the commission of a capital offense. He was sentenced to death, and his appeals were denied. On February 6, 1997, George was executed by lethal injection at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia.

While incarcerated, George reportedly confessed to the murder of a third, unidentified victim, but no additional charges were filed due to lack of evidence.