Michael Hubert Hughes was born in 1958 in Michigan into a deeply troubled household. His father left shortly after his birth, leaving Hughes, his mother, and his sister to fend for themselves. When Hughes was five, the family relocated to California, where they lived in Pasadena and then Los Angeles. He attended Los Angeles High School from 9th through 12th grade.

His upbringing was filled with instability and trauma. Hughes’ mother was reportedly an alcoholic who regularly abused both him and his sister. One particularly disturbing incident in his childhood was witnessing his mother forcibly abort his sister’s pregnancy in front of him. This traumatic moment, along with ongoing physical abuse, contributed to severe emotional and psychological problems in his youth. Hughes suffered multiple nervous breakdowns during his teen years, which led to several hospitalizations.

In 1976, at age 17, Hughes joined the U.S. Navy. His time in the military was short-lived; he initially served as a shipmate but later worked as a gunner's mate before eventually leaving the service. After his discharge, Hughes returned to California and struggled to reintegrate into society. He became homeless, moved from city to city—Oakland, Long Beach, and finally Los Angeles—and began selling drugs as a way to survive.

Michael Hughes’ killing spree began on January 22, 1986, with the sexual assault and murder of 15-year-old Yvonne Coleman, whose body was found in a park in Inglewood, California. Just four months later, on May 26, 1986, he strangled Verna Williams, a 36-year-old woman found dead in a stairwell in Los Angeles. At the time, Williams’ murder was believed to be the work of the elusive "Southside Slayer," a name later associated with Lonnie Franklin Jr., aka the Grim Sleeper.

After a brief gap, Hughes resurfaced in 1990 when Deanna Wilson, 30, was found dead in a garage on August 30. While he was initially charged in this case, it was later dropped due to insufficient evidence, though prosecutors used the case to help establish a pattern of behavior.

In 1992 and 1993, the murders became more frequent. On September 23, 1992, 26-year-old Teresa Ballard was found strangled in Jesse Owens County Park in Los Angeles. This was followed by a cluster of killings: Terri Myles, 33, was discovered in an alley in Culver City on November 8, 1993, and Jamie Harrington, 29, was found just six days later on November 14. The final confirmed murder was Deborah Jackson, 32, who was found in Los Angeles on June 25, 1993.

Hughes was first arrested in December 1993 while working as a security guard in Culver City. His DNA was later linked to the four victims found between 1992 and 1993. In 1998, he was convicted of those four murders and sentenced to life without parole.

A decade later, forensic advancements reopened his case. On July 3, 2008, Hughes was charged again, this time for three additional murders that had occurred earlier—Coleman (1986), Williams (1986), and Jackson (1993). DNA evidence was critical in linking him to these older cases. Although the Deanna Wilson case was dropped, prosecutors used it to reinforce the serial nature of his crimes. In November 2011, Hughes was convicted again, and in June 2012, he was sentenced to death.