Geraldine George had been married for several years but she had grown tired of the abuse she suffered at the hands of her husband; Larry Donald George. He had a temper and seemed unpredictable. Geraldine left her husband and the two became estranged from one another. Geraldine decided to use the law to her benefit and filed a restraining order against Larry as well. I am sure she thought this would keep him away and out of her and her family’s life once and for all, however Larry was reported to have continued to harass his wife. After approximately 6-months of being separated, Geraldine arrived at her Talladega, AL home from work on the evening of February 12th, 1988. It was around 8:00 PM and Geraldine went into her home briefly to drop her belongings off. She went back outside and went next-door to the home of Janice Morris and Ralph Swain, with whom her children were being watched. She sent the kids the few feet back to there home while Geraldine chatted for a few moments. She didn’t stick around for too long as Janice was on the phone and so Geraldine followed her kids back to the apartment.

As Geraldine made her way into the living room, she was shocked at the 6’2 individual hugging her kids. Her husband, Larry George was there. An argument quickly ensued. Geraldine tried to warn him about the restraining order but Larry clearly did not care. He ignored her pleas and went on to chastise her and threaten her. Larry began brandishing a gun. Larry had a military background and knew his way around a weapon. This put his estranged wife on alert and she told her kids to go phone for help. Larry pulled the phone out of the wall which caused Geraldine to flee the home back to her neighbors house in an attempt to alert authorities.

Geraldine burst into the apartment shouting at her neighbor Janice to get off the phone and call the police. Janice had been speaking with her mother. In later interviews, Janice’s mother claims to have heard the pleas of Geraldine and how scared she sounded over the phone. She told her mother that “She would be right back”. Just as Janice got off the phone with her mother, Larry appeared and was still brandishing a pistol. Larry shot Janice in the chest in front of her family before she had the chance to call for help. He quickly turned to Geraldine and shot her as well. He lastly turned to Ralph Swain, Janice’s boyfriend and shot him in the head. Afterwards, Larry vanished as other neighbors began hearing the commotion. The police were called and arrived on the scene but there was no trace of Larry. Janice would be pronounced dead at the scene. Ralph made it to the hospital but would also soon be pronounced dead. Geraldine would survive the gunshot attack but would be paralyzed from the waist down for the rest of her life.

Larry’s car would be found a few miles from the crime scene abandoned. It appeared to be lived in with many of Larry’s belongings turning up within the vehicle. The clothing he wore during the attack was recovered as well as a strange notebook. The notebook was a compilation of all comings and goings of Geraldine’s apartment. If accurate it showed that Larry was stalking his family for some time before the attack. Little was heard from Larry afterwards. He visited his sister briefly then fled to Florida where he was last seen attempting to complete truck driving school.

The murder of Janice and Ralph, as well as the attempted murder of Geraldine was featured on Unsolved Mysteries as well as America’s Most Wanted. After viewing a re-run in 1994, Larry would be spotted in Wilmington, Delaware along the Christina River. Detectives were dispatched to the area and soon ran into Larry. They started talking about the area and how the fishing was initially but soon the detectives identified themselves. Larry resisted and was soon thrown into the river during the scuffle. He was apprehended after 6 years of being on the run. As law enforcement continued to search the area a makeshift campsite was discovered where Larry appeared to be living. Multiple weapons were found including a spear gun and a shotgun. Larry was sent back to Alabama where he was convicted of the double murder Janice and Ralph. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of his estranged wife. He still resides on death row to this day while waiting for his execution date.