Playing With Fire
John Glatt · St. Martin’s Griffin / Macmillan
A book-length account for readers who want more detail.
2005 · Morgantown, West Virginia
James “Jimmy” Michael
A Morgantown fire and the Michelle Michael prosecution
James “Jimmy” Michael died at the couple’s Morgantown home in November 2005. A house fire initially shaped the investigation, but toxicology evidence led investigators to examine a drug his wife, nurse Michelle Michael, could access at work. A jury convicted her of murder and arson in 2007. She maintained her innocence. In 2023, she sought a new trial over her lawyer’s performance. Snapped and John Glatt’s book revisit the evidence and competing accounts.
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The Story
When2005
WhereMorgantown, West Virginia
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Snapped — Michelle Michael
Oxygen True Crime · Season 6, Episode 14 · TVmaze listing
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Books
1 itemsJohn Glatt · St. Martin’s Griffin / Macmillan
Playing With Fire
The publisher identifies Glatt’s nonfiction account of Jimmy Michael’s death and the prosecution of his wife, Michelle, also known as Shelly. This page confirms the book’s author and subject and offers edition information for readers seeking a longer narrative.
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Oxygen True Crime · Season 6, Episode 14 · TVmaze listing
Snapped — Michelle Michael
Identifies the Michelle Michael episode covering this case. The season and episode numbers follow TVmaze's listing. Use the companion reporting and records below to distinguish the television account from the documented legal outcome.
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Episode data: TVmaze · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Playing With Fire
Search Audiobook Editions · paid linkJohn Glatt · St. Martin’s Griffin / Macmillan
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Fiction Work
Fiction Work
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News & Reading
News & reporting
2 itemsErin Cleavenger · The Dominion Post via Yahoo · August 2023
Michelle Michael’s 2023 retrial request
Local reporting on Michael’s challenge to her representation at trial.
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CBS News · 48 Hours · 2008
Death Without Mercy
CBS’s account examines the investigation and trial. Compare this earlier report with the later retrial-request coverage linked here.
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