01x02 - m*rder in the Keys

[bunniefuu]

[martiele]
you can't have a bad day
in the keys.

It's paradise found.

[scott]
we could count on one hand

The number of homicides
we'd had in that area.

[reporter]
michael and missy macivor,
both around 30 years old,

m*rder*d,
apparently execution style.

[bill]
this was one of the most
shocking m*rder cases

In the florida keys.

A young couple
and their unborn child

Are k*lled brutally.

[mark]
it was the worst homicide scene
that I'd been to.

[sharon]
I looked at missy and mike
as the all-american family.

[scott]
we just weren't sure

Whether michael or missy
was the target.

[james]
they do this kind of stuff

When it's thundering
and lightning out

Because the cops
don't come out.

[sharon]
the storm was a perfect cover
for a k*ller.

[bill]
there was a m*rder*r
on the loose,

And people were searching
for an answer.

[james]
they told him,
"if you don't cooperate,

You're gonna go down
for m*rder."

[scott]
he left the evidence
right there for us,

And that was the mistake
that cost him.

[intense music]

♪

[soft music]

♪

[scott]
the florida keys
is a chain of islands

Coming down from
the southern part of florida

Just south of miami.

[david]
key west is
the big tourist spot

That people think of when they
think of the florida keys.

[sharon]
everybody goes there
because it's just beautiful.

[david]
there's crime in the keys,

But violent crime,
especially m*rder,

Is very rare.

[intense music]

[scott]
the macivor case
was extremely shocking.

It started out
as a welfare check.

[sharon]
I had a premonition almost,

An impending feeling of doom.

And I wasn't sure
if it was the storm coming,

But I couldn't
put my finger on it.

[narrator]
on August 21st, 1991,

Tavernier key is slammed
by a freak tropical storm

That rattles residents
overnight.

[scott]
we get a lot of storms
in the upper keys,

But mostly
they blow right over.

But that night,
unusually,

We had hours and hours
of pouring rain.

♪

[narrator]
the next morning,

30-year-old michael macivor's
family becomes concerned

When they can't reach him
or his pregnant wife,

29-year-old missy macivor.

[sharon]
the thing that struck me
that morning

Was that it was
almost ominously quiet.

It all happened so fast.
My mother called me.

She said, "you know,
I haven't heard from michael."

So I called the house
and the phone kept ringing.

No one's answering,
so my intuition kicked in

And I grabbed my keys.

[narrator]
missy's coworkers
also become alarmed

When she does not show up
at the elementary school

Where she is
a third grade teacher.

[james]
all the teachers
went to the house.

They saw mike's feet
on the ground,

That's about all
they could see.

And they ran to the neighbor
that lived next door.

He came over
and kicked the door open.

[narrator]
when mike and missy's neighbor,

Bill, goes inside
the macivor home,

He is horrified
to find the couple

Lying in a pool of blood,

And he immediately
calls 9-1-1.

[mark]
when I walked into
the macivor crime scene,

It was probably
the worst homicide scene

That I had been to.

We went in and discovered
the bodies where they had been.

Michael in the living room
and missy still in the bedroom.

[narrator]
michael and missy macivor
and their unborn baby

Have been brutally m*rder*d
in their home.

[scott]
it was weird that michael's head
had been taped up.

♪

His eyes covered,
his mouth covered.

There was some blood
where he had been attacked.

[larry]
michael had been k*lled
by somebody standing

Or stomping on his neck.

Missy was tied up,
she was sexually abused.

[mark]
this was a really unusual
crime scene for the keys.

Missy was
an attractive young lady

That was pregnant
and about to give birth,

So it was just too shocking.

[narrator]
the macivor family is stunned
by the devastating news.

[somber music]

[sharon]
as soon as I pulled up,

I saw the yellow police tape
around the house

And my parents
and missy's family

Standing off to the right.

And looking at my mother's face,
looking at my dad,

And they all had
kind of a blank stare,

Like, of shock.

And my dad came up to me
and told me

That both of them
had been found dead.

How can they be dead?

They were just here.

[james]
my dad said that mike and missy
had been k*lled.

A million things
went through my head.

I couldn't imagine
what could have happened.

And he said somebody
had m*rder*d them.

And I'm like, "oh my god."

♪

[soft music]

[sharon]
michael and missy
were the perfect couple.

They had almost
a soulmate type of connection.

[james]
missy, she was very wholesome,
the all-american girl.

She loved kids.

That's why she wanted
to be a teacher.

[sharon]
missy was bubbly,
beautiful, very elegant.

Very sweet
and very vivacious.

She had
a very welcoming spirit.

Our family loved missy.

Michael was like this big,
handsome, charismatic person.

So the two
were a great combination.

♪

[martiele]
mike met missy
in kendall, florida,

At a nightclub one night.

His brother
introduced him to missy.

I always heard great things
about her,

You know, that she was
a school teacher

And just a wonderful
individual and athlete.

Mike was just
an all-around american guy.

Hardworking, he was funny,

And a likeable guy,

And he can talk to anyone
and strike up a conversation.

♪

[engine puttering]

But you caught
his passion for flying

When you talked to mike

Because he just loved
the aviation industry.

[narrator]
both of michael's parents
work in aviation,

Which sparks mike's passion
for planes.

He starts flying
at age 13.

[sharon]
we were all brought up
in the aviation lifestyle,

And mike began
to take aviation seriously

As a career
out of high school.

And at 17, they were rebuilding
aircraft engines in our garage.

Michael was very much
an entrepreneur,

And he was very witty,
highly intelligent,

Constantly moving,
very ambitious, driven.

♪

[narrator]
in addition to
his business aspirations,

Mike also wants
to settle down

And have a family.

Tired of the hustle
and bustle of miami,

Mike is looking
for a simpler life

And falls in love
with the keys.

[sharon]
michael loved
the lifestyle of the keys

Because he felt that it
would be a great environment

To raise children,
that it was very safe.

[narrator]
mike and missy
buy their dream home

In tavernaero key,
a community for pilots.

[martiele]
a lot of pilots
had homes there

Because it was
a priceless gem

To be able to have
your own airstrip

In tavernier and park
your planes under your home

And be next
to the airstrip.

[narrator]
mike and missy get married
on may 12th, 1990.

[sharon]
mike and missy had
a beautiful backyard wedding,

And that was the beginning
of a beautiful love story.

They made it a point
of keeping their hearts

And their home
open to everyone.

[narrator]
shortly after their wedding,

Missy gets
her dream job

At the key largo
elementary school.

[sharon]
missy was a third grade
school teacher.

She loved children.

And that was her calling.

She had a great way
about her.

She was a magnet
for children

And adults as well.

People loved missy.

[narrator]
one year after their wedding,

The newlyweds
are thrilled

To learn they are
expecting a baby boy.

[sharon]
they were busy painting
and building their nursery.

In fact, I had stopped over
earlier in the week.

I had seen the nursery
and remarked

That it was coming along
beautifully,

And they were
super excited.

My brother and missy
were planning on having

A very large family.

I think the number
was five children.

[james]
a couple days
before the murders,

When mike had stopped by
to see me,

And he says how nice
it's gonna be.

Gonna have the kid,
you know,

You can fly up here,
I can fly down there.

He drove off and that was
the last time I saw him.

[narrator]
life couldn't be going better
for this all-american couple.

They are madly in love,

Anxiously awaiting
their bundle of joy to arrive,

Excited for the future.

[sharon]
all these dreams shattered.

All this planning
taken away in just an instant.

Who would have done this
and why?

Why?

[narrator]
the news sends shockwaves
through the keys,

And the pressure
is on law enforcement

To find the k*ller.

[scott]
a homicide in the upper keys,

Particularly a couple
that was well-known

In the area,
like missy and michael,

Was a big shock
to the community.

A lot of scared people.

[narrator]
with no answers,

The entire community
is on edge,

And tavernier key,

Famous for being
a safe place to live,

Is now a danger zone
with a k*ller on the loose.

[bill]
people just couldn't believe

That a young couple
had been brutally m*rder*d

Along with
their unborn child.

It was just unthinkable.

[mark]
people became suspicious
of their own neighbors.

[scott]
word spread throughout
the upper keys really quickly.

People started
locking their doors.

It was a scary time.

♪

[dayle]
they found a gym bag
filled with burglary tools

That a person could use
to pry into someone's house.

[scott]
but we couldn't just say,

"hey, did you k*ll
missy macivor?"

[sharon]
I said, "why can't you
arrest him?"

"we don't have any evidence."

[newscaster]
the murders happened the night
of August 21, 1991,

In the macivors'
tavernier home.

[narrator]
with a k*ller on the loose,

Pressure is on the monroe
county sheriff's department

To find answers.

They ask the florida department
of law enforcement

For assistance.

[scott]
we definitely had to put

All hands on deck
for a case like this.

[thunder crashes]

[narrator]
the night before the murders,

The keys were battered
by a heavy tropical storm,

Giving the k*ller
the perfect opportunity

To go unnoticed.

[scott]
we talked to several
of the neighbors

To see if anybody had
heard or seen anything,

And that was a total dead-end
because of the storm

That had come through
that night before.

So the weather
was definitely a factor.

[narrator]
the clock is ticking
and detectives turn

All of their attention
to the crime scene.

[scott]
mike had been attacked
in the living room,

k*lled him right there.

[dayle]
his face had been wrapped up

And mike had been hit
with the long piece of metal

With a towel around it,

And his neck had been crushed.

[mark]
based on the autopsy results,

It appeared missy
had been strangled.

[scott]
the crime scene guys spent
the majority of that day

And part of the next day
collecting evidence,

Photographing everything,
taking samples of blood stains

Where michael
had been attacked.

And then on missy
in the bedroom

There was semen
left on her body.

[mark]
later, lab results came back

That there were traces
of semen on missy's body

That were not from mike.

[scott]
using the dna that had
been left on missy's body,

We determined that
she had been r*ped as well.

[larry]
the dna database
was not that big,

But the dna
did not match anybody

In the current databases that
were available at the time.

[narrator]
although the dna
from the crime scene

Does not match anyone
in the database,

Police focus all of their
efforts on finding the k*ller,

And they start
with the people

Who had access
to the macivor home.

[scott]
we were concentrating first

On why the ladder
was left outside.

They had had some renovations
going on inside the house,

So there was a lot
of tools and stuff around.

[mark]
the ladder up against
the back patio

Told us that's most likely
how the person gained entry.

[scott]
there was a boot print
on michael's neck.

[narrator]
the boot print leads detectives

To their first person
of interest,

The macivors' handyman,
larry herlth.

[larry]
larry was doing work.

And we'd come to find out
that he was the one

That had put the ladder up
against the back of the house.

[narrator]
on August 30th, 1991,

Days after the murders,

Detectives meet with larry,

Who agrees to give police
a dna sample.

[scott]
the handyman was
as upset as anybody.

Apparently, he'd become
very friendly with them

While working
on their house.

[narrator]
although larry's boot prints

Match prints that are
found in the house,

His dna does not match
the blood at the crime scene.

[larry]
they did match
some of the footprints

That were in the house,

But he was there
all the time.

[scott]
he had an ironclad alibi

For where he was all night
the night before.

[narrator]
police quickly eliminate
larry as a suspect.

♪

But detectives zero in
on a suspicious clue.

An address book
with the pages ripped out

Has been left behind
by the k*ller.

[larry]
why would somebody
tear these pages

Out of an address book?

[narrator]
could it be that
the k*ller's information

Was in that address book?

Or did they take it
to send a message

That they are going after
more victims?

[sharon]
whoever it was took the time

To open up that address book

And tear all the pages out

That had the letter b.

And at the time,
my last name began with a b.

And no one
found the pieces

Of the address book
with the phone numbers,

So I always lived
with a little fear.

It just struck me odd.

It was almost
like somebody did it

To throw us off,
to make us think

That they were
in that address book.

[scott]
we thought if he had
been a family member

Or a close friend
of the family,

Maybe the k*ller's name
and address, phone number

Would have been
in that book

And that's why those pages
were ripped out.

But it didn't go anywhere.

[narrator]
detectives do not believe
that this is a random crime

And theorize that
the macivors were targeted.

[larry]
we knew that missy's sister
had made a call to the house

Around 10:30 that night
and nobody had answered,

The phone just rang
and rang and rang,

Which was because
the phone lines had been cut.

That was telling us that this
was an experienced individual.

[scott]
someone knew
where the phone lines

Were coming
into the house,

So we definitely think
they were targeted,

We just weren't sure
whether michael was the target

Or whether missy
was the target.

[sharon]
my brother was a big, strapping,
muscular, lean, fit guy

Who could hold his own.

So I felt like,
"how can one person

Overpower my big,
strong brother?"

We didn't know how many people
were involved.

Maybe it was more than one.

[narrator]
detectives began digging in

To mike and missy's
picture perfect life.

Missy was a beloved
third grade teacher.

[scott]
missy was well-known
simply because of her job

As a school teacher.

And well-liked,
everybody loved her.

[larry]
who would make
an elementary school teacher

A victim of a crime?

Especially a pregnant one.

[narrator]
the medical examiner
determines

That michael
was k*lled first,

From a debilitating blow
to the head.

[larry]
because of the boot print
on michael's neck,

We thought once
he was under control,

The offender
took care of him

So he could do what
he really wanted to do.

♪

Missy was tied up,
she was sexually abused.

The offender had spent
way, way more time with her,

So I always believed
that she was the object

Of this--this whole attack.

[narrator]
however, the fdle
and the sheriff's department

Do not have any leads on
who would want to hurt missy.

But they do hone in on mike
as the potential target

Because of his
business dealings.

[larry]
the sheriff's office
believed that michael

Had brought this
on the family

By his suspected
drug activity.

[narrator]
while missy is busy
with pta meetings,

Mike spends a lot of time
flying and back and forth

-To central america.
-That raised our suspicions

Because there had been
some smuggling activity

Coming in from belize
to the florida keys.

We started on that angle
trying to nail down his contacts

And who he had been
in business with.

[narrator]
is it possible that
this all-american couple

Was living a double life

In the dark underbelly
of the keys?

The monroe county
sheriff's department

Theorizes
that the gory crime scene

And the grizzly m*rder
of the macivors' unborn child

Is the work
of the drug cartels.

[james]
drug smuggling
was a big criminal enterprise

During that time period,
and, you know,

Mike's involvement
with airplanes

Led to the belief
it was plausible.

I mean, it was something
to follow up on.

[larry]
mike macivor lived
at the end of an airport

That was sometimes used
for drug smuggling activity.

[scott]
they had actually had
a grass runway

Long enough
for a smaller plane,

You know, like a cessna,
to land.

[martiele]
in the late '80s, '90s,
you know, miami was known

As the drug capital
of the world,

And that's only
an hour away.

[larry]
they would kick marijuana
out of an airplane

Into the shallow waters,

And then boats would go out,
race out and pick 'em up

And bring 'em back to shore.

[scott]
it was a quick way
to make good money

For some of the locals
who had marinas or had boats

And were able to help
get the drugs ashore.

[bill]
it was a smuggler's paradise

Down here in the keys
for many years.

We focused on michael
because of the deal

With the airplane
down in belize.

[narrator]
a week before the murders,

Mike had made
an unexpected trip to belize.

[sharon]
there was a plane
that came up on the market

In belize, south america,

So my brother, michael,
flew down to look at it.

[james]
I gave him all the money I had
to buy this airplane,

And he purchased
this airplane

Through the government
down there.

They had an auction,
and he won the auction.

[narrator]
however, detectives speculate

That mike bought
the plane illegally

From the drug cartels,
not the belize government,

And the murders
are retaliation

For a bad business deal
between mike and the cartel.

[larry]
we flew to belize to see

What the government's function
was with this airplane.

And we met with
the president of belize

About the legalities
of michael and this aircraft

And if there was
going to be any issues

Getting it out of the country
once it was made ready.

And we were told that,
no, there was not an issue.

Once the aircraft
was paid for,

It was his to take
and do with it

What he wanted to.

[narrator]
although investigators confirmed

That mike did buy the plane
legally from the government,

They learn that the plane
has a shady history.

It was used by the cartel
for drug smuggling.

Did mike anger the cartel
because he bought their plane?

[scott]
we were working
that angle for a while,

Thinking that maybe mike
had made somebody mad

Down in belize.

[larry]
we actually went out to see
if anybody had been

Hanging around
giving michael a bad time.

None of that panned out.

[narrator]
although investigators
do not find any evidence

To prove the drug cartels
in belize

Had anything to do
with the murders,

They continue to pursue
the theory

That mike was involved
in drug smuggling

And speculate that
he may have been targeted

-By someone locally.
-We never really said

That michael was
not involved in drugs,

And it was still a lead
that everybody wanted to follow.

[scott]
we were trying to find anyone

Who might have had
a beef with michael.

[narrator]
detectives dig in
to mike's business,

And they learn
that his brother, jim,

-Is also his partner.
-Well, you're suspicious

Of everybody
in the victim's family,

Because, unfortunately,

Most homicides
are committed

By a family member
or a close friend.

[larry]
jim had an airplane

And he had an airstrip
that he'd use,

So there was a thought
that he could be involved

In the drug business
with michael.

Jim was a very frightened
individual.

[narrator]
detectives keep
a close eye on him.

[mark]
we followed michael's brother
out to where he was living

In a trailer
out in the everglades.

And, at that time,
he expressed fear

That he could be next.

[narrator]
is jim acting nervous

Because he is responsible
for the murders

And is trying to throw
the police off his trail?

Or does he know
that this was a drug hit

And thinks
that he could be next?

So we really didn't know
what we were dealing with

At that point.

[newscaster]
the killings shocked not only

The young couple's
distraught family,

But this entire community.

Michael and missy macivor
m*rder*d,

Apparently execution style.

[narrator]
the florida department
of law enforcement

Zeroes in on the theory
that the macivor crime scene

Is reminiscent
of t*rture tactics

Usually seen
in drug cartel hits,

And they speculate
that the murders

Are the result of mike's
involvement in drug smuggling.

And missy,
along with her unborn child,

Are collateral damage.

[larry]
they were still believing
that michael was the target

And that missy
was just fun.

[narrator]
investigators focus on jim,
who they believe knows more

Than he is admitting
about the murders.

[james]
they kept on looking at me
and asking me, you know,

"well, we think
you know something."

I gave them as much information
as I could give them.

They asked me for my dna.

I gladly gave it to them.

And I asked them
why they wanted it.

They said, "well,
we just want to compare it

With mike's dna to clear up
whatever we found at the scene."

I thought
if that clears up something

So you can find out who did it,
that's great.

[larry]
but the dna did not match,

And jim's dna
was not at the scene.

[scott]
he had been eliminated
as a suspect.

[james]
I knew they were
trying to do a job,

But I was frustrated
with them

And they really upset me.

My brother had
just gotten m*rder*d.

And I said, "you're asking me
all of these questions,"

But I said,
"I can't answer 'em

Because I don't know
who did it."

I kept reminding them
that my brother

Was a very well-respected
business person,

And he wasn't about
to jeopardize his future

With his family
and his child.

[martiele]
I never thought mike
was in the drug business,

But when you repair planes
or you buy and sell planes,

You run into people
in the drug business,

So maybe he was
repairing a plane

Or saw something
he shouldn't have seen

And they just wanted him
to be dead before he sang.

[narrator]
is it possible that mike
may have witnessed

A drug-related business deal
and became the target?

♪

[sharon]
the police were going
to the airports

And asking all of his
business associates

Had he gotten
anybody mad at him,

Did he owe anybody money.

And no,
the answer was no.

[scott]
there were no signs that mike

Was actively involved
in smuggling drugs.

[sharon]
it became more and more clear

That the case
was complicated

And they were not gaining
any more information.

Weeks went by,
months went by.

Finally,
years started going by.

[scott]
we would get leads
here and there,

But nothing
ever panned out.

[narrator]
although the florida department
of law enforcement

Has pursued the drug angle
for two years,

They do not have
any evidence or suspects

To prove this theory.

If the m*rder was not the work
of the drug cartels,

Then what kind of person
would m*rder a pregnant woman?

[soft music]

[sharon]
what was done to missy
was pretty horrific.

There were multiple attacks
against her,

And the types of attacks
that were carried out on her

Were that of a mind
of a sexual predator,

Not of a drug cartel.

[narrator]
hoping to get insight
into the k*ller,

The fdle reaches out
to lead profiler dayle hinman.

[dayle]
as a profiler,
we look at what happened,

Why it happened,

And what kind of person
would do this.

What kind of person would
actually k*ll a woman

Who was eight months pregnant?

That just seemed
particularly brutal to me.

Looking at the scene,

I thought that the person
who committed this crime

Had a serious
burglary background.

It takes a very special
and specific kind of person

To enter people's homes
while they're there sleeping.

I think it's really likely
that the offender

Had done surveillance,
had looked at the house,

Had seen her, found her
to be a desirable victim,

But he didn't bring anything
with him to affect the crime.

He was apparently so skilled
in his burglary practices

That he relied on
what was there in the house.

[narrator]
the fbi agrees with dayle

And theorizes that this
is not a drug-related crime

And the k*ller
was obsessed with missy.

[dayle]
I saw this person as someone
who had focused in on missy,

That either knew or didn't know
that the husband was there,

But felt so emboldened
and empowered

That he could control
the situation.

[narrator]
the fbi also concludes

That the k*ller
is local to the keys

And could be someone
who's hiding in plain sight.

[dayle]
so we asked them to generate

A list of people
who lived in the area

And who knew
who missy was specifically.

[sharon]
now we're looking for a k*ller
of a different type.

We're looking for a sociopath,
a serial k*ller.

Someone who could k*ll babies.

[narrator]
investigators circle back
to mike and missy's family,

Looking for leads
on anyone who might have had

A romantic interest
in missy.

When detectives
re-interview sharon,

She recalls a disturbing
phone conversation

She had with missy the night
before the murders.

[sharon]
I called missy.

She was like,
"I stopped by the gas station.

And it's odd because
the attendant there,

He was kind of
hitting on me.

That just made me
feel strange."

I go, "that's pretty creepy.

You're nine months pregnant.
And what did you say?"

And she's like, "well,
I told him I didn't like it

And that I wish
he wouldn't do that again.

In fact, he knows my husband."

After hearing sharon's story,

The crime scene investigator
recalls a piece of evidence

That stuck out to him
as odd.

[mark]
inside the bedroom
were a handful of receipts

From plantation key,
the gas station.

[narrator]
a creature of habit,

Missy would stop
at the local gas station

Every morning before school
to get her coffee.

[mark]
we found out
that missy apparently

Had expressed concern
about going there

Because she felt like
there was a guy there

That creeped her out.

You know, my immediate thought
when I heard this was,

"well, that's thomas overton."

Although
36-year-old thomas overton

Works as an attendant
at the gas station

That missy frequented,

He is known
to local law enforcement

As a cat burglar.

We knew about thomas overton.

He had been on our radar
as a burglar for a while,

And we were watching him
pretty close.

[dayle]
overton matched
all the characteristics.

He had been in prison
for armed robbery.

He was a burglar
in the area.

And he would be
a likely suspect.

[sharon]
that conversation
that I had with missy

About the gasoline attendant

Became a very important
piece of information

That none of us had
paid any attention to.

[mark]
we knew that thomas overton
was a criminal,

That he was a burglar,

But we didn't know
whether he was the k*ller.

If she were the target,
she was an unwitting target.

Nothing in her lifestyle,
in her background

Indicates that she would
have attracted the attention

Of anyone capable of performing
this kind of a crime.

[dayle]
nobody really surfaced
as a strong suspect to me

Except for overton.

[narrator]
although thomas overton

Had never been convicted
of homicide or r*pe,

Detectives are suspicious
of him.

I believe that thomas overton
had k*lled one girl

In the florida keys,

We just never were able
to pin that on him.

[narrator]
a year before
the macivor murders,

Thomas was a suspect
in another unsolved homicide

In the keys
involving a woman

Who he also creeped out.

[reporter]
overton is a prime suspect
in the unsolved m*rder

Of rachelle surrett
of key largo,

Found strangled in 1990
off card sound road.

[narrator]
in may 1990,

20-year-old rachelle surrett's
father

Dropped her off
at the movie theater

In tavernier key.

[scott]
she was called in
as a missing person

By her father
in the upper keys.

And two weeks later,

Someone hiking
through the woods up there

Had found her body
wrapped up in a tarp.

She had mentioned
to her father

That there was a guy
working at the movies,

And thomas overton
also worked

At the movie theater
in the evening,

That made her
feel creepy

And was kind of
coming on to her.

And when we found her body
in the tarp,

The tarp actually had
some popcorn kernels in it.

[mark]
the detectives
working the case

Had gone
and interviewed thomas,

And they came back
and shared

Their perceptions
of him with us,

And, you know,
they weren't good perceptions.

[larry]
we had interviewed him.

And he was c*ck.

He said, "well, yeah,
I was probably

The last one
to see her alive."

And then kind of smiled.

[narrator]
there was no dna evidence

To link thomas overton
to the m*rder

Of rachelle surrett.

[dayle]
sadly, rachelle surrett
was decomposed,

So there was nothing that
was provable in that case

Because there wasn't any
biological evidence to collect.

[narrator]
although they didn't have dna

Tying overton to the murders
at either crime scene,

Detectives notice
a striking similarity

Between rachelle
and missy.

Is it possible
that thomas focused on

A specific kind of woman?

[scott]
rachelle surrett
actually looked a bit

Like missy macivor.

Same age range.

Long, black, thick hair.

I think he had
a particular type of woman

And a certain age range
with long hair.

That seemed to be
the connection

Between her
and rachelle surrett.

[narrator]
if thomas overton had
latent homicidal tendencies,

Is it possible
that it was triggered

By the romantic rejection
from rachelle

And then missy
one year later?

[scott]
I believe thomas overton
became obsessed with missy.

[narrator]
detectives theorize
that thomas was stalking missy.

The gas station
was only one mile

From the macivor house.

[larry]
thomas had been
hitting on missy

As she was getting gas
on more than one occasion,

And she kept
shutting him down.

And last time, we understand
that she was a little bit rude

In saying, "no, I wouldn't go,"
you know,

"I'm pregnant,
I wouldn't go with you.

No way, no how."

[dayle]
I think that he absolutely knew

That she was in
that house that night.

And that he went there
focused on the idea

Of getting to her.

And that he either knew
or didn't know

That mike was there,

But mike was
gonna be eliminated

So that he could commit
this crime with her.

[narrator]
in April 1993,

Police interview
thomas overton

And they ask him
about missy macivor.

[scott]
thomas didn't have much
to say to the police officers.

Wasn't rude,
but he also wasn't friendly.

[narrator]
thomas denies any involvement
in the macivor case,

And when asked to
give a dna sample,

He refuses.

We had no way to get
thomas overton's dna.

He would not give it up.

We searched military records,
prison records, jail records.

There was no record anywhere.

[narrator]
florida law states
that police can obtain

A court order
to request a dna sample

If someone is arrested
on felony charges,

And investigators turn
all their attention

To thomas overton,
waiting for him to slip up.

[scott]
mark andrews
focused on thomas,

And it became
an obsession

To try to connect him
to the case.

[mark]
he was my primary focus.

I just made it a point
to keep tabs on him

Whenever I could.

So if, for instance,
thomas had a warrant

For failing to appear
on a traffic citation,

I would be the one
to go and pick thomas up.

I wanted him to know
that I was watching him.

♪

[sharon]
I said,
"why can't you arrest him?"

"we don't have any evidence."

[narrator]
six months after thomas overton

Becomes the main suspect
in the macivor murders,

He has a run-in
with police.

They share the information
with the macivor family.

[sharon]
that was the first time

I actually had
a glimmer of hope.

[james]
an officer was
driving patrol at night,

It was about 2:00 or 3:00
in the morning,

And he saw this guy
riding a bicycle.

He asked him
what he was doing,

He said he was coming
from a party.

And asked him for his id,
ran his id.

It was thomas overton,
you know, ex-felon.

Didn't have any reason
to keep him,

So he let him go.

And about 15 minutes later,

There was a distress call
from a lady

That was in the house.

She was scared stiff that
somebody was still in the house,

And she was afraid if she moved
that she would get k*lled.

Written on her bathroom mirror
with her lipstick was,

"get a dog, get an alarm.

Next time
you won't be so lucky."

And she had a stuffed parrot
that was in her living room.

He ripped
the head off of that

And laid it
next to her in bed.

15 minutes prior to that,

The same sheriff had
pulled over thomas overton,

But they had no leads
that it was him

That was in the house.

[scott]
we were definitely playing
a cat and mouse game with him.

[bill]
detectives had no way
to link him.

[dayle]
he bonded out
and then he left town.

[sharon]
this case is really
going cold fast.

[reporter]
the fdle says overton has denied
his involvement in this crime.

He reportedly
worked at a gas station

Less than a mile from
the macivors' home in 1991.

[bill]
it became, obviously,
after a while,

That thomas overton was
the primary suspect in this,

But detectives had no way
to link him to it.

We were definitely playing
a cat and mouse game with him,

Trying to get anything we could
to get him off the street.

[narrator]
in may 1993,

Thomas overton pops up
on the fdle radar.

This time in naples, florida,

Three hours north
of tavernier key.

[dayle]
my analyst ran into my office
and she says,

"aren't you
looking at overton

As a suspect in a case
in the keys?"

And I said, "yes, I am."

She said, "well, he was
arrested for trespass

On the west coast of florida."

[narrator]
just six months
after dayle profiles thomas

As the k*ller
in the macivor homicide,

A police officer spots him
in an unlikely place.

[dayle]
a uniformed patrol officer
saw the car

And then he looked
into the cemetery

And there was a man
dressed in fatigues

Running towards the car

That was parked
outside of the cemetery.

And the cemetery
is clearly marked

That there's
no trespassing.

He was acting
really suspicious.

So the officer
called for a backup,

And they found a gym bag
filled with burglary tools.

Pry bars, wire cutters,
screwdrivers.

Things that a person could use
to pry into someone's house.

They found a mask and multiple
flashlights and gloves.

And they also found
a spiral bound notebook

Filled with
surveillance logs

Where overton had the
description of the house

So he could go back
and keep looking

To find out how many people
lived there.

It was an affluent area
in florida,

So he had been conducting
surveillance there

To find burglary victims.

His driver's license
has the name of the city

That he was from,

So they spoke with the monroe
county sheriff's office

And they told them
that he had been arrested.

[scott]
we wanted thomas overton's dna.

[narrator]
thomas refuses once again
to give a dna sample.

And florida law states
that the only way

Police can secure a sample
that is admissible in court

Is if thomas is charged
with a felony,

And trespassing
is not a felony.

After he was arrested and
the car was returned to him,

He bonded out and then
he left town immediately.

[narrator]
a few days later,

Thomas overton is spotted
back in the keys.

[dayle]
tavernier in the florida keys

Was like a home base
for overton.

He would commit a crime
and then he would

Go back there and lay low.

He knew people there and that
was a comfort zone for him.

[martiele]
tavernier is a quiet,
laid back island town.

[david]
there are a lot of people
who move to the keys

Just to get away
from civilization

And live off the grid.

[tense music]

[sharon]
they had him under surveillance.

They circled back around to him
a couple of times,

But nothing concrete there,

Nothing that
kind of stood out

That would make a case
against him.

We were all becoming
very frustrated.

And now we're like,
"hey, you know,

This case is really
going cold fast."

[scott]
we didn't really have enough

To bring him in
and question him.

We kept contact with him
pretty regularly.

But we couldn't just say, "hey,
did you k*ll missy macivor?"

We had to wait
to get him in

On some other sort of crime
or pretext

So we could really hit him
with the evidence.

[bill]
that really gave people
a sense of foreboding,

A sense of, "this is just not
the way this community is."

And for a criminal
like that

To still be walking
the streets for years,

That was hard
for people to fathom.

[scott]
we knew where he was working

During the day
and during the evening,

So we knew where he was
pretty much all the time.

We were able to keep
pretty close tabs on him.

The macivor case
was something

That haunted all of us
for years and years.

We wanted to bring
some closure for the family

And try to nail somebody
for doing this.

This became an obsession
with me to find the k*ller,

Not only for justice,
but for my parents.

I was watching
through my own two eyes

The deterioration
that occurs with parents

That cannot come to grips
with the death of a child,

When you don't have closure,

When you don't know
what happened.

[narrator]
the macivor family
does not give up hope

That police will be able
to solve the case,

And they stay in close contact
with the detectives.

[scott]
the case kind of languished
for a while, unfortunately.

The family
was a little frustrated

Because things
weren't happening quicker.

[soft music]

[narrator]
then in 1996, five years
after the macivor murders,

The monroe county
sheriff's department

Get the break
they have been waiting for.

[scott]
we got a call from a friend
of thomas overton's

Who said that he was
planning a burglary.

[narrator]
police pass along
the information

To the macivor family,

Who is eagerly waiting
for news.

[james]
thomas made a statement
to the informant,

"I do this kind of stuff,
I like to do it

When it's thundering
and lightning out

Because the cops
don't come out."

That's exactly
how the weather was

When mike and missy
were m*rder*d.

[narrator]
on October 6th, 1996,
after a storm rolls in,

The informant
rats out overton,

And the monroe county
sheriff's department

-Makes their move.
-We decided to try

-To set up a sting.
-He was planning

To break into
this certain house,

So we set up on the house
and caught him in the act.

He was cutting the phone lines
when we arrested him.

[mark]
he was also armed,
which enhanced the charges

Because he was
a convicted felon

In possession of a firearm

During the commission
of a burglary.

[narrator]
in the state of florida,

It is a third degree felony
for an ex-con

To be in possession of a g*n
during a burglary.

[larry]
so they charged him
with burglary,

Attempted burglary,

And put him in jail.

[narrator]
since thomas has been charged
with a felony,

Detectives can finally
request a court order

To obtain his dna.

This process can take
up to eight weeks,

But it's the only way
that detectives can prove

Thomas is responsible
for the macivor homicides.

[james]
they showed me the video

When they were asking him
questions, interrogating him,

And showing him the scenes
where he's stolen stuff

Or whatever and they knew
it was him.

And he's going on,
"yeah, I did this one.

I did that one.
I did this one."

Or, "no, I didn't have anything
to do with this one."

And then they got
to mike and missy's scene,

And he clammed up, "I know
where you're going with this."

And they told him,
"we know it was you.

If you don't cooperate, you're
gonna go down for m*rder."

Then they threw him in this
little solitary confinement

Square box, you know,
where they had a hidden camera,

And he started to cry.

That's when one
of the investigators told me,

"look, he's crying," because
he knew he'd been caught.

They still didn't have
anything on him

And they wanted a dna sample,
he wouldn't give it.

[narrator]
during the interrogation,

Detectives press overton
about the macivors.

[larry]
he was asked
did he remember this house,

Did he remember
these people?

And he kept saying,
"no, no, no, no, no, no."

And he denied ever
being anywhere close

To that residence,
or there'd be no reason

For his dna
to be in that residence.

While he was in jail
in key west,

He got a hold of a razor.

[scott]
he broke the razor open

And used the blade
to cut his neck.

[narrator]
on October 6th, 1996,

After thomas overton
is arrested on burglary charges,

He frantically attempts
to escape jail

And unwittingly leaves behind
a trail of evidence.

[mark]
he didn't try
to k*ll himself,

But he had cut himself
because he planned on

Getting transported over
to the hospital

And then overpowering
the deputy.

That's why we didn't take him
to the hospital.

We brought the emts there.

And once the scene
was cleaned up,

They collected the bloody gauze
and everything.

[scott]
he had left blood
all over the floor of his cell,

And, luckily,
someone at the jail

Was pretty sharp
that night, called fdle,

And says, "hey, we got
thomas overton's blood

If you need it."

The fdle guys jumped on it
immediately

And had it sent off
to match up

With the semen
left on missy macivor's body.

Our lab and subsequent labs
have determined

That that's his dna
on the victim's bed sheets.

♪

[narrator]
after five long years,
on November 16th, 1996,

Thomas overton
is finally arrested

And charged with the murders
of missy, mike, and baby kyle.

[sharon]
our family was relieved
when thomas overton

Was arrested.

It gave it a little closure.

[mark]
I felt vindicated
because there were some people

In the sheriff's office

That just thought
that I was too focused

On thomas
for no apparent reason.

[narrator]
on October 17th, 1998,

Two years after his arrest,

Thomas overton's trial begins.

[reporter]
thomas overton is brought
to court in key west today,

Guarded by as many
as six bailiffs.

Considered a high security risk,

Overton is wearing a padded belt
under his gray sweater

That can
electrically shock him

If he tries to escape.

It's a courtroom
in stunned silence

As the monroe county
sheriff's department videotape

Of the crime scene
is played,

A tape prosecutors
say shows the rampage

That this man,
thomas overton,

Went on in August 21st of 1991.

[sharon]
he had a look
like I've never seen.

A dark vacancy
behind his eyes.

He looked like
hannibal lecter.

[reporter]
among those in court,
james and celeste macivor,

Who told me, quote,
"there's nothing to say."

[sharon]
the criminal trial
was very stressful on all of us.

[soft music]

[james]
I was at a loss.

The whole thing
kept coming back.

Who? Why? What was the reason?
What for?

How somebody could
do that, you know?

[sharon]
we learned more
that we didn't know.

It was planned out
to the t.

He watched and waited
for them to get back

From a lamaze class.

He knew what time
they got back.

He waited for the storm.

The storm was an opportunity
and it was a perfect cover.

[james]
it was pretty disgusting
watching his attorneys

Trying to show
that he was innocent.

It was horrible.

[tense music]

[narrator]
on March 18th, 1999,

Eight years after
the macivor homicides,

41-year-old thomas overton
is found guilty

Of the murders of missy,
mike, and baby kyle.

[judge]
thomas mitchell overton,

You have not only forfeited
your right to live among us,

But under the laws
of the state of florida,

You have forfeited your right
to live at all.

Therefore, it is hereby ordered
and adjudged

That for the first degree m*rder
of michael macivor,

You, thomas mitchell overton,
be sentenced to death.

And for
the first degree m*rder

Of susan michelle macivor,

You, thomas mitchell overton,

Be sentenced to death.

And for the crime
of k*lling an unborn child,

You, thomas mitchell overton,

Be sentenced
to the maximum sentence

Allowed by law,
15 years imprisonment.

♪

[bill]
overton,
I'll always remember this,

He turned around,
looked at the crowd,

And he smiled.

He did this stare-down
with the families

Of the people
that he had k*lled.

[sharon]
thomas overton turned around
and gave me a little wave.

A wave?

You're waving at me?

It took everything I had
to not leap out of my chair

And attack this--
this animal

That--that did this
to my family.

[bill]
it was just one
of the most outlandish things

I've ever seen,
a k*ller who is smiling

At the families
of the people he k*lled.

It just sent chills
down my spine.

[sharon]
after the trial,

My parents both died early
from broken hearts.

It took a terrible toll,
and I miss my brother every day.

I often wonder, you know,

What life
would have been like

If this guy
didn't destroy mike's life

And missy's life.

[soft music]

[sharon]
missy was a third grade
school teacher.

She was beloved
by her school.

There's a tree planted
at the school now,

And there's a whole memorial
to missy.

I don't think we're
ever gonna have an answer

To the question why,

Because if we knew why,

We could have prevented this.

We can't prevent evil
from making us victims.

♪

[scott]
I think if we hadn't caught him,

He could very well
have struck again.

[mark]
I firmly believe
in thomas's mind

He thought that
he got away with it.

[scott]
thomas overton
made a big mistake

After all these years
of not getting caught

For however many crimes
he may have committed,

But this time
he made a major mistake

When he cut his throat
and left all that blood evidence

On the floor of his cell.

He left the evidence
right there for us,

And that was the mistake
that cost him.

It turned out to be
a dumb move on his part.

Thomas wasn't going
anywhere now.