State
of Florida
Office of the State Attorney
16th Judicial Circuit
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Office of the State Attorney 16th Judicial Circuit
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Criminal Justice System Overview Employment Opportunities |
February 14, 2005 Thomas M. Overton’s latest attempt to overturn his February 1999 conviction on two counts of first-degree murder was thwarted today according to State Attorney Mark Kohl. In a comprehensive, forty-three page order, Circuit Judge Mark H. Jones today denied Overton’s November 15, 2004 motion to throw out his death sentence. Overton has thirty days to appeal Judge Jones’ ruling. According to a graphic description of the crime scene in Jones’ order, the bodies of Michael and Susan MacIvor were found murdered in their Tavernier home on August 22, 1991. Michael MacIvor’s body was discovered in the couple’s living room. “His entire head had been taped with masking tape except for his nose . . .” Susan MacIvor’s body was found in the master bedroom. “Her ankles were tied together. Her wrists were also bound together and secured to her ankles. Around her neck was a garrote.” Susan MacIvor was eight months pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the murder. Sheriff’s officers found semen stains on Susan MacIvor’s body and the comforter on which she laid, suggesting a sexual battery. Forensic reports further indicated that the cause of death for both Michael and Susan was asphyxiation by strangulation. Despite what Jones called a “large, resource rich . . . investigation,” the murders went unsolved for years. Overton was initially a suspect because he was a known “cat burglar” and he worked at a gas station near the MacIvors’ home. But, as Jones’ ruling reads, “ . . . without any additional information to go on, the Defendant was not investigated further . . . “ In November 1994, while serving a jail sentence on an unrelated burglary charge, Overton apparently attempted to commit suicide by cutting his own throat. Blood from the wound was collected by corrections officers and tested for DNA. The test positively matched body fluid samples found at the scene of the MacIvor murders. Overton was then charged with the double homicide. In his November evidentiary appeal, Overton rebutted his conviction on thirteen wide-ranging points. His most substantive arguments questioned the validity of prosecution testimony and DNA evidence. Judge Jones denied every point of the lengthy appeal. Catherine Vogel, Chief Assistant State Attorney who challenged the appeal for Kohl’s office said, “Our office is pleased that the Court did such a thorough examination of Overton’s claims and the facts of the case. He has exhausted yet another step in his march toward inevitable justice.” |
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Last modified:
10/23/07
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