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Michael and Missy MacIvor: Thomas Overton Execution, What We Know

By the Undercurrent desk · Published

Video · 3:01 · Watch on YouTube

Thomas Mitchell Overton, 70, is set to be executed by the State of Florida on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison. A Monroe County jury convicted him in 1999 in the Aug. 22, 1991 killings of Michael MacIvor, 30, and Susan "Missy" MacIvor, 29, who was eight months pregnant, in their home in Tavernier, on Key Largo. The case went unsolved for years until DNA from the couple's bedding was matched to him. He has always said he is innocent.

What's confirmed

  1. Aug. 22, 1991Michael and Susan "Missy" MacIvor are found dead in their home in Tavernier, Key Largo. Court records say both were strangled; their unborn child did not survive. Fla. Legislature capital-case summary; Fla. Supreme Court
  2. For years, no one was charged. Overton, a local burglar, was later jailed on an unrelated burglary case. Bradenton Herald; News4Jax; FOX 13
  3. DNA from the couple's bedding was tested in 1996 and again in 1998 and matched him. A jailhouse informant also testified at trial. CBS News Miami; FOX 13; Bradenton Herald
  4. 1999a Monroe County jury convicts him of two counts of first-degree murder, killing an unborn child, burglary and sexual battery. Jury votes for death: 9-3 (Susan MacIvor) and 8-4 (Michael MacIvor). Fla. Legislature; Fla. Supreme Court case summary
  5. March 18, 1999sentenced to death in Key West (Monroe County Case 96-30167-CF). Sentencing order; Fla. Legislature
  6. 2001the Florida Supreme Court upholds the convictions and sentences. Fla. Supreme Court
  7. June 26, 2025the 11th Circuit finds his federal petition timely but "properly denied in the alternative on the merits." 11th Cir. opinion
  8. Feb. 23, 2026the U.S. Supreme Court denies review (No. 25-516). Supreme Court docket
  9. Late October 2026Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the death warrant; the execution is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, 6 p.m. Governor's letter to the warden, dated Oct. 21, 2026; Death Penalty Information Center
  10. If carried out, it would be Florida's 20th execution of 2026, the most in a year since 1976. AP via FOX 13; News4Jax

His side

Overton maintains his innocence. He says the informants lied and the DNA evidence was planted. At trial, his defense argued the stains on the bedding had been planted. His lawyers' 2025 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court argued the 11th Circuit wrongly required him to "completely undermine the reliability of the DNA evidence." The courts have rejected his appeals.

What we don't know / what's disputed

  • Whether the Florida Supreme Court or the U.S. Supreme Court will step in before Nov. 19.
  • Some reports said Nov. 18 and 1992. The governor's letter and court records say Nov. 19, 2026 and Aug. 22, 1991.

What happens next

His lawyers can still ask the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution. We will update this video, its description and the pinned comment when either court rules and after Nov. 19.

Chapters

  1. 0:00Michael and Missy MacIvor: Key Largo, 1991
  2. 0:44Overton DNA match: years without a name
  3. 1:05Overton trial: verdict and death sentence
  4. 1:38Overton appeals: what the courts said
  5. 2:06Overton execution: where it stands

Sources

  1. U.S. Supreme Court docket No. 25-516 Primary recordsupremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-516.html
  2. Overton petition (Oct. 24, 2025) + 11th Cir. opinion (appendix) Primary recordsupremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25-516/380546/20251024141116784_Appendix.pdf
  3. Fla. Legislature, Commission on Capital Cases (DC# 911193) Primary recordleg.state.fl.us/capitalcases/Documents/Case_updates/Htm/911193.html
  4. Fla. Supreme Court case summary (WFSU Gavel2Gavel, Mar. 9, 2001) Primary recordwfsu.org/gavel2gavel/viewcase.php?eid=871
  5. Governor's letter, via Tracking Florida's Death Penalty (Oct. 21, 2026) Reportingfladeathpenalty.substack.com/p/new-warrant-thomas-overtons-execution
  6. Death Penalty Information Center, upcoming executions Reportingdeathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/upcoming-executions
  7. CBS News Miami (Oct. 21, 2026) Reportingcbsnews.com/miami/news/desantis-death-warrant-thomas-overton-1992-florida-keys-killings/
  8. FOX 13 Tampa Bay (Oct. 22, 2026) Reportingfox13news.com/news/florida-schedules-20th-execution-year-desantis-signs-death-warrant-1992-double-murders

The record · as of Nov. 1, 2026

How we know

Primary records are court and agency documents; reporting is news coverage we checked against them. How we report.

What happens next

  • Overton execution set (Florida State Prison); follow-up required

We check these records for changes: SCOTUS 25-516 Overton; DPIC upcoming executions: re-confirm Nov 19 date.

Verified timeline

  1. 1991-08-22Michael MacIvor, 30, and Susan 'Missy' MacIvor, 29, eight months pregnant with their first child, were found dead in their stilt house in Tavernier (Key Largo, Monroe County) by co-workers and a neighbor. Official cause of death: strangulation. Outlets saying 1992 (FOX 13/FOX 35 headline, CBS Miami URL) are wrong.FDC offender record (offense date 08/22/1991); Fla. Legislature capital-case page; 11th Cir. opinion 2025; Fla. Sup. Ct. 2007 (FindLaw); fladeathpenalty substack
  2. 1996-11November 1996: an FDLE analyst matched DNA from stains on the couple's bedding to Overton's blood (court-quoted odds of an unrelated match 'in excess of one in six billion'). Earlier testing (c. 1994) produced a profile but no match, because investigators had no sample from him.Fla. Sup. Ct. 2007 via FindLaw; 11th Cir. opinion 2025; S.D. Fla. order 2016; Florida's SCOTUS BIO; fladeathpenalty substack
  3. 1996-11-09Late 1996: Overton, under surveillance, was arrested during a burglary in progress; while in custody he cut himself and a towel he used went to investigators, leading to a court-ordered blood draw. The federal district court gives Nov. 9, 1996 as the date he was arrested for the MacIvor murders. News4Jax's '1997' is wrong.11th Cir. opinion 2025 ('late 1996'); Fla. Sup. Ct. 2007 via FindLaw ('late 1996'); Florida's SCOTUS brief in opposition ('late 1996'); S.D. Fla. order Jan. 12, 2016 (Nov. 9, 1996); Bradenton Herald (1996)
  4. 1996-12December 1996: Overton was formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, killing an unborn child, burglary of a dwelling and sexual battery; written not-guilty plea Dec. 18, 1996. The Legislature page dates the indictment '12/09/91', an apparent typo for 12/09/96 (the 2007 opinion says the charging document was filed December 1996).Fla. Sup. Ct. 2007 via FindLaw ('not filed until December 1996'); Fla. Legislature capital-case page (counts, 12/18/96 plea)
  5. 19981998: bedding cuttings were retested by a second lab (Bode Technology, STR testing), which also matched Overton. The defense challenged the DNA's handling and chain of custody; the trial court admitted it after a Frye hearing.Fla. Sup. Ct. 2007 via FindLaw; 11th Cir. opinion 2025; Overton cert petition (defense); fladeathpenalty substack
  6. 1999-02Penalty phase: the jury recommended death 9-3 for Susan MacIvor's murder and 8-4 for Michael MacIvor's (non-unanimous). Exact date of the recommendation is not in our sources.11th Cir. opinion 2025 (p. 13a); S.D. Fla. order 2016; Fla. Legislature page; fladeathpenalty substack
  7. 1999-03-18The judge sentenced Overton to death on both murder counts, plus 15 years (killing of an unborn child) and life on the burglary and sexual-battery counts.Sentencing order (18th day of March, 1999); FDC offender record; Fla. Legislature page; S.D. Fla. order 2016; fladeathpenalty substack; CBS Miami
  8. 2001-09-13Florida Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and death sentences on direct appeal, Overton v. State, 801 So. 2d 877 (argued Mar. 9, 2001, SC95404).Fla. Legislature page; S.D. Fla. order 2016; 11th Cir. 2025; WFSU Gavel2Gavel; fladeathpenalty substack (late 2001)
  9. 2002-05-13U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari on the direct appeal (Overton v. Florida, 535 U.S. 1062); conviction final.Fla. Legislature page; S.D. Fla. order 2016; 11th Cir. 2025; cert petition
  10. 2005-02-14State trial court denied Overton's first postconviction (Rule 3.851) motion after a Nov. 2004 evidentiary hearing; a DNA-testing motion had been denied Aug. 19, 2004.Fla. Legislature page; S.D. Fla. order 2016
  11. 2007-11-29Florida Supreme Court denied his postconviction and DNA appeals and state habeas petition (Overton v. State, 976 So. 2d 536); rehearing denied Feb. 25, 2008.Fla. Sup. Ct. opinion via FindLaw; Fla. Legislature page; S.D. Fla. order 2016; WFSU Gavel2Gavel (May 9, 2007 argument); cert petition
  12. 2013-08-08Florida Supreme Court affirmed denial of a successive newly-discovered-evidence motion (the circuit court had denied it Apr. 10, 2012 after a hearing); rehearing denied Oct. 31, 2013.S.D. Fla. order 2016; 11th Cir. 2025; fladeathpenalty substack (Aug. 2013); cert petition (Oct. 31, 2013)
  13. 2013-11-08Overton filed his federal habeas petition (S.D. Fla. No. 4:13-cv-10172).S.D. Fla. order 2016; 11th Cir. 2025 (both in SCOTUS 25-516 appendix)
  14. 2016-01-12Federal district court (Chief Judge K. Michael Moore, Miami) denied the habeas petition as untimely; judgment Mar. 28, 2016.S.D. Fla. order + judgment (SCOTUS 25-516 appendix); fladeathpenalty substack (2016 denial); cert petition
  15. 2025-06-2611th Circuit (Nos. 16-10654, 21-13309) held the federal petition was timely but affirmed the denial on the merits.11th Cir. opinion (ca11 + SCOTUS appendix 1a-41a); SCOTUS docket 25-516 lower-court info; fladeathpenalty substack
  16. 2025-10-24Overton petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court (Overton v. Dixon, No. 25-516); Florida filed its opposition Jan. 12, 2026; reply Jan. 23, 2026.SCOTUS docket 25-516; filings on disk (petition, BIO, reply)
  17. 2026-02-23U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari (No. 25-516) after the Feb. 20, 2026 conference.SCOTUS docket 25-516 (primary); fladeathpenalty substack
  18. 2026-10-21Gov. DeSantis's letter to the Florida State Prison warden, dated Oct. 21, 2026, encloses the signed death warrant and states the execution is set for Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. (warrant week Nov. 19-26).Governor's letter image (fladeathpenalty.substack.com Oct. 21, 2026); DPIC upcoming executions (checked Oct. 29, 2026: Nov. 19)
  19. 2026-11-19Execution scheduled Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, 6 p.m., Florida State Prison; if carried out, Florida's 20th execution of 2026. Conflict: FOX 13/FOX 35 body text, News4Jax, CBS Miami and Hoodline say Nov. 18 (one wire copy whose own headline says the 19th). Re-check DPIC + Fla. Sup. Ct. docket on render day.Governor's letter to the FSP warden (Oct. 21, 2026, via fladeathpenalty substack); DPIC upcoming executions (checked Oct. 29); Bradenton Herald/McClatchy; FOX 13 headline (20th)
  20. Overton has maintained his innocence: he says the jailhouse informants lied and the DNA evidence was planted. At trial the defense argued a detective planted it; the detective denied it (do not name the detective). Attribute as 'he says' / 'the defense argued'.11th Cir. 2025 (defense theory + denial, citing 801 So. 2d at 887); Bradenton Herald; FADP; cert petition

Also in our research file

Updates and corrections

No corrections to this page. Spot an error? corrections@undercurrentdaily.com

Photos: Fla. Dept. of Corrections; Tavernier Key by Yinan Chen / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Overton was convicted in 1999 and his appeals have been denied. We take no position on the death penalty or on clemency.

Spot an error? Email corrections@undercurrentdaily.com. See our corrections policy. Have information about this case? Contact the investigating agency first.

Part of What We Know: open cases, confirmed facts only · YouTube playlist

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