Offender: Michael Dean Overstreet
Occupation: US Navy veteran (discharged for psychological problems after one month), construction, frequently unemployed
Pathology: Stranger abduction, rape, and murder by strangulation, shot victim in forehead
Dates: September 27, 1997
Location: Franklin, Indiana, moved body to Atterbury Wildlife Preserve (Brown County)
Motive: Hunted prey, lured victim, stranger abduction, rape & murder
Victim: Kelly Eckart (18), Franklin College student
M.O.: Stalked at work, followed home after work shift, bumped her car while both driving on road, abducted after she pulled over
Conviction: Sentenced to death (July 31, 2000), Indiana court ruled not competent to be executed in 2014, still on death row
Status: Incarcerated, death row
Appearance: Blanket of Evidence (Forensic Files); All-American Sweethearts (Murder Comes to Town); Death Row (Real Stories); First Love, Forever Evil (Evil Lives Here)
Red Flags: Deprived and abusive childhood, Schizotypal Personality Disorder, mother failed to seek mental health for him, got in fights, bully in high school, went to jail for having a gun at school, isolated & controlled significant other, stalking, threatening, long history of domestic abuse, obsession with weaponry especially knives, always carried a knife, owned firearms, threatened wife with knife, grabbed wife by throat & pointed gun at her head (shot it next to her head), threatened wife with rifle, unexplained absences, secret life/two lives, hallucinations, volatile temper, unpredictable, paranoid, admitted to wife he killed people (delusional thoughts), psychological deterioration, liked killing animals, spent a lot of time alone in the woods, obsessed with media after crimes committed, wife afraid to call the police with suspicions, one misdemeanor in criminal history, loves his family & two children, model prisoner
In the News:
A northern Indiana judge is nearing a decision on whether a man convicted of abducting and killing a Franklin College student in 1997 should be put to death. -RTV6 The Indy Channel (November 13, 2014)
Overstreet ruled not competent to face death penalty. -WTHR (November 20, 2014)
Full Episode: Housing 1900 inmates, 12 of whom are on death row, Trevor spends two weeks in the dark and forbidding world of Indiana State Maximum Security Prison. He hears from men who know what it is like to live under the shadow of the death penalty and even the date and time they will die. -Indiana Death Row, Part 1, Real Stories (August 28, 2017)
Full Episode: Indiana Death Row | Part 2 | Real Stories (August 30, 2017)
Forensic Files:
Full Episode: A young woman disappeared after working the late shift in a department store. Days later, her body was found in an isolated ravine. Tiny clues told police a great deal about the killer. He would own olive-colored carpeting, a white blanket, and distinctive bullets made from wax, not lead. -Blanket of Evidence, Forensic Files (S11, E38)
Investigation Discovery:
Eighteen-year-old Kelly Eckart disappears one night after finishing up her shift at a local hardware store. Hours later her car is discovered abandoned by the side of the road, still running, but Kelly is nowhere to be found. -All-American Sweethearts, Murder Comes to Town (S1, E3)
Melissa Holland was certain that her high school boyfriend, Michael Overstreet, was the man she’d always dreamed of. But only after they were married did she begin to realize that her determination to live happily ever after had put her in mortal danger. -First Love, Forever Evil, Evil Lives Here (S3, E6)
Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.
Related Links:
Indiana Death Row: Michael Dean Overstreet
Just The Facts: Michael Overstreet | Indiana Infamy
Suspect arrested in coed’s death
Killer Sentenced To Death
Accused killer’s kids must keep name
Michael Dean OVERSTREET, Appellant v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee (2003)
Murder victim’s legacy lives on
Michael Dean Overstreet v. Superintendent (2011)
Condemned killer claims incompetence in death sentence appeal
Where`s The Justice? Victim`s Family Outraged By Killer`s Sentence
Murder victim’s family upset over killer’s death sentence hearing
Indiana To Use New Drug In Lethal Injections
Indiana use of new execution drug draws opposition
Indiana officials say death penalty protocol is sound
What do recent botched executions mean for death penalty?
Judge to decide if Michael Overstreet is competent to be executed
Indiana Won’t Appeal Overstreet Execution Ruling
Man who killed Franklin College student not competent for execution, judge rules
Indiana won’t appeal Overstreet execution ruling
Indiana Not Appealing Case Of Mentally Ill Death Row Inmate
State Won’t Appeal Delay of Overstreet Death Sentence
Prosecutor: Ruling an injustice to those “who worked to convict this animal”
Reliving a mother’s worst heartache
Executing the Insane Is Against the Law of the Land. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?
Overstreet ruling likely to be guide
Overstreet: State’s request for recusal ‘legally insufficient’
State appeals ruling that suspended death penalty
Meyer testifies on proposed state senate death penalty bill
Court officer recommends reprimand for Johnson County prosecutor
Michael Overstreet ‘had knife obsession’ before murder of Kelly Eckart says ex-wife
Michael Overstreet ‘had knife obsession’ before murder of Kelly Eckart says ex-wife
Webb: Why Indiana should abolish the death penalty
States Struggle with Determinations of Competency to Be Executed
Michael Dean Overstreet | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
Judge weighs fate of student’s convicted killer
Overstreet ruled not competent to face death penalty
Death Row: Inside Indiana State Prison Part One (Prison Documentary) – Real Stories
Death Row: Inside Indiana State Prison Part 2 (Prison Documentary) – Real Stories
Blanket of Evidence | Forensic Files | FilmRise (S11,E38)
Blanket of Evidence | Forensic Files | Full Episode (YouTube)
Blanket of Evidence | Forensic Files | Netflix (Collection 1, E8)
Blanket of Evidence | Forensic Files | Amazon Prime Video (S11,E19)
All-American Sweethearts | Murder Comes to Town | Investigation Discovery (S1,E3)
All-American Sweethearts | Murder Comes to Town | Investigation Discovery (website)
All-American Sweethearts | Murder Comes to Town | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
First Love, Forever Evil | Evil Lives Here | Investigation Discovery (S3,E6)
First Love, Forever Evil | Evil Lives Here | Investigation Discovery (website)
First Love, Forever Evil | Evil Lives Here | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Forensic Files Premiered ‘Blanket of Evidence’: Michael Dean Overstreet Raped & Murdered Franklin College Student Kelly Eckart (April 4, 2007)
Murder Comes to Town Premiered ‘All-American Sweethearts’ on ID: Kelly Eckart Found Raped & Murdered in Indiana State Park (January 27, 2014)
Evil Lives Here Premiered ‘First Love, Forever Evil’ on ID: Michael Dean Overstreet Abused Wife, Raped & Murdered Kelly Eckart (February 11, 2018)
Forensic Files: 6 Active Duty Military and Veteran Homicide Cases
MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL 