McKay Bay murder: Trial date set for Lutz man accused of dismembering, dumping woman’s body
Robert Kessler in court before a judge set his 2024 trial date.
TAMPA, Fla. - On Tuesday, a Tampa judge announced the date Robert Kessler, a man accused of killing, dismembering, and dumping a woman’s body, will face a jury.
Kessler, who left court before hearing the judge's announcement, is accused of killing Stephanie Crone-Overholts and dumping her body parts in McKay Bay two years ago.
On November 11, 2021, an angler spotted a human leg floating near the South 22nd Street Causeway, just south of downtown Tampa around 4:30 p.m.
That same day, Crone-Overholts’ mother in Pennsylvania reported her missing.
At the time, Erie Police Chief Dan Spizarny told FOX 13 that Crone-Overholts’ mother had received a message from her daughter, who had recently moved to Florida, saying she needed help. However, he did not elaborate on why she needed help.
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The leg found by the fisherman was tattooed the names Sean, Zach and Greg, which are the names of Crone-Overholts’ children. Shortly afterward, a second body part was found in the bay.
Stephanie Crone-Overholts' mother reported her missing the same day an angler found body parts in McKay Bay.
Nearly two weeks after the first body part was discovered, Tampa police arrested Kessler, a man they say Crone-Overholts was staying with at the time of her disappearance.
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Police say they interviewed Kessler on November 14, 2021, and he admitted Crone-Overholtz had stayed in his home but left a few weeks earlier. According to the Tampa Police Department, Kessler said he met Crone-Overholts at a McDonald’s restaurant, and she told him she was living in her car, so he invited her to live with him.
Robert Kessler next to Stephanie Crone-Overholts.
Court documents show that Kessler’s 7-year-old daughter, whose mother died from a drug overdose, told detectives that Crone-Overholts stayed with them at their Lutz home for a week. She said that her father and Crone-Overholts had an argument over money and Kessler told her to leave.
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The child went on to tell investigators that Crone-Overholts said if Kessler gave her $200, she would leave. The next day, Kessler’s daughter said Crone-Overholts was gone. She added that her father told her that Crone-Overholts left with her boyfriend, but the girl never heard of her having a boyfriend before. She said she remembered Crone-Overholts’ silver car still being parked outside.
Stephanie Crone-Overholts
Court documents revealed that Crone-Overholts’ suffered injuries consistent with stab wounds to her neck, and defensive wounds to her hands.
Investigators say several witnesses said they saw someone throwing black garbage bags and a red-pink tote bay into the bay on November 6, 2021. There is also surveillance video from Port of Tampa that prosecutors say shows Kessler throwing an object into the water.
A witness reported seeing a man throwing black garbage bags into McKay Bay.
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On November 7, 2021, surveillance video outside the Pep Boys auto store on Bearss Avenue in Tampa shows Kessler parking Crone-Overholts’ car and walking away, according to court documents.
Pictured: Stephanie Crone-Overholts car.
Two days after that interview, police and deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, located Crone-Overholts’ vehicle and said her blood was found inside.
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Kessler was already in custody on drug charges when he was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and abuse of a body.
Tampa police say Kessler has a criminal history, most of which is related to drug charges.
In December 2021, a grand jury indicted Kessler on higher charges of first-degree murder.
Kessler’s trial is scheduled to begin on June 11, 2024.