Florida Man, 74, Sentenced to Life in Dismemberment Case

A Florida judge compared him to Hannibal Lecter. Now 74-year-old Robert Kessler will die in prison for killing a mother of three and dumping her remains in Tampa’s McKay Bay.

Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Nick Nazaretian sentenced Kessler to life plus 15 years on Nov. 4, right after jurors convicted him of second-degree murder and abuse of a dead human body. The jury deliberated for about 11 to 12 hours over two days before reaching its verdict.

Stephanie Crone-Overholts, 47, of Pennsylvania, was staying at Kessler’s home in Lutz when she was killed in 2021. That November, fishermen found her remains in the bay over several days. Her mother, Susan George, identified her through a tattoo of her three sons’ names.

Prosecutors said Kessler stabbed her in the neck, then dismembered her body. Her blood was found on his kitchen cabinets, a mattress and his shoes. Police recovered a handsaw, cell records put his phone near the 22nd Street Causeway Bridge twice after she vanished, and a fisherman testified he saw Kessler dumping containers into the bay, according to TrueCrimeNews.

The defense called no witnesses, arguing prosecutors couldn’t prove premeditation. At sentencing, the judge told Kessler his actions created at least three victims, starting with Stephanie. “She was a human being and deserved better,” her son, Sean Overholts, told the court.

With the sentence handed down, the case is closed. Kessler will spend the rest of his life behind bars.