TAMPA, Fla. (Court TV) — A child testified to hearing an argument in the hours before a woman disappeared from the house where they lived, but the defendant on trial wasn’t in court to hear it.
Robert Kessler sits with his head in his hands. (Court TV)
Robert Kessler, 74, chose not to attend the fourth day of his trial; instead, he stayed at the Hillsborough County Jail. Kessler has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and abuse of a dead body in the death of Stephanie Crone-Overholts, 47, whose body was found dismembered in Tampa’s McKay Bay.
Kessler appeared briefly via Zoom on a monitor in the courtroom as the defendant confirmed with Judge Nick Nazaretian that he did not want to attend his trial. Kessler reappeared briefly before the afternoon session began and again confirmed his choice to remain at the jail and not participate in the proceedings.
A 12-year-old girl testified on Thursday afternoon, providing critical testimony as the third person who lived at a home with both the defendant and the victim before her death in November 2021. The child said that Crone-Overholts had moved into their home in the weeks before her disappearance “because she had nowhere else to stay.” She testified that the last time she saw the victim was after a late-night gymnastics class. Kessler made her leave the class early, she testified, because “he told me that [Crone-Overholts] was demanding for something and if we didn’t give her what she wanted, that she was going to burn our stuff down.”
The child said that after returning home, Kessler made her wait in the car while he went inside. She could hear arguing inside the house, but she couldn’t make out any specific words. Eventually, she said, Kessler came out, got her and directed her back into the house, where she spent the night in Kessler’s room watching TV. She never saw the victim again.
In the following days, the child said, she saw Kessler remove everything from the room where Crone-Overholts had been staying, including the bed sheets and bed frame. The last time she saw the defendant, she said, was when he dropped her off at a friend’s house. “He told me that he loves me and that he has to turn himself in,” she said.
Pressed about what she saw in the house, the 12-year-old denied seeing any blood but noted that when she woke up the next morning, “It just smelled different.” She clarified, “It didn’t smell right, and [Kessler] told me that [Crone-Overholts] left with her boyfriend.”
In an arrest report reviewed by Court TV, police said witnesses reported seeing a man matching Kessler’s description dropping bags and plastic bins into McKay Bay. One witness noted the bins had a very foul odor.
Kessler, who is now blind, initially said he wanted to represent himself, but changed his mind after jury selection. Since then, he has chosen not to participate in or attend his trial.
