Accused Killers In Widely Publicized Cases Indicted By Grand Jury

TAMPA, FL — Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office obtained indictments Thursday afternoon from a Hillsborough County grand jury charging Robert Kessler and Ja’Marion Strange with first-degree murder in two unrelated cases.

Kessler, 69, of Lutz is accused of killing 47-year-old Stephanie Crone-Overholts, then dumping her dismembered body into McKay Bay last month. Following a lengthy investigation, Tampa police arrested Kessler for second-degree murder—acting with a “depraved mind” without regard for human life.

Working with Tampa police, the State Attorney’s Office presented an indictment to the grand jury for the higher charge of first-degree, pre-meditated murder.

The grand jury also handed down a first-degree murder charge against Ja’Marion Strange, 16, of Tampa. Strange is accused of shooting a 13-year-old boy outside the Lee Davis Community Resource Center at 3402 N. 22nd Street in Tampa on Nov. 23. The indictment automatically places Strange in the adult court system.

“While these two cases aren’t related, both have shocked our community—the horrific nature of a mother’s murder and the senseless killing of a child. We will do everything in our power to hold these killers accountable for the lives they took and the anguish they have caused for the families of their victims,” Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren said.

These prosecutions are in their early stages, and the state has not yet determined whether it will seek the death penalty in Kessler’s case.

Because he is under 18, the maximum sentence for Strange, if convicted, is life in prison.

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• 13-Year-Old In Critical Condition After Being Shot In Tampa
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• Tampa Police Divers Find More Body Parts In McKay Bay Friday
• Lutz Man Arrested In Death Of Woman Whose Leg Was Found