Tampa Murder Defendant’s Cheesesteak Plea Offer Rejected

Robert Kessler, 74, representing himself, offered Judge Nick Nazaretian an open plea on October 26, 2026, for a Philly cheesesteak, fries and a Pepsi after the judge said an open plea could mean life in prison and be done with it. Kessler asked for a Philly cheesesteak with onions on it and mayonnaise and fries and 20 oz. of peppers to save the taxpayers. Nazaretian said he cannot give food to people to enter a plea, that would be wrong in a thousand ways, and he had never in almost 40 years heard that request. Kessler then said he did not want an open plea, just pick the jury, and that he wanted the cheese sandwich but was not going to get it. Kessler is charged with first-degree murder and abuse of a dead body in the 2021 killing and dismemberment of Stephanie Crone-Overholt, 47, whose remains fishermen found in McKay Bay in November 2021. A severed leg with a tattoo of three hearts bearing her sons' names was used to identify her. He faces life in prison if convicted. WHAT'S CONTESTED: No dispute appears in the rated coverage over what Kessler offered, what Nazaretian ruled, or the charges. Outlets vary in headline wording and background detail. Jury selection was set to proceed.