Tampa girl, 8, is witness in father's dismemberment murder case. Family wants her home. [View all]

Robert Kessler, 69, was arrested in connection with the murder of a woman found in McKay Bay. His daughter, 8, has been with the Department of Children and Families since. Her family wants her to come home.

An 8-year-old girl is a witness in the gruesome death of a woman whose dismembered body was found in Tampa’s McKay Bay. Her father, Robert Kessler, is charged in the homicide. The girl’s family hasn’t seen her since.

The child, whom the Tampa Bay Times is not naming because of her age, has been in the custody of the Department of Children and Families since her father’s arrest on Nov. 24, according to her maternal grandparents, Michael and Beth Gray. The girl’s mother, April Thompson, 34, died in September of an accidental drug overdose, they said.

Sarah Gray, Thompson’s sister and the 8-year-old’s aunt, said they didn’t get a clear answer on where her niece was until Monday. They’d been searching for answers since Kessler’s arrest. The Gray family is hoping to gain custody of the girl.

Robert Kessler previously had full custody of the girl and Thompson had visitation rights.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2021/12/01/tampa-girl-8-is-witness-in-fathers-dismemberment-murder-case-family-wants-her-home/

Hope this kid turns out OK in the future.