Robert Trease was sentenced to death by the State of Florida for a robbery murder. According to court documents Robert Trease and his accomplice Hope Siegal planned the robbery of the victim Paul Edeson. Hope Siegal would plan a date with the victim and when she arrived she searched the home and did not find a safe. Hope Siegal would tell Robert Trease about not finding a safe and the two would head back to Paul Edeson home. Robert Trease would demand to know where the safe was and when Edeson insisted that he did not have a safe Trease would murder the man by slitting his throat. Robert Trease would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death. Hope Siegal cooperated with authorities and received twenty years in prison
Robert Trease 2021 Information
| DC Number: | 124346 |
|---|---|
| Name: | TREASE, ROBERT J |
| Race: | WHITE |
| Sex: | MALE |
| Birth Date: | 01/21/1953 |
| Initial Receipt Date: | 01/23/1997 |
| Current Facility: | UNION C.I. |
| Current Custody: | MAXIMUM |
| Current Release Date: | DEATH SENTENCE |
Robert Trease More News
On August 17, 1995, Hope Siegel arranged a date with the victim, Paul Edenson, so Trease could learn where the victim hid his safe. When Siegel arrived at the victim’s home they talked for a while, after which Siegel departed and walked to Trease’s location, and told him that the victim did not have a safe. Trease followed her back to the victim’s house where he surprised the victim and battered him in an effort to get the sought-after information. Upon the victim’s insistence that he did not have a safe in the house, Trease told Siegel to get a gun which Trease put to the victim’s head as he continued the questioning. The victim remained uncooperative so Trease fired a nonlethal bullet into his head and then sent Siegel for a knife with which he cut the victim’s throat. An expert medical witness testified that the victim would have died a few minutes later.
Subsequent to their arrest, Trease denied any knowledge of the crime, but Siegel made a taped statement implicating both. The State had no physical evidence tying Trease to the crime, so Siegel’s testimony was critical at trial. The jury found Trease guilty of first-degree murder, burglary, and robbery with a firearm.