Forensic specialists detail what prosecutors call ‘murder kit’ found in former plastic surgeon’s car

LARGO, Fla. - Wednesday, forensic specialists gave detailed testimony about what they found at the crime scenes, and inside the vehicles prosecutors say belonged to a former plastic surgeon who’s accused of killing a Largo attorney.

Witnesses explain evidence

What we know:

Prosecutors called 11 witnesses Wednesday, many of them forensic specialists, who helped prosecutors build their case against Tomasz Kosowski. They showed pictures they took of the scenes in court Wednesday. 

The State has called almost 40 witnesses so far. Kosowski has opted not to question any of them.

Kosowski waived his right to a jury trial, so he will have a bench trial where the judge decides his fate. He also decided to represent himself in the trial.

Kosowski is charged with first-degree murder in the 2023 death of Largo attorney Steven Cozzi.

Looking back at the crime

The backstory:

In March 2023, Cozzi went to the bathroom in the Blanchard Law office where he worked and never returned. His co-workers testified Monday that he left his phone, keys and wallet at his desk and appeared to be in the middle of an email. Law enforcement officers testified Tuesday and Wednesday that they documented Cozzi’s keys, wallet and phone on his desk as well. 

According to court records, at the time, Kosowski was locked in a bitter legal battle with his former employer and was suing them. Cozzi was representing some of the defendants. 

Witnesses Monday testified Kosowski was often aggressive towards Cozzi, and tried to have him removed from the civil case.

On March 21, 2023, the day Cozzi disappeared, surveillance video shows someone walking into the building carrying a large box just after 8:30 a.m., prosecutors said. Around 10:22 a.m., surveillance video shows someone who appears to be Kosowski, prosecutors said, wheeling out a heavy wagon and struggling to pull it onto a truck. 

That truck, a Toyota Tundra, then returns to Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs home, Flock cameras and neighbors’ surveillance cameras show. Investigators found the truck in his garage.

Detectives found Cozzi’s blood, some mixed with Kosowski’s, in the law firm’s bathroom, prosecutors said. They found more of Cozzi’s blood inside the truck. 

Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Forensic Science Assistant Sandra-Leigh Copeland testified Wednesday she found blood throughout the bathroom, including on the floor, door toilet, walls and on many of the 400 used paper towels she collected in the bathroom. 

Copeland also took pictures of the electrical closet that prosecutors say Kosowski was found hiding in at the complex the law firm was located in a week before Cozzi’s disappearance. She took fingerprints from the closet too.

Copeland also took pictures of Kosowski for the body warrant police served after he was detained. This included pictures of Kosowski with his clothes on and off and processing his DNA.

He was wearing his medical scrubs when he was detained. Copeland testified he had cuts on the front of his hands, bruising on both of his biceps, his stomach and what looked like bruises on his legs. A DNA swab from inside Kosowski’s cheek was also taken at that time.

Cell phone evidence

Dig deeper:

Cell phone records show Kosowski’s phone pinged at the law office when Cozzi disappeared, and later at a dumpster in Collier County. By the time investigators tracked the landfill where the dumpster in Collier County was dumped, it was about a week later. They never found Cozzi’s body.

Deputy Steven Allred with the Largo Police Department testified Wednesday that he helped search the landfill where they believe Cozzi’s body ended up.  He and others searched for three days from sunup to sundown. Allred called it one of the most daunting things he has ever done in his career.

Detective John Sinni of the Largo Police Department also helped search the landfill. He said they initially had hope they’d find Cozzi’s body because staff at the landfill knew which truck picked up the dumpster and what they were looking for. However, he said every time they tried to get through a pile, more trash filled its spot.

Digging for evidence

What they're saying:

"It was like pulling stuffing out of a pillow," Sinni said. "They’d pull up a big load of debris over for us to all look through and as soon as they did that, the compression released and the stuff came up and filled its void and it was relentless. We did that for days."

"Disgusting," Sinni said, describing it. "It’s a massive facility and it was hot. It stunk. The trash that was piled in there was full of everything from household trash to feces and medical waste. I mean, I wasn’t even expecting to see medical waste and needles and everything was ground down by some massive, heavy machinery that’s designed to crush and grind and plow this stuff into mountains. I don’t know that even without being there and seeing it I could paint you a good picture of it," he said.

Allred also helped search the red Toyota Corolla Kosowski was driving when he was arrested. He testified that there was more than $282,000 in cash in the car, a paralyzing agent and a syringe.

Several forensic science specialists from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office also testified Wednesday, describing how they used Luminol, a chemical reagent sprayed in areas to detect blood that may be invisible to the naked eye.  

Specialist Robert Briggs helped process the Toyota Tundra truck. Briggs testified that they found blood in the truck bed and parts of the interior of the truck. He also said they found a remote-control device inside the truck and Kosowski’s Toyota Corolla that can conceal the license plate.

Specialist Kristen Stropes testified Wednesday she found blood in several spots on the bed of the truck and in the cab of the truck.

PCSO Forensic Science Specialist Nikki Bole documented Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs home. She testified that she took more than 1,000 pictures. One of those pictures shown to the court was of the truck parked in the garage. Other pictures show, Bole said, isopropyl alcohol in the master bathroom and syringes on a laundry room shelf.

PCSO Forensic Science Specialist Dana Zuchetto also helped process Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs home. She took pictures using a 360-degree camera. Zuchetto said she found 11 license plates from multiple states, EMS and sheriff’s office patches and cleaning supplies with isopropyl as one of the ingredients all in the garage. 

Zuchetto also testified that she documented a black bag in one of the rooms inside the home. She described the pictures of the bag and its contents shown in the courtroom, saying gun paraphernalia, magazines and brass knuckles were inside the bag.

PCSO Assistant Forensics Science Supervisor Ashley Luth was on the stand for about two hours Wednesday. She talked about everything she found in Kosowski’s Toyota Corolla, including two ballistic vests. Prosecutors said one of them had Cozzi’s blood on it.

Prosecutors said in court earlier this week one of the vests had Cozzi’s blood on it. 

She then detailed everything in a black bag in the car that prosecutors call the murder kit. One by one, she showed the items in the bag, marked as evidence, while up on the stand, including a black mask, a white, mime-like mask, two ski masks, a black baseball cap, a paralytic agent and vial of needles, a pair of binoculars, two passports, stun gun, flashlights, crowbar, brass knuckles, scissors, a folding knife, a roll of duct tape, law enforcement patches thousands in cash and more. 

Kosowski speaks in court

The other side:

While Kosowski hasn’t questioned any of the nearly 40 witnesses so far, he did question the prosecutor about trash bags Luth said she found in his car. He interrupted Assistant State Attorney Nathan Vonderheide in the middle of questioning. 

"Before we move on, you mentioned something about capacity," Kosowski said. "How tall are you, Mr. Vonderheide," he asked.

"I don’t know what you’re suggesting," Vonderheide said.

"I don’t know if he really has to answer that question," Judge Joseph Bulone said. "Do you have a legal issue you’d like to bring up," Bulone said.

"Well, capacity, they’re obviously hinting that you could probably hide a body in there, right? So, I mean, can you step into the trash bag for us," he asked Vonderheide.

"Well, the answer is no, she doesn’t know what the capacity is so we move on after that. He may have been hinting at something, but he didn’t get an answer as to what the capacity is," Bulone said.

The final witness of the day was Detective Sinni of the Largo Police Department. He helped track the Toyota Tundra truck from the law firm back to Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs home. He also ran the license plate and said it came back as registered to someone who is dead. 

Miami Residence and offices

Big picture view:

Sinni also traveled to the home Kosowski was renting in Miami when police there served a search warrant on the home. He said the home looked like it was in disarray and one of the rooms in the back looked like it had been freshly mopped.

When investigators processed the floor, nothing showed up. When they processed the mop, it had a reaction with the Luminol. They seized the mop for processing. 

Sinni also went to a couple of the surgery offices Kosowski worked at in Miami. He said he had knowledge of the paralytic agent found in the Toyota Corolla, and asked one office if he could see where it was stored. Sinni said there were two boxes and one was open and had four vials inside. He compared the information on that box with the information from the vial recovered from the Corolla and found the lot number and the manufacturer matched.

Throughout the day, Kosowski was engaged and taking notes. He has again objected to most of the evidence being introduced in court, which the judge has overruled. 

Cozzi’s family and friends have filled the courtroom all week. 

Kosowski has pleaded not guilty. 

More testimony to come

What's next:

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Since Kosowski waived a jury trial, the judge will decide a verdict. Court resumes at 9:15 a.m. Thursday. The state said it hopes to rest its case by next Tuesday. 

Crime and Public Safety