Plastic surgeon accused of killing Largo attorney wants out of jail
LARGO, Fla. - A plastic surgeon accused of killing a Largo attorney was in court on Tuesday asking for bond.
Steven Cozzi disappeared from the law firm he worked at in March, leaving his keys, phone, and other belongings in his office.
Prosecutors say Koswski killed Cozzi in the firm’s bathroom and brought his body elsewhere.
The firm Cozzi worked at, Blanchard Law, represents Kosowski’s former coworkers, who the plastic surgeon is suing.
Cozzi’s boss and close friend, Jake Blanchard, testified Tuesday and called the lawsuit "contentious." Blanchard said in January, Cozzi told him Kosowski called him a "scumbag like his clients." It happened in the bathroom of the firm during a deposition, Blanchard said.
Communal bathroom at Blanchard Law covered with apparent fingerprint dust after Attorney Steven Cozzi's disappearance
Blanchard found blood in that same bathroom the day Cozzi went missing and smelled a strong odor of bleach coming from the bathroom.
Court documents say Cozzi’s blood was found in Kosowski’s vehicles and garage.
After the January incident, Blanchard, Cozzi’s husband, and another attorney working on the civil case said they became extremely concerned.
Blanchard stared at Kosowski several times in court Tuesday.
"I think that he was going to kill other people, probably me, probably Jennifer [defendant in civil case], probably Jake Pillsbury," Blanchard said. "My wife is terrified that they’re going to let him out. I’m terrified that they’re going to let him out," Blanchard said in court Tuesday.
Stephen Cozzi's husband Michael Montgomer testified in court that he feared he would be killed if Kosowski was released on bond.
Blanchard and several of Cozzi’s family members and friends packed the courtroom. Cozzi’s husband, Michael Montgomery, also testified.
"I’m absolutely terrified," Montgomery said. "I’m not an attorney, and to me, it sounds like this was incredibly personal. I was the closest one to Steven, and I am convinced that if he’s let out that he’s going to come after me, and I don’t want to end up in a landfill," Montgomery said.
New court filings say Kosowski’s phone records led investigators to a dumpster in Collier County, where prosecutors believe he took Cozzi’s body.
Officials believe Cozzi's body may be in a Collier County landfill.
Investigators searched the landfill for days, but waste management workers told investigators that finding Cozzi’s body would be nearly impossible.
RELATED: Largo lawyer's disappearance and alleged murder: Timeline of events
Jake Pillsbury, who represents another defendant in that same civil case that Cozzi was a part of, testified that he, too, would be scared for his life and his client’s if Kosowski was released. Pillsbury said Kosowski tried to have Cozzi removed from the case and was always very aggressive.
"Of course, I would be afraid," Pillsbury said. I would absolutely be in danger if you let him out. One hundred percent," Pillsbury said.
Pillsbury said he doesn’t know why Kosowski didn’t target him instead. He said Cozzi was much nicer to Kosowski than he was.
Pillsbury said he doesn’t use public bathrooms because of what happened to his friend.
The custodian at the vet clinic that neighbors the law firm also testified Tuesday. She said about a week before Cozzi went missing, she saw a man in the utility closet. He told her he was there for a reported power outage, but she said she "had a sinking feeling something terrible was going to happen," so she followed him as he left.
The man, she testified, got into a Toyota Tundra with a description matching Kosowski’s truck. She reported it to the police. A week after that, she saw the same man peering into Blanchard Law, a man she said matched Kosowski’s description.
She said she and a colleague found a wagon in the utility closet that wasn’t there before. When officers processed the scene after Cozzi disappeared, that wagon wasn’t there. A man prosecutors say is Kosowski is on surveillance video pulling a wagon out of the firm the day Cozzi disappeared.
REALTED: Largo lawyer murder: Blood, firearms, $280,000 cash found in search of surgeon's vehicles, home, police say
The defense argued Kosowski doesn’t have a criminal history and that they could negotiate the circumstances he’s held on, like giving him an ankle monitor.
The judge said if the allegations against Kosowski are true, he’s a danger to anyone who gets in his way and that anyone involved in this case or the civil case Cozzi was working on could be in "mortal danger."
The judge also said he believes Kosowski is a flight risk. He cited items found in Kosowski’s car when officers arrested him, including $280,000 in cash, an American and a Polish passport, guns, and denied bond.
The judge also denied the defense’s motion to dismiss the indictment.
Kosowski looked in Cozzi’s family’s direction shortly after sitting down and paid close attention in court. Kosowski has pleaded not guilty.
Cozzi’s family and friends say he loved to run, was always in a good mood, was funny, and wanted to help others.
The pre-trial is set for Oct. 5.