Plastic surgeon charged with murder of attorney questions first witnesses in trial
Kosowski cross-examines expert in murder trial
Tomasz Kosowski, the plastic surgeon accused of murdering a Pinellas County attorney, continues to represent himself in his trial. FOX 13's Kailey Tracey reports.
LARGO, Fla. - Plastic surgeon Tomasz Kosowski cross-examined witnesses Thursday on the fourth day of his murder trial.
Plastic surgeon cross-examines trial witnesses
What we know:
Kosowski opted to represent himself in court and waived his right to a jury trial, leaving a judge to decide his verdict.
Prosecutors accuse Kosowski of killing Largo attorney Steven Cozzi inside the Blanchard Law office bathroom in March 2023. Cozzi disappeared from his desk, leaving behind his phone, keys and wallet while in the middle of typing an email.
Pictured: Steven Cozzi
Largo law office legal battle
The backstory:
At the time of the disappearance, Kosowski was involved in a bitter legal battle against his former employer. Cozzi was serving as legal counsel representing some of the defendants in that civil case.
Witnesses testified Kosowski showed aggression toward Cozzi and tried to have him removed from the civil case. Security footage from March 21, 2023, shows a person entering the office building with a large box after 8:30 a.m.
Surveillance images and DNA evidence
By the numbers:
Surveillance video recorded a man who appears to be Kosowski pulling a heavy wagon onto a Toyota Tundra truck at 10:22 a.m.
License plate readers and cameras tracked the truck to Kosowski's Tarpon Springs home.
Former forensic leader Chad Summerfield testified that blood matching Cozzi was found in the law firm bathroom, the Toyota Tundra, Kosowski's arrest car, his garage floor and on a ballistic vest. DNA matching both men was found on the garage floor and on a paper towel outside the bathroom door.
Defendant challenges blood spatter evidence
What they're saying:
Kosowski questioned blood spatter expert Anna Cox for over an hour regarding photographs of the paper towel. He asked if a nosebleed from a punch could explain the blood patterns.
Cox replied that the blood resulted from a forceful impact low on the floor, stating, "There was a bloodletting event where there were multiple depositions of his blood and at least one of those incidents involved spatter." Kosowski asked if the scene was consistent with Cozzi being cut up into small pieces, to which Cox answered, "I have no opinion on that".
Phone records track suspect's movements
Timeline:
FBI Special Agent Kevin Corrigan testified about cell phone records tracking Kosowski's device between March 21 and March 23, 2023.
The phone left Tarpon Springs before 8 a.m. on March 21, pinged at the law firm, and returned to his home.
Five hours later, the phone traveled south and pinged for about a minute near a dumpster on the Tamiami Trail around 9:30 p.m. before heading to Kosowski's Miami home. The device pinged near the same dumpster location again two days later.
"How much time was the device stopped at the dumpster," he asked about the records from March 21.
"It’s hard to say, but maybe a minute," Corrigan said.
Missing victim
What we don't know:
Investigators have never found Cozzi's body.
Cox testified she could not state how Cozzi died because she did not have a medical examiner's report to review.
Trial continues Friday
What's next:
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the bench trial. Court proceedings resume at 10:15 a.m. Friday.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from information provided by investigators in the case, previous FOX 13 News reporting, legal proceedings involving Tomasz Kosowski and Pinellas County court records.