Tomasz Kosowski trial: Evidence reveals online searches before attorney death

LARGO, Fla. - A digital forensic detective laid out a chilling timeline about what he says Dr. Tomasz Kosowski reached and documented in the months before prosecutors say he killed Largo attorney Steven Cozzi.

Pinellas murder investigation

What we know:

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.

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

Largo law firm

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. 

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.

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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 to a truck. 

That truck, a Toyota Tundra, then returns to Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs home, Flock cameras, businesses’ and neighbors’ surveillance cameras show. Investigators found the truck in his garage. Prosecutors say detectives found Cozzi’s blood in the law firm’s bathroom, in the Toyota Tundra truck, the car Kosowski was driving when he was arrested and on the floor of Kosowski’s Tarpon Springs garage.

A DNA specialist testified Thursday Cozzi’s blood was found in the bathroom and Kosowski’s DNA and Cozzi’s blood were also found on a paper towel outside the bathroom, and on the floor of Kosowski’s garage.

Digital forensic evidence

Timeline:

Detective Lance Moore with the Largo Police Department testified Friday. He was on the stand for about two hours. 

Moore, who analyzed Kosowski's cell phone, said on Jan. 26, 2023, the defendant researched Steven Cozzi, and Googled Cozzi’s address. On Feb. 10, 2023, records show he looked up Gorilla carts on multiple stores’ websites.

On Feb. 16, 2023, Moore said the phone showed a picture was taken of Cozzi’s husband, Michael Montegomery’s car at their home. On Feb. 22, 2023, a video was taken outside the law firm.

Kosowski’s web history on Feb. 23, 2023 shows searches for license plate flippers and license plate covers. On March 2, 2023, Moore said Kosowski’s search history includes Cozzi and Montgomery’s wedding, Cozzi’s home, Cozzi’s background, a Google Maps webpage showing Cozzi’s home, the warranty deed for Cozzi’s home, a Zillow listing for Cozzi’s home and a Google Maps webpage for Cozzi’s prior residence. 

On March 20, 2023, his search history at 3:06 a.m. shows searches for the paralyzing agent succinylcholine. There’s a Google search about how long the medication lasts. 

Board-certified anesthesiologist Dr. Hector Vila testified Friday that succinylcholine causes the muscles to contract, including respiratory muscles, so the person can’t breathe or move. The person is awake and aware of everything that’s going on, and can feel everything, he said. Investigators say they found that medication in Kosowski’s car when he was arrested.

Moore also testified about where Kosowski’s phone pinged March 21, 2023, the day Cozzi disappeared. He showed surveillance video in court from outside the law firm that day, which he said shows Kosowski walking into the building carrying a large box, then later struggling to pull a wagon out of the building to a truck. 

Surveillance videos from businesses along the route the truck took from the law firm to Kosowski’s home were also played in court. An image from a PSTA bus was shown that depicts the wagon in the bed of the truck with what the detective says is Cozzi’s body in the cart. Cozzi’s family and friends were understandably emotional in court as it was shown.

Collier County search

What they're saying:

"This was one of our initial key pieces of evidence whenever we had images of the PSTA bus at 11:25 a.m.," Moore said. "This is showing Kosowski’s vehicle northbound on Belcher Road at Gulf to Bay. Again, we see that object that we saw from the veterinary clinic [at the law firm’s complex] video as it turned onto Belcher Road. We’re now able to see that much closer, and we can see what appears to be that Gorilla cart with an item, object, Mr. Cozzi’s body in the Gorilla cart."

Cell phone records show Kosowski’s phone pinged at the law office on March 21, then later that night around 9:30 p.m. at a dumpster off the Tamiami Trail where prosecutors say Kosowski put Cozzi’s body. 

Around 10:34 p.m., "Free As a Bird" plays through his CarPlay on the Toyota Corolla, and he gets to his Miami home around 10:50 p.m.

Before he heads south, Moore said, cell data shows that his phone is back near the law firm around 5:48 p.m. Moore also showed text messages around 2:30 p.m. on March 21, 2023, between Kosowski and what appears to be someone he works with about two BBLs scheduled for the next day.

Cell records also show two days later, Kosowski made another quick trip to the dumpster before going back to his Miami home. On March 25, Kosowski’s search history includes "Largo Police" and Largo Police warrant misspelled as "warrent."

Moore and other officers headed to the dumpster on March 30, right after he reviewed this data. He said the dumpster is at the historic gas station, Monroe Station, that’s now closed. He said it was pitch black dark and nothing was in the area other than the dumpster and alligators. They didn’t find anything of note in the dumpster.

George Villanti, a truck driver for Waste Management, testified Friday morning that he picked up that dumpster on March 23. Video was shown in court of the trash from the dumpster going into the trash truck. Villanti said he noticed the weight of one black trash bag appeared to be much heavier than any of the other bags.

"I picked up the can, dumped it, got ready to leave," Villanti said. "By the time I turned around, there was an odor that was taking the air out of the truck. It was a really terrible smell coming from the garbage I had just picked up."

"I couldn’t get rid of it as hard as I tried to get rid of it, I could not get rid of it. It attached itself to me and I had it with me all day. Even though I had buried that can underneath, I couldn’t stop smelling it," Villanti said.

A crime scene investigator with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office testified Friday that she and others searched the dumpster on March 31st. The investigator and others then searched the Collier County Landfill where trash from that dumpster ends up. 

They searched for three days, from sun up to sun down, looking first at a 50 by 50 foot area that was 17 feet deep. They never found Cozzi’s body. 

Courtroom proceedings

What we don't know:

Authorities have not found Steven Cozzi’s body despite extensive landfill searches. Kosowski had a motion to throw out DNA testimony that was denied by the judge.

Florida legal proceedings

What's next:

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Since Kosowski waived a jury trial, the judge will decide a verdict. Court resumes at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. The state expects to rest its case Wednesday or Thursday.