Officers from the Largo Police Department arrested Dr. Tomasz Roman Kosowski on a charge of 1st-degree murder. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at approximately 4:15 a.m.
On April 27, 2023, a Pinellas County Grand Jury indicted Kosowksi with First Degree Murder. On April 28, 2023, the State of Florida filed a Notice of Intent to Seek the Death Penalty.
On July 7, 2023, the State Attorney, Bruce Bartlett, laid out additional details to provide a reason to continue the pretrial detention of Kosowski for the first-degree murder of Largo attorney Steven Cozzi.
Dr. Kosowski filed a lawsuit against many individuals associated with the Laufer Institute of Plastic Surgery in May 2019. In this case, many defendants were represented by attorney Jake C. Blanchard of the Blanchard Law, P.A. firm located at 1501 S Belcher Rd. It is the same firm where attorney Steven Cozzi went missing under suspicious circumstances.
Kosowski, representing himself, was described as aggressive and verbally contentious in the litigation and engaged in intimidating behavior toward Cozzi during a deposition. On December 28, 2022, Kosowski filed a motion in civil litigation seeking the removal of Cozzi as an attorney of record. On January 26, 2023, in the same bathroom where Cozzi was reportedly murdered, Kosowski called Cozzi a “scumbag” and told him he would “win in the end.”
The lawsuit revolved around insurance billing negligence, breach of contract, negligent supervision, negligent hiring, and fraudulent misrepresentation. The case was ongoing, and a hearing was scheduled for March 21, 2023.
On March 21, 2023, the Largo Police Department responded to a call for service about a missing person. Officers learned that Largo attorney Steven Cozzi had left his office at 1501 S Belcher Road, leaving behind his wallet, car keys, and cellular telephone. He was in the process of responding to an email, and music was playing on his phone.
Cozzi’s boss, Jake Blanchard, discovered Cozzi missing and, while searching for him, entered the public bathroom of the office building. While inside, he noted blood smeared on the bathroom, stall wall, and the bottom of the toilet. The victim’s vehicle also remained in the parking lot. Blanchard reported that Cozzi went to the restroom between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. and had not returned to his desk. DNA analysis revealed the blood as Cozzi’s on various surfaces of the men’s bathroom, including the floor, divider, stained paper towels, napkins, and the drain.
When officers arrived, they discovered that the only unsecured entrance to the building was the main lobby doors, monitored by external surveillance. While reviewing surveillance, officers learned that a grey Toyota Tundra arrived at the office building at 8:32 a.m.
At 8:34 a.m., an unidentified white male is seen entering the building wearing dark-colored gloves, carrying a large box, and wearing a large backpack. Cozzi arrives at the building at 8:37 a.m., wearing a red sweater.
At 10:22 a.m., the subject, who has a similar build to the first subject and is wearing the same backpack, exits the building and appears to have changed clothes. He is seen pulling behind a large cart that seems heavy and has a red bag or blanket. It should be noted that the subject struggled with the weight of the cart while transporting it to the Toyota Tundra.
Cozzi missed a 10:30 a.m. telephonic court hearing that was supposed to be held with the defendant. Kosowski attended the telephonic hearing from 10:28-11:04 a.m. While attending the telephonic conference, Kosowski’s iPhone connects to a cell tower so close to the Blanchard law firm that it looms over the parking lot. Defendant Kosowski’s iPhone remains connected to the same cell tower throughout the phone call. After the telephonic court conference, Kosowski powers down his iPhone.
As Kosowski disconnects from the court hearing, video captures the subject at the crime scene beginning to move again. Specifically, at 11:05 a.m., the subject is seen repositioning the cart by the Tundra.
The subject is later seen struggling to get the heavy cart into the truck’s bed on surveillance. Cozzi is never seen exiting the business on surveillance.
Forensics processed the scene and discovered a large quantity of blood that had been cleaned up from the bathroom floor. The blood smears were positive using a presumptive test. White fibers were also located in the bathroom and the victim’s vehicle. Of further note, Kosowski’s left index fingerprint was found on the scene in the breaker room (utility closet) for the office building, which is not in an area generally accessed by the public.
On March 14, 2023, a week before the disappearance of Cozzi, an employee walked into the utility closet in the common area of Building B, where the Blanchard Law office suite is located. She went to close the door and observed an unknown male hiding behind the door in the dark room. The male was described as wearing jeans, a loose t-shirt, and a surgical face mask. The male stated that he was there because of a “power outage” and walked out of the room. The employee observed the unknown male leave in a truck that was believed to be Toyota Tundra. The employee observed a yellow license tag affixed to the truck’s rear and believed the tag was possibly from New Jersey. Employees discovered a blue collapsible wagon after the subject left. Records from Amazon showed that Kosowki ordered two collapsible carts, one red, and one blue.
The Toyota Tundra travels to Kosowski’s home in Tarpon Springs, passing a Flock Camera at 11:51 a.m. with an image of a red bag or blanket in a cart that appeared to contain what resembles a human body in the truck bed. The Tundra then arrived at Kosowski’s residence at 11:58 a.m.
On March 23, 2023, a search warrant was served on Kosowski’s home, and the same Toyota Tundra was found in the garage. During forensic processing, blood was in the truck bed, on the driver’s side headrest, side floorboard, and garage floor. It should be noted that the Toyota Tundra was not registered and had an unassigned tag on it. The Tundra, however, was sold to Kosowski in Oct 2022 for $26,000 in cash. Kosowski did not register the vehicle or record the title. However, the seller recorded the sale with the State of Florida to Kowowski. The Toyota Tundra had a tag-flipping device that could change tags with a button. Defendant Kosowski had a collection of tags filed on a shelf.
Kosowski’s red Toyota Corolla was seen leaving the area of his home on March 21, 2023, at 4:58 p.m. and later hit on license tag readers in Miami, Florida. Investigators from the Largo Police Department learned that the Corolla arrived at an area of US Highway 41 and Loop Road on the Tamiami Trail. He stopped for a few minutes and then continued to Miami. The intersection was also known as Monroe Station, where a historic gas station once stood. Now, it was a parking lot With a small building that contained two restrooms. This remote Big Cypress Wildlife Management area is near the National Preserve Midway Campground.
Cell records reveal he drove back to that location on March 23, 2023, stayed for a short period, and immediately returned to Miami for an approximately 2-hour roundtrip.
On March 25, 2023, Kosowski returned to Pinellas County and was stopped by the Tarpon Springs Police Department. A search warrant was served on the Corolla. During the search, a ballistic vest was found with substantial blood in the vehicle’s trunk. Red fibers were also located on the ballistic vest as well as white fibers. A bag containing masks, including a Guy Fawkes mask, a taser, brass knuckles, duct tape, and intravenous sedatives, including succinylcholine (paralyzing agent) with syringes, was found on the passenger floorboard of the vehicle. In addition, four firearms were recovered, a .380 and three 9 mm handguns. Also located was over $280,000 cash, a GPS tracker, a folding pocket knife, Apple iPhone, iPad, Tracfone, and MacBook. He also had in his possession patches for PCSO and Clearwater PD. On March 20, 2023, Defendant Kosowski conducted an internet search for the effects of succinylcholine and dosage amounts. Kosowski’s residence contained over 200 firearms and a vintage guitar collection. The firearms and guitars are worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Due to the large quantity of blood located at the crime scene, Kosowski’s home and vehicle, along with the fact that the subject removed a container large enough to conceal a human body and the victim was never seen exiting the business on surveillance it is believed that the victim is deceased and Kosowski intentionally, by a premeditated design caused his death. The residence was processed for DNA analysis and revealed a mixture of Kosowski’s DNA and the blood of Cozzi in the middle of the garage floor of Kosowski’s residence, located at 511 Seaview Drive. Cozzi’s blood was also located on Kosowski’s Toyota Tundra.
A review of cell phone records by multiple law enforcement agencies on Loop Road and US 41 on the Tamiami trail led to a dumpster at that crossroads. A cadaver dog alerted to the dumpster. The garbage truck driver who disposed of the dumpster said that the dumpster is usually filled with basic waste and camper’s garbage.
However, on March 23, 2023, the day after Defendant Kosowski stopped at that crossroads for a few minutes, the garbage truck driver described the dumpster as heavier than normal and described it as smelling “fucking vile.” The driver stated the scent was not normal and unlike the usual smell. A video from the garbage truck of the dumpster being emptied into the garbage truck shows a long object wrapped in a large garbage bag falling in a manner inconsistent with normal trash and consistent with being shaped and falling in a manner not inconsistent with a human body.
After viewing the video, the garbage truck driver definitively stated Cozzi’s body was picked up from the Loop Rd dumpster and delivered to the landfill. Eight days after the dumpster was emptied at the Collier County Landfill, after the cadaver dogs hit on the dumpster, and after law enforcement viewed the video, multiple law enforcement agencies attempted a
multi-day recovery effort for Cozzi’s body to no avail. Law enforcement learned from employees of Waste Management that trash disposed of in the Collier County landfill is compacted to approximately 1/3 its normal size making recovery efforts nearly impossible.
The Largo Police Department thanked the Tarpon Springs Police Department, Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, and The Pinellas-Pasco County State Attorney’s Office for assisting in this investigation.
According to the Department of Health information, Dr. Kosowski’s primary practice location is 8396 SW 8th Street in Miami, Florida. That address is the location of Xiluet Plastic Surgery. The practice lists its services as “a wide range of cosmetic surgeries, including liposuction, tummy tuck, BBL, breast augmentation with implants, and more.”
Other online sources show Dr. Kosowski had a history at a few local plastic surgery centers, one in Dunedin and one in Tampa.
One of those facilities is the Laufer Institute of Plastic Surgery, located at 3129 Alt 19 in Dunedin, Florida. He began working at the institute on September 6, 2016.