Search for missing Largo attorney leads investigators to Collier County dumpster with ‘vile’ smell: documents
PINELLAS COUNTY,Fla. - It may be impossible to find the body of missing Largo attorney Stephen Cozzi, according to newly filed court documents.
It's been almost four months since 41-year-old Steven Cozzi vanished from the Blanchard Law Office on South Belcher Road in Largo where he worked as an attorney.
Cozzi vanished on March 21 and on March 26 plastic surgeon Dr. Tomasz Kosowski, 44, was arrested and charged with his murder.
Missing lawyer Steven Cozzi courtesy of the Largo Police Department.
Cozzi’s husband Michael Montgomery described him as, "brilliant. He’s hilarious. He was kind. He was caring."
According to court documents filed Friday, DNA testing shows Cozzi's blood was found in Kosowski's Toyota Tundra and the trunk of his Toyota Corolla as well as the garage floor of his Tarpon Springs home.
Pictured: The Red Toyota Corolla Tomasz Kosowski was driving when he was arrested in Tarpon Springs.
Cozzi's blood was also found at his law office "on various surfaces of the men’s bathroom including the floor, divider, stained paper towels, napkins, and the drain," according to the documents.
RELATED: Largo lawyer's disappearance and alleged murder: Timeline of events
Court documents also show that authorities went to a dumpster located near U.S. 41 and Loop Road on the Tamiami Trail in Collier County after reviewing Kosowski’s cellphone records.
Murder suspect Tomasz Kosowski.
Investigators also spoke with the garbage truck driver responsible for emptying the dumpster after a cadaver dog hit on it. The driver told authorities that the dumpster normally contains camping materials, but on March 23, a day after Kosowski’s cellphone records show him stopping there, it was heavier than usual and smelled ‘vile’.
Police say that surveillance video showed that when the garbage truck emptied the dumpster, a large bag "consistent with a human body" fell into the truck.
For days investigators searched the Collier County landfill for Cozzi’s body but in court documents waste management workers told investigators that because trash at the landfill "is compacted to approximately one-third its normal size" recovering Cozzi's body would be nearly impossible.