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New details emerge in missing attorney investigation as doctor arrested for murder
Kailey Tracy reports
LARGO, Fla. - On the day a Largo attorney disappeared, a man was seen entering the main lobby of a law firm and walking out about two hours later, pulling a large cart, according to an arrest affidavit. Later, forensics showed a "large quantity of blood" was cleaned up in the building's bathroom.
Over the weekend, Dr. Tomasz Kosowski was arrested and charged with the first-degree murder of 41-year-old Steven Cozzi. The Tarpon Springs plastic surgeon made his first court appearance where a judge ordered no bond.
Officials said the attorney's body has not been found.
Public records provided a detailed account of what occurred Tuesday, March 21, the day Cozzi went missing. While no motive has been announced in the case, court records show he and Kosowski were linked through the same lawsuit that started in 2019.
Last Tuesday, Largo officers responded to a report of a missing person at the Blanchard Law Office on South Belcher Road in Largo, where Cozzi worked as an associate attorney. The person who reported him missing said they entered the public bathroom and found blood.
"He noted blood smeared on the bathroom door as well as blood on the stall wall and the bottom of the toilet. The victim's vehicle also remained in the parking lot."
Officers began searching through surveillance footage. According to Kosowski's arrest affidavit, the only unsecured entrance to the building was to the main lobby, which was monitored.
At 8:32 a.m., a gray Toyota Tundra arrived at the building. Two minutes later, an "unidentified white male" enters carrying a large box, as well as wearing a large backpack and gloves.
At 8:37 a.m., officers said Cozzi enters the building wearing a red sweater.
Steven Cozzi disappeared from his office, but was never seen leaving the building.
At 10:22 a.m., a man who had a similar build to the "first subject" was seen wearing the same backpack but appeared to have changed his clothes. The unidentified man was exiting the building.
"He is seen pulling behind him a large cart that appears to be heavy and have a red bag or blanket," Kosowski's arrest report said in part. "It should be noted that the subject struggled with the weight of the cart while transporting it to the Toyota Tundra."
At 10:30 a.m., Cozzi missed a scheduled telephonic court hearing, officials said. It was supposed to be held with Kosowski. However, officials said Kosowski did attend from 10:28 a.m. to 11:04 a.m.
"As soon as the defendant 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 affidavit read.
Officers said, via the surveillance video, the subject is seen continuing to struggle to get the cart on the bed of the Tundra.
"The victim is never seen exiting the business on surveillance," the report stated.
The Tundra was captured on a solar-powered Flock Safety camera heading to the defendant's home at 11:51 a.m. Officers said there was an image of a red bag or blanket in a cart "that appeared to contain what resembles a human body located in the bed of the truck."
By 11:58 a.m., the Tundra arrived at Kosowski's house on Seaview Drive in Tarpon Springs. During the investigation, detectives said the Tundra was not registered and had an unassigned tag on it. It was sold to Kosowski back in October 2022, however, officers said he did not register the vehicle or record the title.
Investigators stated the seller recorded the sale to the state of Florida.
Later that day, at 4:58 p.m., detectives said Kosowski's red Toyota Corolla's tag was scanned by tag readers in Miami.
Forensics in the bathroom, Tundra
During the investigation, police said there was a strong chemical odor coming from the men's bathroom where they found small drops of blood. A forensic team went to work in the law firm's public bathroom. Inside, officials said they "discovered a large quantity of blood that had been cleaned up from the bathroom floor."
Communal bathroom at Blanchard Law covered with apparent fingerprint dust after Attorney Steven Cozzi's disappearance
They noted that white fibers were located in the bathroom and Cozzi's vehicle. Also, Kosowski's left fingerprint was found in another room of the office building that is not normally accessed by the public.
Communal bathroom at Blanchard Law covered with apparent fingerprint dust after Attorney Steven Cozzi's disappearance
Cozzi's wallet, car keys, and cell phone remained inside the law firm.
On Thursday, March 23, a search warrant was served on Kosowski's $1.4-million home. There, investigators, said they found the Toyota Tundra.
Communal bathroom at Blanchard Law covered with apparent fingerprint dust after Attorney Steven Cozzi's disappearance
A forensics team said they processed blood on the truck's bed, the driver's side headrest, the driver's side floorboard, as well as the garage floor.
On Saturday, March 25, a traffic stop was conducted on Kosowski's Toyota Corolla and a search warrant was served on the vehicle.
Inside, Tarpon Springs officers said they found a ballistic vest in the trunk with a "substantial amount of blood located on it."
They said red and white fibers were found in the vest.
"A bag containing masks, a Taser, brass knuckles, duct tape and intravenous sedatives (succinylcholine – paralyzing agent) with syringes were found on the passenger floorboard of the vehicle," according to Kosowski's affidavit.
The affidavit didn't specify a possible motive, but said the murder was "premeditated." The document didn't say Kosowski was the person captured in the surveillance video.
Read Dr. Tomasz Kosowski's affidavit here
"Due to the large quantity of blood located at the crime scene, the defendant'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 the defendant intentionally, by a premeditated design, caused his death," according to the probable cause narrative in Kosowski's affidavit.
He was booked into Pinellas County Jail by early Sunday morning.
The lawsuit
According to court records, back in 2019, Kosowski sued his former employer, Dunedin Surgical Consultants, LLC., along with Laufer Institute of Plastic Surgery.
In the lawsuit, Kosowki said he began working for Laufer Institute in 2016, mostly doing breast reconstruction surgery. He said the institute assigned a woman to do his insurance billing who didn't file claims and lied to his patients, costing him tens of thousands of dollars. According to the court documents, it resulted in negative online reviews of him.
Tomasz Kosowski's Tarpon Springs home.
Cozzi is listed as one of the legal representatives for the defendants in the case.
The morning he went missing, Kosowski filed motions to compel testimony from the insurance biller, but attorneys for the bill who didn't work for the Blanchard Law Firm objected, saying the request was a violation of attorney-client privilege.
Cozzi's family has posted on social media, describing him as a fun, brilliant man and a great partner to his husband, Michael.