Despite the fact that the victim’s body hasn’t been discovered, Florida prosecutors intend to ask for the death penalty in a murder case against a plastic surgeon charged with the “heinous” murder of a lawyer.
Prosecutors assert that on March 21 at his legal office in Largo, Florida, Dr. Tomasz Roman Kosowski, 44, killed Steven Cozzi, an attorney who had been defending defendants in a case Kosowski had brought. Police claim that Cozzi entered the building before vanishing.
According to FOX 13, Pinellas State Attorney Bruce Bartlett submitted the notice of intent to seek the death penalty on Friday.
Man Charged with Office Ambush
In late March, Kosowki was detained and charged with first-degree murder.
According to a probable cause affidavit, surveillance video captures a man police believe to be Kosowski pulling up in a gray Toyota Tundra at around 8:32 a.m. that day and entering the facility “wearing gloves, carrying a large box, and wearing a large backpack.”
A few minutes later, while Kosowski was allegedly laying in wait, Cozzi entered his office. The paper claims that at 10:22 a.m., the guy thought to be Kosowski left the premises “pulling behind him a large cart that appears to be heavy and has a red bag or blanket.”
His wallet, keys, and smartphone were all still on his desk, and Cozzi was never seen leaving the office. An employee proceeded to the restroom to seek for Cozzi and “noted blood smeared on the bathroom door as well as blood on a stall wall and the bottom of the toilet,” according to the affidavit.
While returning from work, Kosowski also passed a traffic camera that, according to police, captured a picture of “a red bag or blanket in a car that appeared to contain what appears to be a human body located in the bed of the truck.”
A ballistic vest soaked in blood and a bag allegedly containing “masks, a stun gun, brass knuckles, duct tape and intravenous sedatives,” including a paralyzing chemical and syringes, were found during a search of his truck, according to police.
The tweet below confirms the news:
Florida prosecutors seek death penalty against plastic surgeon accused of lawyer's 'heinous' murder https://t.co/8BHhpPjCbj
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 29, 2023
According to the prosecution, Kosowski killed Cozzi in the legal office restroom with the use of the paralyzing substance.
According to court documents, according to the Tampa Bay Times, the Pinellas County State Attorney’s office described the alleged murder as “especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel,” adding that it was committed in “a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner.”
Because the lawsuit Kosowski filed concerned billing practices, the prosecution claimed that he also killed Cozzi for financial gain.
Bjorn Brunvand, Kosowski’s attorney, told FOX 13 that he hoped prosecutors would eventually give up on their campaign to seek the death penalty. “I think it’s crucial to keep in mind that I have entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of my client, giving him the presumption of innocence. It’s crucial that we all keep that in mind as we move forward,” the attorney said.
In Florida, the requirement for the death penalty was changed from requiring unanimous consent to requiring only eight of the jury’s 12 members to vote.
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