Dr Tomasz Kosowski, a plastic surgeon facing the death penalty in Florida, made an unusual request during his murder trial this week, asking the judge to allow physical courtroom demonstrations from a lead detective and a prosecutor.
Background on the case
Kosowski is accused of murdering Largo attorney Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of Cozzi's law firm, Blanchard Law, in March 2023. He has waived his right to a jury trial, meaning Judge Joseph Bulone alone will decide the verdict in a bench trial, and Kosowski is representing himself against a charge of first-degree murder. Closing arguments are scheduled to begin at 9am on Thursday.
The demonstration request
Kosowski asked Largo Police Department Detective Colin Bolton to lift a cart containing a 195-pound volunteer onto a desk, arguing that prosecutors needed to prove it was physically possible to load that amount of weight into the back of a truck, as they had alleged happened in the case. Judge Bulone denied the request, stating the court wouldn't allow that type of demonstration. Kosowski then asked whether Assistant State Attorney Nathan Vonderheide could place District Six Medical Examiner Dr Jon R. Thogmartin into the cart before lifting him onto a table. Thogmartin said the scenario had already been tested to confirm it was physically possible, and Bulone again denied the request. Kosowski also asked Thogmartin whether he would get inside a trash bag recovered from his car, which the medical examiner declined to do, while acknowledging a person could fit inside it.
What happened to Steven Cozzi
Cozzi vanished from his office on 21 March 2023, with his phone, keys, and wallet left behind at his desk. He had been involved in a civil lawsuit against a former employer, representing several defendants in the case. CCTV footage reportedly showed someone wheeling a heavy wagon out to a Toyota Tundra truck later traced to Kosowski's home in Tarpon Springs. Investigators say Cozzi's blood was found in the firm's bathroom, inside the truck, in the vehicle Kosowski was driving when arrested, and on his garage floor. Phone records reportedly placed Kosowski's phone at the law office during Cozzi's disappearance, and later near a dumpster that was collected days later and taken to a landfill. Despite extensive searches, Cozzi's body has not been found.
What happens next
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, with closing arguments set to conclude the trial ahead of Judge Bulone's verdict.
