Tomasz Kosowski, Clearwater, FL: Plastic Surgeon Convicted Of Murder After Courtroom Strategy Collapses

A former plastic surgeon who tried to defend himself in a high-stakes murder trial was found guilty on Wednesday afternoon. Tomasz Kosowski was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of attorney Steven Cozzi. The bench trial ended after seven days of intense testimony in a Pinellas County courtroom.

Kosowski made the unusual choice to waive a jury trial and serve as his own attorney throughout the case. He stood alone before Judge Joseph Bulone, arguing that it was physically impossible for him to have committed the crime. He insisted that the state’s entire theory lacked solid proof because officers never found a body.

The motive stemmed from a contentious legal feud between the doctor and the lawyer. Cozzi was representing defendants in a lawsuit filed by Kosowski over a medical billing dispute and bad online reviews. Prosecutors argued that Kosowski developed a personal obsession with Cozzi and methodically planned his murder to settle the score.

The state presented a long chain of forensic evidence linking Kosowski to the crime scene on March 21, 2023. Surveillance footage caught a man walking into the law office with a Gorilla cart box on the morning Cozzi vanished. Hours later, the same camera showed the man pulling a heavily loaded wagon back out to a Toyota Tundra truck.

Investigators found extensive blood spatters in the law firm’s restroom that matched Cozzi’s DNA profile. Detectives also found traces of Cozzi’s blood inside Kosowski’s truck, on his garage floor, and in another vehicle he drove. Prosecutors told the court that Kosowski used the wagon to transport the victim’s body to a landfill.

In court, Kosowski attempted to challenge the physical details of the state’s case during cross-examination. He asked a lead detective to lift a weighted cart onto a desk to prove a person could not lift it alone, but the judge denied the request. Kosowski maintained that reasonable doubt existed, but he offered no witnesses or personal testimony to counter the evidence.

Assistant State Attorney Nathan Vonderheide told the judge that the total weight of the evidence left no room for doubt. Judge Bulone agreed and found Kosowski guilty of first-degree murder. Kosowski now faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole as the penalty phase begins.