Steven Cozzi. (Credit: Michael Montgomery)
Warning: The story below may be too graphic for some readers.
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Documents obtained by 8 On Your Side Sunday revealed police searched the Collier County Landfill in the search for Largo attorney Steven Cozzi.
The documents, which include a pretrial motion by State Attorney Bruce Bartlett to keep murder suspect Tomasz Roman Kosowski detained ahead of his trial, were filed Friday, according to the Pinellas County Clerk website.
Largo police arrested the 44-year-old plastic surgeon for Cozzi’s murder after the attorney disappeared from his job at Blanchard Law on March 21, 2023.
While authorities were able to arrest Kosowski, they did not find Cozzi’s body.
However, a DNA analysis of evidence found on Kosowski’s garage floor found a mixture of the suspect’s DNA and the victim’s blood.
Court documents said Cozzi’s blood was also found on Kosowski’s Toyota Tundra and the men’s bathroom at Blanchard Law, where authorities believed the murder happened.
“Luminol revealed spots indicating the presence of blood,” a pretrial detention motion said. “Blood was also plainly visible on various surfaces of the bathroom and on the exterior door to the bathroom. DNA analysis revealed S.C.’s blood as the blood located on various surfaces of the men’s bathroom including the floor, divider, stained paper towels, napkins, and the drain.”
The motion said on the day of Cozzi’s disappearance, Kosowski left his home in a red Corolla, with his phone records showing him driving to his second home in Miami.
However, authorities said Kosowski’s phone records showed him diverting from his route and stopping at the area of US Highway 41 and Loop Road on the Tamiami Trail. After a few minutes, he continued toward Miami.
Court documents said Kosowski went back to the area on March 23, 2023, before heading back to Miami.
When law enforcement searched the area, a cadaver dog directed officers to a dumpster at the crossroads.
According to the documents, a garbage truck driver said the dumpster was usually full of camping supplies, but when he emptied the dumpster on March 23, something was odd.
“The garbage truck driver described the dumpster as heavier than normal and described it as
smelling [‘f—–] vile,’” the pretrial motion said.
The documents said surveillance video showed that when the garbage truck emptied the dumpster, a large bag “consistent with a human body” fell into the truck.
Authorities said the truck emptied its contents at the Collier County Landfill eight days before the cadaver dogs found the dumpster.
According to the motion, by the time authorities arrived, the trash in the landfill was “compacted to approximately 1/3 its normal size making recovery efforts nearly impossible.”
An affidavit by Detective Colin Bolton of the Largo Police Department said “medical waste, regular trash, and animal carcasses were among the debris dumped into the area of the landfill
suspected to contain the body of [Steven Cozzi].”
As of this report, Cozi’s body remains unrecovered.
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