Florida plastic surgeon found guilty of murdering attorney who vanished from law office in 2023

A 47-year-old Dartmouth-educated plastic surgeon who insisted on representing himself at trial has been convicted of first-degree murder after a Florida judge deliberated for less than 30 minutes.

Judge Joseph Bulone delivered the verdict Wednesday, finding Dr. Tomasz Kosowski guilty of killing Pinellas County attorney Steven Cozzi, 41, who disappeared from his Clearwater, Florida, law office in March 2023 and whose body has never been recovered. Kosowski, who waived his right to a jury and opted for a bench trial, showed almost no reaction as a statement was read aloud declaring the guilty finding, Fox News reported.

The conviction caps a case built entirely on circumstantial evidence, DNA traces, cellphone pings, and surveillance footage, because investigators never found Cozzi's remains. Prosecutors believe the body ended up buried under thousands of tons of garbage at a local landfill after Kosowski dumped it in a remote trash container.

Kosowski chose to defend himself, and lost in minutes

Before closing arguments Wednesday, Judge Bulone paused to ask Kosowski two pointed questions. Did he still want to represent himself? Did he still want a bench trial instead of a jury? Kosowski answered "Yes, your honor" to both. Bulone reminded him there were "disadvantages" to self-representation.

Kosowski delivered his own closing argument, speaking calmly and confidently in an orange jail jumpsuit. He challenged the prosecution's theory on physical grounds.

"Not only is it impossible, physically, to do what the state asserts is required of anybody, let alone me, it makes no sense in time."

The judge was unconvinced. After a brief pause in proceedings, the verdict came back in less than 30 minutes. Kosowski now faces either life without the possibility of parole or the death penalty. A Spencer hearing, a proceeding that allows a defendant to present additional evidence or mitigating factors before sentencing, has been scheduled for October 8.

Prosecutors laid out six days of evidence pointing to obsession

The state's case stretched over six days and featured dozens of witnesses. Prosecutors told the court that Kosowski had grown obsessed with Cozzi and was angry about a yearslong lawsuit between the two men over payments for medical procedures. The financial dispute became the alleged motive for a carefully planned killing.

Assistant State Attorney Nathan Vonderheide framed the case in blunt terms, as the New York Post reported:

"The overwhelming totality of the evidence in this case demonstrates that he had the obsession, and he prepared, and he had a plan, and he effectuated that plan, and murdered him."

The prosecution's timeline painted a chilling sequence. In March 2023, Cozzi and Kosowski had arranged to meet via teleconference. Prosecutors allege Kosowski secretly slipped into the law firm before the scheduled call, confronted Cozzi in a restroom, and attacked him. He then allegedly hauled Cozzi's body outside in a wagon covered with a blanket and loaded it into a vehicle.

From there, prosecutors said Kosowski drove to his multimillion-dollar home in Tarpon Springs, Florida, where he transferred the body to a second vehicle. DNA evidence found in Kosowski's garage matched Cozzi. Kosowski then allegedly drove south toward the Everglades, stopped at a remote dumpster, and hoisted Cozzi's body into the trash container. The dumpster's contents were later hauled to a landfill, where investigators searched for days but never recovered the remains.

Cellphone pings and a network of surveillance cameras helped investigators piece together Kosowski's movements. Kosowski, for his part, called the DNA evidence, the cellphone data, and the prosecution's physical timeline into question during his self-directed defense. He rarely cross-examined witnesses.

Cozzi's husband told the court he had feared for the attorney's safety

Michael Montgomery, Cozzi's husband, testified at trial that he had been alarmed by prior interactions between Cozzi and Kosowski. He said he had even suggested arranging security if the two were ever to meet in person again. Cozzi disappeared more than three years before the trial began, and Montgomery has lived with the weight of that loss ever since.

Montgomery spoke after the verdict about what the case has cost his family. Cases in which a victim's body is never recovered impose a distinct burden on surviving loved ones, a grief without closure. In other recent murder cases, families have described the same anguish of trying to make sense of sudden, violent loss.

"The most unbearable part is that we were never able to bring Steven home."

Kosowski was arrested in March 2023 and has been held in jail since. The trial began September 14 and wrapped for the week on a Friday before resuming the following Tuesday. Fox News Digital reported it was unable to reach Kosowski for comment.

A Dartmouth-educated surgeon bet on himself, and the judge saw through it

Kosowski's decision to act as his own lawyer drew attention throughout the proceedings. Self-representation in a first-degree murder case is rare and risky under any circumstances. In a case where the defendant faces the death penalty, it is an extraordinary gamble. Bulone gave Kosowski repeated opportunities to reconsider, and Kosowski declined every time.

The result speaks for itself. Six days of prosecution testimony, a calm but unpersuasive closing argument from the defendant, and a verdict that arrived before most lunch breaks end. Kosowski's confidence in his own abilities did not match the evidence stacked against him.

Whatever happens at the October 8 sentencing hearing, one fact will not change: Steven Cozzi is gone, his family cannot bury him, and the man convicted of killing him chose to roll the dice alone. Sometimes the system works exactly as it should, swiftly, soberly, and without mercy for those who earned none.