CLEARWATER, Fla. (Court TV) — A plastic surgeon charged with murdering a lawyer declared on Monday that he did not want a jury to hear his trial, leaving his fate in the hands of a judge.
Tomasz Kosowski appears in court on Aug. 31, 2026. (Court TV)
Tomasz Kosowski, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of attorney Steven Cozzi, 41, who disappeared in March 2023. Cozzi’s body has never been found; at the time of his death, Cozzi had a client who was involved in civil litigation with the defendant.
Kosowski had previously declared his intention to represent himself in his murder trial, even though prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if he’s convicted. Kosowski reaffirmed on Monday that he wants to represent himself; he formally withdrew motions to suppress that his previous attorney had filed in the case.
Prosecutors had filed a motion to conduct a jury view, saying they wanted the panel to see the bathroom inside the office building where the victim was allegedly killed. When Judge Joseph Bulone began to address the issue, Kosowski abruptly declared that he did not want a jury to hear his case and instead asked for a bench trial, meaning Bulone would decide the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
Bulone: “Do you feel it’s in your best interest to go non-jury as opposed to jury?”
Kosowski: “Yes.”
Bulone: “Right. And why do you feel that way?”
Kosowski: “I really have to answer that?”
Bulone: “I guess not. So you’re saying you don’t want to answer that, is that correct?”
Bulone ultimately accepted Kosowski’s request, finding that the Dartmouth-trained doctor understood his rights and was knowingly waiving them. Kosowski also waived his right to a jury for any potential penalty phase; he also indicated he did not want any mitigating evidence presented on his behalf.
Cozzi was last seen alive on March 21, 2023, walking into his office building. Surveillance video showed him entering wearing a red sweater at 8:37 a.m., but no video showed him leaving the building. Three minutes before Cozzi arrived, at 8:34 a.m., an unidentified man who drove up to the property in a gray Toyota Tundra walked into the building wearing gloves and a backpack and carrying a large box.
At 10:22 a.m., a person who looked like the unidentified person who entered at 8:34 a.m. left the building, wearing the same backpack but different clothes. The person could be seen pulling a large cart that appeared heavy, with a red bag or blanket, and struggling with the cart’s weight as he loaded it into the Toyota Tundra.
That truck was later found parked at the defendant’s home; there was blood in the truck’s bed, on the driver’s-side headrest and floorboard and the garage floor. Kosowski was arrested days later, driving a different vehicle; a search of that car revealed a ballistic vest “with a substantial amount of blood” on it, as well as a bag containing masks, brass knuckles, a stun gun, duct tape and intravenous sedatives and syringes.
Prosecutors say they plan to introduce evidence at trial showing that Kosowski had been to the victim’s office multiple times before his death, “all in which he had no lawful and/or justifiable reason to be there.” On one visit, prosecutors said, Kosowski recorded cars in the parking lot. On another visit, he allegedly entered the building and hid in a storage closet.
Kosowski’s trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 14.
