A plastic surgeon in Florida, USA, who has pleaded not guilty to killing a lawyer and dumping his body after a heated and lengthy legal battle over medical billing, faces the death penalty unless the jury decides otherwise.
Authorities have accused Dr Tomasz Kosowski of murdering attorney Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of Cozzi’s law office moments after both participated in an acrimonious conference call on 21 March. The body of Cozzi, who subsequently disappeared without trace, has never been found.
In court documents, prosecutors said Kosowski took the call from a truck outside the office and had supplies to commit the killing, including rubbish bags, a syringe containing a paralysing drug, and a wagon to haul out the corpse.
AP News reports that investigators used cellphone records and surveillance video to track Kosowski to a remote area outside Miami, where they believe Kosowski tossed the body into a dumpster that was eventually emptied by a garbage truck.
The driver noticed an unusually “vile” smell at the stop, authorities said.
“Video from the garbage truck of the dumpster being emptied into the garbage truck shows a large bag falling in a manner inconsistent with normal trash,” prosecutors said, asking a judge to hold Kosowski without bail.
A police cadaver dog also indicated a body had been in the dumpster, according to court documents.
Trash from the local landfill was searched for the body, but as the facility routinely compacts its trash, “recovery efforts were nearly impossible”.
Kosowski is a graduate of Dartmouth College medical school, and has specialised in reconstructive breast surgery for eight years.
Evidence against Kosowski includes Cozzi’s blood and DNA being found in the law office bathroom and in the garage at Kosowski’s home, where it was mixed with the doctor’s DNA.
In addition, authorities say Kosowski bought the truck with cash weeks before Cozzi’s slaying and never registered the vehicle.
When Kosowski was arrested on 25 March, he had $280 000 in cash, masks, duct tape, firearms, a ballistic vest with “EMS” written on it, law enforcement patches and a vial of succinylcholine – a paralysing drug. A search of his home turned up about 200 guns.
The court filings precede a hearing on 17 July.
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