(NewsNation) — A Florida judge has denied bond for a plastic surgeon accused of killing an attorney and dumping his body in the Everglades.
Authorities say Dr. Tomasz Kosowski killed attorney Steven Cozzi in the bathroom of Cozzi’s law office moments after both participated in a March 21 conference call about a lengthy, acrimonious legal battle over medical billing.
Prosecutors said in court documents that Kosowski took the call from a Toyota pickup truck outside the office and that he had supplies to commit the killing, including trash bags, a syringe containing a paralyzing drug and a wagon to haul out the corpse.
Although Cozzi’s body has never been found, investigators used cellphone records and surveillance video to track Kosowski to a remote area west of Miami on the Tamiami Trail, also known as U.S. Highway 41. That’s 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.
Cozzi’s husband, Michael Montgomery, testified Tuesday during the trial.
“I’m absolutely terrified,” Montgomery said. “I’m not an attorney, and to me, it sounds like this was incredibly personal. I was the closest one to Steven, and I am convinced that if he’s let out that he’s going to come after me, and I don’t want to end up in a landfill,” Montgomery said.
NewsNation’s “Banfield” spoke exclusively with Steve Maggi, a friend of Cozzi’s. Maggi said Cozzi apparently never disclosed information about the cases he was working on because he believed in “client and attorney privilege and confidentiality.”
“I really was not aware … of the depth of this hatred that the accused had and how much danger they were really in. … I’m surprised in a way that this wasn’t reported,” Maggi said during a Tuesday appearance on “Banfield. “He never talked about it because he was a dedicated attorney until a case is finished.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.