FL v. Tomasz Koswoski Day 1

Judge Joseph Bulone (00:01):

You're giving up your right to a lawyer, so please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Tomasz Kosowski (00:10):

I do.

Judge Joseph Bulone (00:12):

All right. So you understand that you have the right to a lawyer and that the court has appointed a court appointed lawyer for you and that that lawyer and those lawyers, you actually have two, you have Ms. McNeil and Mr. Hernandez, will represent you for free in this case. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (00:36):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (00:36):

Okay. I'd like to explain to you some of the ways that having a lawyer to represent you can be to your advantage. Before the trial, a lawyer's legal knowledge and experience may favorably affect them or pretrial release possibilities, may result in obtaining information about the case through skillful use of discovery devices, may uncover potential violations of constitutional rights and take effective measures to address them, may ensure compliance with a speedy trial and statute of limitations provisions, and may identify and secure favorable evidence to be introduced later at trial on your behalf. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:08):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (01:12):

Okay. And do you still want to go non-jury here in this trial?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:14):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (01:16):

Okay. So at trial, a lawyer has the experience and knowledge of the entire process. He or she will argue for your side during the whole trial and present the best legal argument for your defense. Understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:30):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (01:30):

All right. And then if we are going to have a jury trial, obviously they know the rules of evidence. They have plenty of experience as far as selecting a jury, but if we're going to go non-jury, that's really not going to be an issue. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:49):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (01:50):

Okay. A lawyer can call witnesses for you, question witnesses against you, and present evidence on their behalf. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:50):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (01:58):

Okay. A lawyer can advise you on whether you should testify, the consequences of that decision, and what you have a right not to say. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (02:05):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (02:06):

A lawyer has studied the rules of evidence and knows what evidence can or cannot come into a trial. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (02:12):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (02:13):

A lawyer may provide assistance in ensuring that the jury is given complete and accurate jury instructions. Well, obviously if we're not going to have a jury, that's not an issue, but if you view that as an issue, and obviously they can also make arguments before the court as to what the court needs to be looking at as far as the jury instructions. The court will do the same thing that a jury would do, so they can advise the court on what they think the jury instructions ought to be in the case to the court. You understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (02:47):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (02:48):

Okay. And then if you are convicted, you can't argue later that you gave ineffective assistance of counsel. If there is ineffective assistance of counsel and there's prejudice, you could get a new trial, but that's not going to happen if you are representing yourself and if you're ineffective. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (03:07):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (03:09):

Okay. As it is almost always unwise to represent yourself in court, let me tell you a few of the disadvantages of representing yourself in court. You understand you will not get any special treatment from the court and you also won't get any special treatment from the state just because you are representing yourself?

Tomasz Kosowski (03:24):

Yes, sir.

Judge Joseph Bulone (03:25):

You are not required to possess the legal knowledge and skills of an attorney in order to represent yourself. However, you will be required to abide by the rules of criminal law and the rules of courtroom procedure. These laws take lawyers years to learn and abide by. If you demonstrate an unwillingness to abide by these rules I may terminate your self-representation. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (03:52):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (03:54):

You understand that if you are disruptive in the courtroom, that the court can terminate your self-representation and remove you from the courtroom, in which case the trial would continue without your presence. You understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (03:59):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (04:00):

You understand that your access to the state attorney obviously is less than what a lawyer would be, although I think we may have rectified that with your iPad or whatever it is over at the jail. I think you've been communicating directly through email with Mr. Vonderheid with the state, is that right?

Tomasz Kosowski (04:19):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (04:20):

Okay. All right. And obviously you know what the charges are against you and what the possible penalties are, right?

Tomasz Kosowski (04:33):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (04:35):

All right. Obviously you're charged with first degree murder. If you're found guilty of that, then we would have a penalty phase and you could either get death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Those are the only two possibilities. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (04:50):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (04:51):

Obviously, if you're found not guilty, then you're not going to get a sentence at all. If you're found guilty of a lesser, like second degree murder, manslaughter, or something else, maybe there could be an argument that you hurt the victim, but he's still alive or whatever, so there may be different lesser included offenses, but you would be looking at some substantial prison sentences with the lesser included offense. Do you understand that?

Tomasz Kosowski (05:22):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (05:35):

Okay. All right. And then just going over this briefly, I think last time you said you graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in music. Is that what you said?

Tomasz Kosowski (05:46):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (05:48):

All right. And then obviously you graduated from Dartmouth Law School and you became a surgeon, a plastic surgeon, correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:06):

No, Your Honor. I went to Dartmouth Medical School.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:08):

Hm?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:09):

I went to medical school, not law school.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:10):

Right. Right. Right, you went to Dartmouth Medical School and you became a plastic surgeon, right?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:16):

Correct.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:16):

Okay. Do you have any other degrees besides those?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:19):

Yes, sir.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:20):

All right, and what's that?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:22):

I have a BS in biochemistry, an MA in biomedical sciences, an MBA in business.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:28):

Okay. And no one has told you not to use a lawyer, correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:33):

Correct.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:36):

And no one has threatened you in order to have you decide not to have a lawyer represent you, correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:43):

Correct.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:44):

All right. Do you have any questions about anything?

Tomasz Kosowski (06:46):

No, sir.

Judge Joseph Bulone (06:47):

All right. All right, so the court will find that the defendant is competent to waive counsel and the defendant is waiving the right to court appointed counsel knowingly and intelligently. All right, so then the issue of a jury or a non-jury trial, last time you were here, you indicated that you wanted a non-jury trial and you did sign a waiver of a jury trial and you still want to go non-jury, is that correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:15):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:15):

Okay. And you feel that's in your best interest, right?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:15):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:16):

Okay. And you're doing that freely and voluntarily, right?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:26):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:30):

Okay. Are you under the influence of anything at this point, medication or alcohol or drugs or anything?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:34):

No, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:34):

All right. Is your mind clear today and you understand everything?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:36):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:43):

All right. And no one's been threatening you or forcing you to do anything here against your will, is that correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (07:45):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (07:53):

All right. All right, so first of all, the comprehensive PSI came back. I want to give that to the parties here as soon as I could. Obviously this has been an issue for the guilt phase at all, but I wanted everybody to get it ASAP. All right, here's the original, [inaudible 00:08:20] court files sealed, and I didn't want to email this to anybody because it's all confidential and email is not confidential. So I have a copy for the state, I have a copy for the defense, which is going to be Mr. Kosowski. And also a copy for Mr. Nolbert, which I'll give to the state, okay? I didn't want to email it to him so when you see him, give him a copy, okay?

Speaker 2 (08:53):

I'll provide it to him.

Judge Joseph Bulone (08:54):

All right. So it's two for the state and one for the defense, but the one's actually for Mr. Nolbert who I appointed as special counsel. All right, that's for the guilt phase. That's only going to be applicable if you're found guilty about murder in the first degree and then we'll deal with that. All right, so I think... I'll also point this out that on Thursday, which was the last day of court, that there was a notice of limited appearance and a motion in limine/motion for protection order filed by Ms. Veronica Burianek on behalf of Judge Patricia Muscarella. I don't know if she's retired now or not yet.

Speaker 1 (09:52):

Yes, Your Honor. She just recently retired.

Judge Joseph Bulone (09:59):

Right, right. She listed it. All right, so here's a copy for the state and a copy for the defense in case you don't have it. You guys have it yet?

Speaker 2 (10:05):

We do.

Judge Joseph Bulone (10:05):

Oh, okay. All right. You have it yet, Mr. Kosowski, the motion in limine, motion for a protective order?

Tomasz Kosowski (10:05):

Yes, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (10:05):

Oh, you have it. Okay, good. All right, so do we want to argue that first?

Speaker 1 (10:30):

Yes, Your Honor. I would ask that we can.

Judge Joseph Bulone (10:30):

All right.

Speaker 1 (10:30):

If I may approach to the microphone.

Judge Joseph Bulone (10:30):

All right, you may.

Speaker 1 (10:30):

Yes, Your Honor. Our office, the Office of the Attorney General, filed a limited notice of appearance representing Jim Weaver, who's a state employee, and Judge Muscarella, who's anticipated to testify here today. On the theories of judicial immunity, the purview of inquiry is very limited as to judges. Questioning as to their rulings and how they arrived at their rulings are not permitted. Their observations, inquiries to the observations may be permitted. So based upon that, I would just ask if Your Honor would issue an order limiting the inquiry to preclude any inquiry as to Judge Muscarella's thoughts, processes at arriving at rulings. Judge Muscarella did preside in the civil case in which Mr. Kosowski was a litigant.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:27):

All right, state, any objection?

Speaker 2 (11:28):

No, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:28):

All right. Mr. Kosowski, any objection?

Tomasz Kosowski (11:28):

No, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:28):

All right. Granted.

Speaker 1 (11:29):

I have a proposed order if Your Honor wants.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:30):

Okay.

Speaker 1 (11:35):

And there's several copies, Your Honor, so there should be enough copies for all parties.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:46):

All right. State and defense, do you want a copy or not really?

Speaker 2 (11:52):

If there's only one there, Your Honor.

Judge Joseph Bulone (11:53):

Well, I have a lot of copies, so if you want it... All right. So you have standby counsel here for Mr. Kosowski. We have Dani McNeil and we have Daniel Hernandez. And I think Mr. Hernandez had an issue about scheduling.

Daniel Hernandez (12:36):

Your Honor, some of the issues may not really exist anymore. I had an issue, number one, with October 1st and 2nd, which I'm told that that's not going to be a concern. If in fact it was, I was going to ask Ms. McNeil to stand in for me, but from every indication I have, it appears that that's not realistic. The other issue is I noticed the court had a morning docket. Every morning I have something in another courtroom and I would ask permission, if Ms. McNeil, is going to be here to simply let me cover those matters. They shouldn't take very long, but I do have something every day in one of the courtrooms.

Judge Joseph Bulone (13:25):

All right. So let me know in advance and I can tell the other judges to take you first [inaudible 00:13:32].

Daniel Hernandez (13:32):

And then finally, Judge, the third question that I had, it's something that came up late last week, and I had a sentencing in federal court a couple weeks ago and it got continued and we weren't told when it was going to be continued to. I just got a notice for this Wednesday at one o'clock. I was prepared to file a motion to continue... O'clock to two o'clock in Tampa.

Judge Joseph Bulone (14:16):

What day?

Daniel Hernandez (14:17):

Wednesday.

Judge Joseph Bulone (14:22):

Oh, this Wednesday. See if you can get it continued through that. The federal courts are always going to accommodate us here in state court.

Daniel Hernandez (14:32):

And what was surprising is when the judge said she was going to continue, she wouldn't give me a date, so I just get it in an email. So that's why I didn't address it at the time. I'll file a motion this morning.

Judge Joseph Bulone (14:46):

Okay. Very good.All right. So any other issues we need to deal with? And I though about this, Ms. McNeil and Mr. Hernandez, I think we should both stay throughout the trial and... It is what it is there. All right, Mr. Vonderheid?

Mr. Vonderheid (15:12):

I do have something. There were some motions to suppress that were argued on April 17th of 2025. They were denied in court. Court transcript reflects that Your Honor's ruling on page 395 to 418, there was no follow-up written order, so I have a proposed written order that, if I may approach the court. If I may show Dr. Kosowski. See if he has any objections.

Judge Joseph Bulone (16:02):

All right. And we'll make things easy for Mr. Kosowski too and say that he's preserving his right to appeal my orders on the motion to suppress. So he doesn't have to do that in the middle of the trial. It's preserved. All right, so it's an issue on appeal if in fact you're found guilty here.

Mr. Vonderheid (16:27):

Additionally, while we had the ability to communicate via tablet, there was no ability to convey discovery through the pool. So I do have some things to file here today. The first is, I call it the trial itinerary, the list of witnesses that we propose. I don't have to give this over, but sometimes I choose to do it. I told Dr. Kosowski I'd give him a proposal of the witnesses. Case may go quicker. Some may be subbed in and out for different witness names, but we gave him a complete witness list a couple of weeks ago, but this is my proposed itinerary for the trial. If Your Honor would like a copy, I can provide it.

Judge Joseph Bulone (17:05):

I would love a copy.

Mr. Vonderheid (17:07):

Okay. I can certainly do that. I have more. You want to be last now? Well, we'll give you a copy of that as well. Additionally, I filed a notice of intent to offer records under 9902-11 for a vigilant plate documentation. I think independently it's admissible under 9902 sub 11. Additional discovery that was put in today. Most of this was discussed with standby counsel and forwarded to Dr. Kosowski already. We've subbed out the records custodian from PSTA, because the other one moved out of state. So we had the name Charles King. He's just a records custodian. He'll be here testifying. Wayne Gross was somebody that was deposed by his prior defense counsel and became an issue for the motion in limine for the depositions that we conducted, so the depo was done, transcripts been filed. He may come in and testify should it become an issue.

(18:03)
Also, this is just laying out everything else that has been conveyed to Dr. Kosowski. We also have evidence, it was a blue gorilla carp, which I brought to... I didn't know other way to show him. I showed his prior defense counsel during the depo a year ago, maybe two years ago, it was discussed with Dr. John Throgmorton's testimony. I have it here. There was no other way for me to show Dr. Kosowski. It's here if we want to do a demonstration later today for his benefit.

(18:33)
A PowerPoint was updated this weekend for the cell phone analysis, so that's in here. The slides are. Some reports were generated in the last week as it relates to certain... As the police had done on the case, basically opening envelopes, measuring garbage bags, this kind of thing. We got some DHSMV certified documents from the Toyota Tundra that he never registered that he bought from Mark Auto. These are in here as well. And then previously we had discovered the court documentation from the civil case, which is 193057CI, but we hadn't had the e-certification on it, even though I think it's public record, it's admissible anyway under judicial notice.

(19:28)
We asked our investigator to plot his cell phone data and it's an MP4... Convey it to... He wants me to put it into his jail... That Dr. Kosowski had conveyed to his mother last evening, about six o'clock, that I think are relevant to this case and germane to the proceedings that I've included in discovery here that may come up in the case later on in the week. So I do have these documents. Also, I filed notices of experts. They had already been filed in other AADIs, but I wasn't exactly sure which ones he had been privy to from his prior counsels having received those. Basically saying this person's an expert witness. So I followed up with notices of expert witnesses for his benefit. If I may hand to the bailiff.

Judge Joseph Bulone (20:25):

All right. So this is everything that...

Mr. Vonderheid (20:28):

This is everything outstanding and have been discussed.

Judge Joseph Bulone (20:33):

All right. And he was unable to receive any of those through his iPad.

Mr. Vonderheid (20:36):

I can't do that on a tablet... To send a PowerPoint, for example. So there was an updated PowerPoint in there as well. It's like 186 slides, not all of which are going to be admissible, but our lead investigator created it like he did for the grand jury. I provided slides for him. If Dr. Kosowski would like a digital copy of that, I can certainly provide that in some capacity by dropping it off at his jail property. And just given the timeframe I was concerned dropping it on his jail property, he wouldn't get time to even get it anyway before court today.

Judge Joseph Bulone (21:08):

All right. So I assume we're going to have opening statements and then we're going to put on some witnesses today. So are any of those witnesses involving any of this new material here?

Mr. Vonderheid (22:33):

Well, they're going to offer the testimony that they have not seen him and he hasn't returned to contact with them, which I think pursuant to the case law, which is literally corpus, would be evidence that would be relevant to the proceedings and not overly prejudicial.

Judge Joseph Bulone (22:48):

All right. All right. So that's a lot for Mr. Kosowski. Any issues with any of that, sir?

Tomasz Kosowski (22:56):

I'm sorry, I missed probably the last couple of minutes because of a prior discussion, but it's fine.

Judge Joseph Bulone (23:05):

All right. So no issues with any of that, is that correct?

Tomasz Kosowski (23:09):

Yes.

Judge Joseph Bulone (23:10):

All right. So obviously both parties have the option of making an opening statement. You don't have to, but it's an option. And then I think you know this, but an opening statement is your version of what you believe the evidence in the case will show. All right. So state, do you want to begin with your opening statement?

Alexandra Spadaro (23:40):

Yes, Your Honor. May it please the court. On the morning of March 21st, 2023, Steven Cozzi, a 41-year-old lawyer working at the Blanchard Law Firm, vanished. But Steven wasn't just a lawyer. That wasn't his only identity. He was a loving husband, a loving son, a loving brother. He was a friend and a role model to many people in the community, and that's why this made absolutely no sense. And the evidence will show that he didn't disappear on his own terms. He was murdered. He was murdered in the bathroom of his law firm. His body was then placed in a wagon and it was drug out to the parking lot where it was loaded onto a gray Toyota Tundra, and ultimately, his coffin was a dumpster, his hearse was a dump truck, and his burial site where he lays to rest in tiny, unidentifiable little pieces is at the Collier County landfill. He was thrown away like garbage, and that's all at the hands of really the only person that made Steven Cozzi his enemy, and that's Dr. Kosowski.

(25:06)
So how did we get here? Why did this happen? How could this have happened? What will the evidence show? And to answer those questions, I have to go back. Back in May of 2019, Dr. Kosowski filed a lawsuit. He was the plaintiff and he sued multiple individuals as well as professional businesses whom he did work with, and he was suing for monetary damages. He was demanding that he be compensated because he believed he had been wronged. And in June of 2019, the Blanchard Law Firm filed their notice of appearance for the businesses and the individuals who ran those businesses, Dr. Laufer and Dr. Woolstein. Now, Steven was a newer lawyer at the time. He had graduated from Stetson Law School in 2016. He started working in family law, and then in 2018, he got hired at the Blanchard Law Firm.

(25:56)
At the Blanchard Law Firm, they primarily focused in bankruptcy and business litigation, and Jake Blanchard took him under his wing. He mentored him, and you'll learn that Steven thrived. He loved what he did and he was good at it. He cared about doing a good job. He was smart. He cared about his clients, and he cared about representing them with integrity. So Steven became the lead in this case, and he was representing the wealthy corporate clients who Dr. Kosowski was suing, clients that would have the capability of paying Dr. Kosowski if he were to prevail in that lawsuit. Jennifer Friend, on the other hand, was another respondent in that case, and she didn't have the same means as the Lawford Institute or the individuals who owned the medical businesses. But she was one of the respondents, and she was ultimately represented by a few law firms, but in the end, June of 2022, Jake Pillsbury filed his notice of appearance, and he was the one who worked consistently with Steven as the representatives for these respondents who were being sued by Dr. Kosowski. Not long before Jake Pillsbury got involved, Dr. Kosowski's lawyer withdrew from the case. And in March of 2022, he started to represent himself, and he made it contentious, he made it personal, particularly between him and Steven Cozzi. Now, Dr. Kosowski is an Ivy League educated plastic surgeon. He went to Dartmouth. He's intelligent, but he's not a lawyer. He did not understand how the law worked, he did not understand how this process worked, and that made it very difficult for Steven and Jake Pillsbury to work with him. For example, he started demanding discovery that had already been provided. It was so much of a dispute that Judge Muscarella, who was the presiding judge over that civil litigation, had to appoint a special master to handle all of these discovery disputes. He was going to be the one to decide, does Dr. Kosowski not have what he need and is he entitled to anything else?

(27:54)
So in September of 2022, they had that meeting, and that meeting occurred at the Blanchard Law Firm. All parties were there to include Steven Cozzi, Jake Pillsbury, Tomasz Kosowski, and the honorable Jack Day. And they stayed there for hours. It was on a Saturday. Steven Cozzi had brought them through his office that led into the conference room. That's where they spent the majority of their time. He had escorted him back out from his office door into the hallway of the Blanchard Law Firm where the bathroom was located, and that's when Dr. Kosowski really started to familiarize himself with what would ultimately become his crime scene. Jake Pillsbury will tell Your Honor that after this, the issue seemed to have been resolved. The order was primarily in their favor, but they did agree to provide Dr. Kosowski with some more discovery.

(28:47)
Still wasn't enough. Dr. Kosowski was not satisfied with the discovery he received despite being complying with the order that was authored by the honorable Jack Day. And this is primarily because he's not a lawyer and he didn't know how it worked. But Steven was, and he did, and Dr. Kosowski did not like that. Steven filed a motion for summary judgment in October of 2022, and although Dr. Kosowski isn't a lawyer, he had enough wherewithal to know that if that motion had been granted, he would've lost the lawsuit. He would not have been able to recover the money from those wealthy corporate clients that Steven Cozzi represented, and the case would ultimately be dismissed. Steven had also filed something called a motion to tax plaintiff for fees that are related to the special master's hearing, because ultimately it was ruled in their favor. So he was seeking for that to be partially paid by Dr. Kosowski. And Dr. Kosowski really didn't like that. How dare Steven want money from him?

(29:44)
So not only did Dr. Kosowski file a motion for sanctions as a result of this, on multiple occasions, he filed pleadings where he was demanding the removal of Steven Cozzi from the case, and only Steven Cozzi. In December of 2022, he demanded the removal of Mr. Cozzi as the attorney against him, given his, quote, "Recurrent disregard for the rules of civil procedure." Yet again, in January of 2023, he filed a motion where he sought to disqualify Mr. Cozzi as the attorney of record for his, quote, "Recurrent disregard for the Florida Bar rules of professional conduct." And this is something that's not common for opposing counsels to do in civil litigation unless they make it personal.

(30:27)
So it was around this time that Dr. Kosowski really started to plot Steven's murder. He was cold and calculated. He acted deliberate with premeditation. And on December 26th, 2022, he purchased a gray Toyota Tundra TRD in all cash and never registered the vehicle. He ultimately started stalking Steven, but prior to this, he came to the Blanchard Law Firm yet again for a deposition in January of 2023. Now, because Dr. Kosowski was representing himself, he was the one that was going to be asking the deponent questions. Her name was Tricia Mason. She was not a party to the litigation, she was a witness, and it got contentious. Steven was there in the conference room alongside of Dr. Kosowski and the deponent and the court reporter, and Jake Pillsbury had appeared via Zoom.

(31:19)
It got so contentious that when this deponent was getting so upset, they had to take a break. And on this break, Steven had walked out of his office door into the communal bathroom that was down the hallway. And just for reference, Your Honor is going to see photographs and you will see Oscar that kind of walks through the layout of this entire building. But it's a very small bathroom, one urinal, one stall, one sink. If you walk into that bathroom, you're basically on top of the other person. So typically, and you will hear testimony of this, men who use that restroom, if they heard someone was in there, wouldn't go in. But Dr. Kosowski didn't agree. He walks into the bathroom and he confronts Steven. " You're a scumbag just like your clients." And he thought he would win in the end.

(32:05)
He again familiarized himself with the exact room where he would take Steven's life in March of 2023. On February 16th, 2023, Dr. Kosowski visited Steven's home. Unbeknownst to Steven or his husband Michael Montgomery, he had placed himself right outside of 1957 Whitney Way and he photographed Michael's car inside of the carport. On February 22nd, he traveled to Blanchard Law Firm yet again. Only this time there was no hearing set, there was no deposition, there was no motion, no meeting. He had no reason to be there, but he slowly and methodically drives around the parking lot filming it, capturing the different entrances and exits to the building where the Blanchard Law Firm was located, the different cars that were in the parking lot, to include Steven Cozzi's. And Your Honor will see that video, and Your Honor will see that it appears he got caught. He drops the phone and goes down to his leg.

(33:13)
On March 2nd, 2023, he starts to Google Steven, specifically Steven and his husband Michael, their wedding, where Steven lived before, where Steven lived now. He even accessed the warranty deed to their current home at the time. Then on March 7th, 2023, Dr. Kosowski's phone connects again to the Blanchard Law Wi-Fi, putting him on the property. Again, no deposition, no meeting, no hearing, no lawful reason to be there. And he was seen on that day peeking through the law firm window, and that woman who saw him was the maintenance woman, Deborah Henrichs. Your Honor will hear a week later on March 14th, 2023, Deborah walked into the building where the Blanchard Law Firm was located.

Alexandra Spadaro (34:00):

Deborah walked into the building where the Blanchard Law Firm was located because she had to go to the electrical room that was also located in that building. And like I said, Your Honor is going to see the layout. It's a little confusing, but just for context, 1501 South Belcher has two buildings. There's building A and there's building B. Building A has a vet hospital that's located inside. There's a sidewalk that connects to building B, and that's where the Blanchard Law Firm is located. When you walk into building B, you enter into a foyer, and that foyer has two office buildings to the left and to the right. Left is Blanchard Law Firm, right is something called Ranati. There's a big wall with a John Lennon mural and an entry into the hallway where the men's bathroom is located. In order for Deborah Hendricks to get to that utility closet, she had to walk through that entry, take a left around where the men's bathroom is, continue to walk straight.

(34:55)
Now when she gets to the end of this hallway, right about at the end, is where Steven Cozzi's office door is. You take another right, down another hallway. There's two empty suites. And at the end of that hallway, you take another right and there's the electrical closet. It's very disjointed, a lot of hiding spaces. But when she got into the electrical closet, she opens the door and she sees a man just standing there hiding in the dark utility closet. He has a surgical mask on, he has a hat, a backpack, and of course she's spooked. He says something to the effect of, "I'm sorry for startling you. Power outage." Well, Deborah knew that this man was not an electrician as he was dressed in plain street clothes, plus the power was not out that day. So he leaves and he goes through the foyer, takes a left and goes out to the parking lot.

(35:46)
Deborah is standing closely behind trying to see where he goes. Maybe she can get a tag number. And she sees him get into a gray Toyota Tundra TRD. She was unable to get his license plate, but as he pulled away and turned right onto Belcher Road heading north, she saw a New Jersey tag. Now you will hear that she will identify the same person she saw on March 7th as the same person she saw hiding in the utility closet and got into that gray Toyota Tundra on the 14th. But you will also hear that she will take that stand and she will point to Dr. Kosowski as the person that she saw on both of those occasions. You will also hear that a latent print was lifted in that electrical closet and on the inside of that door, the right index finger comes back to Dr. Kosowski.

(36:37)
On March 17th... I'm sorry, let me back up. I forgot something very important. On March 14th, Deborah Hendricks reaches out to Todd Tinsley, who is the nurse manager at the complex. She's freaked out. She just found this guy hiding in the utility closet. And he comes and he goes and checks, there's a ladder that leads up to the roof. He also sees some things that really don't belong there. One of note was about yea tall, rectangular, tan box with no writing on it. He didn't know why it was there. Deborah didn't know why it was there. So he decides to open it. And when he opens that box, he sees the wheels to a wagon with blue fabric. He places it back because there's other office buildings within that suite and he doesn't know who it belongs to. So he places it back into the closet. They called the police, they weren't able to figure out who it was at that time.

(37:36)
Now we go to March 17th, 2023. Dr. Kosowski yet again connects to the Blanchard Law wifi. No hearing, no motion, no meeting, no deposition, no justifiable reason to be there, but the evidence will show that he left something. He left a blue Gorilla cart in the electrical closet that he was hiding in. And that will be confirmed when Your Honor sees the Amazon records. He had purchased three Gorilla carts, one blue, one black and yellow, and one red. It should be noted the blue one was never recovered.

(38:18)
On March 20th, around three o'clock in the morning, he starts to do some research on his phone. Specifically, he starts to research a paralytic called succinylcholine. Specifically, he was searching for the duration of action, the possible dangers of intramuscular succinylcholine. And he read multiple scholarly articles on how this paralytic works. Your Honor will hear from an anesthesiologist. This paralytic can be lethal at the right dose, but at a lower dose, what it does is it affects the ability for someone to resist. It weakens their body. It affects their ability to fight back, but they are cognizant of everything that is going on. They can feel everything that happens to them. You will learn that if someone was stuck with a paralytic and there was a large bloodletting event in the bathroom, they could feel and see everything that was happening to them.

(39:16)
You'll also learn that it's a drug that plastic surgeons or surgery offices often keep in emergency situations. But it's not something the plastic surgeons typically administer, that would be for an anesthesiologist. On March 21st, 2023, at 7:51 in the morning, Dr. Kosowski leaves his house in that gray unregistered Toyota Tundra. At 8:07 AM, he emails Steven and Jake Pillsbury a motion to compel and then he powers off his phone at 8:08 in the morning. Now, although Dr. Kosowski had scoped out the location on multiple different occasions, he either missed or did not care about the multiple surveillance cameras that were on the property. One, in which was affixed to the vets building, which was that building A. And it's facing the entryway to where the Blanchard office is located. It also captures part of the parking lot and a little bit of Belcher.

(40:12)
That surveillance captures his gray truck arriving at the Blanchard Law Firm at 8:32 in the morning on March 21st, 2023. Two minutes later, the camera captures a man who looks and matches the description of Dr. Kosowski. But a man who enters the law firm with a tan rectangular box on his right shoulder, identical to the one that Todd Tinsley had found in the electrical closet back on March 14th of 2023. Now, Steven hasn't arrived to work yet. Earlier that morning, he woke up before Michael like he would every day. He put chicken in the sink to defrost so that they could have dinner that night. He brought Michael a cup of coffee and he kissed him on the forehead and then he left for work. And his home surveillance shows him walking out the door that morning wearing a red cardigan sweater, jeans, and boat shoes.

(41:05)
At 8:37 AM, from that same surveillance, you will then see Mr. Cozzi walking into work, wearing the same exact outfit that he was wearing when he left the house. He was preparing for a telephonic hearing on the Kosowski matter that was supposed to start at 10:30. He was sitting at his desk listening to music and working. Now, the Blanchard Law Firm does have alarms on their doors, they didn't have cameras inside of the building. But they had alarms on their doors that would log when those doors were open and closed. There was only two doors to the Blanchard Law Firm, it was the one from the foyer, which was the main entrance or the front door. And there was Steven Cozzi's that led directly into the hallway where the bathroom was. That was the back door. At 9:50 AM, Steven opens his office door to go to the bathroom, passing the hallway where two empty office suites are, the electrical closet, and after that he was never seen again. At 10:22 AM, the surveillance captures a man, again, similar size description as Dr. Kosowski, wheeling out a heavy wagon, struggling even. And he's wheeling it down the sidewalk. And when he gets there, he flips it around and he goes to the back of the gray Toyota Tundra. But again, he had that hearing at 10:30. Because Steven was laying in that wagon dead, he obviously didn't call in for the telephonic hearing that he had been preparing for, but Dr. Kosowski didn't miss it. At 10:27 AM, he called in and the location to where his phone makes that phone call is very interesting. See, there's a cell tower that is looming over the Blanchard Law parking lot, and that is where his phone connects when he calls in for the hearing. It wasn't like Steven to miss a hearing. He was punctual. He was never late. He wasn't forgetful. He was the one who filed the notice of hearing the day prior. The only reason he would've missed a court date was if something bad happened, was if he were dead.

(43:13)
Alongside Dr. Kosowski on that phone call was Jake Pillsbury who was representing the other respondent, Jennifer Friend, and Judge Moscarello, the presiding judge over the case. Now that call lasted for 30 minutes. And on that call, Dr. Kosowski is referencing the fact that Steven is not there despite him being in the wagon outside of his pickup truck. He's asking for sanctions. He's demanding that he be removed for the case. He's trying to set all of his motions that are demanding that he come off the case while Steven's not there. And Jake Pillsbury is like, "Whoa, let me reach out to him. Let me see where he is. We shouldn't do this, this isn't like him." But obviously no response.

(43:52)
That hearing ends at 11:04 AM and Dr. Kosowski powers off his phone yet again. Surveillance captures the wagon being moved in the parking lot and then it is placed in the back of Dr. Kosowski's truck, ultimately leaving the parking lot at 11:16 and heading north on Belcher Road. Rebecca Waters, who is a paralegal for the Blanchard Law Firm, would bring her dog Molly to work. And on that day, her dog started acting funny. She was inside of her office with the door shut. Molly started whining or barking, just was being abnormal. And this is what prompted Rebecca Waters to open up her door and to see if there was something going on. And when Rebecca opens up her door, catty corner is where Steven Cozzi's office is located, but Steven's not in there. His phone, his keys, his wallet, music is playing, middle of writing an email, all of that is what's in his office, but no Steven.

(44:49)
So she gets their boss and who ultimately became one of Steven's best friends, Jake Blanchard involved, and they go looking for him. They look in the empty suites that were located in the building. They go to the parking lot and they see that his car is still there. They run into people and ask, "Have you seen Steven?" Because he just disappeared. They then ultimately go into the men's restroom. And when Jake Blanchard opens up the door, first of all, there's an overwhelming smell that multiple witnesses will testify to of a cleaning product. Specifically, some will say isopropyl alcohol. And they smell this and they open up the door and Jake sees that there's blood everywhere. There's blood on the toilet seat, there's blood on the wall, there's blood on the floor. The paint to the wall inside of that bathroom stall was eating away at itself as if someone had cleaned it with some heavy duty bleach cleaner. And this caused him really to be concerned.

(45:44)
Rebecca Waters had reached out to Michael. Jake had talked to Michael. No one had seen him. So he calls 911 around 11:46 to report Steven missing. Officers respond to the scene and they start to look for those surveillance cameras. They start to process the bathroom and testing revealed a lot of blood that was located in the bathroom in multiple different locations. You will learn that a major bloodletting event and a struggle took place inside of that bathroom when our blood spatter expert, Anna Cox, testifies. Now, many of those swabs, they tested presumptive positive with using phenolphthalein for blood, and some were even sent to the Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory for further analysis. There was blood on the toilet that was Steven Cozzi's. Blood on the exterior stall wall that was Steven Cozzi's. There was blood on the floor where Steven Cozzi's DNA was located. There was blood on paper towels, some in which the DNA analysis revealed a mixture of both Steven Cozzi and Dr. Kosowski. And finally, a blood swipe on the exterior door of the men's bathroom that was a mixture of Steven Cozzi and Dr. Kosowski.

(46:53)
Now, of course, the DNA results were not known to law enforcement at the time, I'm jumping ahead. But after they were interviewing anyone who was worried about Steven could provide any insight onto where he was, one person really kept coming up as a person of interest. Really only one person was ka trend for all of these people who knew and loved him, and that was Dr. Kosowski. Law enforcement was able to track that unregistered Toyota Tundra back to Dr. Kosowski's house in Tarpon Springs through surveillance at multiple different locations. They did true old-fashioned police work, going down and literally getting over 20 different footage and video cameras to actually track down where he went. And Your Honor will see some of those videos. We're going to have a lot of records custodians testify to get those videos in, but the ones that we're going to highlight for Your Honor show the gray Toyota TRD with a wagon in the back of his truck and the red blanket over it.

(47:49)
One of the best photographs that Your Honor will see came from a Flock camera as Dr. Kosowski was leaving the Blanchard Law Firm that day. And you will see the New Jersey tag that Deborah Hendricks saw back on March 14th when she chased him out of the utility closet. And you will see a blue Gorilla cart wagon with a red blanket over it. And I submit to you, you will see the outline of Steven Cozzi's body inside of that wagon.

(48:16)
Now, Dr. Kosowski gets back home around 11:58 in the morning, and he's home for about 10 minutes shy of five hours, where he packs up his two dogs, Steven, transfers to the Toyota Corolla that actually was registered to him, which was red in color, and he starts to head down south. Now, Your Honor will learn that Dr. Kosowski doesn't take a straight route down to Miami. He makes a little pit stop. Before he does that, he has to go back because he forgot something, and then he ultimately leaves and heads south. He gets onto US 19 and he gets off at East Bay, takes a left at Belcher, swings by the Blanchard Law Firm where he sees Largo police cars, forensics that are processing. And then he gets back onto 19 after he does the semicircle and heads south. After he does this, that's when he starts researching and Googling WFLA Tampa as he continues to drive.

(49:12)
Steven is still missing as of March 22nd, 2023. No one has seen or heard from him. They're still at that point trying to process back to Kosowski's house, which they were ultimately able to do. And on March 23rd, 2023, again, no sign of Steven, law enforcement go to Dr. Kosowski's residence in an attempt to do a knock and talk, but he wasn't home. Then they got a search warrant for his residence later that evening, and his house was a mansion that was located in Tarpon Springs that had a two-car garage. Now after that warrant was served, the garage door opens and inside of the garage is the gray Toyota Tundra TRD with a different license plate.

(49:52)
Now, you'll learn that the garage was searched and the New Jersey tag was not located, but there were a multitude of other tags that didn't belong to him.GHe also had a tag flipper that was installed on his gray pickup truck. And also located was a black and yellow Gorilla cart, not the blue one, but another one that he had purchased off Amazon. So the truck is processed and there's a good amount of blood, both inside and outside the car. One spot of blood that was collected from the tailgate was actually sent to Pinellas County Forensic Laboratory and it came back to Steven. Another blood spot was located on the garage floor that was tested for DNA, and came back to Steven, but after, that mansion was searched for hours, no Steven.

(50:39)
On March 24th, 2023, now they have a truck full of blood, a house with blood in it. They followed it back, no signs of Steven, so now they're looking for Dr. Kosowski. They had learned that he had work up down in Miami, so they had traveled to Miami trying to locate him or his red Toyota Corolla. No luck, so they put out a BOLO. And Dr. Kosowski makes his way back to Tarpon Springs on March 25th, 2023. Prior to returning, however, Dr. Kosowski wants to make sure it's safe for him to come back. And around noon, he starts to Google Largo Police Department and Largo Police warrants. Since nothing came up, he believed he was good to go, but still no sign of Steven. It's March 25th, still haven't heard from him, still haven't seen him, and that BOLO worked.

(51:29)
At 3: 19 PM, Tarpon Springs conducted a traffic stop on his red Toyota Corolla. A search warrant was obtained for that vehicle, but Steven was not found. What was found in his car is rather interesting, in the trunk of his car was a black ballistics vest that had Steven's blood on it. Blood was located inside of the truck, I'm sorry, inside of the trunk that was Steven's DNA. Inside the vehicle were cellphones, plural, one to be an iPhone, the other to be a burner phone or a TracFone. And throughout the vehicle, he had multiple vests, to include a black EMS vest, he had sheriff's office patches, a foldable bike, a gas can, black industrial-sized garbage bags in the trunk of his car, $282,000 in cash, and two passports.

(52:20)
But one of the scariest things that was located inside of that vehicle, and there's really no other way to categorize it, other than what I like to call a murder bag. It was a black duffel bag and inside of it, amongst other things, but most notably were lighters, a taser, scissors, brass knuckles, a crowbar, ski masks, a Guy Fawkes mask, a 3CC syringe, needle, and a vial of succinylcholine that had the lot number from his plastic surgery office in Miami where he had no authority to take.

(52:58)
Now, while this vehicle is being searched, Dr. Kosowski is detained in the back of a police cruiser, and he starts with his hands cuffed behind his back. Well, he's informed by Largo PD that they're going to do a body warrant. They're going to search his body. They're going to collect possible DNA, fingernail clippings, photographs of him. And after he's informed of that, he struggles, but he's ultimately successful in getting his hands underneath his feet and bringing his handcuffed hands in front of his face. And after he hears that the body warrant is in process, en route, one by one, he starts to meticulously suck on each of his fingers. He's using his tongue and getting up underneath it and slurping. He's using his teeth almost as a nail file, trying to destroy any trace of evidence that might bring him back to Steven Cozzi, because again, he still hasn't been located.

(53:52)
He's taken back to the station where photographs are taken of him, and Your Honor will see those photographs. He has injuries on his hands consistent with a struggle. He has a new blood blister on his thumb, consistent with being pinched by a metal object or metal prongs in a wagon. He has a series of bruises that your honor will see or hear, are about three days old, and they're located on his biceps primarily and on his stomach. The testimony will show, and you will hear that the injuries are consistent with lifting 190 pounds of dead weight in a wagon up into the tailgate of a truck.

(54:36)
Law enforcement gets warrants for his cellphones, and we're going to focus on the iPhone, the primary one. And this is where they learn a lot of the information that I had already told Your Honor. This is where they learned about the activity on his phone, some of the location data, his Google searches, the efforts to stalk Steven. His research on the paralytic. And again, they still don't know where Steven is. So they also don't really know the entirety of Dr. Kosowski's route back to Miami. Law enforcement looks and they see that on March 21st, 2023, he gets on the Tamiami Trail to head east, back towards Miami, but he takes another pit stop down a dirt road called Loop Road. He continues after he stops there for a few minutes back to his Miami residence. And law enforcement learned this and they get in their cars and they go down there almost immediately.

(55:26)
Now, when they get there, there's a lot of marshland and pythons, alligators even, but again, no Steven. Most notably in this area was a dumpster. It was right next to the rest area. It was almost as soon as you turned onto Loop Road, it was right there. It's a dumpster that his phone shows he came back to check on March 23rd, 2023. The evidence will support that he wanted to make sure that that dumpster had been dumped, and it had been because it was dumped every Thursday morning and March 23rd, 2023 was a Thursday. Local police agencies down south, they get involved. They came to process the dumpster. They brought K9 Connor out who was specialized in human detection, and they got a hit on the can, but still no Steven. They contacted the garbage truck driver, George Valante. Now, George Valante was no stranger to foul smells. He was working in waste management. He had done it for many years. And he had smelled rotten food, dead carcasses from animals before. He smelled it all, but he recalls this day specifically. It was a smell that he had never experienced. He described that smell as vile. He had to crush the trash back in his garbage truck so many times because the stench was so overwhelming. And this is someone who is a garbage truck driver. He recalls that day he had to stop to get a cup of coffee and an air freshener because he could not stand the scent that was in his nose while he was driving around. And that smell, the evidence will show, was Steven's body decaying in the Florida heat for two days. Now, his dump truck also had footage. Your Honor is going to see that footage. That footage captured the dumpster being dumped into his truck. And what you'll see is a lot of black industrial-sized garbage bags similar to the ones that Dr. Kosowski had in the trunk of his car. But I submit to Your Honor that you will see a bag fall that is heavy. The weight, the size, and the way that it actually falls into the truck, I submit to Your Honor, is consistent with the human body. Now, Largo PD and local agencies go to the Collier County Landfill, and they were able to track down the location where Mr. Valante had dumped the garbage over a week prior. But Your Honor, remember, it was eight days of waste, and you'll hear it was over 6,000 tons of compacted garbage that had been landfilled in the area of question by the time that they got there.

(57:57)
And every day, the workers for the landfill drive over the garbage with heavy duty machinery. You'll hear they have bulldozers that are 89,000 pounds running over the garbage. And that they are trained to run over it until you cannot recognize what it is anymore. It gets compacted to about a third of its size, pushed around for days, filled with filler on some occasions, turned into confetti essentially. And after three long, hot days of searching that landfill, they were not able to find Steven anywhere. Fast-forward three years, it's September 14th, 2026. Steven has not been heard from. He has not been seen, not by his husband, Michael, or there are two fur babies, not by his mom, Lois, or his dad, George, not from one of his best friends, Jake Blanchard. No one has heard or seen from him since March 21st, 2023, when he was there, when he wheeled his body out of the bathroom and loaded him up in the truck. No one has seen him since then. Now, a forensic accountant will testify who has looked at Steven's bank accounts, and she will testify that there's been no activity on his accounts. You also learn that he was a person of habit. He often didn't go outside of a three-mile radius from where his job was located. And the financial documentation, such as credit reports, not only indicate, but will confirm that Steven Cozzi is deceased. We're going to end our case by calling the chief medical examiner from District 6, Jon Thogmartin, excuse me. And after reviewing a lot of evidence in this case and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance, Dr. Thogmartin will give an opinion to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty that Steven Cozzi is dead. Now, Your Honor is very familiar with our burden of proof and the elements that we must prove in order to convict Dr. Kosowski of first degree murder. Your Honor is aware we don't have to prove manner or cause of death. We don't have to have a body where an autopsy was conducted. The state has to prove three elements. One, Steven Cozzi is dead. Two, the death was caused by the criminal act of Dr. Tomasz Kosowski. And three, there was premeditation while killing Steven Cozzi. Excuse me. Now I'm confident at the end of this trial, after all the evidence is presented, Your Honor will find that the state has met its burden proving all three elements. You will be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that Steven Cozzi is dead and he's not coming back. You'll be convinced that his death was caused by Tomasz Kosowski. And you'll be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that there is an enormous amount of planning and premeditation in order for Dr. Kosowski to get the job done. And I'm confident that Your Honor will find Dr. Kosowski guilty of first degree murder. Thank you.

Judge (01:01:10):

Mr. Tomasz, would you like to give an opening statement?

Tomasz Kosowski (01:01:14):

No, Your Honor.

Judge (01:01:14):

All right. State, please call your first witness.

Speaker 3 (01:01:15):

Your Honor, can we take a break so we can move the TV and get some evidence marked?

Judge (01:01:18):

Sure. How long do you need?

Speaker 3 (01:01:20):

Maybe 20 minutes, if that's okay by the court, 11 o'clock?

Judge (01:01:21):

All right. We'll take a 20-minute break.

Court Official (01:01:21):

All rise.

Speaker 5 (01:01:21):

[inaudible 01:20:14], you may inquire.

Speaker 4 (01:01:21):

Thanks, your Honor.

(01:01:21)
Good morning.

Michael Montgomery (01:01:21):

Good morning.

Speaker 4 (01:20:18):

Will you please introduce yourself for the Court and spell your full name for the court reporter?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:21):

My name is Michael Montgomery. It's spelled M-I-C-H-A-E-L, M-O-N-T-G-O-M-E-R-Y.

Speaker 4 (01:20:31):

And Michael, I know it might be a little difficult to talk about this stuff today, okay?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:35):

Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:20:35):

So you tell me if you need a break.

Michael Montgomery (01:20:36):

Okay.

Speaker 4 (01:20:38):

Okay? And before we talk about why you're here today, I want the judge to get to know you a little bit better. Okay? So what do you do for a living?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:46):

I work in finance currently.

Speaker 4 (01:20:48):

And how long have you been doing that for?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:51):

Oh, since 2013.

Speaker 4 (01:20:53):

Okay. And where are you from originally?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:55):

Originally from Idaho Falls, Idaho. Okay.

Speaker 4 (01:20:58):

And did you ever live in Florida?

Michael Montgomery (01:20:59):

I did, yes.

Speaker 4 (01:21:00):

When was that?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:01):

2008 until 2025.

Speaker 4 (01:21:06):

And are you married?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:06):

I am not.

Speaker 4 (01:21:08):

Have you ever been married?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:12):

I have.

Speaker 4 (01:21:12):

When?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:12):

2020, October 2020 through March of 2023.

Speaker 4 (01:21:17):

And who were you married to?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:18):

Steven Cozzi.

Speaker 4 (01:21:22):

Are you now widowed?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:22):

I am, yes.

Speaker 4 (01:21:22):

When was the last time you saw Steven?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:24):

March 21st, 2023.

Speaker 4 (01:21:26):

I want to talk about your relationship with Steven. How did you guys meet?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:33):

Initially, we met online, just kind of dropped in the DMs. In summer of 2018, we had our first official date. We went to a sushi type restaurant in Largo. It was just a random day off and it was just a random date.

Speaker 4 (01:21:53):

When did you two make it official?

Michael Montgomery (01:21:56):

I believe the Facebook status changed in September of 2018. We waited a month or two.

Speaker 4 (01:22:06):

Ultimately, did your relationship with Steven did move fast?

Michael Montgomery (01:22:09):

It did, yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:22:10):

How so?

Michael Montgomery (01:22:12):

Just within the first few months of meeting him, we were pretty close to inseparable right away. It was pre-COVID, so it was before work from home became a big typical practice. So we obviously weren't together when we were at work, but pretty much any time after that, it was almost like I had to stay home one night just to say that I did, but within a few months. And we moved in, or I moved into his condo within a year of dating, just because it made sense because I was there all the time. Half my stuff was already there.

Speaker 4 (01:22:52):

What was the address of that condo?

Michael Montgomery (01:22:54):

501 East Bay in Largo, Florida.

Speaker 4 (01:22:59):

And did you guys ultimately move to a different townhouse or condo?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:04):

We did. At that point I was working from home and we needed a bigger place, so we moved to Whitney Way.

Speaker 4 (01:23:09):

To Whitney Way?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:09):

Whitney Way, yep.

Speaker 4 (01:23:09):

Can you give us the address?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:10):

1957 Whitney Way, Clearwater, Florida.

Speaker 4 (01:23:15):

Okay. And is that where you guys both lived in March 21st of 2023?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:19):

It was, yes.

Speaker 4 (01:23:23):

Was Steven working when you met him?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:25):

He was.

Speaker 4 (01:23:26):

And where was he working?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:26):

I believe that the law firm was called Holistic Family Law.

Speaker 4 (01:23:31):

Okay. So was he working in family law?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:33):

He was, yes.

Speaker 4 (01:23:34):

And was he an attorney when you met him?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:36):

He was.

Speaker 4 (01:23:37):

So he'd already graduated law school?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:38):

Yes.

Speaker 4 (01:23:39):

Do you know what year he graduated?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:41):

2016, I believe.

Speaker 4 (01:23:43):

And where did he go?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:44):

Stetson.

Speaker 4 (01:23:46):

Did he love being a lawyer?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:47):

He did.

Speaker 4 (01:23:48):

How did you know?

Michael Montgomery (01:23:49):

He just talked about it all the time. He loved every facet of it. He loved representing clients, particularly at Blanchard Law, he was typically representing defendants. He loved fighting for people. He just was incredibly brilliant with the law, and so he loved to put that into practice because not a lot of us understand this. He also loved constitutional law. He filled most of our dinner conversations with some Supreme Court ruling that I somewhat understood, but he had a way of talking about it in a way that I could understand it. So you could just really see that he was incredibly passionate about it.

Speaker 4 (01:24:30):

Was he pretty well established when you met him?

Michael Montgomery (01:24:33):

He was.

‍