Tomasz Kosowski Raises Jailhouse Objection In Self-Defended Bench Trial

Another rather strange exchange took place in the ongoing murder trial of Dr. Tomasz Kosowski which continued at the Pinellas County Circuit Court in Clearwater, Florida. Once again, there was a tug of war between officials and the suspect who defends himself.

Digital Evidence

Kosowski stands accused of allegedly murdering attorney Steven Cozzi and then dumping the body in a dumpster.

The former Florida plastic surgeon, who declined a jury trial, went through a back-and-forth over the evidence presented by a witness regarding the digital trail.

The court heard evidence about a TracFone and an iPhone. The expert witness described how investigators managed to get into both devices after obtaining the passcodes.

All the way through, even when pictures were handed out, Kosowski raised objections. Actually, that wasn’t unexpected as when the trial first started, the judge anticipated many of those would happen.

Circuit Court Judge Joseph A. Bulone noted the defense’s objections, many of which were mostly aimed at the validity of the search warrants.

Jailhouse Issues

When the prosecution tried to bring in maps that tracked the phone, and a PowerPoint presentation, more objections came from Tomasz Kosowski.

The prosecution wanted to show the movements of the phone on certain dates, but Kosowski pushed back, complaining he hadn’t seen the files while behind bars.

“We charted your travels on March 17th and it’s in an MP4… and it was on discovery on Monday. We gave you a notice that said you could watch it if you wanted to before,” the prosecutor said.

Kosowski sarcastically fired back about his inability to view media formats while jailed:

Oh, we can’t see MP4. It’s in the jail. I mean, I mean we don’t have PowerPoint. We don’t have any of this stuff.

The prosecutor clarified that discovery notices were provided, and that Kosowski could inspect the files on request.

While the prosecutor offered to play the short clip so Kosowski could examine it before its admission, he declined, opting instead to stick with his search warrant objection.

Viewers React

True crime viewers who watched it go down on Law&Crime Trials YouTube channel weighed in on the former surgeon’s defense tactics. They noted that it’s not as easy as one might think to defend oneself when technical forensics are involved.

“He already knows he [is] going to get life possible death, but is so egotistical that he’s just going to keep doing what he’s doing,” one viewer wrote.

Another viewer suggested that something changed since his court appearance where he had argued about a microphone being switched off. They said, “This is the first time he looks nervous because he realizes the witness is smarter than him.”

Others thought he’d lost his mind by opting for a bench trial. A viewer said, “It’s crazy that he chose a Bench Trial. The prosecution already convinced the judge. This man is cooked.”

A few commenters mentioned the constant objections. One of them wrote, “He is just objecting cos he is bored. He knows he is going straight to jail. I feel sorry for his former patients,” while another noted, “Doc should just give up and change his plea…”

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