A plastic surgeon accused of murdering a lawyer in his Florida office bathroom has sacked his defence team just weeks before trial and chosen to represent himself, while also waiving his right to a jury. Dr Tomasz Kosowski, 47, denies first-degree murder over the March 2023 disappearance of attorney Steve Cozzi, whose body has never been found. The case matters because prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, and Kosowski has said he will not contest a capital sentence if convicted, raising the stakes of his decision to forgo legal representation entirely.

Cozzi, 41, a bankruptcy lawyer who had previously represented clients being sued by Kosowski, vanished from his Largo law office in March 2023 after leaving behind his wallet, keys and phone. Prosecutors allege he was killed in a communal bathroom, citing blood found at the scene, mixed DNA from both men, and Cozzi's blood in Kosowski's truck; his body is believed to have been dumped and later taken to a landfill. Surveillance footage allegedly shows Kosowski entering the building and later dragging a wagon to his vehicle, and he was arrested during a Miami-bound traffic stop with a "murder bag" containing a Taser, brass knuckles, a crowbar, disguises and a vial of the paralytic drug succinylcholine.