A teen couple accused of trapping and killing a 67-year-old businessman in his blazing truck were caught after a baseball cap was found at the scene of the horrific crime, say police.
Jonah Michael Poole and Kylee Alyssa Dakes, both 18, have been charged with murder, conspiracy and arson in the death of Edward Stephen Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens, a koi pond business in Davidsonville, Maryland.
Investigators say that on May 24, the teens allegedly attacked Koza, bound his arms, covered his mouth with tape and drove him around in his truck before dousing it in gasoline and setting it on fire, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Koza died from his injuries on Monday, the same day the teens appeared in court for the first time. Charging documents revealed how a Bass Pro Shops baseball cap left behind at the grisly scene led investigators to the two suspects.
Police responded to Koza’s business around 9:25 p.m. on May 24 to find his pickup truck “fully engulfed in flames in the parking lot of a commercial business.”
Inside the truck was Koza’s charred body. His hands and arms were bound with tape and his mouth taped over. He was not identified until Monday, but there were signs that it was the business owner – he was missing a thumb and matched his “general physical stature,” according to the charging documents.
A Bass Pro Shop cap was found next to the truck and outside the truck was the melted spout of a plastic gas can inside.
Investigators searched the koi pond business and found signs of struggle. Things had been knocked over and there was blood on a plastic bag next to a rock that had been removed from a display case.
An investigation revealed that Koza was known to stay past the 6 p.m. closing time. “An acquaintance” of the business owner reportedly drove by the store around 6 p.m. on the day of the attack and noticed the truck was missing. This acquaintance recalled seeing a red vehicle, perhaps a Lincoln, parked outside.
Surveillance footage from a nearby gas station showed his truck pulling up around 9 p.m. and a “female subject” walking into the station and handing the cashier two five-dollar bills. A male wearing a flannel shirt and a Bass Pro cap was in the driver’s seat.
According to the charging documents, the teens allegedly went to the Arundel Mills Bass Pro Shop a few hours before the attack to buy a change of clothes and a hat that was recovered from the crime scene.
Investigators identified Poole, a senior at Southern High School, as a suspect, in part, from his prom pictures.
Poole and Dakes, who are both seniors at Southern High School in Anne Arundel County, were also in a “romantic” relationship and were taken into custody on Saturday.
Poole is also charged with the burglary of the popular Pirates Cove restaurant in Anne Arundel County, a week before the attack at Tropic Bay Water Gardens.
His public defender argued that “nobody saw Mr. Poole commit murder,” and “there is no tangible physical evidence” connecting him to the case.
Dakes’ lawyer pleaded for bail: “She was supposed to be graduating at 1:30 today with honors” and said there is no motive, no evidence, no statement, no confession, “and no reason she would do anything like this.”
The judge denied bail for both teens and neither attended their high school graduation.
Investigators haven’t yet identified a motive in the killing. It’s unclear if the teen couple and Koza knew each other.
Justin Mulcahy of the Anne Arundel County Police Department said the cause of death and motive in Koza’s death remain under investigation.
“We just don’t know the motive right now, so we’re still looking into that. We’re trying to ascertain exactly what led up to this — why they were there in the area, there at this business,” he said Monday.
“We know there was evidence of a struggle inside of the business and ultimately surveillance footage shows suspects in the area. Based on the totality of the circumstances of our investigation, we feel very strongly that they are responsible for the murder of the victim, Mr. Koza, in this case.”