DAVIDSONVILLE, Md. — Anne Arundel County Police have identified a man whose body was discovered inside a burning pick-up truck in Davidsonville last weekend.
Officers found the truck fully engulfed in flames in the parking lot of Tropic Bay Water Gardens on West Central Avenue.
Inside the back passenger seat was the remains of store owner Edward Stephen Koza.
The 67-year-old was barefoot with his arms, hands, and mouth bound in tape, in what turned out to be his own vehicle.
Investigators located the melted spout of a plastic fuel container near Koza's body.
On the ground, outside Koza's truck, detectives spotted a Bass Pro Shop hat.
As police went to check inside the store, they observed obvious signs of a struggle with various items broken and knocked over.
Among the items was a pair of shoes, believed to be Koza's.
Nearby, a bloody plastic bag and rock appeared to have been pulled apart from a display.
The rock factored into what doctors detected while conducting Koza's autopsy.
"The victim had sustained blunt force trauma to his head," police wrote in charging documents.
Police learned Koza normally closed the store around 6pm each day, but often stayed after hours.
Detectives spoke to someone known to Koza, who happened to pass by the store around closing time.
This person couldn't recall seeing Koza's truck on the lot, yet noticed a red Lincoln parked there.
Police reviewed area license plate readers in an attempt to track the movement of Koza's pickup truck and the red Lincoln.
Surveillance footage at a nearby BP gas station captured a man and woman pulling up in Koza's truck before it was set on fire.
The man was wearing a Bass Pro Shop hat, similar to the one found on the ground outside Koza's store.
Police identified the woman as 18-year-old Kylee Alyssa Dakes, who was known to be dating Jonah Michael Poole.
MVA records linked Poole to a red Lincoln like the one Koza's associate saw in the store parking lot the night he was murdered.
Another check of area cameras and license plate readers captured Dakes and Poole taking the Lincoln to Bass Pro Shop at Arundel Mills earlier in the day.
Cameras there caught Poole buying the Bass Pro Shop hat he wore at the BP, that police later found at the murder scene.
Cell tower records also placed Poole at Koza's store around the time of the murder.
Dakes and Poole were later arrested at a home in Harwood. It's unclear if the couple had any prior interaction with Koza.
Police summed the case up this way in charging documents.
"Investigators believe the suspects attacked Koza at the business sometime during the evening of May 24, 2025 near closing time. Jonah Poole and Kylee Dakes are responsible for the murder of Edward Koza. Koza was assaulted and taken captive by the suspects. Koza likely was put into the backseat of the truck at this point and was driven around the area for an unknown purpose. Ultimately, Poole and Dakes drove the victim truck, likely with Koza inside of the truck, and drove to the BP Station to purchase gasoline. Investigators believe this gasoline was purchased to use as an accelerant. Poole and Dakes returned to the Tropic Bay where Poole's vehicle, the red Lincoln MKS, was parked. The suspects set the vehicle on fire with Koza in the rear passenger area and then fled the scene in the red Lincoln."
*Editor's Note*
We are aware of a video circulating that's allegedly connected to the investigation of Edward Koza's death. Anne Arundel County Police say that homicide detectives are attempting to authenticate the video as part of the ongoing investigation.
