*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.
Neighbors are reacting to the brutal murder of a local business owner.
On Monday police identified Edward Stephen Koza as the man whose body was discovered bound inside a burnt up vehicle.
Koza, 67, was the owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens in Davidsonville.
On May 24 his personal pickup truck was found engulfed in flames on the store parking lot.
Investigators believe Koza was attacked inside his business and kidnapped before ultimately being left for dead.
Bryce Marcalus described seeing the fire on his way home from dinner.
"The whole place was engulfed in flames, the parking lot area, fire trucks, ambulances, cops," Marcalus explained. "They had like probably 20 vehicles there."
He called Koza an all around good guy.
"I think it's pretty crazy. He was a nice guy from what I knew. I met him a couple times just going in there," Marcalus told WMAR-2 News. "He was just really joking around and he seemed really personable, knew a lot of people in the area."
Les Warrington, who lives nearby, expressed shock after hearing of the tragedy.
"It's a very quiet community I mean it's rural and we don't have a lot of things like this happen and to have something as drastic as this, it's shocking," Warrington said.
For now, they're left with more questions than answers.
"Really weird just sounds really sketchy right now just trying to figure out exactly what the full story is."
An 18-year-old man and his girlfriend have since been arrested and charged.
"At this time, based on all of the facts and circumstances under consideration, investigators believe the suspects attacked Koza at the business sometime during the evening of May 24, 2025 near closing time," police wrote in charging documents. "Jonah Poole and Kylee Dakes are responsible for the murder of Edward Koza."
