A 27-year-old Bradenton man, identified as Steven Joseph Cozens, has been sentenced to spend 60 years in state prison after a conviction stemming from the 2022 stabbing death of his girlfriend in a hotel room. Detailed in a news release by the State Attorney’s Office, Cozens entered a guilty plea to the charge of murder in the second degree, as reported by WFLA.
According to WTSP, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office launched their investigation on the afternoon of August 21, 2022, responding to a distressing find at America’s Best Value Inn located off State Road 64 in Bradenton. They discovered Cozens' girlfriend, 26-year-old Jennifer, tragically killed following an altercation between the couple. Cozens confessed to having stabbed Jennifer "a lot" after being taken into custody not far from the hotel where the crime took place. The same publication quoted Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O'Donnell as stating, "Due to the excellent work of the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit, the defendant was apprehended within hours of this murder and made a full confession."
During the initial phases of the investigation, staff at the America’s Best Value Inn were the first to encounter the grim scene when a maid uncovered Jennifer's body wrapped in a bed sheet and concealed under a bed, which led to the police being notified. This detail was highlighted in the coverage by WFLA.
The Herald Tribune, in their report published yesterday, revealed that Cozens was indicted with murder in the first degree in January 2023, but he later pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of murder in the second degree. The sentencing came as part of a plea deal, which was concluded a mere two weeks before the scheduled trial. Information from the 12th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office indicated that the argument that presumably led to the fatal incident happened while the couple was staying at the inn, where after Cozens allegedly used a knife to repeatedly stab Jennifer.
