Weeks before he was found bound, burnt and dead in the back of his flaming pickup truck outside his Edgewater koi pond business in May, Edward Steven Koza reported to police that hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash was stolen from his house.

According to court documents, an employee at Koza’s Tropic Bay Water Gardens later told police that her boss suspected a teen who once worked there in the burglary, naming him in a list of potential suspects.

The teen, Jonah Michael Poole, and his girlfriend, Kyle Alyssa Dakes, both 19, were later charged with murder, arson and kidnapping in the 67-year-old Koza’s May 24 death.

This week, an Anne Arundel County Circuit judge ruled they would be tried together.

Dakes’ attorney argued they should be tried separately, citing the suspicions that Poole was involved with the theft. If Dakes had a separate trial, evidence of Poole’s involvement in the burglary would be inadmissible, her attorney argued.

Circuit Judge Cathleen M. Vitale rejected that argument, finding Monday that most of the evidence in the case could be used against both defendants and any evidence not admissible against one could be excluded, redacted or explained.

Vitale’s opinion settled that issue, but the legal debate saw prosecutors and defense attorneys reveal new details about the grisly homicide that stunned South County.

In court filings and arguments before Vitale, the lawyers tied the burglary at Koza’s house to Poole and Dakes, hinted at what authorities believe may have motivated the Southern High School seniors to attack him, provided clarity about a video circulated on social media shortly after the homicide and disclosed what they said to each other after.

In response to Dakes’ attorney’s argument about the burglary, Anne Arundel County prosecutors said there was evidence Poole and Dakes were both involved.

A spokesperson for State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said the office could not comment on a pending case. Reached by phone, Poole’s attorney, David Fischer, said the same.

Andrew Jezic, who represents Dakes, could not be reached immediately for comment Wednesday.

But, in an interview outside court in October, Jezic described his client as “sweet, religious and caring.” He said she had secured a $225,000 scholarship to study nursing at Notre Dame of Maryland University and sought to blame Poole.

“He had an overwhelming and nefarious influence on many in his life,” including Dakes, Jezic said. “We think she’s innocent and intend to prove it at trial.”

Prosecutors see it differently.

“The overwhelming majority of the evidence in the cases of Dakes and Poole is mutually admissible,” assistant state’s attorneys Kelly Poma and Marot Williamson wrote.

On the day of Koza’s killing, the prosecutors added, “cell phone location analysis, surveillance videos, and witnesses place Dakes and Poole together throughout the day from about 12:19 p.m. to shortly before 10 p.m. when they both arrive at Dakes’ home.”

Koza reported $500,000 of cash stolen during a May 12 burglary at his Annapolis home, Williamson said in court.

At one point, Poole bragged about having $300,000 in a cooler and, on May 27, he purchased a pickup truck with $27,000 cash, Williamson said.

That was after authorities said Poole broke into Pirates Cove Restaurant in Galesville on May 18 and stole $11,000. And that was only about three days after Poole allegedly spray-painted a swastika and “other derogatory phrases about sexual orientation” at the Summit School in Edgewater, according to court documents.

Jezic said those incidents could be used against Poole at trial but not against Dakes. He also took issue with a text exchange between Poole and Koza in October 2024, arguing it wouldn’t be admissible against Dakes.

“Hey Jonah! Where are you???” Koza texted, according to court documents.

“you think i wanna be at your lames ass store all day?” Poole responded. “you just love bossing kids around because your girl is cheating on you and using you for your money.”

After a text including an expletive, Koza said, “Obviously, idiot, you’re fired!”

Prosecutors said in court filings that Poole’s firing could have been the motivation for him and Dakes to kill.

At 9:31 p.m. on the day of Koza’s killing, Dakes started a video using Poole’s phone, prosecutors wrote in court papers. The clip showed Poole pouring gas into Koza’s truck and throwing the gas can inside. Then Poole held a lighter to paper towels hanging from the driver’s window and set the truck ablaze.

“The camera is pointed towards the ground while Dakes is running away, it appears that she is holding a long gun,” prosecutors wrote. “Dakes’ shoes, the lower part of her legs, and the end of a long gun are visible as the camera moves back and forth while she runs. A similar looking long gun was recovered from Poole’s vehicle.”

After Poole and Dakes returned to her home in Harwood the night of Koza’s killing, they slept in different parts of the residence and communicated via Snapchat, a photo messaging app that deletes messages after they are viewed. According to a filing from prosecutors, Poole messaged her first.

“i’m so happy about tonight,” he wrote, subsequently, adding “it went so well” and “now we’re together.”

“it’s sad how we had to get here for us actually to be together like this but yess,” Dakes responded.

Four days later, Poole wrote to Dakes on Snapchat again.

“we forgot to shoot steve’s turkey,” he wrote, followed by a burning cigarette emoji.

“OH NOOO,” Dakes responded, adding two crying emojis.

Prosecutors said Koza went by “Steve” and kept turkeys at his business.