Edward Koza Murder: Poole’s Life Sentence and Dakes’s Trial

Edward Koza, the 67-year-old owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens in Davidsonville, Maryland, was murdered on May 24, 2025, when two teenagers beat him inside his shop, bound him with tape, placed him in the back seat of his own pickup truck, and set the vehicle on fire in the store’s parking lot. Jonah Michael Poole pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced in June 2026 to life in prison with the possibility of parole. His co-defendant, Kylee Alyssa Dakes, has pleaded not guilty; her trial is scheduled to begin December 1, 2026, in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.¹

What Happened at Tropic Bay Water Gardens

Investigators believe Poole and Dakes attacked Koza inside his shop on West Central Avenue near closing time, around 5:30 p.m. on May 24, 2025. Inside, police found items knocked over, blood on the ground, a blood-stained plastic bag, and a decorative koi pond rock pulled from a display that they believe was used to inflict blunt force trauma to Koza’s head. A pair of shoes believed to be his was left inside the store; he was later found barefoot.²

After the assault, the suspects bound Koza’s arms, hands, and mouth with tape and placed him in the back seat of his own pickup. Surveillance footage from a nearby BP gas station captured the truck around 9:00 p.m., with Dakes seen exiting the vehicle and handing money to an attendant to purchase gasoline.³ They drove back to the Tropic Bay parking lot, doused the truck with the gasoline, and set it on fire. A melted spout from a plastic fuel container was later recovered from inside the vehicle near Koza’s remains.

Police and firefighters responded to a 911 call at approximately 9:25 p.m. and found the truck fully engulfed. Koza’s remains were in the back passenger seat, still bound. An autopsy confirmed blunt force trauma to his head as a contributing factor in his death.⁴

How Investigators Identified Poole and Dakes

Several pieces of evidence pointed to the couple within days. A new Bass Pro Shops baseball cap was found on the ground next to the burning truck, and store surveillance footage showed Poole buying that same cap and a flannel shirt earlier on May 24.⁵ Cameras at Arundel Mills Mall captured the pair arriving in a red Lincoln sedan earlier that day, and license plate readers placed the same car near Tropic Bay around closing time and fleeing the scene after the fire was set.⁴

Poole and Dakes, both 18 at the time, were arrested on May 31, 2025, and charged with first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, and arson.⁶ Poole had briefly worked at Tropic Bay for about two weekends roughly a year before the killing, the earliest known link between the suspects and Koza.⁷

Investigators also recovered a video recorded on Poole’s phone by Dakes during the incident inside the garden shop. According to court documents, the footage showed Dakes running away while appearing to hold a shotgun. Prosecutors have described a broader evidentiary record that includes jail phone calls, visitor logs, cell phone data, and exported Snapchat messages.⁸

The Stolen Cash and Earlier Burglary

Twelve days before the murder, on May 12, 2025, Koza reported to police that his home on Spring Race Court in Annapolis had been burglarized and an undisclosed amount of cash stolen.⁶ At Poole’s sentencing, prosecutors said he stole a total of $570,000 in cash from Koza’s home and posed for photos and videos with the money next to the victim’s safe. Only about $215,000 has been recovered.⁹

Poole’s Guilty Plea and Life Sentence

On March 18, 2026, Poole pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.¹ On June 26, 2026, Anne Arundel County Circuit Judge Cathleen Vitale sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The defense had requested life with all but 30 years suspended, and the judge rejected that request. She noted from the bench that the plea agreement was the only reason she did not impose life without the possibility of parole.¹⁰

As part of the sentence, Vitale ordered Poole to forfeit the roughly $215,000 in recovered stolen funds and a $15,000 truck purchased with stolen money to Koza’s estate. She also referred him to the Patuxent Youth Facility’s Youthful Offender Program, a mandatory treatment program for offenders under 21 that emphasizes cognitive-behavioral therapy addressing criminogenic thinking, emotional regulation, and victim awareness. The program typically takes six to seven years to complete. For people serving life sentences with parole, the program’s Institutional Board of Review serves as the paroling authority rather than the Maryland Parole Commission, and the board generally defers parole consideration for violent offenders until at least half the sentence has been served.¹¹

Before Vitale imposed the sentence, Poole addressed the court. “I think I deserve whatever I get,” he said. “I’m sorry because he didn’t have to die and I have no excuses for what I did. I hope that God can forgive me. I don’t expect anyone else to forgive me.”¹⁰

Kylee Dakes’s Pending Trial

Kylee Alyssa Dakes, now 19, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, and her trial is scheduled to begin December 1, 2026. Her defense plans to argue battered spouse syndrome, and Dakes intends to testify in her own defense, according to reporting by WBAL-TV.⁹ Prosecutors have said they hold detention center phone calls, visitor logs, cell phone data, and Snapchat chat logs, and the gas station surveillance footage of Dakes buying the gasoline shortly before the truck was set ablaze is expected to feature in their case.

1
Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s Office. Davidsonville Teen Sentenced to Life in Murder of Tropic Bay Gardens Owner
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WMAR2News. Body Discovered Bound Inside Burning Vehicle Identified as Owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens
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WTOP. Charging Docs Detail MD Man Found in Backseat of His Burned-Out Pickup Truck
4
Southern Maryland Chronicle. New Clues in Brutal Killing of Davidsonville Man
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Fox 5 DC. Couple Accused of Trapping Maryland Man Inside His Own Car and Lighting It on Fire
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CBS News Baltimore. Anne Arundel County Tropic Bay Garden Murder
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The Banner. Edward Stephen Koza, Jonah Michael Poole, Kylee Alyssa Dakes
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WBAL-TV. Jonah Poole Pleads Guilty to Murder of Edward Koza
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WBAL-TV. Jonah Poole Life Prison Sentence in Edward Koza Murder
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WBAL Radio. Davidsonville Man Jonah Poole Gets Life in Prison in Killing of Garden Shop Owner Edward Koza
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Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Patuxent Institution Programs