Bradenton woman found stabbed to death under motel bed. Her boyfriend is going to prison
More than two years after a Bradenton motel employee discovered a woman’s body hidden under a bed, her killer has been sentenced to more than half a century in prison.
A Manatee County judge sentenced Steven Joseph Cozens, 26, to 60 years in prison after he pleaded no contest to second-degree murder in the killing of his girlfriend. Prosecutors said Cozens stabbed her multiple times during an argument.
Cozens was charged with premeditated first-degree murder and faced up to life in prison, but court records show during a plea deal Thursday at the Manatee County courthouse the state amended the charge to second-degree murder with a weapon. The plea and sentencing by Judge Matt Whyte came the week Cozens was scheduled to go to trial.
Deputies with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said they were called to Americas Best Value Inn at 607 67th St. Circle E. in Bradenton on August 28, 2022, after a member of the motel’s housekeeping staff discovered the 26-year-old woman’s body.
The woman had been stabbed to death, wrapped in a sheet and hidden under a mattress, the Bradenton Herald previously reported.
Prosecutors say the couple had been living at the motel off State Road 64 in Bradenton and had been arguing that day. Following an argument, prosecutors say Cozens pulled out a knife and stabbed her to death.
Cozens then cleaned the room, hid her body under a bed and fled the motel, according to prosecutors.
After the maid called law enforcement, Cozens was arrested later that day. During an interview, detectives say Cozens confessed to stabbing the victim “a lot.”
“This sentence will not bring Jennifer back but hopefully it will provide some comfort to her family,” Assistant State Attorney Suzanne O’Donnell said in a written statement.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 4:00 PM.
