Murder plea in death of Md. man found in backseat of burned-out pickup truck

One of two Anne Arundel County teenagers have pleaded guilty to killing the owner of a koi pond business in Davidsonville, Maryland, in May 2025.

Jonah Michael Poole, 19, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Wednesday in the death of 67-year-old Edward Koza, the owner of Tropic Bay Water Gardens, on May 24, 2025. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 26.

Poole’s girlfriend, Kylee Alyssa Dakes, 19, is also charged in the killing. She is scheduled to go on trial in early June.

According to charging documents, the pair attacked Koza in his store, before they bound his arms, covered his mouth with tape, took him for a ride in his pickup truck, doused the vehicle with gasoline and set it on fire with Koza in the back seat.

After his arrest in Koza’s death, Poole was also charged with two crimes that occurred in the weeks before Koza was killed; Poole is accused of spray-painting a swastika on an Edgewater, Maryland, school and stealing more than $11,000 from a dock bar where his girlfriend worked.

In late 2025, a judge determined Poole was competent to stand trial.

Court records show Poole’s trials for felony theft and burglary, and misdemeanor hate crimes are pending.

What prosecutors say happened

Poole worked for a short period of time at Tropic Bay Water Gardens, according to Anne Arundel County Police.

Detectives identified signs of a struggle inside Koza’s business, including broken items, blood and a pair of shoes on the ground, according to the charging documents. When the victim’s body was later discovered by police, he wasn’t wearing shoes.

Investigators believe the couple drove Koza’s truck to a gas station — with the victim inside the vehicle.

Surveillance video at the business appears to show Dakes buying $10 worth of gasoline, shortly before the truck was set on fire. Investigators found the melted spout of a plastic gas can inside the burned-out vehicle.

An acquaintance of Koza told police they saw a car, possibly a Lincoln, parked outside Koza’s business that day. Detectives learned Poole drove a red Lincoln sedan and discovered that license plate readers documented his car in the area of the killing around the time of the fire.

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