Man Found In Burning Vehicle Identified, Suspects Arrested: Police

DAVIDSONVILLE, MD — Police on Monday released the name of the man whose body was found in a burning vehicle outside a Davidsonville store.

Officers identified the victim as 67-year-old Edward Stephen Koza of Annapolis.

Authorities said they arrested two 18-year-olds in the case this weekend.

Police said they arrested Jonah Michael Poole of Davidsonville and Kylee Alyssa Dakes of Harwood on Saturday.

Officers said they took the suspects into custody at a home in the unit block of Bethel Lane in Harwood.

Court records show that the duo faces matching charges of:

• First- and second-degree murder.
• First- and second-degree assault.
• Conspiracy to commit first- and second-degree murder.
• First-degree arson.

Police said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the manner of death a homicide. The exact cause and the motive are still under investigation.

Officers declined to provide further details on the case or how they identified the two suspects. They said the investigation is still active and ongoing.

Authorities said they were called for a vehicle fire in the 600 block of West Central Avenue in Davidsonville on May 24 at 9:25 p.m.

First responders said they found a vehicle fully engulfed in flames in the parking lot of the commercial business.

Police said the fire was extinguished, and human remains were found inside the passenger compartment of the burned vehicle.

At the time, officers ruled it a suspicious death.

The news stirred an otherwise quiet community.

Davidsonville resident Pete Best told WJZ that "it doesn't seem like the kind of thing that would happen in a small town."

"These kinds of things happen on TV, and then you go, 'Wow, I can't believe it's right around the corner,'" Best told WJZ. "It kind of puts you on your heels a little bit for sure."

Even though arrests have been made, authorities asked anybody with information to call them at 410-222-4731. Tipsters can stay anonymous by dialing 410-222-4700.

Informants can anonymously contact the Metro Crime Stoppers, an independent investigator that collects tips and shares them with detectives, by:

• Visiting metrocrimestoppers.org
• Calling 1-866-7-LOCKUP (1-866-756-2587)
• Using the P3 Tips mobile application
• Texting CRIMES (274637), then entering the message starting with "MCS."

This map shows the area where the Anne Arundel County Police Department said it found the victim.