Former Akron doctor guilty of poisoning wife

Associated Press

CLEVELAND

An Ohio doctor accused of lacing his wife’s calcium supplement with cyanide so he could be with his mistress was convicted Friday of aggravated murder.

The jury heard weeks of testimony before returning the verdict against Dr. Yazeed Essa, 41. His wife, Rosemarie Essa, 38, collapsed while driving Feb. 24, 2005, and crashed her car into another vehicle about five miles from the couple’s home.

Essa was an emergency-room doctor in Akron but fled to Lebanon after his wife’s death. Last year, he gave up an extradition fight and was returned from Cyprus to Ohio.

With Friday’s verdict, he now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years.

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