Dr. Yazeed Essa found guilty of wife's murder, all 12 jury members speak

CLEVELAND - A Cleveland jury has found Dr. Yazeed Essa guilty of killing his wife by lacing her calcium capsule with cyanide.

The jury announced they had reached a verdict around 11:30 a.m. Friday, and it was announced shortly after 1 p.m. They had been deliberating since Tuesday of this week.

"There were there admissions, including his own brother. That's compelling," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Steve Dever said.

People in the courtroom applauded the 12 jurors who convicted Essa of murder, as they walked back into the room.

One of the jury members said one of the deciding factors was Essa's expression on his face when a photo of his wife and children was shown during the trial.

"He hadn't seen these kids in five years.  No expression, no tears, nothing," said one woman who served on the jury.

Essa, 41, now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with parole possible after 20 years. He will be sentenced Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Essa was an emergency room doctor at Akron General Medical Center and fled to Lebanon after the 2005 death of his 38-year-old wife, Rosemarie. He gave up an extradition fight and was returned from Cyprus to Ohio last year.

The prosecutor said Essa was trying to escape a loveless marriage and live with his mistress. The defense said the mistress wanted to marry the doctor and had a motive to kill his wife.

Essa’s attorneys, Stephen Bradley and Mark Marein, plan to appeal.