In change, brother now testifies that Ohio doctor admitted to killing wife with cyanide

Brother now says Ohio doc admitted poisoning wife

CLEVELAND — A family member who testified earlier that an Ohio doctor denied poisoning his wife now says the defendant admitted to the killing.

Firas Essa (EE’-suh) returned to the witness stand Monday in Cleveland and said his brother, Yazeed Essa, told him that he’d replaced his wife’s calcium supplement tablets with cyanide.

Firas Essa said he decided to change his testimony to avoid the risk of perjury and obstruction charges and potential prison time. He said his brother’s admission came in a 2006 conversation the two had in Cyprus, where Yazeed Essa was detained after fleeing the U.S. following his wife’s death in 2005.

Yazeed Essa has pleaded not guilty to killing his wife, Rosemarie. His brother says he has recently been urging the defendant to plead guilty.