1 00:00:07,500 --> 00:00:11,330 Narrator: Up next, a car crash baffles investigators. 2 00:00:11,660 --> 00:00:14,116 At first, it was like a sad, you know, tragic accident. 3 00:00:14,150 --> 00:00:18,100 Narrator: No one can determine exactly what killed the victim. 4 00:00:18,133 --> 00:00:21,830 It wasn't something that was a normal death. 5 00:00:21,116 --> 00:00:25,000 Narrator: Detectives and doctors try to find a cause. 6 00:00:25,330 --> 00:00:27,283 There were no internal injuries. 7 00:00:27,316 --> 00:00:31,150 It's not an accident. It's not medical. 8 00:00:31,183 --> 00:00:33,000 What else can it be? 9 00:00:33,330 --> 00:00:41,166 ♪♪ 10 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:49,250 ♪♪ 11 00:00:49,283 --> 00:00:54,150 Narrator: On a frigid afternoon in February of 2005, 12 00:00:54,183 --> 00:00:58,333 police in Highland Heights near Cleveland, Ohio, 13 00:00:58,366 --> 00:01:01,183 got an unusual call. 14 00:01:01,216 --> 00:01:03,316 A woman was behind the wheel of a car 15 00:01:03,350 --> 00:01:07,116 that was drifting along in a residential neighborhood, 16 00:01:07,150 --> 00:01:11,166 moving slowly, but still out of control. 17 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:13,116 She's driving through a school zone. 18 00:01:13,150 --> 00:01:16,183 Witnesses advised us that she's slumped over the wheel. 19 00:01:16,216 --> 00:01:21,200 The car drifted left of center, sideswiped the other vehicle, 20 00:01:21,233 --> 00:01:23,316 then drifted back into her lanes. 21 00:01:23,350 --> 00:01:25,830 It was traveling so slowly 22 00:01:25,116 --> 00:01:27,133 that one of the witnesses was able to open the door 23 00:01:27,166 --> 00:01:30,330 and actually stop the car physically. 24 00:01:30,660 --> 00:01:33,183 Narrator: The driver, who appeared to be in her 30s, 25 00:01:33,216 --> 00:01:36,166 was semi-conscious and having trouble breathing. 26 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,333 McKee: When the paramedics arrived, they were confused 27 00:01:39,366 --> 00:01:43,350 because there were no physical injuries on her body. 28 00:01:43,383 --> 00:01:46,660 There was no outward appearance or cause -- 29 00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:50,830 obvious cause of why she was in this state. 30 00:01:50,116 --> 00:01:53,166 Narrator: The driver had an open cellphone beside her 31 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,200 and had apparently been trying to call for help. 32 00:01:56,233 --> 00:01:59,330 She was rushed to the emergency room 33 00:01:59,660 --> 00:02:02,366 where she died a short time later. 34 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,000 The victim was identified as Rosie Essa, 35 00:02:07,330 --> 00:02:10,160 the 38-year-old mother of two young children. 36 00:02:10,500 --> 00:02:13,150 Whoa! Who's this?! 37 00:02:13,183 --> 00:02:15,366 O'Mara: She was married to a emergency room doctor 38 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:17,233 who worked down in Akron. 39 00:02:17,266 --> 00:02:20,350 His name was Yazeed Essa. Everybody that I talked to said, 40 00:02:20,383 --> 00:02:23,266 "classically sweet, kind, giving mom" -- 41 00:02:23,300 --> 00:02:27,183 all the things that we think would be the salt of the earth. 42 00:02:27,216 --> 00:02:29,200 Great person. 43 00:02:32,500 --> 00:02:36,330 Narrator: Her husband, Yazeed, whom everyone called "Yaz," 44 00:02:36,660 --> 00:02:39,183 told his fellow doctors and police 45 00:02:39,216 --> 00:02:42,216 that Rosie had no serious medical issues, 46 00:02:42,250 --> 00:02:45,266 certainly nothing that would cause her death. 47 00:02:45,300 --> 00:02:50,366 He couldn't offer any information as to why she died. 48 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:55,830 Narrator: And an autopsy offered no answers as to what had happened. 49 00:02:55,116 --> 00:02:58,233 She did not have any natural disease either 50 00:02:58,266 --> 00:03:01,200 that would cause her death. 51 00:03:01,233 --> 00:03:06,660 Narrator: A subsequent toxicology scan also provided no clues 52 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:08,330 about what killed her. 53 00:03:08,660 --> 00:03:11,266 Doctors and police were baffled. 54 00:03:11,300 --> 00:03:15,150 Rosie had no injuries, no diseases, 55 00:03:15,183 --> 00:03:17,100 she wasn't using drugs, 56 00:03:17,133 --> 00:03:19,330 and there was no sign of her encountering 57 00:03:19,660 --> 00:03:23,183 any toxic substances, even accidentally. 58 00:03:23,216 --> 00:03:26,830 Yet she was dead from a fender bender 59 00:03:26,116 --> 00:03:30,250 that wasn't fast enough to cause any serious injuries. 60 00:03:30,283 --> 00:03:34,316 It became, in my tenure as a reporter, 61 00:03:34,350 --> 00:03:37,316 one of the strangest cases I've ever seen in terms 62 00:03:37,350 --> 00:03:41,300 of what looked from all appearances 63 00:03:41,333 --> 00:03:45,183 a tragic death of a woman -- a mother, two small kids, 64 00:03:45,216 --> 00:03:47,233 high-profile couple, doctor, husband, 65 00:03:47,266 --> 00:03:50,116 and then all of a sudden -- oh, my goodness. 66 00:03:50,150 --> 00:03:54,333 Narrator: Police and doctors wanted answers and fast. 67 00:03:54,366 --> 00:03:57,233 Rosie's initial toxicology scan 68 00:03:57,266 --> 00:04:00,183 showed no illicit drugs in her system. 69 00:04:00,216 --> 00:04:04,200 There was nothing obvious at this stage of the autopsy 70 00:04:04,233 --> 00:04:06,183 to say why she died. 71 00:04:06,216 --> 00:04:08,333 So the cause of death was deferred 72 00:04:08,366 --> 00:04:11,830 pending further examination. 73 00:04:11,116 --> 00:04:15,233 Narrator: A second, more extensive test also came up empty. 74 00:04:15,266 --> 00:04:18,383 There's always testing that can be performed, 75 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,333 almost limitless, but the sample is limited. 76 00:04:22,366 --> 00:04:26,500 The coroner informed the police department 77 00:04:26,830 --> 00:04:31,330 that they had exhausted all of their testing possibilities. 78 00:04:31,660 --> 00:04:34,200 Narrator: That meant investigators had to narrow it down 79 00:04:34,233 --> 00:04:36,333 to one or two possibilities 80 00:04:36,366 --> 00:04:39,133 before they could do another test. 81 00:04:39,166 --> 00:04:43,316 This stalled the investigation until detectives discovered 82 00:04:43,350 --> 00:04:47,350 a phone call Rosie made just before her death, 83 00:04:47,383 --> 00:04:52,330 a phone call that told analysts what to test for. 84 00:04:52,660 --> 00:05:01,000 ♪♪ 85 00:05:04,116 --> 00:05:06,150 Narrator: Just before the low-speed crash 86 00:05:06,183 --> 00:05:09,500 that sent Rosie Essa to the hospital, 87 00:05:09,830 --> 00:05:13,283 she made a phone call to a friend on her cellphone. 88 00:05:13,316 --> 00:05:16,160 She was on the cellphone with one of her buddies, 89 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:19,116 Eva McGregor, and she mentioned to Eva, 90 00:05:19,150 --> 00:05:23,150 "I feel like crap because I took this calcium pill. 91 00:05:23,183 --> 00:05:25,830 God, I feel like just -- ugh!" 92 00:05:25,116 --> 00:05:29,300 Narrator: Before her death, Rosie was preparing for a bright future. 93 00:05:29,333 --> 00:05:31,366 She and her husband, Yazeed, 94 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,166 were planning to have another baby. 95 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:38,830 Yazeed, a doctor, was giving her supplements. 96 00:05:38,116 --> 00:05:41,100 There were three or four different prenatal vitamins 97 00:05:41,133 --> 00:05:42,233 that he was supplying to her, 98 00:05:42,266 --> 00:05:45,300 one of which was calcium supplements. 99 00:05:45,333 --> 00:05:48,300 Narrator: As far as detectives and doctors knew, 100 00:05:48,333 --> 00:05:52,160 taking the calcium and prenatal medications 101 00:05:52,500 --> 00:05:55,350 were the only changes from Rosie's normal routine. 102 00:05:55,383 --> 00:05:58,330 Was it possible these supplements 103 00:05:58,660 --> 00:06:00,183 could have caused her death? 104 00:06:00,216 --> 00:06:03,166 Her husband said that was impossible. 105 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:08,283 According to Yaz, her death was a mystery, medically, 106 00:06:08,316 --> 00:06:11,216 to him as it was to everyone else. 107 00:06:11,250 --> 00:06:14,316 When I asked Yazeed about the calcium supplements 108 00:06:14,350 --> 00:06:16,316 and the prenatal vitamins, 109 00:06:16,350 --> 00:06:20,160 "Did you think they would have any cause for her death?" 110 00:06:20,500 --> 00:06:22,133 And he said, "No, calcium won't hurt you." 111 00:06:22,166 --> 00:06:25,333 Narrator: But what if it wasn't calcium Rosie had taken? 112 00:06:25,366 --> 00:06:29,116 Could this be a case of product tampering? 113 00:06:29,150 --> 00:06:31,830 The idea wasn't far-fetched. 114 00:06:31,116 --> 00:06:36,216 Something similar had happened before, in Chicago in 1982. 115 00:06:36,250 --> 00:06:38,283 Our top story -- authorities in Chicago 116 00:06:38,316 --> 00:06:41,183 have officially confirmed the death of a seventh victim 117 00:06:41,216 --> 00:06:45,100 from Tylenol capsules laced with deadly cyanide. 118 00:06:45,133 --> 00:06:48,183 Narrator: This was one of the first cases of its kind 119 00:06:48,216 --> 00:06:50,133 anywhere in the world. 120 00:06:50,166 --> 00:06:54,133 Someone -- to this day, there's been no arrest -- 121 00:06:54,166 --> 00:06:58,660 laced over-the-counter Tylenol with cyanide. 122 00:06:58,100 --> 00:07:00,166 Reporter: They also report finding for the first time 123 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:04,500 contaminated capsules in an unsold bottle of Tylenol 124 00:07:04,830 --> 00:07:08,000 removed from a store shelf at a major suburban shopping center. 125 00:07:08,330 --> 00:07:11,166 Narrator: It came to be known as the "Tylenol Murders," 126 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:14,366 and it forever changed the way over-the-counter medicines 127 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:18,133 and even some food products are sold. 128 00:07:21,166 --> 00:07:24,366 If this was a repeat of the Tylenol murders, 129 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:29,160 if Rosie's calcium pills had been tampered with, 130 00:07:29,500 --> 00:07:31,200 there was a very real possibility 131 00:07:31,233 --> 00:07:34,283 that the public at large could be in danger. 132 00:07:34,316 --> 00:07:39,160 So you have to continue on and make a further investigation. 133 00:07:39,500 --> 00:07:43,000 Keep in mind this is not homicide, but unexplained death. 134 00:07:43,330 --> 00:07:45,330 You have to include all possibilities. 135 00:07:45,660 --> 00:07:49,283 Narrator: Meanwhile, police were getting some interesting information 136 00:07:49,316 --> 00:07:52,166 that might offer another explanation 137 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,350 for what happened to Rosie. 138 00:07:54,383 --> 00:07:57,150 It turned out that the Essa marriage 139 00:07:57,183 --> 00:08:00,660 was not quite as happy as it seemed. 140 00:08:00,100 --> 00:08:05,160 McKee: Yazeed Essa had several extramarital affairs 141 00:08:05,500 --> 00:08:07,283 since he and Rosie had been married. 142 00:08:07,316 --> 00:08:10,200 As a matter of fact, the extramarital activity 143 00:08:10,233 --> 00:08:12,383 never stopped once they were married. 144 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,250 These are signals that the representation 145 00:08:15,283 --> 00:08:19,216 or the outward appearance of this loving, happy marriage 146 00:08:19,250 --> 00:08:23,000 were starting to be questioned significantly. 147 00:08:24,350 --> 00:08:29,830 Narrator: The key evidence appeared to be Rosie's calcium pills, 148 00:08:29,116 --> 00:08:31,100 and no one knew where they were 149 00:08:31,133 --> 00:08:34,183 or even whether they'd been destroyed. 150 00:08:34,216 --> 00:08:36,500 The detective then says, 151 00:08:36,830 --> 00:08:37,300 "Well, let's go get those pills," 152 00:08:37,333 --> 00:08:39,150 calls Yaz and says, 153 00:08:39,183 --> 00:08:41,166 "Doctor, we would like to go get those pills." 154 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,660 He goes, "Absolutely. No problem." 155 00:08:43,100 --> 00:08:44,366 So they rush to the house, 156 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,116 and the calcium pills are still there. 157 00:08:47,150 --> 00:08:48,250 They hadn't been flushed down the toilet. 158 00:08:48,283 --> 00:08:50,660 The bottle was still there. 159 00:08:50,100 --> 00:08:53,500 They bag and tag them, send them down to be analyzed. 160 00:08:53,830 --> 00:08:56,330 Narrator: But that analysis took a few days, 161 00:08:56,660 --> 00:08:59,000 and in the meantime, something happened 162 00:08:59,330 --> 00:09:02,100 that took an unexplained death in Cleveland 163 00:09:02,133 --> 00:09:07,500 and launched it into an international investigation. 164 00:09:07,830 --> 00:09:08,266 It got even stranger. 165 00:09:08,300 --> 00:09:11,150 I mean, I just kept going, "How does this get any weirder?" 166 00:09:11,183 --> 00:09:13,250 And it did. It was extraordinary. 167 00:09:13,283 --> 00:09:21,100 ♪♪ 168 00:09:24,250 --> 00:09:28,500 Narrator: The key to the unexplained death of Rosie Essa 169 00:09:28,830 --> 00:09:30,200 seemed to lie in the calcium pills 170 00:09:30,233 --> 00:09:34,283 she'd taken just a short time before she died. 171 00:09:34,316 --> 00:09:39,250 Rose's husband, Dr. Yazeed Essa, known as "Yaz," 172 00:09:39,283 --> 00:09:43,660 freely provided those pills to the police. 173 00:09:43,100 --> 00:09:46,830 The pills were sent to Dr. Douglas Rohde, 174 00:09:46,116 --> 00:09:48,333 a forensic toxicologist. 175 00:09:48,366 --> 00:09:52,100 Immediately he saw something amiss. 176 00:09:52,133 --> 00:09:56,266 Nine pills in the bottle didn't look like the others. 177 00:09:56,300 --> 00:09:58,150 The nine that looked different 178 00:09:58,183 --> 00:10:00,316 had a crystalline appearance to them, 179 00:10:00,350 --> 00:10:04,150 and the remaining capsules that were in that bottle 180 00:10:04,183 --> 00:10:09,100 looked powdery and had some pink tinge to them. 181 00:10:09,133 --> 00:10:12,216 Narrator: Both sets of pills were subjected to a process 182 00:10:12,250 --> 00:10:19,166 called Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, or FTIR. 183 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,200 The FTIR test is a test that will allow me 184 00:10:22,233 --> 00:10:24,233 to look at the molecular structure 185 00:10:24,266 --> 00:10:28,133 of a molecule using infrared radiation, 186 00:10:28,166 --> 00:10:31,200 and the bonds of the molecule will vibrate, 187 00:10:31,233 --> 00:10:32,300 releasing an energy. 188 00:10:32,333 --> 00:10:35,350 And that energy pattern is what I use 189 00:10:35,383 --> 00:10:39,500 to identify what the substance is. 190 00:10:39,830 --> 00:10:42,200 Narrator: The amount of energy a substance can absorb 191 00:10:42,233 --> 00:10:44,316 is unique to that substance, 192 00:10:44,350 --> 00:10:49,283 and the resulting vibrations can be measured by a spectrometer. 193 00:10:49,316 --> 00:10:54,250 That's then checked against a library of known substances. 194 00:10:54,283 --> 00:10:58,383 Most of the pills in Rosie's bottle were calcium, 195 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:02,200 but the nine that looked different were not. 196 00:11:02,233 --> 00:11:05,100 The vibrational pattern of the unknown crystalline 197 00:11:05,133 --> 00:11:11,660 material matched the vibrational pattern of cyanide. 198 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:13,133 Narrator: To make absolutely sure, 199 00:11:13,166 --> 00:11:16,266 analysts turn to a confirmatory test. 200 00:11:16,300 --> 00:11:19,166 It's called the Prussian Blue Test -- 201 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,150 and for a very good reason. 202 00:11:21,183 --> 00:11:24,330 The active ingredient in the Prussian Blue Test 203 00:11:24,660 --> 00:11:25,366 is ferric ferrocyanide, 204 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,366 which will react rapidly with the cyanide 205 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,350 molecule to elicit a blue color. 206 00:11:32,383 --> 00:11:36,330 Narrator: Which is exactly what happened. 207 00:11:36,660 --> 00:11:40,100 I was shocked to see that this was cyanide. 208 00:11:40,133 --> 00:11:45,233 And I was alone in the lab and exclaimed to myself, "Wow." 209 00:11:45,266 --> 00:11:47,350 I have my smoking gun. 210 00:11:47,383 --> 00:11:50,300 Narrator: As these tests were being conducted, 211 00:11:50,333 --> 00:11:55,166 investigators and Rosie's family got some stunning news. 212 00:11:55,200 --> 00:11:57,830 Dr. Essa apparently decided 213 00:11:57,116 --> 00:11:58,316 that he was going to leave the country. 214 00:11:58,350 --> 00:12:01,233 If you have seen Dr. Yazeed Essa and know his location, 215 00:12:01,266 --> 00:12:05,266 tonight authorities would like you to call. 216 00:12:05,300 --> 00:12:07,366 Where is Yazeed? 217 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:09,500 Wow. 218 00:12:09,830 --> 00:12:11,216 And from there, it really went crazy. 219 00:12:11,250 --> 00:12:13,250 Narrator: Dr. Essa had money 220 00:12:13,283 --> 00:12:16,200 and family connections in the Middle East. 221 00:12:16,233 --> 00:12:21,150 Investigators brought in the vast resources of the FBI 222 00:12:21,183 --> 00:12:23,316 to help track him down. 223 00:12:23,350 --> 00:12:25,250 Torsney: You can't let people get away 224 00:12:25,283 --> 00:12:28,330 with killing their wives and mothers of their children 225 00:12:28,660 --> 00:12:32,266 and just go to another country, and think they're safe. 226 00:12:32,300 --> 00:12:38,000 Narrator: The FBI soon located Dr. Essa in Beirut, Lebanon, 227 00:12:38,330 --> 00:12:42,183 a place that offered a layer of protection for a man on the run. 228 00:12:42,216 --> 00:12:45,500 The problem with Lebanon was that 229 00:12:45,830 --> 00:12:48,100 there was no solid extradition treaty 230 00:12:48,133 --> 00:12:50,830 where an individual could be returned 231 00:12:50,116 --> 00:12:52,000 from Lebanon to the United States. 232 00:12:52,330 --> 00:12:55,266 I thought, "Well, then, he may have committed 233 00:12:55,300 --> 00:12:58,133 the perfect crime, in that we can't get him 234 00:12:58,166 --> 00:13:01,316 and there's no way to go over and pull him back. 235 00:13:01,350 --> 00:13:04,660 So this story is almost over then. 236 00:13:04,100 --> 00:13:05,150 I mean, how horrible." 237 00:13:05,183 --> 00:13:07,330 Narrator: Dr. Essa insisted 238 00:13:07,660 --> 00:13:11,316 that he didn't kill his wife and also insisted that fleeing 239 00:13:11,350 --> 00:13:14,383 the country was no admission of guilt. 240 00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:16,200 He said that, "I only left 241 00:13:16,233 --> 00:13:19,830 because I could not get a fair trial here." 242 00:13:19,116 --> 00:13:22,283 Narrator: In Beirut, Dr. Essa was being watched 243 00:13:22,316 --> 00:13:26,150 by FBI agents and local informants, 244 00:13:26,183 --> 00:13:29,350 and he certainly didn't seem to be a grieving widower 245 00:13:29,383 --> 00:13:31,316 who missed his children. 246 00:13:31,350 --> 00:13:36,300 O'Mara: He was the playboy of Beirut because he had plenty of money. 247 00:13:36,333 --> 00:13:38,283 His brother had a very successful business 248 00:13:38,316 --> 00:13:39,383 that he was partners with. 249 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:41,333 He was having a great old time. 250 00:13:41,366 --> 00:13:44,266 Narrator: In fact, to the dismay of some of those 251 00:13:44,300 --> 00:13:46,830 who were helping him hide, 252 00:13:46,116 --> 00:13:50,830 Dr. Essa was open about what he'd done. 253 00:13:50,116 --> 00:13:54,330 McKee: He would brag to the neighborhood people 254 00:13:54,660 --> 00:13:56,500 that he had killed his wife 255 00:13:56,830 --> 00:13:59,100 and that we were looking for him in the United States. 256 00:13:59,133 --> 00:14:04,183 He created an e-mail account -- fugitive@hotmail.com. 257 00:14:04,216 --> 00:14:05,366 That kind of sums it up. 258 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:08,383 And when I found that out, I went, "Who does that?" 259 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:11,660 Who is so brazen that you say, 260 00:14:11,100 --> 00:14:15,283 "Yeah, I don't mind if you know that I'm a fugitive, 261 00:14:15,316 --> 00:14:19,366 I'm proud of it, and I'll laugh at it"? 262 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,250 Narrator: If Dr. Essa was so confident 263 00:14:22,283 --> 00:14:25,333 that he'd brag about murdering his wife, 264 00:14:25,366 --> 00:14:30,216 he might let his guard down just long enough to make a mistake, 265 00:14:30,250 --> 00:14:34,150 which was exactly what the FBI was counting on. 266 00:14:34,183 --> 00:14:37,366 You know, Dr. Essa -- you know, he was a smart guy, 267 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,150 but I think he thought he was smarter than everybody else. 268 00:14:43,183 --> 00:14:50,233 ♪♪ 269 00:14:53,150 --> 00:14:55,500 Narrator: As Dr. Yazeed Essa 270 00:14:55,830 --> 00:14:57,116 was living the high life in Beirut, 271 00:14:57,150 --> 00:15:00,316 U.S. and international law enforcement 272 00:15:00,350 --> 00:15:03,150 were watching and waiting. 273 00:15:03,183 --> 00:15:05,316 Dever: Through the use of informants in the Middle East 274 00:15:05,350 --> 00:15:07,333 and also with law enforcement partners 275 00:15:07,366 --> 00:15:10,500 outside of the United States 276 00:15:10,830 --> 00:15:12,116 that we were able to learn that Dr. Essa 277 00:15:12,150 --> 00:15:14,266 would be making his way to Cyprus. 278 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:16,250 Him going to Cyprus was a bad decision. 279 00:15:16,283 --> 00:15:19,000 I think he thought he could get away with it. 280 00:15:19,330 --> 00:15:23,116 Narrator: Unlike Lebanon, Cyprus has an extradition treaty 281 00:15:23,150 --> 00:15:25,100 with the United States. 282 00:15:25,133 --> 00:15:28,383 Cypriot police, who'd been working with the FBI 283 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,160 and knew what flight he was on, 284 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:34,366 were waiting at the airport and took him into custody. 285 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,350 We had some indication that he was gonna travel 286 00:15:36,383 --> 00:15:39,200 under a false passport. When he got to Cyprus, 287 00:15:39,233 --> 00:15:42,200 his appearance had changed quite a bit. 288 00:15:42,233 --> 00:15:46,330 Narrator: Even with a false name and a false passport, 289 00:15:46,660 --> 00:15:49,133 Dr. Essa soon found there are 290 00:15:49,166 --> 00:15:52,266 some things you just can't disguise. 291 00:15:52,300 --> 00:15:54,250 You can change your appearance all you want, 292 00:15:54,283 --> 00:15:59,250 but we were able to get fingerprints for Dr. Essa. 293 00:15:59,283 --> 00:16:02,333 Narrator: The FBI had Dr. Essa's fingerprints 294 00:16:02,366 --> 00:16:05,160 because of his work as a doctor, 295 00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:07,150 and his prints matched the prints of the man 296 00:16:07,183 --> 00:16:09,283 who'd just landed in Cyprus, 297 00:16:09,316 --> 00:16:14,216 the man who claimed he was not Yazeed Essa. 298 00:16:14,250 --> 00:16:21,830 After 17 months on the run, Dr. Essa was finally behind bars. 299 00:16:21,116 --> 00:16:24,830 His lawyers tried to fight extradition, 300 00:16:24,116 --> 00:16:26,830 but after two years, 301 00:16:26,116 --> 00:16:32,160 he was finally back in Cleveland in cuffs. 302 00:16:32,500 --> 00:16:35,250 Finally, we have this guy who did this heinous crime 303 00:16:35,283 --> 00:16:40,100 and we can make him answer for what he's done. 304 00:16:40,133 --> 00:16:43,233 Narrator: But that was far from a foregone conclusion. 305 00:16:43,266 --> 00:16:45,100 It has all the elements of a Hollywood movie -- 306 00:16:45,133 --> 00:16:47,233 deadly cyanide, the doctor who had access to it, 307 00:16:47,266 --> 00:16:50,100 and the doctor's dead wife. He fled the country. 308 00:16:50,133 --> 00:16:52,330 The question is, "Did he actually commit murder?" 309 00:16:52,660 --> 00:16:55,316 The whole thing about the cases is that it was circumstantial, 310 00:16:55,350 --> 00:16:59,166 so we had to put the case together in a fashion 311 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:01,366 that would be understandable for a jury. 312 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:04,660 Narrator: And they had to convince those jurors 313 00:17:04,100 --> 00:17:08,383 that someone who appeared to be an upstanding family man 314 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:10,233 would be cold-blooded enough 315 00:17:10,266 --> 00:17:14,500 to hand his wife a fatal dose of poison 316 00:17:14,830 --> 00:17:16,660 as she walked out the door. 317 00:17:19,300 --> 00:17:22,160 In February of 2010, 318 00:17:22,500 --> 00:17:27,830 Yazeed Essa went before a jury and his own family. 319 00:17:27,116 --> 00:17:29,316 I think the turning point was when we had called 320 00:17:29,350 --> 00:17:32,266 Dr. Essa's brother to the witness stand. 321 00:17:32,300 --> 00:17:34,330 Judge: Mr. Essa, if you would come forward 322 00:17:34,660 --> 00:17:36,000 and raise your right hand for me, please. 323 00:17:36,330 --> 00:17:41,250 Narrator: Dr. Essa and his brother, Firas, had been in extensive contact 324 00:17:41,283 --> 00:17:44,216 while Dr. Essa was in jail. 325 00:17:44,250 --> 00:17:48,330 On the stand, Firas Essa was caught lying 326 00:17:48,660 --> 00:17:51,150 about conversations he'd had with his brother, 327 00:17:51,183 --> 00:17:55,316 conversations that were recorded and played for the jury. 328 00:17:55,350 --> 00:18:01,116 Facing a perjury charge, Firas Essa changed his story. 329 00:18:01,150 --> 00:18:03,660 The prosecutor comes back up and goes, 330 00:18:03,100 --> 00:18:05,266 "So, let me ask you again. 331 00:18:05,300 --> 00:18:08,133 Were you cooperating with your brother to hide this crime?" 332 00:18:08,166 --> 00:18:09,200 "Yes." 333 00:18:09,233 --> 00:18:11,330 "Did you know that he killed Rosie?" 334 00:18:11,660 --> 00:18:12,100 "Yes." 335 00:18:12,133 --> 00:18:15,133 -"How did you know that?" -"He told me." 336 00:18:15,166 --> 00:18:17,150 Dever: What did he tell you that he did? 337 00:18:17,183 --> 00:18:20,660 He said that he put the cyanide into capsules. 338 00:18:20,100 --> 00:18:21,283 Dever: When you found out that information, 339 00:18:21,316 --> 00:18:24,330 what did you say to your brother? 340 00:18:24,660 --> 00:18:29,150 -I told him he was a [bleep]. -Why did you say that? 341 00:18:29,183 --> 00:18:34,383 Because he took Rosie's life, and I loved her. 342 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:37,233 He just ruined his whole family. 343 00:18:37,266 --> 00:18:40,350 The jury -- I looked over at them, and they're just shocked. 344 00:18:40,383 --> 00:18:45,160 His own brother said, "That person killed Rosie." 345 00:18:45,500 --> 00:18:47,000 The case was over right there. 346 00:18:47,330 --> 00:18:51,350 Narrator: Prosecutors say Dr. Essa simply wanted out of his marriage, 347 00:18:51,383 --> 00:18:55,350 but he didn't want to lose money or custody of his children 348 00:18:55,383 --> 00:18:59,160 because of a divorce, so he hatched a plan 349 00:18:59,500 --> 00:19:03,300 to give his wife calcium pills laced with cyanide. 350 00:19:03,333 --> 00:19:05,366 And he gave one of these to Rosie 351 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,330 right before she got in the car. 352 00:19:09,660 --> 00:19:12,330 If the plan had worked, she would have died 353 00:19:12,660 --> 00:19:14,316 while driving and would likely have been 354 00:19:14,350 --> 00:19:19,150 part of a crash violent enough to explain her death. 355 00:19:19,183 --> 00:19:22,283 But the pills took effect before she had picked up 356 00:19:22,316 --> 00:19:26,166 enough speed for a high-speed crash, 357 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:29,366 so there was no serious trauma to her body 358 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:34,283 and no explanation for her death until doctors 359 00:19:34,316 --> 00:19:40,000 and detectives uncovered the cyanide-laced calcium capsules 360 00:19:40,330 --> 00:19:43,150 and the only person with the means, the motive, 361 00:19:43,183 --> 00:19:48,333 and the opportunity to lace those capsules with poison. 362 00:19:48,366 --> 00:19:51,350 I still to this day can never understand 363 00:19:51,383 --> 00:19:53,383 why he didn't get rid of the evidence. 364 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:55,200 To be that brazen is bizarre, 365 00:19:55,233 --> 00:19:58,500 but it was part of the facts of this case. 366 00:20:00,183 --> 00:20:01,350 Woman: Ladies and gentlemen, I understand 367 00:20:01,383 --> 00:20:03,283 that you have reached a verdict in this case. 368 00:20:03,316 --> 00:20:07,100 Is that correct? -Yes. 369 00:20:07,133 --> 00:20:10,383 "We, the jury in this case, being duly impaneled and sworn, 370 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:13,150 do find the defendant, Yazeed Essa, 371 00:20:13,183 --> 00:20:15,250 guilty of aggravated murder." 372 00:20:15,283 --> 00:20:20,116 Narrator: In March of 2010, Dr. Yazeed Essa was sentenced 373 00:20:20,150 --> 00:20:25,350 to life in prison with no parole for at least 20 years. 374 00:20:25,383 --> 00:20:29,200 Rosie's family has custody of her children 375 00:20:29,233 --> 00:20:33,383 and are grateful she and forensic science 376 00:20:34,160 --> 00:20:36,283 were able to expose her killer. 377 00:20:36,316 --> 00:20:38,330 To me, Rosie solved her own murder. 378 00:20:38,660 --> 00:20:39,200 It was pure serendipity 379 00:20:39,233 --> 00:20:41,383 that she was on the phone with her friend. 380 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:46,250 But by her saying, "Yaz wanted me to take these calcium pills, 381 00:20:46,283 --> 00:20:48,330 I feel like crap" -- 382 00:20:48,660 --> 00:20:50,316 you know, her girlfriend is going, "Well, geez." 383 00:20:50,350 --> 00:20:56,160 And so that conversation -- pure chance -- 384 00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:57,316 helped solve the case. 385 00:20:57,350 --> 00:20:59,350 Without that phone call, she dies, 386 00:20:59,383 --> 00:21:01,383 we never find out what happened.