Crime Library: Criminal Minds and Methods

Dr. Yazeed Essa

Manhunt

Back in Ohio, the family had gone into a full-fledged panic. As soon as Deanna found out that Essa lied about going to his friend's, the family went to the house, and scoured it for clues. Dominic told Dateline, that they found an envelope that looked like it had contained a passport: " I said, he's gone. He's gone," said Dominic DiPuccio to Dateline.

DiPuccio filed a missing person's report and uncovered credit card statements that showed Essa had purchased plane tickets to Cyprus.

Soon afterward, the coroner's report was announced. There was evidence of potassium cyanide in Rosie Essa's body. Her confusion, her nausea, her dizziness, while talking on the phone now made total sense. But nothing else made sense for her family. Everything they had ever believed about Yazeed Essa had come to a full stop. There was little doubtEssa had killed Rosie.

Yazeed Essa
Yazeed Essa
On April 18, the Akron General Medical Center ruled Rosie's death a homicide. Because Ohio has a death penalty, Essa's intention to remain overseas was solidified, no matter how many public pleas the family made for him to come home.

Three months after the murder, the FBI and the Secret Service were called in to help track Essa. They traced him to Lebanon, where they could see his comings and goings. But because Lebanon doesn't have an extradition treaty, they couldn't do anything to Essa.

In October 2006, the FBI's Phil Torsney and his team got an unexpected gift from Yazeed Essa: he took a flight to Cyprus, which does have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

Police detained him at the airport, a year and a half after the murder.

However, it turns out to be the beginning of a long battle. Cyprus, while it will extradite fugitives to the U.S., it won't do so if there is a death penalty involved.

Because of the death penalty, Essa fought tooth and nail against coming home.

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