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CLEVELAND -
The man who harbored Dr. Yazeed Essa in Lebanon after he fled the country, testified against him in his murder trial today.
Jamal Khalife was forced to testify for the prosecution. On Wednesday, he told the jury that while Essa was in the Middle East attempting to elude U.S. authorities, he admitted his crime in great detail.
Khalife wouldn't show his face in court, fearing for his own safety.
He told the court that Essa told him how he killed his wife, Rosemarie.
"He give her two pills and he grounded the cyanide and refilled the pills," said Khalife.
Prosecutor Steve Dever asked if Essa gave any indication as to why he killed his wife.
"At the beginning I think he said something like she's cheating on him or something like that," said Khalife.
Khalife got Essa fake ID's, passports, and multiple picture ID's.
Essa even went by the name George Khalife, posing as one of the witnesses relatives while in the Middle East.
He says the the year Essa was in Lebanon, they lived in neighboring apartments and that Essa wasn't shy about why he was hiding out in the middle east.
"Are you telling us he was bragging about killing his wife?" asked Dever.
"He was bragging completely," said Khalife.
Khalife says Essa never wore his wedding ring, even though he is seen in court wearing it now.
He also says while in Lebanon, Essa surrounded himself with women.
"I'm sorry to say it wasn't girlfriends, it was hookers," said Khalife.
Tensions were high as Essa glared and smirked at his former friend, while the testimony was almost too much for the family of Rosemarie Essa to hear.
Khalife is scheduled to be sentenced in a Detroit courtroom later this week on his own criminal charges, including fraud and money laundering.
**On January 26, as part of our coverage on the Yazeed Essa Trial, we reported the following: 'Faras Essa also testified that in late 2006, he, his sister, and attorney Larry Zukerman traveled to Cyprus and gave Yazeed Essa approximately $40,000 cash. Essa was currently in prison in Cyprus and his attorney allegedly handled the money.'
We want to clarify the above report to say that 'his attorney' refers to Essa's attorney in Cyprus and not Larry Zukerman.**
Jamal Khalife was forced to testify for the prosecution. On Wednesday, he told the jury that while Essa was in the Middle East attempting to elude U.S. authorities, he admitted his crime in great detail.
Khalife wouldn't show his face in court, fearing for his own safety.
He told the court that Essa told him how he killed his wife, Rosemarie.
"He give her two pills and he grounded the cyanide and refilled the pills," said Khalife.
Prosecutor Steve Dever asked if Essa gave any indication as to why he killed his wife.
"At the beginning I think he said something like she's cheating on him or something like that," said Khalife.
Khalife got Essa fake ID's, passports, and multiple picture ID's.
Essa even went by the name George Khalife, posing as one of the witnesses relatives while in the Middle East.
He says the the year Essa was in Lebanon, they lived in neighboring apartments and that Essa wasn't shy about why he was hiding out in the middle east.
"Are you telling us he was bragging about killing his wife?" asked Dever.
"He was bragging completely," said Khalife.
Khalife says Essa never wore his wedding ring, even though he is seen in court wearing it now.
He also says while in Lebanon, Essa surrounded himself with women.
"I'm sorry to say it wasn't girlfriends, it was hookers," said Khalife.
Tensions were high as Essa glared and smirked at his former friend, while the testimony was almost too much for the family of Rosemarie Essa to hear.
Khalife is scheduled to be sentenced in a Detroit courtroom later this week on his own criminal charges, including fraud and money laundering.
**On January 26, as part of our coverage on the Yazeed Essa Trial, we reported the following: 'Faras Essa also testified that in late 2006, he, his sister, and attorney Larry Zukerman traveled to Cyprus and gave Yazeed Essa approximately $40,000 cash. Essa was currently in prison in Cyprus and his attorney allegedly handled the money.'
We want to clarify the above report to say that 'his attorney' refers to Essa's attorney in Cyprus and not Larry Zukerman.**
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