CLEVELAND , Ohio ( CNN/WKYC ) -- An emergency room physician accused of murdering his wife with cyanide pleaded not guilty on Wednesday , nearly four years after her death . Rosemarie DiPuccio Essa 's family say they want `` justice for Rosie . '' A judge set bail for Yazeed Essa at $ 75 million at a hearing attended by members of his slain wife 's family . Police say Rosemarie DiPuccio Essa , 36 , weakened by cyanide poisoning , died in a car wreck on February 24 , 2005 . Yazeed Essa left the United States in March 2005 , shortly after being questioned by police about his wife 's death . He was indicted by a Cuyahoga County grand jury in February 2007 . `` This man lied to us , '' said Dominic DiPuccio , brother of Rosemarie Essa , outside the arraignment courtroom at the Justice Center in Cleveland . `` Right after my sister Rosie was murdered , '' DiPuccio said , `` Yazeed Essa swore to us on the heads of his two little children that he had nothing to do with her death . Now we know the truth and ca n't wait for him to face justice . '' Choking back tears as they waited for the case to be called , the DiPuccio family said they 've been waiting almost four years for Essa to return to Cleveland and face the charge of aggravated murder . Police investigators said Yazeed Essa initially said his wife was taking calcium supplements . But when Essa turned over his wife 's pill vial to detectives , tests revealed that several pills contained deadly potassium cyanide rather than calcium . Potassium cyanide , used in electroplating gold and euthanizing insects for collections , looks like sugar and can smell like almonds . It can be dissolved in water and hidden in food or medications . Moments before she died , Rosemarie Essa called a friend on her cell phone and said her husband had insisted she take a calcium pill before leaving home , officials said . A few weeks later , Yazeed Essa went to Beirut , Lebanon , and spent 19 months in the Middle East . He was taken into custody in Nicosia , Cyprus , when officials discovered his identity . He was extradited late last week . Essa `` fled the United States because he did not believe he could get a fair trial , since he is an Arab-American , '' defense attorney Steven Bradley said . `` Since the election of Barack Obama as president , Essa now believes the political climate has changed enough that he was willing to return and now get a fair trial , '' Bradley said . Bradley and his co-counsel , Mark Marein , said they were not shocked that Judge Joan Synenberg set bail at $ 75 million . `` Our client is fully prepared to remain in jail until the time of his trial . He says he is an innocent man . '' Essa 's late wife 's family takes a different view . `` We have absolutely no doubt that he is a killer , '' DiPuccio said . `` It 's been really tough for all of us and we 're glad this day has finally come . Maybe we can get some justice for Rosie . '' Rosemarie Essa 's mother , Gigi DiPuccio , held the hands of her husband , Rocco , and said , `` I think about my daughter every day . '' As her eyes filled with tears , she said , `` Now we just want to get justice for Rosie and the kids and our family so we can start to heal . We 're at the first step right now . We need to get through this and we will as a family . '' If convicted of aggravated murder , Yazeed Essa faces a life sentence , with parole eligibility after 20 years in prison .
Dr. Rocco pleads not guilty to wife 's cyanide murder . He is being held on $ 75 million bail as a flight risk . Essa left the country and went to Cyprus after being questioned by police . He was arrested in Beirut and extradited nearly 4 years , last week after wife 's death .