A 53-year-old French anesthetist pleaded guilty Wednesday to drugging Japanese architect Akira Ojima, who was found dead in a Paris suburb in 1998, in the opening hearing of his trial before a Nanterre court.
Jean-Paul Zahm admitted injecting an anesthetic drug several times into Ojima, 56, but denied direct involvement in Ojima's slaying, claiming "I learned about it later."
Zahm's codefendant, Guy Magnan, 51, remained silent.
Ojima was found dead in a suburban house in March 1998 after a search by relatives and police.
Two other suspects in the case -- Japanese Ayuko Umeda, 37, and a 54-year-old Frenchman -- hanged themselves while in detention, Umeda in March 1998 and the unnamed Frenchman that August.
Another Japanese suspect, Yuji Nakamura, 39, was found dead on the banks of a branch of the Marne River in Coulommiers, 50 km east of Paris, in November 1999 after being released on bail.