Still Missing France - Narumi Kurosaki, 21, Besancon, 4 Dec 2016 *arrest in 2020* *Guilty, Appeal 2023*

[ZaZara]

Affaire Narumi: de nouveau entendu, le suspect chilien continue à nier

Nicolas Zepeda, a Chilean suspected of killing his former Japanese girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki in 2016 in Besançon, was interrogated all day by an investigating judge but continued to deny any involvement, the prosecutor of the town in eastern France said Wednesday.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Besançon. Affaire Narumi Kurosaki : Nicolas Zepeda nie toujours l’assassinat après sept heures d'interrogatoire

Narumi Kurosaki case: Nicolas Zepeda continues to deny the assassination during seven hours of interrogation

For the first time since the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki, in 2016 in Besançon, Nicolas Zepeda answered at length the numerous questions of the investigating judge, this Wednesday. The Chilean suspect maintains his line of defence by denying the assassination. The cries of fear? A consensual sexual act with the student, he repeated.

He finally spoke. Finally answered the questions of justice. Finally broke the wall of silence, behind which he remained out of reach. But in the end, the seven hours of interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda did not change anything in the macabre mystery surrounding the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki: this Wednesday evening, the body of the Japanese student remains untraceable. And Zepeda continues to claim his innocence.

Earlier in the morning, the Kurosaki family, shattered by grief and incomprehension, had high hopes for the future. The relatives of the missing woman were praying that this long-awaited day would perhaps lead to some revelations, to a turnaround, to finally being told what had happened to their daughter, their sister, for better or for worse.

Nicolas Zepeda was extracted in complete secrecy from Butte prison this Wednesday at around 9:30 am, where he has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition and indictment for assassination two months earlier. The van with tinted windows of his escort took the road to the courthouse, where the investigating judge in charge of the case, Marjolaine Poinsard, was waiting for him.

An endless list of questions had been meticulously prepared. In the privacy of an office on the third floor, only Nicolas Zepeda's lawyers, the translator and the court clerk attended this tense, potentially decisive session for the further investigation.

It was a long and tedious day, but one that had a few twists and turns. "Confronted with the evidence in the case file, Nicolas Zepeda answered for the first time all the questions asked, giving his version of the facts. He categorically denies being linked to Narumi's death and has provided his explanations, the veracity and credibility of which everyone will appreciate," the public prosecutor told the media at the end of the hearing. Étienne Manteaux noted that the defendant "had had time to prepare his answers" and stated that a new interrogation would be scheduled fairly quickly, with a few subsidiary points still to be clarified.

In concrete terms, Nicolas Zepeda stuck to the brief account he had spontaneously given to the Chilean police at the end of 2016. The suspect maintains that the shouts heard by around fifteen student in neighbouring rooms in the middle of the fateful night are in fact linked to a consensual sexual relationship with Narumi. Zepeda assures that he then left the university room while his ex-girlfriend was unharmed.

It remains to be seen whether this version will stand up, in a future trial to be held in Besançon at the end of 2021, to the many other elements of the investigation, presented as "overwhelming" by the Besançon public prosecutor's office. According to the prosecutor, the already very thick investigation file will be complemented "by the end of November" with the psychological and psychiatric expertise of Nicolas Zepeda, the findings of which should shed light on his personality.


BBM

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Besançon. Affaire Narumi Kurosaki : Nicolas Zepeda nie toujours l’assassinat après sept heures d'interrogatoire

Narumi Kurosaki case: Nicolas Zepeda continues to deny the assassination during seven hours of interrogation

For the first time since the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki, in 2016 in Besançon, Nicolas Zepeda answered at length the numerous questions of the investigating judge, this Wednesday. The Chilean suspect maintains his line of defence by denying the assassination. The cries of fear? A consensual sexual act with the student, he repeated.

He finally spoke. Finally answered the questions of justice. Finally broke the wall of silence, behind which he remained out of reach. But in the end, the seven hours of interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda did not change anything in the macabre mystery surrounding the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki: this Wednesday evening, the body of the Japanese student remains untraceable. And Zepeda continues to claim his innocence.

Earlier in the morning, the Kurosaki family, shattered by grief and incomprehension, had high hopes for the future. The relatives of the missing woman were praying that this long-awaited day would perhaps lead to some revelations, to a turnaround, to finally being told what had happened to their daughter, their sister, for better or for worse.

Nicolas Zepeda was extracted in complete secrecy from Butte prison this Wednesday at around 9:30 am, where he has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition and indictment for assassination two months earlier. The van with tinted windows of his escort took the road to the courthouse, where the investigating judge in charge of the case, Marjolaine Poinsard, was waiting for him.

An endless list of questions had been meticulously prepared. In the privacy of an office on the third floor, only Nicolas Zepeda's lawyers, the translator and the court clerk attended this tense, potentially decisive session for the further investigation.

It was a long and tedious day, but one that had a few twists and turns. "Confronted with the evidence in the case file, Nicolas Zepeda answered for the first time all the questions asked, giving his version of the facts. He categorically denies being linked to Narumi's death and has provided his explanations, the veracity and credibility of which everyone will appreciate," the public prosecutor told the media at the end of the hearing. Étienne Manteaux noted that the defendant "had had time to prepare his answers" and stated that a new interrogation would be scheduled fairly quickly, with a few subsidiary points still to be clarified.

In concrete terms, Nicolas Zepeda stuck to the brief account he had spontaneously given to the Chilean police at the end of 2016. The suspect maintains that the shouts heard by around fifteen student in neighbouring rooms in the middle of the fateful night are in fact linked to a consensual sexual relationship with Narumi. Zepeda assures that he then left the university room while his ex-girlfriend was unharmed.

It remains to be seen whether this version will stand up, in a future trial to be held in Besançon at the end of 2021, to the many other elements of the investigation, presented as "overwhelming" by the Besançon public prosecutor's office. According to the prosecutor, the already very thick investigation file will be complemented "by the end of November" with the psychological and psychiatric expertise of Nicolas Zepeda, the findings of which should shed light on his personality.


BBM

Her poor parents

 

[ZaZara]

Her poor parents

It felt like I have been translating the same piece over and over.... The only thing that has changed is the location or so it seems. It was of course a big success that France managed to get him extradited and IMHO the trial will lead to a conviction, and a lengthy one, for assassination and not simple murder. But making him reveal where Narumi's remains are is a different matter altogether. He cannot stick to his line of defence that he left her in her room unharmed and then disclose what he did to the body.



I expect that the psychological report will shed more light on this matter.

 

[ZaZara]

Found more info about the legal procedures in Chile that led to the extradition of Nicolás Zepeda, and it is interesting to say the least. Chile did not only find sufficient grounds to agree to the extradition, they also formulated a very specific accusation.


Lidera casos como el de Gustavo Gatica y Corpesca: El perfil de la fiscal Ximena Chong

Prosecutor Ximena Chong's profile

Chong was also part of the investigative team that took charge of the investigations commissioned by France in connection with the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki and the alleged involvement of her partner, the young Chilean man Nicolás Zepeda.

The investigation in Chile concluded with an accusation against Zepeda for "having killed Narumi and hiding her body so that it would never be found by the police."

BBM

The fact that this is a no-body crime is considered as part of the entire crime in this accusation. There are of course enough convincing grounds to believe that, but when the French prosecutors travelled to Chile, the lack of a body was seen as a huge obstacle. As things turned out, fortunately, their counterparts in Chile saw things very differently.

 

[ZaZara]

Exclusif. Affaire Narumi : Nicolas Zepeda réinterrogé dans la chambre de l'étudiante à Besançon

Narumi case: Nicolas Zepeda questioned anew, this time in the student's room in Besançon

Four years after the unsolved disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki, the suspect was brought back to the scene of the alleged crime on Wednesday in the heart of the Besançon campus. Questioned in the room of his ex-girlfriend, where, according to the police, he would have assassinated her, Nicolas Zepeda remained stonily indifferent.

Everything had been planned in the greatest secrecy. No flashing lights or uniforms, not even a police arm band: a convoy of about twenty people arrived on the La Bouloie campus in the early afternoon of Wednesday, in the midst of the school holidays.

At stake? To offer Nicolas Zepeda an instant plunge into the past.

Charged this summer with the assassination of Narumi Kurosaki, the Chilean suspect admits to having spent the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 in the privacy of the university residence with his ex-girlfriend. But handcuffed at the wrists while being taken to the room of the alleged crime, he remained faithful to his line of defence, and denied having killed the Japanese student.

"This judicial transfer was done because it was important to clarify his version with regard to the findings of the investigation," Étienne Manteaux, public prosecutor of Besançon, explains. He was present on site alongside investigating judge Marjolaine Poinsard, who was in charge of the operation.

Zepeda remained on the premises for around two hours, and replied to the questions put to him. A defence lawyer was also present, along with Mr Galley, who represents the interests of the Kurosaki family. "It was not a reconstruction of the facts, in which one returns gesture by gesture to the events, since these facts are denied," the prosecutor explained.

Hidden from the eyes of the world for 46 months by a wooden door, this ill-fated room 106, located on the first floor, still contains all of Narumi's personal belongings. A macabre decor, heavy with symbolism. "Time seemed to be suspended there," Étienne Manteaux confides.

As so often since his extradition from Chile, Nicolas Zepeda remained insensitive to this tension in the atmosphere, and showed a disturbing emotional detachment. The suspect repeated having had consensual sex with Narumi, whom he allegedly left in the middle of the night in good health, he says. This story contradicts the "overwhelming evidence" of the proceedings, according to the prosecutor's office.

Nicolas Zepeda had been taken from the Besançon prison in the morning to be questioned first in the investigating magistrate's chambers about the whole case, as a follow-up to an initial hearing held on 30 September.

He returned to his cell in solitary confinement in the evening, after a final debriefing in the judge's office.

Painfully marked by the absence of the victim's body, the investigation of this case is now approaching its epilogue. The psychological and psychiatric expertise of the defendant is eagerly awaited.

Barring an unlikely turnaround, it will then be time to move on to a trial by jury, with many grey areas, for which Zepeda will face life imprisonment.


BBM



The trial is expected to take place at the end of 2021.

 

[ZaZara]

Affaire Narumi : Nicolas Zepeda renvoyé devant la cour d'assises du Doubs

Extradited from Chile and indicted in the case of the murder of a Japanese student in Besançon, Nicolas Zepeda, who denies the facts, has been sent back to the Doubs assize court, opening the possibility of a trial.

Nicolas Zepeda from Chile was sent back to the Doubs assize court for the assassination in 2016 in Besançon of Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old Japanese student whose body was never found, the prosecutor announced Tuesday.

"The investigating judge has issued an indictment order before the court of assizes of the Doubs of Nicolas Zepeda for the assassination of Narumi Kurozaki," the prosecutor of the Republic of Besançon, Etienne Manteaux said. "This order, in accordance with my petitions, is very good news because it opens the prospect of a trial," he said.

However, the defence can still appeal against this decision before the investigation chamber of the court of appeal of Besançon.

In mid-January, Étienne Manteaux had indicated that he was relying on "a great deal of technical data" (telephony, geolocation of the suspect's rental vehicle, credit card purchases, etc.) as well as on "testimonies from close friends and family who have called into question Zepeda's version."

Nicolas Zepeda was questioned several times since his extradition from Chile and his indictment in July. The Chilean said he was "totally unaware of Miss Kurosaki's disappearance". According to him, he was "convinced she was still alive," the prosecutor said.

Nicolas Zepeda, 29, is facing life imprisonment after a trial that could be held in the autumn.

Narumi Kurosaki came from a modest family. She disappeared in December 2016. Nicolas Zepeda, admitted having spent part of the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 with her in the room on the Besançon campus where she lived, but claims to have left her in perfect health.

That night, several students had heard "screams of terror, shouts" but nobody had notified the police.


BBM


The charge of assassination is more severe than simply murder according to the French Penal Code:

An assassination is a murder committed with premeditation or other circumstances considered aggravating. Since criminal law has existed, this act has been considered the most serious of crimes against a person and for which the penalties are the most severe, such as life imprisonment (or, in some countries, the death penalty).

 

[ZaZara]

Affaire Narumi Kurosaki : Nicolas Zepeda conteste son renvoi devant les assises

Narumi Kurosaki case: Nicolas Zepeda appeals his referral to the Court of Assizes.

The investigating chamber of the Besançon Court of Appeal met on Thursday April 1, to examine in closed session the case of Nicolas Zepeda's referral to the assizes. The decision will be rendered on May 11.

Nicolas Zepeda from Chile, is suspected of having assassinated in 2016 in Besançon Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old Japanese student. He will know on May 11 if he will be sent before the Assizes of the Doubs region.

On Thursday 1 April, the investigating chamber of the Besançon Court of Appeal examined the case in a closed hearing. Nicolas Zepeda is defended by Jacqueline Laffont. The Parisian lawyer argued that his referral to the assises was "unjustified". She reaffirmed that "he was absolutely not behind the death of Narumi Kurosaki", explaining that "it was quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide."

The public prosecutor, on the other hand, considered that "there was a great deal of corroborating evidence showing Mr Zepeda's involvement in Narumi's death". The magistrate therefore requested the confirmation of the indictment of the 29-year-old Chilean for the assassination of the Japanese student.

Last January, the Besançon prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, had requested the transfer of the suspect to the Doubs Court of Assizes, relying on "a lot of technical data" such as telephony, geolocation of the suspect's rental car or the purchase by credit card as well as on "testimonies of relatives" of the suspect, which challenged his version.

Nicolas Zepeda faces life imprisonment at the end of a trial to be held within a year of the final referral to the assize court.

Narumi Kurosaki disappeared in December 2016. Nicolas Zepeda admitted having spent part of the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 with her in the room on the Besançon campus where she was staying, but claims to have left her in perfect health. That night, several students had heard "screams of terror, cries" but no one had notified the police.

Despite extensive searches, her body has never been found.


BBM


Given her reputation, I am a bit disappointed that Maître Laffont has come up with "... quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide." Surely she could have done better than that?

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Affaire Narumi Kurosaki : Nicolas Zepeda conteste son renvoi devant les assises

Narumi Kurosaki case: Nicolas Zepeda appeals his referral to the Court of Assizes.

The investigating chamber of the Besançon Court of Appeal met on Thursday April 1, to examine in closed session the case of Nicolas Zepeda's referral to the assizes. The decision will be rendered on May 11.

Nicolas Zepeda from Chile, is suspected of having assassinated in 2016 in Besançon Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old Japanese student. He will know on May 11 if he will be sent before the Assizes of the Doubs region.

On Thursday 1 April, the investigating chamber of the Besançon Court of Appeal examined the case in a closed hearing. Nicolas Zepeda is defended by Jacqueline Laffont. The Parisian lawyer argued that his referral to the assises was "unjustified". She reaffirmed that "he was absolutely not behind the death of Narumi Kurosaki", explaining that "it was quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide."

The public prosecutor, on the other hand, considered that "there was a great deal of corroborating evidence showing Mr Zepeda's involvement in Narumi's death". The magistrate therefore requested the confirmation of the indictment of the 29-year-old Chilean for the assassination of the Japanese student.

Last January, the Besançon prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, had requested the transfer of the suspect to the Doubs Court of Assizes, relying on "a lot of technical data" such as telephony, geolocation of the suspect's rental car or the purchase by credit card as well as on "testimonies of relatives" of the suspect, which challenged his version.

Nicolas Zepeda faces life imprisonment at the end of a trial to be held within a year of the final referral to the assize court.

Narumi Kurosaki disappeared in December 2016. Nicolas Zepeda admitted having spent part of the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 with her in the room on the Besançon campus where she was staying, but claims to have left her in perfect health. That night, several students had heard "screams of terror, cries" but no one had notified the police.

Despite extensive searches, her body has never been found.


BBM


Given her reputation, I am a bit disappointed that Maître Laffont has come up with "... quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide." Surely she could have done better than that?

I was going to say, as soon as I read “... it was quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide," I thought to myself, “By whose standard!?”

 

[ZaZara]

I was going to say, as soon as I read “... it was quite common in Japan for young people to disappear or commit suicide," I thought to myself, “By whose standard!?”

The remark beggars belief. How low can you get? Too low, apparently. I wonder what the reaction will be in Japan if and when the Japanese media pick this up.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

The remark beggars belief. How low can you get? Too low, apparently. I wonder what the reaction will be in Japan if and when the Japanese media pick this up.

And by “in closed session,” they must have meant no Japanese?? No Japanese articles whatsoever (Japanese is my first language) that I can find about this hearing. Plenty dated February 3rd of this year.

 

[ZaZara]

And by “in closed session,” they must have meant no Japanese?? No Japanese articles whatsoever (Japanese is my first language) that I can find about this hearing. Plenty dated February 3rd of this year.

IMO the court was in closed session, but anyone can wait on the doorstep and ask questions. Maybe the Japanese reporters did not bother to turn up for this appeal, I expect them to be there when the trial starts. February 3 was when the decision to go to court was taken.

The case is very solid for a case without a body, and you never know, Naomi's remains may still be found.

Good to hear that you read Japanese! Can you tell a bit more about what they are saying about the case?

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

IMO the court was in closed session, but anyone can wait on the doorstep and ask questions. Maybe the Japanese reporters did not bother to turn up for this appeal, I expect them to be there when the trial starts. February 3 was when the decision to go to court was taken.

The case is very solid for a case without a body, and you never know, Naomi's remains may still be found.

Good to hear that you read Japanese! Can you tell a bit more about what they are saying about the case?

There are all kinds of articles (and I do think you are correct about the Japanese reporters not bothering to show up for the hearing in April).

I started to read one of the Japanese articles and laugh because I thought, “OK, this sounds interesting, ” and then the next thing I knew, I had already read about it in one of the articles you had translated! You are so good. This one is dated February 8th, and it talks a lot about the various diversionary tactics Zepeda employed in order to make it appear as though Narumi was still alive even after she was dead. It mentions Arthur and the 980/981 messages Zepeda and Narumi exchanged between August 28th and October 8th, 2016. And then about the various credit card purchases Zepeda made in and around Besançon between Novembet 30th and December 7th, 2016. Based on the information they were able to get from the rental car, they even know that the car was taken to “Forêt de Chaux.”
筑波大生不明事件、捜査報告書に残るチリ人容疑者の「偽装工作」と「脅迫ビデオ」（デイリー新潮） - Yahoo!ニュース

 

[ZaZara]

Affaire Narumi : Nicolas Zepeda fixé sur son renvoi devant une cour d'assises le 18 mai

Narumi case: Nicolas Zepeda to face the Court of Appeal on 18 May

The main suspect in the murder of Japanese student Narumi Kurosaki will have his fate decided on May 18. The Besançon Court of Appeal has given itself another week to decide whether Nicolas Zepeda should be referred to the Doubs Assizes.

Nicolas Zepeda, suspected of having assassinated Narumi Kurosaki, in 2016 in Besançon will be judged within a week on his appeal. The Chilean is contesting in court his referral to the assizes. The decision is scheduled on May 18. The Japanese student disappeared in December 2016 in Besançon. Nicolas Zepeda was the last person to see her alive.

Extradited to France in July 2020, Nicolas Zepeda is in pre-trial detention at the Besançon prison. He has always denied killing Narumi Kurosaki, in her room in Besançon in December 2016. The body of the young woman was never found.

Nicolas Zepeda is facing life imprisonment.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Justice. Affaire Narumi : Nicolas Zepeda n’évitera pas son procès, sans doute début 2022 à Besançon

Narumi case: Nicolas Zepeda will not avoid his trial, probably in early 2022 in Besançon

The answer is no: on Wednesday 19 May, the courts rejected the appeal by Nicolas Zepeda's lawyers, who were demanding that the charges against their client be dropped. The Chilean will indeed be tried before the Besançon Assize Court for the assassination of Narumi Kurosaki, his ex-girlfriend, who has been missing since late 2016.

It has now been set in stone: the French justice system considers that the charges brought against Nicolas Zepeda are sufficient for the question of his possible guilt in the assassination of Narumi Kurosaki , who suddenly disappeared at the end of 2016 from the Bouloie campus, to be examined by an assize court. According to our information, this trial, initially scheduled for the end of 2021 in the Besançon courthouse, is expected to take place in early 2022. At the earliest.

The ex-boyfriend of the Japanese student continues to claim his innocence, relying in particular on the absence of the victim's body to support his claim. His lawyers had long pleaded in this sense before the investigating chamber of Besançon, on 1 April, during a long hearing behind closed doors. Ms. Laffont, who is also Nicolas Sarkozy's lawyer, argued in court for a dismissal of the case, thus attacking an initial decision by the investigating judge in favour of holding a trial.

The effort of the Zepeda camp has therefore been in vain. On Wednesday 19 May, the Besançon Court of Appeal rendered a second decision along the same lines: Nicolas Zepeda must indeed be tried, the magistrates ruled.

The young Chilean in his thirties admits having spent the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 in the company of Narumi Kurosaki, whom he claims to have met "by chance" the day before, while on an unannounced tourist trip to Franche-Comté. His behaviour towards his ex-girlfriend, his journeys, his purchases or his conversations nevertheless cast a great deal of doubt, according to the investigators of the judicial police and the Besançon prosecutor's office. Narumi, for her part, has never given any sign of life since that famous night spent in the university residence. Significantly, all of the student's personal belongings were found intact in her room.


BBM


The outcome is as expected, but still, it is nice to have it all in official writing.

 

[ZaZara]

Besançon. Assassinat de Narumi Kurosaki : la certitude d’un procès début 2022

From now on, it is a done deal:: Nicolas Zepeda will have to account for the assassination of Narumi Kurosaki, missing and presumed dead since December 5, 2016. A crime that the Chilean suspect continues to deny. While the Chilean suspect continues to deny the crime, his lawyers have appealed against his indictment, to no avail. The last legal possibility for the South American: to apply to the Court of Cassation ... This strategy has finally been abandoned.


"Mr Zepeda has not appealed to the Court of Cassation," the Besançon public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, told us on Tuesday, "the decision to refer the case to the Assize Court is now final. Mr Zepeda will be tried before the Doubs Assize Court in the first half of 2022. " At a date that is yet to be specified. According to our information, this trial, which is logistically complex to organise - because of the translations and the links to be established with Chile and Japan - should last "two to three weeks."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Disparition de Narumi Kurosaki à Besançon : le Chilien Nicolas Zepeda sera jugé devant la cour d'assises en mars 2022

Disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki in Besançon: The Chilean Nicolas Zepeda will be tried before the court of assizes in March 2022

Nicolas Zepeda from Chile is suspected of having murdered in 2016 in Besançon Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old Japanese student whose body was never found. He will be tried before the Doubs court of assizes next March, the public prosecutor announced Monday.

"The session during which the case will be examined will open on March 28, 2022," Christophe Barret, the chief prosecutor of the Besançon court of appeal, said. The session will begin with the calling of the jury and the trial of Nicolas Zepeda for "assassination" should begin the next day, on 29 March, and will take several weeks, in Besançon.

The 29-year-old has always denied any link with the disappearance of his former girlfriend. He faces life imprisonment.

He had unsuccessfully challenged his referral to the Assize Court before the investigating chamber of the Besançon Court of Appeal, deeming it "unjustified."

Narumi Kurosaki, from a modest Japanese family, disappeared in December 2016 while she was a student in Besançon.
Her former boyfriend, whom she had met in 2014 in Japan, admitted spending part of the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 with her in the room on the Besançon campus where she was staying, but claims to have left the young woman, who was according to him in perfect health at the time.

That night, several students had heard "screams of terror, cries" but no one had alerted the police. Nicolas Zepeda, extradited from Chile last year at the request of French justice, was the last person to see her alive. Despite extensive searches by the judicial police, the body of the young woman has still not been found.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Besançon. Me Schwerdorffer se lance dans l’affaire Narumi Kurosaki, comme avocat de partie civile

Maître Schwerdorffer joins the Narumi Kurosaki case, as a lawyer for the civil party

After the Daval affair, lawyer Randall Schwerdorffer is joining the judicial game in another high-profile case: the presumed murder of Narumi Kurosaki, whose body has never been found since her disappearance from Besançon five years ago. The trial will open in March 2022. Me Schwerdorffer will represent the French boyfriend of the Japanese student, Arthur del Piccolo, on the civil side.

Will the trial of Nicolas Zepeda, that will begin on 28 March 2022 in Besançon, unravel the Narumi mystery? According to our information, an additional - and well-known - voice will in any case resound in the Doubs Assize Court. The voice of Randall Schwerdorffer.

The well-known lawyer is joining the camp of the civil parties alongside Me Galley, who is defending the family of Narumi Kurosaki, with the shared ambition of participating in the manifestation of the truth.

Me Schwerdorffer will represent the interests of Arthur del Piccolo, Narumi's French boyfriend at the time of her brutal disappearance on the night of 4 to 5 December 2016. Screams were heard around 2am in the university residence where the Japanese student was staying. The police have no doubt that Narumi Kurosaki was murdered, even though her body has never been found.

Arthur del Piccolo was very briefly suspected, as always in such situations, before being immediately ruled out by the investigation. The investigations then focused on another man, Nicolas Zepeda, Narumi's former companion. The Chilean is being defended by Jacqueline Laffont, a renowned Parisian lawyer whose clients include Nicolas Sarkozy.

"Arthur del Piccolo asked me to intervene in the trial a fortnight ago. He believes that it is necessary to be assisted by a lawyer for this trial, and has contacted our firm in this sense," said Randall Schwerdorffer to L'Est Républicain. "I only have media knowledge of this case, so I reserve my observations until I have studied the investigation file. Which is voluminous."

Initiated by the Besançon Criminal Investigation Department under the supervision of an examining magistrate, the investigation led the police to investigate on three continents, from France to Japan, via Chile.

"As far as the form is concerned, we can only note that it is a complex trial to set up, which is likely to last between two and three weeks, something that is extremely rare for a criminal case of this nature", anticipates Me Schwerdorffer.

In addition to the language barrier and the time difference - videoconferences are planned with Japan and Chile - there is the delicate media management of the trial. Many Japanese journalists, in particular, will be present at the court house in Besançon.


BBM


I did wonder why Narumi's boyfriend at the time would need representation during the trial. A small google search brought up two things: first and foremost, suggestions in the Chilean press in 2020 that defense lawyer Jacqueline Laffont would try to link Arthur del Piccolo to the murder. French MSM have not mentioned this at all, only that he was a POI at the start of the investigation, and cleared quickly.
The Chilean press also published pictures of him. To my surprise, he appears to be of Japanese descent, despite his name that suggests French / Italian origin (he is French, and born in France). He is working in Japan now.
IMO all considerations put together, yes it would make sense to request representation at the court, even though he and Narumi had not been friends for long. Knowing that this friendship probably triggered the murder must not be easy.

 

[ZaZara]

ITW FRANCE 3. Procès Zepeda à Besançon : "Il existe d'autres pistes" selon Jacqueline Laffont, avocate de l'accusé

ITW FRANCE 3. Zepeda trial in Besançon: "There are other possible leads" according to Jacqueline Laffont, lawyer for the accused

The Parisian lawyer Jacqueline Laffont, answered our questions in exclusivity, before the opening of the trial of her client Nicolas Zepeda, accused of the murder of his former girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki in 6 December 2016, in Besançon.

Currently incarcerated in Besançon prison, Nicolas Zepeda, whose trial opens on Tuesday 29 March in Besançon will be defended by Jacqueline Laffont, assisted by Julie Benedetti. The renowned criminal lawyer, specialised in political and financial affairs, has notably defended Charles Pasqua, Jean-Marie Messier, Nicolas Sarkozy and more recently Alexandre Benalla. She agreed to answer our questions a few days before the opening of an extraordinary trial, in which the body of the victim Narumi Kurosaki has never been found.

Emmanuel Rivallain: In what condition does Nicolas Zepeda present himself? Were you able to talk to him?

Jacqueline Laffont : For the past 18 months I have had many exchanges with him. I spent three days with him this week. I can say that he has been waiting for this moment for a long time. He is determined to defend himself and he hopes that this trial will remove the many mysteries that surround this case.

His personality has been detailed a lot in the press. They talk about someone intelligent, cold, manipulative. Is that what you have found?

First of all, I would like to say that this presentation that you mention and which is repeated by the press is first of all that of the prosecution. This label has been attached to Nicolas Zepeda. This accusation is, in many respects, a fragile accusation. As someone who has seen him for a long time, often, during a particularly trying detention, far from his family, in the middle of Covid without any visit from his mother for 18 months in a country whose language he does not speak, this is not at all the perception I have of him.

In the file we have some evidence about his personality. He had never been convicted, he was unknown to the police. He had a very social life, he was himself very sociable, with fulfilling love affairs and friendships. Very different from the portrait that people try to paint of him.

You have described the investigation against your client as "incriminating" with "translations that were not up to scratch". Can you tell us more?

This is an investigation in which, from the moment Nicolas Zepeda was identified and designated as the number one suspect, all other leads have been totally abandoned. Yet they exist. There have been several. Sometimes, very precise and serious reports were not exploited. I think that this investigation has simply sought to support an accusatory presentation, a construction built by the prosecution.

Concerning the translations, in reality, we can say one simple thing: Nicolas Zepeda did not have the benefit of an interpreter in his native language. He is Chilean, so he speaks Chilean Spanish, which is quite different from Spanish in Spain, and I think this has led to misunderstandings and misinterpretations of his statements, which have been detrimental to his defence.

What leads do you have in mind?

Look, concerning the elements of the case, contrary to the prosecution which has been very talkative in this case, a lot of details have been revealed during the investigation and even before Nicolas Zepeda was extradited to France, I reserve my explanations and my arguments for the judge and the jury. I will not go any further. I say that they exist and that I think they will be exposed and I hope explored. It is never too late to seek the truth in a case.

Nicolas Zepeda has maintained his innocence from day one. I recall that it was he who presented himself freely and spontaneously to the Chilean authorities to explain what he had to say about the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki, about which he actually knows nothing.

Does this mean that you would put the burden on another individual?

Today I am the defence lawyer. It is not a question of me accusing people against whom there is no absolutely definitive proof, but it is a question of me denouncing leads that exist in the file with information that has not been explored, to the detriment of Nicolas Zepeda's defence.

In this investigation, there is a particular fact. We do not know where the victim's body is. Does the absence of a body mean that you are not responsible?

We are getting to the heart of the matter. I told you, I reserve my explanations for the jury and the judge. There is no body, that is one of the issues in this case, but it is not the only one, far from it. There will be a trial and we will be at that trial.


BBM


Truly amazing statement about Chilean Spanish being so very different from Spanish in Spain. The same can be said about English in the UK and the US, and does that worry anyone? Certain expressions and meaning of words may indeed differ, but a student of languages like mr Zepeda would have no trouble requesting the use of a dictionary.

There is an interesting WIKI page about the many varieties of 'Spanish' and other languages spoken within Spain itself. There are at least half a dozen variants.
Languages of Spain - Wikipedia

Narumi's last boyfriend, Arthur del Potro, did well to hire his own lawyer.

 

[ZaZara]

Un crime sans corps : Nicolas Zepeda jugé pour l'assassinat de Narumi Kurosaki

A love story spanning several continents, Besançon as the scene of a last meeting and a body that has not been found: from Tuesday, the Chilean Nicolas Zepeda will appear before the Doubs court of assizes for the murder he has always denied of his Japanese ex-girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki, who disappeared in December 2016.

With simultaneous translations into Spanish and Japanese and witnesses questioned by videoconference from Japan or Chile, the hearing that will open on Tuesday at 9.30am will kick off an extraordinary trial, scheduled to last until April 12.

A brilliant scholarship student who arrived in Besançon in the summer of 2016 to learn French, Narumi Kurosaki, 21 at the time, has been missing since 4 December 2016. Her ex-boyfriend, Nicolas Zepeda, with whom she had broken up the previous autumn, was the last person to see her alive.

"Her parents know, after five years, that their daughter could neither disappear nor kill herself. (...) They have no doubt that Mr Zepeda killed her," according to Sylvie Galley, lawyer for Narumi's family. Narumi's mother and youngest sister will travel to France from Tokyo.

According to the prosecution, the young Chilean who could not stand the break-up came to visit her in Besançon and killed her in her university room, before disposing of the body in the vast forests of the Jura, where the Doubs river meanders.

Nicolas Zepeda, now 31 years old, has been in pre-trial detention in Besançon since July 2020, after his extradition by Chile, obtained after a major struggle by the French magistrates.

Defended in particular by Jacqueline Laffont, who is known for having been the lawyer of the former TF1 star presenter Patrick Poivre d'Arvor and of the former president of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy, the young man, who fell in love with Narumi on the benches of the Japanese university of Tsukuba, categorically denies any responsibility in her disappearance.

Imprisoned in solitary confinement because of the media coverage of this case, "he arrives almost relieved to finally be able to explain himself, to finally be heard, he arrives determined", according to the defence.

Nicolas Zepeda admitted to having spent that last night in December with Narumi, who he said he met by chance while passing through France. But that night, several witnesses heard "screams of terror" and a thud "as if someone was hitting". However, no one called the police.

In the days that followed, Narumi Kurosaki's relatives received messages via her social network accounts that were sometimes considered incoherent. The investigators of the Besançon judicial police subsequently attributed them to the accused.

It was only on 13 December that an official of the University of Franche-Comté declared the student missing. Nicolas Zepeda had meanwhile returned to Chile, after spending several days in Spain with a cousin.

When the investigation began, no traces of blood or struggle were found in the student's room. Her personal belongings were all present, except for a suitcase and a blanket.

Nicolas Zepeda spontaneously presented himself to the Chilean police, explaining that he had left Narumi alive after a night spent together. But his actions, such as a diversion through a forest or the purchase of matches and a can of flammable product, quickly made him the main suspect.

"A biased accusation without any scientific evidence" and "an investigation carried out on the basis of suspicions and suppositions", contested the father of the accused, Humberto Zepeda, in February in an interview with the JDD.

The public prosecutor in Besançon, Etienne Manteaux, who will be the public prosecutor at the trial, said in January 2021 that the case file contained "a lot of technical data" (telephony, geolocation of his vehicle, purchases by bank card, etc.).

The prosecution, he said, was also relying on "testimony from relatives that cast doubt on Mr Zepeda's version" of a chance meeting in Besançon and a last night of love.

Despite numerous investigations, the victim's body has yet to be found. "As in any criminal case where there is no body, this is a delicate case," said Randall Schwerdorffer He is the lawyer for the new boyfriend Narumi Kurosaki was seeing at the time of her disappearance, who is also a civil plaintiff.


BBM