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

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


15 h 05. - A strange moment of confusion...

The video planned for 3 p.m. about computer expertise seems to be malfunctioning technically. The interrogation is possibly going to resume. Me Schwerdorffer, lawyer for civil party Arthur del Piccolo, stands up...

Aware of the technical difficulties of translation, Zepeda suddenly interrupts him, pointing to Narumi Kurosaki's mother and sister. "But what about them?" he asks aloud in French.

There is a flutter in the room. So they wait. The video seems to be starting up again. "You are lucky", says Mr Schwerdorffer, thinking that his time will pass.

In the end, the interrogation will take place. Nicolas Zepeda insists - in Spanish - that he wanted the civil parties to understand all the exchanges.

"Thank you for your concern," Mr Schwerdorffer smiles, without masking a hint of irony.

15 h 20. - Zepeda's forgetfulness during a first version

Me Schwerdorffer attacks Nicolas Zepeda head-on on his version submitted in writing to Interpol at the end of December 2016.

A version in which the Chilean forgot the second night, since he details a departure from the room in the early morning of 5 December. And not on the 6th.

"At the end of this statement, I say that I remain at their disposal for clarification or otherwise. It is likely that I was not precise. When I filed this statement, I did it orally in front of a commissioner and it is very quick."

15 h 35. - "One does not call a person who is dead" Me Schwerdorffer pushes Zepeda to tears

"In room 106," the lawyer continues, looking at Zepeda, "you spent 30 wonderful, intense, torrid hours with Narumi, you found each other, you were her first love. You loved her very much, this woman. She feels a little guilty. You leave at 4:30..."

"I'm sorry, and with me the people here, who like you are made with a heart, blood, feelings... I'm sorry, but after all that, she doesn't call you, doesn't send you a little message? Five days later, it's your birthday, which she crossed out in her diary, and she doesn't contact you?"

The lawyer does not understand "this total silence" on both sides.

"Up to today, you have never contacted Narumi. Isn't this a phenomenal inconsistency?"

"I want to answer point by point, but you won't allow me to do so," Zepeda begins. "Yes, I will, until midnight tonight if necessary," Mr Schwerdorffer reassures.

"It is indeed a magnificent reunion," the defendant muses, "but Narumi can be harsh in her messages or expressions. I waited for her to get in touch again. I felt some shame in waiting for her to do so, I admit. Days passed, I had to return the car. If you're saying I didn't care, you're wrong."

Nicolas Zepeda's self-confident shell suddenly bursts. His face reddens, he tightens his mouth. But he can't control a rush of tears. The silent sobs are there.

Mr Schwerdorffer's conclusion is scathing:

"Perhaps you had other reasons for not calling Narumi. One does not call a person who is dead."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

15 h 40. - A reunion in unclear circumstances

The public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux returns to the circumstances of the famous reunion between Narumi and Nicolas... Rather vague, when you listen to Nicolas Zepeda.

"How does the meeting take place? Narumi comes to knock on your window?" the public prosecutor is astonished.

"I'm in my car (parked in the campus car park, editor's note) and yes, Narumi comes knocking on the passenger's side," Zepeda assures.

"So it's a complete coincidence?"

The accused nuanced: "No, it's not by chance that I'm here"...

Etienne Manteaux almost falls to the ground. "You travel 10,000 kilometres, you cross the ocean, why not go and knock on the door of room 106?"

Still speaking with his hands, which are flying in the air, Nicolas Zepeda explains: "I wasn't sure if I could materialise the idea I had in mind. I was ashamed of myself for admitting that I had this idea (of going to see Narumi, editor's note).

16 h 05. - The public prosecutor challenges the accused on his first version

The Attorney General returns to the first spontaneous statement of Nicolas Zepeda provided to the Chilean police, at the end of December 2016.

Following this statement, the Chilean consulted a law firm to assess the situation. This firm reassures him that there is little chance of French justice obtaining extradition. "And you come and tell us with your hand on your heart, I am at the disposal of justice?" Etienne Manteaux challenges him.

The public prosecutor continues by accusing Nicolas Zepeda of having adapted this famous first version to the information published in the press.

One of them mentions - by mistake - possible video surveillance images of Nicolas Zepeda leaving the university residence on the morning of the 5th... And not on the 6th, as Zepeda would later admit, according to technical investigations carried out on his rental car.

"You say I am lying. But one can only lie if one is aware of it" Nicolas Zepeda still denies it, and is also challenged by Etienne Manteaux on another aspect of this first statement. The loss of his phone "in a bush", he had then told.
"I lost it, but I found it again", he corrects.

16 h 15. - Me Laffont to the rescue of the Chilean

Front against front with the civil parties and then the prosecution, Nicolas Zepeda has just been hit by the first storm. Others will come.

The Chilean was allowed to sit down by the president, whom he thanked by briefly joining his hands. It was now the turn of his lawyers to speak.

Me Laffont took up the thread of the hearing, launching a rescue operation on the reasons for his coming to Besançon.

The criminal lawyer makes him confirm the "desire, the hope of meeting" Narumi, even if it was not necessarily an idea that was assumed at the outset.

"I thought it would be good to talk about the break-up", the South American confirms, satisfied to have "provoked the chance" of this meeting.

16 h 25. - These photos of the reunion where Narumi is smiling...

At the request of the defence, the court shows on a giant screen photos taken on 4 December 2016, a few hours after the reunion between Narumi and her ex-boyfriend. In particular at the Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans.

We can see Nicolas Zepeda, but also Narumi with a big smile on her face. The student is wearing her winter coat and scarf, that were found ten days later in her room by the police, the president of the court says.

"Photos can't lie. You provoke the odds for several days (to find her, editor's note). Do you have the feeling that Narumi shared your desire?"
"Yes, of course she did," confirms Zepeda.

16 h 30. - Narumi rather conciliatory with Zepeda on the evening of her disappearance

The debates dwell on the exchange of messages, again and again.

Mr Laffont mentions a message written on 4 December 2016 at 10:30 pm, to a woman called Margaux, in which Narumi is already anticipating the idea of missing her classes the next day.

Another written trace at 11pm is that of an exchange between Narumi and Arthur del Piccolo, in which her official boyfriend asks her for news. To which the Japanese student replies: "I was waiting for this question, I wanted to tell you when we see each other", arguing that she "is tired" and wants to postpone the date. "It's a fact, she is organising herself to continue spending time with Nicolas Zepeda", Me Laffont objectively notes about this 4 December 2016.

16 h 40. - Nicolas Zepeda and the absence of a cover-up

On Nicolas Zepeda's attempts to conceal his stay in the Doubs, Me Laffont points out that his client booked everything - hotel, car - "with his real name" and made all these purchases - and there were many ("including this jerry can of petrol", notes the lawyer) - "with his bank card."

"If you wanted to hide, with the plan to take the life of a young woman, would you have left your tracks everywhere? The question is a bit stupid, sorry..." Me Laffont asks. Zepeda nods.


BBM


With regards to the hotel and the car, NZ would have needed an ID, in his case probably a passport, and a driver's licence for the car. Of course Me Laffont knows this too. Unless NZ was able in one way or another to get hold of a fake passport and credit card, he would have been obliged to use his own.

NZ knew he would leave traces, just as he would leaves traces in Narumi's room if he went there. He aimed to make sure they were not seen together by Narumi's friends - they did not have dinner in Besançon but in a village at a distance - and he created a virtual life for her after he had left.

Of course he made mistakes, but IMO he had taken the problems of ID, credit card and DNA into consideration and thought he could get away with it all.

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

5 p.m. - The fake diploma of the "best couple of the world"

Summoned by video, a computer expert in charge of Narumi's computer appears on the screen. His presentation is very technical. He mentions in passing the discovery of a document in the Windows recycle bin. This file had been saved on 5 September 2016, i.e. about ten days after Narumi's arrival in Besançon, and then deleted by Narumi on 8 October. That is, just after the "official" break-up.

It is a fake diploma entitled "Best couple of the world". It includes a photo of Narumi and Nicolas all smiles, with Mickey Mouse ears. The picture exudes happiness. A small letter accompanies it. "Dear Nicolas, my love, I am very happy... You are an extraordinary partner [...]. Thank you so much for your support, thank you for the way you put up with me and the way you behave with me. I try to deserve you. I love you with all my heart, I am yours forever.

17:20 - No certainty about Narumi's pregnancy status

Professor Trachi, the forensic doctor in charge of studying Narumi Kurosaki's medical file, takes the stand. The Japanese woman had received a medical examination on 26 October 2016. We learn Narumi's height, 1.62 m, and weight, 54 kg, which is "a normal build". No abnormalities are detected.

In the "pregnancy in progress" box, a brief mention: "no."
Professor Trachi indicated that, a priori, the student did not show any apparent "signs" of pregnancy.
An important point, which remains unclear.
"I can't imagine that this doctor, a pneumologist by profession, conducted a gynaecological examination. I think that he simply asked her the question," Prof. Trachi continues , listing three logical possibilities: "she was not pregnant", "she was no longer pregnant", "or was still pregnant without it being visible".

In a heated discussion with Zepeda three weeks earlier, Narumi mentions a state of pregnancy, without dating it precisely. The coroner recalls that "25% of pregnancies end in spontaneous miscarriage".

5.30 pm - The hypothesis of death by strangulation raised by the public prosecutor

Etienne Manteaux stands up and apologises in advance to Narumi's sister and mother... "In the case of a death by asphyxiation, strangulation, what happens to the body of the deceased?"

Professor Trachi launches into a description of the "cadaveric signs", in particular "the thermal equalisation of the body with the environment", which takes the form of "cooling", then "rigor mortis which begins within one to four hours after death, initially at the nape of the neck"... "Transient rigor which disappears around 36 hours, 48 hours later, with the first signs of putrefaction."

The Advocate General refocuses his question on death by strangulation. "Congestion of the face and noble organs, heart, liver, lungs, brain, possible vomiting... In the case of strangulation, one can also observe superficial or deep traces, bleeding, or even fractures in the neck", the forensic doctor explains, adding that mechanical asphyxia did not "necessarily cause blood to flow", but possibly a "release of biological fluid."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

18:15 - Nicolas Zepeda's interrogation resumes on his "jealousy"

After a brief pause, President Husson resumes the questioning of Nicolas Zepeda. Citing various episodes, the magistrate wants the accused to clarify his position on the possible surveillance of the student's life, which Zepeda would have carried out from a distance.

"You have to look at it from Narumi's point of view, her good will, her naivety. When she asks someone for a friendship, she immediately gets an invitation to dinner... She tells me that she wants to be invited, to go out, to do activities without paying. When she tells me all this, I tell her to be careful because maybe the boy has something else in mind..."

"Is this not jealousy, perhaps sickly jealousy?" Matthieu Husson asks him.
"I think it's an exaggeration to say that," Nicolas Zepeda replies.

18:25 - Why was Narumi lying to the accused?

Matthieu Husson questions Zepeda again. During the investigation, the Chilean on several occasions referred to "lies" formulated by Narumi. The president wants to hear him on this subject.

"Indeed, when I see that she tells me things that are not related to the truth, I wonder why? There are inconsistencies. For example, in situations where she is dating other people." (when Narumi is in France, and he is in Japan, editor's note).

"Why was Narumi lying to him?" Matthieu Husson insists.
"She tells me stories, instead of telling me that she went out with friends, because she is afraid that I might do the same thing in Japan. The trust was broken."
The exchanges focus on a few specific details or anecdotes.

Matthieu Husson puts forward a proposition to the accused: "She was lying because you didn't accept what she was doing."
Zepeda answers off-hand.
A habit that has annoyed the civil parties and the public prosecutor since the beginning of the trial.

18 h 35. - The episode of the removal of the guys on Facebook

Nicolas Zepeda is becoming more energetic. He is now correcting the Spanish interpreter on nuances of language. His headset is next to him. When the president asks him questions, he often responds in quick succession, without waiting for a translation. One can guess that his incarceration in solitary confinement, since his extradition in July 2020, has enabled him to improve his French considerably.

President Husson does not understand why Nicolas Zepeda asked Narumi to delete three recently added male profiles from her Facebook account. "And why delete Arthur Del Piccolo?"
The defendant vows that "At this point, I have no idea who Del Piccolo is."
"So why does she have to delete him? Him and not a girl, for example?" Nicolas Zepeda refuses to admit any jealousy. "I don't understand why she didn't want to delete this person. "
"Jealous, not jealous?"
"No, because I really don't know anything about Arthur del Piccolo at that time."
Contrary to what the Japanese police investigations show, the Chilean also denies having access to Narumi's Facebook account.

18:50 - The famous "ultimatum" video published by Zepeda

An eagerly awaited moment in the trial. The trial court discusses this video published by Nicolas Zepeda on Dailymotion on 6 September 2016, ten days after Narumi's arrival in France. A form of declaration to the Japanese student, that sounds like an ultimatum.

The transcript of the video posted on Dailymotion

"Recently, Narumi has done some bad things that cost her to follow certain conditions to keep this relationship. Although I think we should live in a different way. We should live without these conditions, believe each other, be honest and not hide. I think that's a healthier way to live."

The monologue continues in this calm, methodical tone: "Some conditions are applicable during her stay in France, and others are applicable forever. If she cannot follow these conditions for a fortnight, two weeks from now, I will enforce these conditions with immediate effect. They will be effective immediately from 21 September. So if until 21 September she follows all the conditions, I will drop it, because I don't want to live like this. But at the same time she has to build trust.

The Chilean suspect insists: "She has to pay a little for what she has done and assume that she cannot continue to make this kind of mistake with a person who loves her..."

He stops for a moment, then holds up two fingers: "Yeah, two weeks".

7 p.m. - A problem of control?

We understand where the president of the court wants to go: the problem of control. "Narumi is not you, she is a different person from you", Matthieu Husson reminds the Chilean defendant, wondering about the sentence pronounced by Zepeda: "I don't want to live like that, I don't want her to live like that either".

Nicolas Zepeda's response: "I was thinking of protecting this beautiful relationship we had, if we continued like this, the relationship would deteriorate. It was Narumi's first relationship and I thought it was important that she had a good memory of it.
President Husson thinking aloud: "Wasn't it her place to judge? I am not sure that she had a good memory of it...".
For the civil parties, Me Schwerdorffer seizes the opportunity: "I'm not sure she has any memories left at all."

Another worrying term is that Narumi must "pay a little for what she did." "That's what we call a cost in English. It means making an effort," the defendant comments.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

19:08 - Slalom around the "hypothesis" of a pregnancy

The court of assizes looks at the very vehement written discussion, between Narumi Kurosaki and Nicolas Zepeda, on October 8, 2016. The Japanese woman has been in France for a month and a half. The Chilean is in Japan. The young student blames Zepeda for "knocking her up".

"We are a young couple, we have to take precautions. There was a consensus, Narumi and I both agreed. At some point in our relationship, there was a delay in her period. We didn't understand because we were taking precautions. We bought a test at the pharmacy, which was negative."

"But why is she talking about it a month and a half later, if it was a false alarm?" Matthieu Husson asks, incredulous.
"I didn't want to leave her feeling abandoned. But I didn't answer her immediately, because I was doing something else. I was preparing my trip to Chile."
In short, to put it another way: Nicolas Zepeda's answer, however long it is, has no bearing on the question. Nicolas Zepeda continues: "The fact that Narumi could be pregnant makes no sense. This hypothesis is impossible."

7:18 p.m. - The reason for his coming to Besançon, an "irresistible force" or a "doubt"?

In the light of these statements, Matthieu Husson returns to a question that has been raised since Tuesday, when the trial opened. A key question. "Why didn't you notify Narumi that you were coming to the region?"

"Yes, there is a reason. On Wednesday, Mr Benedetti showed me the email that Narumi sent me at the end of November and...". The president stops him short. "But that's not my question! Even without this email, why "didn't you warn her? "Because I'm ashamed," the accused replies, "even if I also tell myself that it would be good for me, and for her, if we could talk about it again. I didn't know what Narumi had in mind. And when we met again, Narumi was happy to see me."

President Husson sighs. "Your answer is not clear."
At the microphone, which he keeps fidgeting with, Nicolas Zepeda briefly admits: "I'm a bit lost". Before launching into a long tirade in the same vein. "An irresistible force that attracted you to Besançon", the president tries to sum up.
"It's not an irresistible force, it's a doubt," the accused corrects him.
"A doubt that is only matched by your determination to go to the Besançon campus car park as soon as you arrived in the region."

7.25pm - Narumi's lawyer confronts the accused

The Kurosaki family's lawyer confronts Nicolas Zepeda. "You never take Narumi's point of view into consideration," Me Galley regrets, extracting a small confession from the accused. "Yes, it could be jealousy", the Chilean says about the request made to Narumi to delete certain men on her Facebook account in September 2016.

Me Galley is fired up. The lawyer calls Zepeda to account. Why does he demand that Narumi "behave like a better girl", listing "five conditions" for her to stay with him? "I'm trying to remember the context," the Chilean replies, struggling. "I'm tired of explaining the situation every time, it was Narumi who was asking what to do to continue the relationship."

7.50pm - Video, reunion, hold, the exchange gets tougher between Narumi's lawyer and Zepeda

Sylvie Galley also returned to the video of "threats", which Zepeda likened to "a personal diary". The Kurosaki family's lawyer mentions Nicolas Zepeda's own sisters. How would he react if his sisters received such a video?
"You are mixing things up. I was preparing this video for myself. And then I sent this video to Narumi. This video is not threatening. It was not about judging Narumi."

The exchange hardens. Zepeda calls on Mr Galley again. "You answer my questions, I don't answer yours. We don't exchange places," the lawyer corrects him. She returns to the famous "chance" that led him, on 4 December 2016 in the campus car park, to find Narumi. And his "shame", which would have slowed him down.
"We made efforts to stop our relationship gradually, we didn't succeed. A shame, yes, because it could have ended better," Zepeda says. He is satisfied nonetheless that he finally spent time with Narumi. "I was right, because we had a great time," the defendant says.

19:55 - And still no understanding of Zepeda's silence towards Narumi after her disappearance

In a courtroom filled with curious people who have come to attend the debates, the electricity does not decrease. On the side of the civil party, Me Schwerdorffer takes up the torch.

"Why don't you stay a little longer with Narumi?" the lawyer for Arthur del Piccolo asks. "An exercise in caution. I had to see my cousin and return my vehicle." Yet without contacting Narumi after that 6 December 2016, an incomprehensible attitude according to the lawyer... "Today, I would have done differently," the accused murmurs.

Me Schwerdorffer continues to grill Nicolas Zepeda about Arthur del Piccolo, in an attempt to get him to admit that he was in fact jealous of, or even obsessed by, the Japanese woman's French boyfriend. The Chilean maintains that this is not the case.

8.10pm - "When you ask Mr Zepeda a question, by the end of his answer, you have forgotten the question."

Etienne Manteaux abandons the idea of questioning the accused at greater length, because the public prosecutor sighs, "when you ask Mr Zepeda a question, at the end of his answer, you have forgotten his question...".

E. Manteaux could nevertheless not resist the urge to read out a passage. That of a discussion between the Chilean and the Japanese, where Zepeda, extremely directive, forces the student to delete these men from her Facebook account. "You are trying my patience, Narumi," he warns her.
In his box, the Chilean persists and signs, describing Narumi's attitude as "lamentable."
"You forbid her to have any male relations. It is lamentable, but it is your owndoing," the public prosecutor warns him.


20:25 - The public prosecutor tries to push Zepeda towards the heart of the matter

The public prosecutor continues a long and damning reading of the writings of Nicolas Zepeda, who obviously wanted to control Narumi's life in every detail, in terms of her relationships with others. "With this, you tell us that you are not jealous?" Nervous laughter in the courtroom.

The public prosecutor also digs up a message from the accused dated 26 September 2016, looking to find an internship in Besançon. On the same day, Narumi had recently posted a photo of del Piccolo on her Facebook. "A coincidence," Zepeda insists.

Between the accused and Etienne Manteaux, tensions rise again. "Let me answer, anyway," exclaims Nicolas Zepeda in French, a first in this trial, his hands open towards the sky.

8.40pm - Nicolas Zepeda "tired", his lawyers ask for a respite

The day will end as always, with the defence being given the floor. Me Laffont clarifies the arm wrestling that has just taken place, turning in her seat to face her client standing less than a metre from her.

"The prosecution is trying to show that because you were jealous, you had a motive to murder Narumi. Are you afraid to admit that you were jealous?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it will be misinterpreted. Especially since in some situations I am not allowed to answer," Nicolas Zepeda replies, sounding exhausted.

"I suggest that he rests because he is tired. We are not in the ideal conditions to answer", proposed Mr Laffont. A request granted by the president of the hearing, Matthieu Husson.

The hearing is suspended until Friday morning, 8am.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog, Friday

En direct. Procès Narumi : piratage informatique de Zepeda, échec des recherches du corps, émotion de la famille, revivez la 4e journée


8.05am - Late arrival of the accused in the snow

The convoy of Nicolas Zepeda left the Besançon prison later than expected in heavy snow. The hearing began with a slight delay.

The accused had a whole night in his cell to try to recover emotionally. Subjected the day before to a barrage of questions from the president, the lawyers for the civil parties and the public prosecutor, Zepeda wavered several times in his box, tested by these often tense exchanges. This trial is increasingly taking on the appearance of a steamroller, pressing forward on the Chilean.

This Thursday begins with new video conferences organized from Japan. The first issue of the morning: the computer operations on the Japanese side. And the possible "surveillance" carried out by Nicolas Zepeda, from a distance, while he was in Japan, on the life of Narumi in France.



8:20 a.m. - Zepeda's "illicit" connections

Professor Keisuke Kameyama, from the University of Tsukuba, gives a detailed and highly technical account of the Chilean's multiple connections to the university's computer network. This was particularly true when Narumi had already left for France.

President Matthieu Husson summarised: "Mr Zepeda connected with devices bearing his name, and these were illicit connections to the university's network.

8:40 a.m. - Someone posing as Narumi on the University of Tsukuba's wifi...

10,000 kilometres away, Takeshi Manaka takes his place in front of the camera. This technical director explains that he was asked by the police to research the history of use of Narumi's account on the Wifi internet network of the University of Tsukuba, where the Japanese woman was studying.

Usage "subsequent to her departure (to France)" was found, reveals Takeshi Manaka. These accesses made within the Japanese campus "did not leave any trace" as to the device used. "We cannot perfectly identify the IP address used", the technician regrets, but "we were able to detect a Spanish access provider."

According to the Japanese police, the president also said, between April and October 2016, there were 57 fraudulent accesses to Narumi's Facebook account from devices designated as belonging to Nicolas Zepeda. Takeshi Manaka indicates that he was not responsible for this discovery.

9:20 a.m. - A video... for nothing

After the incredibly dense interrogation of the day before, Nicolas Zepeda has a little respite. Sitting behind his lawyers, wearing a blue shirt, the accused listens placidly to the morning's proceedings, which until then had been very technical and slightly disjointed. The translation of what is said is time-consuming: some sentences, which are rather short in French, take a long time to translate into Japanese...

A third man in a suit and tie appears on the screen, still from Japan. He introduces himself as a police officer... We understand that his testimony is of little interest, insofar as this officer did not directly carry out the computer investigations around Nicolas Zepeda.

9.50am - Narumi comes back to life in photos, in front of the eyes of the jurors

Sylvie Galley intervenes to change the programme of the hearing. The lawyer for the Kurosaki family would like the popular jurors, after these first few intense days, to be able to see some photos of Narumi.

A moment of gravity... The Japanese student comes back to life before our eyes. First pictures show Narumi as a baby, already smiling, with a multicoloured balloon and then in a swimming pool, with her flippers on.

Narumi's too short life flashes by, a very moving sequence. Here she is as a teenager, with her sisters who look like her like two drops of water. We also see her mother Taeko in one image. Years later, from this cold courtroom, this mother in absolute pain looks at herself on the screen. A cruel mirror effect. Tears come to her eyes, which she discreetly wipes away with a handkerchief.

The photos continue. Narumi now appears as a young woman. Dressed in a traditional green and flowery outfit, the Japanese woman poses with a smile. She is simply radiant...

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

10.30am - A PJ investigator reviews the search for the body

On the witness stand the Criminal Investigation Department of Besançon. On Wednesday in court, Chief Inspector David Borne had already detailed at length the countless investigations carried out over five years, on three continents. His exhaustive presentation had shown to what extent all the evidence converged towards "a single lead", Nicolas Zepeda.

It is now Commander Christophe Touris who takes the stand. He too is an investigator. He too takes up the progress of the investigations targeting Nicolas Zepeda, from December 2016, particularly on the technical side.
Commander Touris details the first phase of the search for Narumi's body south of Dole. Where the tracker of Nicolas Zepeda's rental car was located. A ground search yielded nothing.

Thanks to the support of a helicopter, "we also searched for hot spots seen from the air, but these investigations were in vain."

They also filtered 800 tonnes of domestic waste in a special machine to try to find human bones.

All to no avail.

One year later, a 50 km² search area was redefined.

The search for Narumi's body resumed in November 2017, one year after Narumi's disappearance, says Commander Touris.

At that time, a report of telephone data belonging to Nicolas Zepeda revived hopes of finding a body. " We set up a more precise search area between Parcey and Dole ", the policeman explains.

A map is displayed on the giant screen. A sort of hexagon of 50 km² materialises this new search area, which includes the south of Dole, the Loue, the eastern end of the Chaux forest...

"We explored the whole of the banks of the Doubs with a sonar boat as far as the Choisey dam. Checks were made with divers," including at the level of "a water treatment plant."

The officer detailed new physical searches, with the support of dogs, still following the trail of telephone relays, set off a year earlier by Nicolas Zepeda's car.

10:55 a.m. - The scenario of "computer espionage

Major Touris addresses the computer side of the investigations with this famous report of the Japanese police, that was returned to the hands of French Justice in 2018. This is the so-called "computer stalking" hypothesis.

Fifty-seven of Nicolas Zepeda's connections to Narumi's university session in Tsukuba were noted between April and October 2016. The Japanese investigators, the police officer from Besançon explains, "determined that Nicolas Zepeda had read and translated more than 150 of Narumi's personal discussions, using her account and password."

A complex Excel table is projected in the courtroom. The document lists all of her "voluntary" connections, according to Christophe Touris.

This is a deliberate act of intrusion, while Narumi was already here in France.

For the police officer, it is "spying on Narumi's account."

Discussions in the court of assizes are continuing on the possibility of hacking. When she arrived in France, Narumi complained that her Facebook account had been "hacked", President Husson said. On dates that could correspond, the police officer added.

Facebook is definitely at the heart of tensions between Narumi and Nicolas, since in September 2016, the Chilean demanded that his girlfriend delete certain males from her account.
"The password was not complicated to remember," the court president adds. "Naru 723''.
"It was the same for all her accounts and devices," the investigator says.

The president, Matthieu Husson, adds a little insight.

"Mr Zepeda said that at the time he had no internet connection and that Narumi had given him her login details to help him out. The Chilean therefore asserts that the passwords were pre-recorded and that his devices were in fact connected automatically.

One detail undermines these claims. On 12 September, "incorrect" passwords were entered. This would imply manual entry.



BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog



11.20 a.m. - Narumi's phone was finally switched off on the evening of 5 December 2016

The investigation carried out on the tracks of Narumi Kurosaki, and with her Nicolas Zepeda, suffered from a major pitfall: that of starting ten days after the facts. The police officers from Besançon tried to make up for this delay, at least virtually, by exploiting a colossal mass of "data" - in other words, technical data.

Commander Christophe Touris describes the methodology used to exploit the chip in Nicolas Zepeda's rental car on the one hand, and his telephone chip on the other. They used this to reconstruct his route.

New Excel tables appear on the screen. The investigator meticulously retraces the activity of Narumi's phone. This phone is definitively switched off on 5 December 2016, at 9.32 pm. At that precise moment, Nicolas Zepeda admits to being in the company of Narumi in her room. Narumi's official boyfriend, Arthur del Piccolo, was just inches away from the duo, separated only by the closed bedroom door.

Worried, even desperate, Arthur del Piccolo was already trying to find his girlfriend... Was she there, alive, voluntarily hiding behind the door of her studio as Zepeda claims? Or already dead?


11:35 a.m. - Return to Zepeda's famous suspicious "stops" in the forest

With maps and plans in place, shown to the jurors on the giant screen, Commander Touris now virtually drives the vehicle rented by Nicolas Zepeda during his stay in France. The tracker makes it possible to follow the car's activity minute by minute. The data are cross-checked with the geolocation of the Chilean's phone.

On 1 December 2016, a few days before Narumi's disappearance, it was established that Zepeda stopped at around 4.30pm in this strange, remote and wooded area, south of Dole. It is winter and it is dark. "He stayed for two hours in that area," the police officer summarised.

On 6 December, when he left the Narumi campus at around 4.30 a.m., Nicolas Zepeda also spent "two hours" in this same strange and depopulated area... The area where the corpse of the Japanese student was searched for so urgently, in vain.


11:50 a.m. - Do the locations burden Nicolas Zepeda?

The police commander takes the court 'by the hand' to go to Dijon, in front of the wifi terminal of the Toison d'Or shopping centre.

It is 6 December 2016, and no one has seen Narumi for two days. A connection to her Facebook account is nevertheless noted at 11:11 am, from this Toison d'Or Wifi. The IP address corresponds to the one used to buy a Besançon-Lyon train ticket with Narumi's bank details at 10:39 am. The Japanese woman obviously never got on the train.

The location of Nicolas Zepeda's mobile phone was analysed... The Chilean was also in the Toison d'Or shopping centre area. "Nicolas could have made this purchase and this connection on Facebook," the police officer coldly concludes. He adds that the same verification was carried out for Arthur del Piccolo, the first suspect in the investigation. "His phone was in Besançon."

Another disturbing element a few days later. Nicolas Zepeda was on a stopover with his cousin in Spain on his way back to Chile. At the same time, a new connection was made on Narumi's Facebook account. From Spain.

12:00 - Narumi's accounts taken over: a succession of damning evidence for Zepeda

Narumi's bank accounts are also used to purchase a VPN, a device used to scramble her login addresses. This is curious, as the Japanese woman had no computer skills.

Investigator Christophe Touris investigated Narumi Kurosaki's Google account. A final synchronisation of the account was noted on 13 December 2016. The time zone of Santiago de Chile was found. It has been nine days since Narumi was last seen. December 13? That is precisely the day Nicolas Zepeda landed at his home in Chile.

Christophe Touris' presentation, supported by precise and time-stamped data, is overwhelming, leaving little room for Nicolas Zepeda. With one final example: this Facebook message allegedly sent by Narumi on 10 December 2016 to a concerned friend. "Thanks for caring," it reads from the student's account. The connection is made from Spain. On that day, Nicolas Zepeda was in Spain.

12:10 p.m. - "This whole investigation is not a coincidence

It is time to conclude for Commander Touris, before possible questions from the different parties in the trial.

"We focused on a first suspect, Arthur del Piccolo," the police officer assured the court, before repeating that everything converged to another man. Nicolas Zepeda. "This whole investigation is not a coincidence. We have determined objective and material elements, which I have just presented to you, that determine the active participation of Nicolas Zepeda in the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki."

12:30 - Nicolas Zepeda trapped by computer evidence

Police Commander Christophe Touris is still available to the court. Even after Narumi's disappearance, "the data on her phone follows Nicolas Zepeda's movements in their entirety", says the Kurosaki family's lawyer, Me Galley, by way of summary.

Faced with this technical demonstration, Me Schwerdorffer sums up falsely naive: "If we follow this logic, Narumi would have gone with him (Zepeda, editor's note) to Chile...". Commander Touris added: "These checks have been made, Nicolas Zepeda returned to Chile alone."

"The strength of the factual elements is extremely convincing," according to the public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, listing again some of the evidence. In particular, the proven presence of Nicolas Zepeda's car and phone on 6 December 2016 in the Toison d'Or shopping centre in Dijon, where a connection on Facebook and a suspicious purchase attributed to Narumi were noted at the same time... Or rather, to a "false Narumi"?

This is followed by these connections in Spain, then this Chilean time zone, which are inexplicable unless one believes that Narumi accompanied Nicolas Zepeda to Chile. Etienne Manteaux drives the point home. Again and again. The public prosecutor advances openly: he wants to convince the jurors that Nicolas Zepeda has digitally given life to a Narumi who has in fact already been killed, in order to better cover up his crime and his tracks.

12:55pm - The defence dwells on the failure to find the body

Until now silent, the defence takes its place in the arena.

Jacqueline Laffont discusses the search for the body, listing all the "land, air and water resources" that were mobilised... "Nothing was put aside, everything was done", summarises the lawyer, who makes Major Touris admit to having applied "a grid over all the areas". Me Laffont insists: "You found nothing. Two possible conclusions: you missed Narumi's body, or she wasn't there?"

"I spent many sleepless nights asking myself this question," the police commander sighs, "Did we miss her? Months passed between the disappearance and the moment when the search area was specified. There are animals, nature takes its course." The investigator also considers the immersion of the body. "It could sink, or be caught in branches. Given the topography, there are places where no one passes, the body could be anywhere."

The defence would probably like the police officer to admit that Narumi could still be alive. A fruitless attempt.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


1.05pm - The intense distress of Narumi's mother and sister

Every mention of the search for Narumi's body during this trial is an apparent suffering for her mother and sister, present in the courtroom. Their lawyer, Ms Galley, leaves her desk to sit with them and support them. Taeko, the mother, clutches her pouch tighter than ever to her chest. Inside, a photo of Narumi.

"In April 2017 (four months after the student's disappearance, ed. note), you also go to the university area to conduct a search. You do not exclude other hypotheses. You look elsewhere", observed Mr. Laffont. Commander Borne replied: "That's true, but we're not just looking for a body, but also a suitcase, a sheet...".

13:15 - Conjectures about the transport of Narumi's body

The exchange between the defence and the police commander continues. "How could Nicolas Zepeda have transported a suitcase (Narumi's, that has disappeared, editor's note), a second suitcase weighing 18 kilos (that of the Chilean, editor's note), while carrying a body? It's hard to imagine this scene, does it seem materially possible to you?"

"Yes," replies Christophe Touris, "when something so unfortunate has happened, it is not impossible to have the strength to carry a body." The police officer was also asked about Narumi's possible rigor mortis, which could make it difficult to transport her body from her university room. In particular to a car boot. Nothing impossible, according to the investigator.

13:25 - The hearing is coming to an end, but...

As far as the substance of the case is concerned, the day's debates are coming to an end with this final battle.

The Court of Assizes nevertheless continues its work, with the study of an "incident of hearing", raised by the lawyers of the defense of Nicolas Zepeda. A very legal point.

The incident concerns the revelation, this Wednesday at the trial, of new images of video surveillance of the campus discovered late by the head of the police investigation, which could upset the whole perspective of the case. The images show an apparently unidentifiable man lurking around the back of the student's building on the nights before she disappeared. Nicolas Zepeda in the middle of a scouting expedition? This is the conviction of the prosecution.
"There is no question of asking the court not to view these materials, they are in the file", Me Laffont reassures from the outset for the defence. But the Parisian lawyer makes it a question of legal principle, considering the manoeuvre irregular. An opinion that neither the civil parties nor the prosecution share.

President Husson rules that these images, that have already caused controversy, will be viewed "next week."


14 h.- "The theory of the evaporated has its limits," according to Me Randall Schwerdorffer

"To say "there is no body, therefore there is no crime" is not a line of defence." As he left the courtroom, Mr. Randall Schwerdorffer strongly criticised the defence of Nicolas Zepeda. "It doesn't take away the screams, it doesn't take away Narumi's total disappearance. After the evening of 4 December, no one spoke to Narumi apart from Nicolas Zepeda. The evaporation theory has its limits," according to the lawyer of Arthur del Piccolo, Narumi's French boyfriend at the time of her disappearance.

Schwerdorffer points out the sociable character of the young girl before drawing a parallel with another case that has been in the news: "It is not because the body of Maëys had not been found that she was alive."


2.15pm - A "very intense, very painful" moment for the lawyer of Narumi's family, Me Galley

"It was an unavoidable moment," Galley said at the end of the hearing, recalling the moments when Narumi's family broke down. "It was necessary to bring up these moments [the debates around the search for Narumi's body, editor's note] so that they could hear everything that had been done. It was a moment of unspeakable, unbearable pain."

Narumi's mother, Taeko Kurosaki, repeatedly hugged her daughter's portrait. "I couldn't talk to them anymore because the pain was so intense. According to the parents' lawyer, the family did not anticipate the intensity of the details. "I wanted to take them out of the courtroom, but they have this strength, this perseverance to say 'We'll stay until the end'."
Next week, the family will be interviewed as well. "They are waiting for this moment because their anger is rising. They will have a lot to say."

2.30 pm - A weekend of breathing space before diving back into the trial

The trial of Nicolas Zepeda will resume on Monday 4 April at 10 am. Time for the jurors, the accused, Narumi's family, the lawyers and the magistrates to regain their breath.

The court of assizes has experienced a first week of debates of a rare intensity. The police investigation, dissected over the course of the days, was as unusual as this case of a crime without a body. Nicolas Zepeda had to face a large number of incriminating evidence. Under pressure, the Chilean has hardly changed his words and still denies any involvement in the disappearance of Narumi Kurosaki, whose relatives will testify in the coming days.

The second week of the trial promises to be just as trying for Nicolas Zepeda. And it will be hard.

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

En direct. Procès Narumi : la dernière soirée et les ultimes images de Narumi vivante, revivez la 5e matinée


10:00 - The hearing resumes with a legal adjustment

The second week of Nicolas Zepeda's trial has begun. The accused has taken his place in his box, still wearing a shirt and tie.

The president of the court, Matthieu Husson, begins the session with a ruling on the request of Nicolas Zepeda's lawyers. A very legal debate. Me Laffont wanted to point out the irregularity, according to her, of the deposition of the director of the investigation David Borne, who revealed the existence of "new" video surveillance images of the campus. This request is denied by President Husson.

The images, in which a man appears to be observing Narumi's room just before her disappearance, will be viewed by the jury on Tuesday 5 April.


10.15am - Flashback to 4 December 2016, at the restaurant in Ornans

Ludivine Savonet timidly steps forward in front of the jury. She was working as an assistant manager at the hotel-restaurant La Table de Gustave, in Ornans. This is where Nicolas Zepeda took Narumi to dinner on 4 December 2016, the day before she died. "I remember a reservation at the hotel for Mr Zepeda, via the internet on Booking. I had spotted his name. It was not common. We are more into group tourism, business people," she explains.

The lawyer for Narumi's relatives, Me Galley, wondered whether Nicolas Zepeda had asked any questions about tourism in the region. "Absolutely nothing", Mrs Savonet told the police at the time. " It happens that clients don't ask questions, we have a tourist office in Ornans. And when customers come from far away, they often have prepared their trip," the employee adds today.

The public prosecutor returned to a detail of the booking. Nicolas Zepeda had entered "Japan" in the country of origin box. It was necessarily him who had entered this data "manually", according to Ms Savonet. A desire to conceal himself? Mr Laffont, for Zepeda's defence, cut the matter short, pointing out that the booking had been paid for by credit card. A card in Zepeda's name.

10:35 a.m. - Investigations follow the trail of... a sandwich

Five years ago, Amandine worked at the Subway in downtown Besançon. Now it's her turn to testify.

"I sold a sandwich to Mr Zepeda (on Saturday 3 December 2016 at 11.49pm, editor's note). He ate on the spot. We spoke for a few minutes in Spanish. He explained to me that he was going to go to Spain afterwards, to his cousin's house." This proves that the Chilean was physically in Besançon that day.

Amandine had found him "very nice, very jovial". "I think he told me that he was sleeping at a Japanese friend's house", she told the investigators at the time. Today, however, "I do not remember", she apologises. A detail that is not a detail: on 3 December, Nicolas Zepeda had not yet reconnected with Narumi...

10.45am - At the restaurant in Ornans, Nicolas Zepeda and Narumi "not affectionate"

Back to the restaurant in Ornans, on 4 December 2016, the day before the student disappeared. Francis Bayle was the waiter who had taken care of Nicolas Zepeda and Narumi.

"Everything went very well, without any problems, no raising of voices," he tells the court. They were "ordinary" customers, he recalls. Narumi "looked more like a woman, well dressed and made up" than in the photos presented by the police at the time. "She was not very smiley, she ate slowly", Francis Bayle said. Nicolas Zepeda was also "dressed quite nicely".

A selfie of Narumi and Nicolas Zepeda, smiling, is projected on the screen in the courtroom. An image from the same afternoon. Then a second image of Narumi, taking a picture of her plate. The court is left with the question: how intimate was the couple? Etienne Manteaux, for the prosecution, stands up. "For you, it was clearly not a couple in love? No tender gesture, nothing? The waiter validates this impression. "They were not being affectionate."


11.10 a.m. - Debates about the missing suitcase and Narumi's handbag

The court gives the floor to the lawyer of the Kurosaki family, who, at the request of Narumi's mother and sister present in the room, wishes to make certain clarifications about the belongings found or not in the student's room. And in particular the famous missing suitcase...

A photo appears on the screen, a moment stolen at Tokyo airport, before Narumi left for France five and a half years ago. We see Narumi from behind. Her sister at her side is helping her carry Narumi's red suitcase, which comes up to her waist. The suitcase is 85 cm high and 40 cm thick... Perhaps too small to carry a corpse?

Last week at the hearing, the defence tried to raise doubts about the fact that Narumi might have left with a handbag, not found in her room. The stakes are not insignificant. Very attentive since the beginning of the trial, Narumi's mother and sister noted the presence of this bag on the photos shown a few days ago. It has therefore not disappeared.

Me Schwerdorffer for the civil party and Me Laffont for the defence agree on the interest of examining the contents of the bag. At present, the object is still in the room, which has been placed under judicial seal.


11.25am - Campus video surveillance: the court breaks the judicial seal on the hard drive

The moment is strangely solemn... And rather unusual. The court is now proceeding to the opening of the judicial seal of a controversial piece: the hard disk containing the video surveillance images of the campus, on which a man with a camouflaged face is visible, carrying out searches under the windows of Narumi's room. The police have seen several sightings of this suspect in the days leading up to the student's disappearance.

The clerk proceeds with the opening. She then presents the hard drive in her hand to each party in the trial, for the sake of transparency. President Husson's idea is to check the presence and good condition of the images, but the tape will instead be viewed and examined by the court tomorrow, 5 April.

On the screen in the room, thousands and thousands of files on the hard disk are displayed, apparently in a complicated order. It's hard to find your way around. Technically, the organisation of this viewing tomorrow looks like it could be... laborious.



11:40am - The last images of Narumi alive, projected in the courtroom

At the request of the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux, the court will project a short sequence of CCTV footage on the screen. This is from 4 December 2016, at 10:58 pm, filmed by the camera located at the entrance to the university residence of Narumi.

The quality of the image is very poor, as it is very blurry. It is dark. Suddenly two vague figures, described as "shadows" in the proceedings, are seen walking towards the front door of the building, apparently carrying a small bag. Thanks to geolocation efforts via Zepeda's rental car and the telephone, the investigation determines with near certainty that they are Narumi Kurosaki and Nicolas Zepeda, returning from their restaurant in Ornans.

This trembling spot on the screen is therefore the last image, the last testimony of Narumi alive.

Sitting on her bench, Narumi Kurosaki's sister, Kurumi, continues to take notes in a small notebook.

The hearing is suspended, with a resumption scheduled for 2 p.m. to evoke the screams that tore through the corridors of the student residence on the night of 4 to 5 December 2016.


11.50am - The embrace between Nicolas Zepeda and his mother

The moment is brief. The hearing has been suspended for a few minutes, the courtroom is empty. Nicolas Zepeda's mother approaches the box and exchanges with her child in Spanish, away from prying ears.

Both of them finally go away over the edge of the box. Nicolas turns his back, holds out his hands to his escort who puts the handcuffs back on him.

The South American's week still looks long.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog Monday afternoon

En direct. Procès Narumi : un possible tournant ? Vidéosurveillance et témoignages accablent Nicolas Zepeda, revivez la 5e après-midi

1.30 pm - A major stake for the outcome of the trial

If they are deemed credible, the testimonies given on Monday afternoon may have an impact on the jurors, and perhaps influence them in view of the verdict... This trial is unique in that, with no body and therefore no autopsy report, there are no hard-to-support images of a corpse for the court to see. The alleged death of Narumi Kurosaki seems almost abstract.

In this case, which is still full of grey areas, these screams represent one of the few concrete elements of the horror that Narumi may have experienced. The words of the witnesses on Monday afternoon carry a lot of weight. For they will plunge the entire trial court into a palpable reality. And no doubt they will give credence to the hypothesis of a crime committed behind closed doors.

Until now, Nicolas Zepeda denies having heard these famous cries. He should be questioned on the subject at the end of the day, after the students' testimonies. Once again, this is a highly anticipated moment.

14:00 - The hearing resumes live from Scotland, in front of a packed courtroom

The hearing resumes. On the public side, the courtroom is literally packed with people of all ages who have come out of curiosity.

The first testimony takes us all the way to Scotland, by videoconference. This first hearing of a British student, Rachel Hope, is very important for two reasons. In addition to the screams, this young woman claims to have seen Nicolas Zepeda hiding in the kitchen of the university residence a few days before Narumi's disappearance...

2.10pm - "It was a frightening experience"

Facing the camera, Rachel Hope, 25, looks stressed but focused.

"I was in a room in the same corridor as Narumi Kurosaki," she begins. Room 102, a stone's throw from Narumi's room 106. "During the night of December 4-5, 2016, at about 3:20 am, I heard screams," Rachel relives five years later. "It wasn't the usual screams. It was something frightening. I closed my door and turned off the light in my room. I regret it. I didn't know what to do. I was afraid that people would do dangerous things in the corridor.

At the invitation of President Husson, she said: "I heard the scream of a woman alone, not the sound of a fight between two people. It was the scream of a person who had been injured or was being injured." On the screen, the witness is silently crying...

Rachel Hope returns to an earlier, disturbing episode. "A few days before, on 2 December, I came across the person now accused in the corridors of the building," reports the British student. "He seemed to be hiding in the kitchen, acting suspiciously."

It was only later that Rachel Hope made the connection between the frightening screams and the individual who was considered suspicious. "When I opened the kitchen door, I saw that a man was hiding. He spoke to me in an American accent. He was dressed in black and wore gloves.

At the time, a photographic display of eight faces was presented to her by the police. Rachel Hope pointed to Zepeda's portrait. "My heart raced, I knew immediately when I saw those pictures that this was the man I had met. It was definitely the same person."

2.40pm - A chilling message: "It sounded like someone was being murdered"

The lawyers for the prosecution now question Rachel Hope. Me Galley goes back to her two-step encounter with this suspicious individual dressed in black, on 2 December 2016. "I didn't feel safe, it wasn't normal behaviour for someone living in the residence. It was someone loitering in the building, in the dark!" With gloves on, insists the lawyer for Narumi's family. "Yes, everything was strange.

At the time, the student had the feeling of being immersed in "a horror film". So a scene that was "frightening and very worrying", insists Mr Galley. "We couldn't imagine that someone was being killed... But I was scared enough to close my door and tell my friends. One of her messages is chilling... "It sounded like someone was being murdered", Rachel Hope wrote, but she didn't believe it was actually a murder.

One of her friends living on the floor below also heard the screams. "It's clear that the screams were very loud," says Rachel Hope.


3 p.m. - Screams lasting about "five minutes", according to the student

Mr Schwerdorffer asks Rachel Hope how long the screams lasted: "It lasted about five minutes". Arthur Del Piccolo's lawyer agreed: "That's an awfully long time indeed." Could she have mistaken the screams for the sounds of a sexual encounter? "No, in no way," the student assures him.

The criminal lawyer in turn evokes this prowler, encountered on 2 December, whom Rachel Hope identifies as Nicolas Zepeda. "In the kitchen, I found myself this close to his face," the witness mimes with her hand, marking a space of about twenty centimetres. "He made a small jump when I opened the door, then disappeared. The British student says she has never seen him before, nor seen him afterwards.


3.10pm - Rachel Hope cries at the thought that she might have come across "the murderer

The public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux resumes the interrogation of the British student. He mentions the man she saw in the kitchen, whom she identifies in photos as Nicolas Zepeda. "He was dressed in a black coat, with gloves. He didn't want to be seen. He was not behaving in a normal way. When I saw these photos (proposed by the investigators five years ago, editor's note), I even had a visceral reaction. I started to cry, because I realised that it could be the murderer..."

At the evocation of this memory, in front of the court, Rachel Hope cannot prevent a new surge of tears.

Etienne Manteaux is surprised that no one made the connection, or warned the police, between the presence of this prowler on 2 December, "the cries of horror" on 5 December, and Narumi's absence from class in the days that followed.
"No, because we weren't close friends. I didn't know she was missing until about 15 December," the witness said.


3.20pm - The defence lawyers are rather disarmed by this testimony

On the side of the defense, Jacqueline Laffont tries to insist on "the fragility" of human testimony, especially when it comes to dating events precisely.

Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer detailed the descriptions, provided by Rachel Hope, of the clothes of the prowler seen on 2 December 2016. Black coat, gloves. A detail that may be important for the future, this Tuesday afternoon, when the CCTV cameras are viewed.

3.30 pm - "It was a woman, one voice".

The videoconference with Scotland comes to an end. President Husson concludes with Rachel Hope's statements to the investigators. Then her messages, written that night on the spot.

Excerpts from her statement to the police: "The screams were those of a woman like in a horror film, coming from her stomach. I stood at my door, I turned off the light, I didn't want to leave my room, but I was too scared. I wrote to my friends. It was a woman, and only one voice, not a fight. No words, just screams."

On the big screen, the screenshots of Rachel Hope's messages take the court back five years, to the heart of that disturbing night. "I'm scared, I heard a noise as if someone was being murdered. "I am afraid. "My heart is racing. "If you heard it too, it must have been very loud."



BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

3.45pm - She draws Nicolas Zepeda curled up in the campus kitchen

A new witness takes the stand. Nadia Ouaked explains that she has produced a drawing to summarise her memories, which she wishes to show to the court. The court clerk presents her pencil sketch, depicting the kitchen of the Rousseau residence, where Narumi was staying. With a figure sitting on the floor.

This student did not hear the screams, but like Rachel Hope, she claims to have run into Nicolas Zepeda on campus in early December 2016. "My room is on the fourth floor, opposite the communal kitchen. The door was closed, although it is always open. The lights were off. I took a pan to heat up some milk. In the kitchen, the windows were open, it was cold. Unbearably cold. I turned around and was surprised by a boy sitting on the floor, curled up with his head in his lap."

"I was a bit scared, I was on my guard. He got up, his hair was dishevelled, his eyes were red, he was sad, like a person who has cried for too long. He spoke to me and asked me to stay, in a language like Spanish. The man explained to her by gestures that he had fainted, indicating that he lived on the second floor, which Nadia immediately doubted. "He washed his face and went out. I found this situation strange.

Faced with the photo board of eight portraits, presented five years ago by the police, her "eyes fell directly" on this stranger, Nadia concludes. The selected portrait was that of Nicolas Zepeda.

4:00 p.m. - Witness looks at Zepeda in the box: "Yes, that's the person I spoke with.

Witness Nadia Ouaked places this meeting at the "beginning of December" 2016, without much precision.

Me Schwerdorffer for the prosecution recalls the description provided by Nadia Ouaked at the time - "24-25 years old, Hispanic type, green eyes, short black hair" - and asks Nicolas Zepeda to stand up in his box and remove his protective medical mask. The Chilean defendant agrees. He stands up. Takes off his face mask.

"Does this face remind you of anything? Look carefully...", Mr Schwerdorffer asks the student. "Yes, it's the person I spoke with. It's not a face I would forget, because I had just arrived at the CROUS," Nadia Ouaked says without hesitation.
"Mr Zepeda said he had never set foot in the Narumi building" except for the night of 4 to 5 December 2016,"Me Schwerdorffer recalls.

A flutter in the courtroom. Invited to react, the defence questioned the quality of the photo board used by the police five years ago. But they do not ask any questions to the student.

4.20pm - Screams followed by "a grumble", "a rattle".

Adrien Laurent lived in the same corridor as Narumi. In front of the jury, he relived that night of 4 to 5 December 2016: "I was awakened by screams. By the time I came to, I would say it lasted two minutes. These screams ended with a grumble, a rattle. I listened in the corridor, heard doors as if people were checking what was going on. I forgot about it, but ten days later I saw the police taking evidence and I went to the police station to make a statement."

Adrien Laurent then thought of "a great anxiety attack", "a nightmare". He could not go back to sleep "before 6am". The young man excludes the hypothesis of sexual intercourse.

Mr Galley returned to this testimony. "A rattle is someone who dies," says the lawyer for the Kurosaki family. "Yes, it was this rattle that made my blood run cold..."


16:30 - "We don't know where Narumi was killed, Mr Zepeda knows, but he hasn't told us..."

Still for the civil parties, Mr Schwerdorffer returned to Adrien Laurent's feeling that the screams were coming from the left. On the side of Narumi's room. Arthur Del Piccolo's lawyer cannot help but comment: "We don't know where Narumi was killed, Mr Zepeda knows, but he didn't tell us..."

"Why don't you do something? Why don't you call the police?" Etienne Manteaux, for the prosecution, is astonished. "Because I'm afraid and also because there is a lack of understanding at the time. I would not have been able to think that someone was dying. Now I do."

Me Laffont gets involved. Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer reminds him that at the time, the witness was considering the origin of the screams "in the stairwell" rather than in Narumi's room.



16:40 - Zepeda's father's gesture of comfort to his wife

The flow of testimony continues in the courtroom, with Nicolas Zepeda's parents in the front row looking on. The two Chilean parents seem emotionally affected. The husband rubs his wife's shoulder in comfort.

Nabil, a student who lived next door to Narumi five years ago, comes to the stand. "I heard screams around 3am. I went out. I went around the first floor. It could have been someone who had fallen and hurt themselves, or students screaming outside. The young man inspected the second floor and then the third floor. "No noise at all" was heard. Because it was already too late?

4.55pm - Narumi's mother breaks down, comforted by her lawyer

This is too much for Narumi's mother... Faced with the many accounts of these agonising cries, Taeko Kurosaki bursts into tears. Narumi's sister on her right, and her lawyer Me Galley on her left, bend over her to try to comfort her. The mother of the Japanese student is curled up on the civil parties' bench, face buried in a handkerchief.

A fireman discreetly comes to check on her. He leaves alone, politely dismissed. The situation is heartbreaking. Forehead to forehead, Narumi's sister takes hold of her mother's trembling hands, trying in vain to soothe her.

Taeko Kurosaki raises her face. She stares ahead, towards the box where Nicolas Zepeda is sitting motionless, mask over his mouth, face turned towards the presiding judge. A terrible moment.

5.05pm - "No anger" from Arthur del Piccolo following break-up messages

Five years ago, the witness Nabil Drissi had made friends with Arthur Del Piccolo, Narumi's French boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. Arthur Del Piccolo was the first suspect in the police investigation, before the possibility was ruled out.

According to this witness, Arthur was "a very calm and nice boy". Nabil said he did not perceive any "anger" on the night Narumi's boyfriend received the surprising break-up messages. "Only sadness."

The president of the trial court discusses with Nabil the evening of 5 December 2016, the day after the nightly screams. That evening, Arthur del Piccolo, Nabil and others lined up outside Narumi's room, already looking for her, worried. "There was no sign of anyone in the room, no noise. At the CROUS, the beds creak," explains Nabil, "you can hear if there is the slightest movement."

According to the version given by Nicolas Zepeda, the Chilean and the Japanese were still in the room, separated by a thin door. Voluntarily discreet. The police believe that Narumi was already dead by then, something Zepeda denies.

"We didn't make the connection with the screams, because we had these signs of life from Narumi, these written messages from her," the eyewitness says. Again, the police doubt that the author is really Narumi...

5.40pm - Painful memories that her brain prefers to forget

At the microphone, Anne-Laure Saillet closes this series of testimonies, so distressing for Narumi's relatives. "I heard a high-pitched scream. I thought it was a horror film. My body stopped moving of its own accord. The young woman is intimidated. She was in the room opposite Narumi on the night of 4-5 December 2016.

Her memories are lacking, she apologises. "I had a very bad time afterwards, my brain must have forgotten certain things." President Husson repeats her testimony from 2016, which referred to "banging on the walls, blows". "They were 'booms', as if someone was being pushed on the furniture or walls. I was so scared, I didn't dare get out of bed."
Encouraged by President Husson, Anne-Laure tried to get started. "The noises were very loud, as if they were coming from nearby. Narumi's room? "It's possible, but the insulation wasn't great, it could have come from the whole floor.

"The majority of witnesses seem to hear the noises on the ground floor," the lawyer for Nicolas Zepeda tries.

The hearing is adjourned.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

Surprise! There is yet another third half of the day.

L'Est Republicain, live blog


18:20 - Change of programme: the court will view the video surveillance of the campus!

Change of programme... Nicolas Zepeda will not be questioned this Monday, but rather tomorrow. But the court of assizes replaces one strong moment by another: the viewing of various sequences of video surveillance of the campus, from 1 December 2016. In the footage, a suspicious man appears to be loitering at the back of the Narumi building. In the days leading up to Narumi's disappearance, "there are a total of eleven different passages of this individual, with the same outfit each time," the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux informs.


18:30 - On the images, a suspect takes a photo of the front of the Narumi building

The CCTV images are being viewed. The audience in the room holds its breath. All eyes are on the giant screen.

00:31 on 1 December. A man in a black coat and blue jeans walks along the building. At 1:11 he reappears. Then a third time at 1:15. The individual then takes pictures of the façade with his phone. In the early hours of the morning, he was seen three more times, still scanning the building.

"When we compare these videos with the chip in the vehicle rented by Mr Zepeda, his car stops on the campus at 00:22", notes Etienne Manteaux, who details minute after minute the systematic concordance between the use of this vehicle and the passages of the prowler. Nicolas Zepeda admits in all transparency his presence in the area.

According to the hypothesis of the accusation: this silhouette with an intriguing behaviour is Nicolas Zepeda.

In the audience, a woman who had come to attend the trial could not help but react in a whisper. " It scares the hell out of me... ".

6.40pm - The mysterious prowler dressed as Nicolas Zepeda, according to a witness

The videos from the cameras scroll by at an accelerated speed before the eyes of the trial court. Night, day, night, before our eyes, a day has passed in a few minutes. Time is mind-boggling.

It is December 1st, but this time in the evening. The same man is doing what looks like scouting at 8.33pm. "Same look, same clothes," notes the public prosecutor. With a masked head under his hood. 9:06pm, same scene. And always a concordance with the unlocking of the doors of the car of Nicolas Zepeda, whose tracker was examined by the police.

On 2 December at 10:59 am, this time during the day, the prowler is there. A potentially decisive detail strikes the mind: the clothing matches in every respect the description of a resident of the residence, Rachel Hope, right down to the black gloves. That same December 2, the student said she had run into Nicolas Zepeda - whom she identified in photographs presented by the police - in the building's communal kitchen. The link seems quite direct. An impromptu meeting that Zepeda has always denied.

19:00 - A possible turning point in the trial?

Has the trial just turned around? If the man filmed inspecting the surroundings of Narumi's residence shortly before his disappearance is indeed Nicolas Zepeda, the situation changes radically. On this point, as on so many others, the version of the Chilean defendant will deserve to be heard. Until now, these images had never been officially used by the investigation.

On the screen, time is still running fast. In the main hall, all the seats are taken. Some people are still standing along the walls. Unfortunately, the angle of the camera used does not allow us to see the emergency door through which Zepeda admits to having left in the early hours of 6 December 2016. Alone, he maintains until now. With Narumi's body wrapped in a blanket, the prosecution contradicts him.

19:20 - A very subdued defence, Zepeda will have to "answer tomorrow".

The eyes turn to the defence of Nicolas Zepeda. His lawyer, Me Laffont, mentions possible differences in the colour of the shoes of the famous individual filmed by the video surveillance. "It's possible, Mr Zepeda had a luggage of 18 kilos, he can have several shoes", the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux dismisses.

Jacqueline Laffont also asked for an account of the suspicious passage of a Clio car on 6 December at 4.17am inside the campus. The head of the investigation spotted this detail in August 2020, when reviewing the videos. He had then proceeded to verify: it was a woman resident at the CROUS. "He should have made a report of it," concedes the public prosecutor. On the merits, there is no way out for the Zepeda defence: this Clio is not suspicious.

"The whole thing is not very transparent," Me Laffont laments. "I agree, it should have been recorded in the procedure," Etienne Manteaux concedes.

The hearing is adjourned. "The day has been rich in lessons learned. I will give Mr Zepeda time to reflect on what has been said today, and to answer us tomorrow," President Matthieu Husson concludes.

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

7.40pm - "The presence of Nicolas Zepeda's father weighs heavily on the opening up of his statements."

Faced with the concordance of the video surveillance images with the physical description given by two witnesses, as well as the geolocation of Zepeda's vehicle, "we are no longer dealing with coincidences," says Randall Schwerdorffer, lawyer for Narumi's boyfriend. "I can assure you that we have a lot of questions to ask Nicolas Zepeda and we will not be satisfied with evasive answers.

Confronted with the evidence that points to his guilt, "I think that it cannot be excluded that Nicolas Zepeda may perhaps change his line of defence," before suggesting that the presence of Nicolas Zepeda's father "weighs a lot on the psychology" of the accused, and on "the opening up of his statements."

20 h.- "A rattle associated with death"

Faced with multiple accounts evoking cries of agony, Taeko Kurosaki burst into tears on Monday afternoon. "She was overwhelmed by emotion," Sylvie Galley, the lawyer for Narumi's family, explained. "There is always a world of difference between reading a file and the reality, hearing these extremely poignant testimonies, especially the testimony of the young man who mentions screams that grow louder and end in a rattle."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2022/04/05/proces-narumi-parole-a-l-adn-avant-l-interrogatoire-de-nicolas-zepeda-sur-cette-nuit-ou-tout-a-bascule-a-besancon


9 h. - The Narumi case under the microscope of DNA

The Besançon Court of Assizes begins the day in Bordeaux, for a first exchange in video with Rémi Hienne. This expert worked in the laboratory on the genetic samples taken in the Narumi case.

Rémi Hienne explains that he established Narumi's reference genetic profile - called X1 - from her tooth brush and a disposable mask. The profile of Arthur Del Piccolo, her French boyfriend, was also developed.

Numerous objects from room 106, Narumi Kurosaki's room, were examined, and Rémi Hienne will draw up a list of these objects and the results obtained.

9 h 15. - Nicolas Zepeda's presence in the room is scientifically proven

Rémi Hienne's scientific presentation continues.

Traces were found on a bed sheet. In addition to the DNA of the Japanese student, a halo [ stain] was tested, initially with unidentified male DNA. After analysis, these bodily fluids appear to have come from Arthur Del Piccolo. Small brownish traces were also identified as Narumi's blood.

On the duffel bag, two male DNAs (X3 and X4) were found in small quantities. The X4 profile was found in other parts of the room, as well as on a T-shirt and a knife that belonged to Nicolas Zepeda. These items were recovered afterwards. "There is a match", Remi Hienne notes.

The sealed package with a large bottle arrived. On the neck and cork, two DNAs mingle, that of Narumi Kurosaki and the famous X4, assimilated to that of Nicolas Zepeda with this time "a formal correspondence". This is consistent with the Chilean's version, who admits to having spent time with Narumi in her room.


9 h 30. - DNA mixtures in Zepeda's safe

Genetics expert Rémi Hienne now details the analysis of swabs, taken from the floors and walls by the police "white coats" in Narumi Kurosaki's room.

An interesting discovery was that a mixture of Narumi's and Zepeda's DNA was found 1.45 metres above the floor. Profile X4 - Zepeda's - was also found on the edge of the sink. Another unidentified DNA called X5 was also found.

Brownish traces were spotted by the police outside the university residence, near the exit door through which Zepeda admits to having left... Possibly blood? "We found the DNA profile of Jonathan Cottet, an employee of the CROUS," Rémi Hienne notes, "but no trace of Narumi's genetic profile.

This lead has been ruled out by the investigation

Forensic experts worked on multiple objects, always looking for possible blood from Narumi. The trunk of Nicolas Zepeda's rental car was obviously examined with a fine-tooth comb.

In this trunk, "very complex mixtures of DNA were examined, which are difficult to use. For five out of six samples, we cannot exclude that Narumi was one of the contributors. But we have no certainty, we can't go any further," Rémi Hienne says.

A second and more complete examination of the Chilean's car was carried out "by stamping", in search of formal scientific traces of Narumi Kurosaki. The results? Nothing usable. However, the Japanese student did get into this vehicle to go to the restaurant in Ornans with Nicolas Zepeda on 4 December 2016.

9 h 45. - The absence of body fluid on the sheet undermines the version of the accused

The magistrate questions the expert about Narumi's sheet. "No trace of biological fluid, saliva or sperm was found," says Rémi Hienne.

Etienne Manteaux acts surprised: "Mr Zepeda spent 29 hours with Narumi in this room, he tells us of four sexual encounters, two of which involved ejaculation, is it conceivable that there are no traces on the sheet?

Rémi Hienne answers cautiously: "It seems a bit surprising. We should have, because even when you sleep, you can leave traces of saliva. But nothing. Even when you have safe sex, you can have discharge."

Narumi's blood on the duffel bag? "It could be a small wound, but I wouldn't say it's related to a bloody crime," says the expert.

Etienne Manteaux considers the hypothesis of intense cleaning of a crime scene.

"It all depends on the cleaning products used, but there are always persistent traces that can be found, ," replied the expert.

The public prosecutor brings up the trunk of Nicolas Zepeda's car. "What is the probability that the part of the allele [ part of DNA ] found in this trunk is that of Narumi Kurosaki?
"Unfortunately, there is no way to make statistical calculations," the expert says.


10 h 10. - The defence removes any doubt about Zepeda's knife

Me Benedetti, defending Nicolas Zepeda, in turn questions the forensic expert about the two unidentified male DNA profiles (X5 and X3) found in Narumi's room. These traces may stem from "visits prior to the events, DNA can remain in a place for a long time," says Rémi Hienne states.

Me Benedetti also mentions the analysis of the knife left by Nicolas Zepeda to his cousin in Spain, a few days after Narumi's disappearance. "We can conclude that Narumi Kurosaki's DNA is not present on this knife," the expert states.

That leaves the famous car boot. Rémi Hienne launched into a long tirade, to reiterate how the complexity of the DNA mixtures taken from the car prevented any certainty that Narumi had been there... Without ruling it out either, however.

Ms Laffont returned to the story of Narumi's "top sheet"...

"The public prosecutor is trying to imply that there was no sexual relationship between Mr Zepeda and Narumi (contrary to what the accused claims, editor's note)", the lawyer regrets, expressing surprise: "But we know that Narumi lived in this room, slept in this bed, and there was no trace of her either?
The expert explains that the sheet was not examined in more detail, as no trace of fluid was detected with the naked eye.

11 h 05. - Zepeda "charming, calm, pleasant" just after Narumi's disappearance

On the defence side, Me Benedetti took the floor after the recess to conclude the DNA sequence.

Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer indicated that contrary to what had been indicated, her client had indeed submitted to "salivary samples" when he was in Chile.

It now is the turn of the manager of the Formule 1 hotel in Dijon, where the Chilean spent the night of 6 to 7 December 2016, to appear before the court. According to the prosecution's theory, Nicolas Zepeda disposed of Narumi's body that morning.

The manager says that in the evening, Zepeda had appeared "charming, pleasant, calm, absolutely not aggressive."


11 h 15. - Again this "American accent"

A new witness comes forward: the employee of the Dijon car rental company, from whom Nicolas Zepeda had rented his vehicle... The only interesting aspect of her testimony is that she confirms the Chilean's "American accent" when he speaks in English.

Why is this interesting? A student, who was also heard this Monday by the court of assizes, affirmed that she had come across Zepeda "prowling" in the corridors of the Narumi residence. A meeting denied by the South American. This student also mentioned this "American accent."


11 h 30. - Zepeda's rental car, dirty or not dirty?

There is the question of how dirty Zepeda's car was when he returned it on 7 December 2016. At the time, her colleague told her that she was "ashamed" that she had not had time to clean the vehicle before it was handed over to the next client.

For the defence, Mr Laffont repeated the statements of the two employees of the company. Neither had noticed the presence of mud on the bodywork. "Wasn't there a condition that caught your attention?" insisted Zepeda's lawyer. "No".

Me Jacqueline Laffont anticipates the blows... Because this statement contradicts the witness who is going to follow.


11 h 40. - The car of the accused returned "full of dirt" according to a witness

Zubida Benali is now facing the jury. Her use of French is shaky. On 8 December 2016, to travel to Italy, this man rented the Scenic car that had just been used for a week (and for nearly 800 km) by Nicolas Zepeda.

"It was like a 4X4 that had been driven down a country road, it was very dirty. There was a lot of mud", he explains.
"Both on the outside of the bodywork and in the passenger compartment."

"There was dirt on the driver's side in the foot of the car, it was excessive," says Zubida Benali says. He cleaned the car himself with a pressure washer. "There was a lot of dirt and small branches, grass under the engine block."

Zubida Benali also reported "a small dent in the tyre". The picture of the tyre is projected on the screen. The problem "is not significant", said the presiding judge. The tyre in question is two metres from the witness, lying in the courtroom, wrapped and sealed.

"The car was really dirty," Zubida Benali insists at the suggestion of the prosecution.

12 h 15. - Rental car: the defence tries to discredit the client's testimony

The debate around the rental car continues. The defence of Nicolas Zepeda does not let it go. "Why don't you say anything to the people at the rental agency when you return the car?", counter-attacks Jacqueline Laffont, who recalls the opposite statements of the company's employees. "They may be playing 'jokes' on you," the witness awkwardly replies, indicating that these employees were not entirely sincere. "I don't agree with them," he insists.

Me Laffont pulls out another ace up her sleeve. In the form filled in by Zubida Benali at the time, the client did not mention any concerns. "I was in a hurry," the witness explains in context.
The defence lawyer takes up the technical expertise carried out on this famous vehicle. With "formal conclusions", recalls Me Laffont: no possible comparison between the fragments of soil taken and "the vegetation cover" of the forest of Chaux ...
Given that the car was only seized by the police on 20 December, the president of the court Matthieu Husson is left "perplexed" on the relevance of this expertise.

"We can't say that when something doesn't go in the direction of the prosecution, it's of no interest", Me Laffont is annoyed. President Husson persists and signs: this expertise has no interest in his eyes... The oral arm wrestling between them continued for a few moments.

The hearing is adjourned until 2pm.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog, after the adjournment of the morning session


12:30 pm - Me Schwerdorffer puts the pressure on once again

At the end of the hearing, Me Schwerdorffer repeats in front of the media "the major and massive arguments" unveiled since Friday morning by the court of assizes, while this afternoon a thorough interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda is looming. "This is starting to be quite a lot: we will need explanations," the lawyer for the civil party wants.

12.40pm - Nicolas Zepeda's parents allowed to spend brief moments with their son

In a rather unusual scene at the end of the hearing, the relatives of the accused joined their son in the box. The three of them left through a back door, still under police guard.

As an aside, the defence lawyer, Me Laffont, explained that the president of the court of assizes, Matthieu Husson, had given his prior consent. Since his extradition to France, there has been very little contact between Nicolas Zepeda and his parents. His mother in particular, because of the distance, had not seen him for almost a year and a half before the trial began.

There is no doubt that father, mother and son will talk together about the questioning scheduled for this afternoon. His version of the facts will be confronted with many of the incriminating evidence revealed in recent days by the court.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog afternoon

En direct. Procès Narumi : "Vous ne parlez pas à des abrutis !", la version de Nicolas Zepeda éprouvée par l'accusation

14 h 10. - Identified as a prowler in the campus kitchen, Zepeda denies

The hearing resumes without summons, with the long-awaited questioning of Nicolas Zepeda on the recent revelations of the trial. Light blue shirt, dark blue tie, the accused is asked to stand up and remove his medical mask.

The president of the court Matthieu Husson wants to hear first about the two testimonies of female students from the university residence of Narumi, questioned by the court on Monday. Both claim to have seen Zepeda "prowling" in the dark in the kitchen and corridors in the days before the disappearance of the Japanese woman.

"The first time I entered this building is with Narumi (on 4 December 2016, editor's note). I found these testimonies very strange", Nicolas Zepeda answers.

His American accent? The fact that these two witnesses recognized him in a photo, then physically this Monday in court?
"I am not this person," he repeats, "it is only a hypothesis. Like everyone else, I am trying to find a logical explanation."

Matthieu Husson insists. He recalls that one of the witnesses saw him cry. And that he is capable of crying, like when he said goodbye to Narumi in August 2016 when his girlfriend was about to take off for France. "When I said goodbye to Narumi in Japan, I wasn't crying, I was happy for her..."

14 h 20. - Chilean defendant claims not to be "the prowler" filmed on campus

The president addressed another very disturbing element, revealed yesterday during the trial: the video surveillance of the Besançon campus... The images viewed by the court show that as soon as Nicolas Zepeda arrived on campus on 1 December, a suspicious individual was filmed scouting the area at night behind the building of Narumi. This was done on several occasions.

President to Nicolas Zepeda:
- Is that you?
- No sir, it's not me.

"I don't recognise the place or this person. And I am very surprised that this video was only revealed late last week (in the middle of the hearing by the head of the investigation)," Zepeda continues.

The accused does not seem to be shaken by the coincidence of the clothing of this disturbing prowler and that described by the students who claim to have crossed paths with Nicolas Zepeda at that same time, in the immediate vicinity.

14 h 35. - Cat-and-mouse game about buying clothes

President Matthieu Husson dwells on Zepeda's purchase of clothes from H&M the day before his reunion with Narumi Kurosaki.
"It's hard to find my size in Chile," Zepeda explains, and so he took the opportunity "to buy new clothes."

"Wasn't the idea to wear them to see Narumi Kurosaki?"
"It was just that I needed clothes because I didn't have many."
"No link with Narumi, then?"
"Not at all."

Matthieu Husson returns to the conditions of the reunion with Narumi, about which the defendant's explanations remain vague.

Only "when the moment presented itself. I didn't know what Narumi was doing" that day. Nicolas Zepeda still defends the idea that he "created the opportunity," a formula used last week.

"Are you looking for a link with the clothes?" Nicolas Zepeda worries, returning his question to the president. A curious game of cat and mouse ensued between the two men.

Matthieu Husson takes the lead, citing the testimony of a Subway employee in the centre of Besançon, to whom the Chilean is said to have told that he was going to "sleep" at a Japanese friend's house.
" I only said that I had a Japanese friend who lived here in Besançon, " Zepeda corrects.

14 h 40. - The accused maintains that it was Narumi who approached him, and not the other way round

"Where did you spend the night of 3 to 4 December 2016?" the president of the court asks.
"I don't remember, probably in my car near the campus," Nicolas Zepeda says.
And during the day that followed? "I don't have a precise memory of the chronology of that day."

More generally, the president is surprised by his prolonged presence in Besançon, and his attachment to the campus where Narumi was staying.

Moving his hands like a conductor to accompany his words, Nicolas Zepeda replies:
It's true that I spent more time than I expected on campus, because it was a comfortable place."
"From there I could see interesting places. Otherwise, I spent my time watching my favourite TV show on my laptop."

President Husson askes Nicolas Zepeda again to specify how, on 4 December 2016 at around 4.30 pm, he found Narumi. A question already asked during the first week of the trial. But a crucial question.

The Chilean repeats that he was in his car in the campus car park and that it was his Japanese ex-girlfriend who saw him, before "knocking" on his window. "She was surprised, happy. We started a normal conversation and I felt we had things to talk about," Zepeda insists. "Before she knocked on my window, I hadn't seen her."

14 h 50. - When asked about his reunion with Narumi, Nicolas Zepeda suddenly bursts into tears

Matthieu Husson does not let go of the accused on the circumstances of his reunion with Narumi.

"I hadn't told Narumi of my arrival, hence my surprise when she knocked on that window," he says once again. Through his questions, we can guess that President Husson is perplexed by this version.

"She was the one who was surprised, more than you were", the magistrate insists to the accused. "Yes, surely... Narumi was moved."

Was he too? "Yes, of course," the accused says, stifling a sudden sob, his face suddenly reddening.

"We spoke about what had happened since we last saw each other, she asked me what I was doing in Chile and asked me about my dog."

Nicolas Zepeda breaks down completely, in tears, clutching the top of his nose with one hand. The large audience in the courtroom holds its breath.

The Chilean defendant weeps openly. He wipes his eyelids with a white handkerchief. The moment lasts a minute or two.

Nicolas Zepeda finally pulls himself together to describe his departure with Narumi for the restaurant La Table de Gustave in Ornans.

15 h. - Nicolas Zepeda asserts that he did not want to win Narumi back

The courtroom of Besançon remains installed in its time machine, set five years back. We are on the evening of 4 December 2016, sitting with Nicolas and Narumi in this restaurant in Ornans.

"It was a very pleasant situation, I was happy to talk to Narumi. I was lucky to be with her, and she was happy to confide in me," Zepeda says.

Did he know that Narumi had been in a relationship with Arthur del Piccolo for several weeks?
"No. She confides in me about the things she feels. I feel she is disappointed, worried, she had other expectations (of her stay in France, editor's note), she was worried."

The accused then asserted that he "felt a lot of affection" and "worried about her," while assuring that he did not want to win her back.

The two of them set off for the Besançon campus in his rented car. "We put on music, we both sang. We enjoyed the journey," the Chilean relives.


BBM

I don't get this 'sleeping in the car'. I hope the Court will return to this strange behaviour. At the beginning of December 2016, the weather in Besançon during the night is described as 'ice fog' with temperatures C below zero. It was freezing. And this man recently arrived from Chile - where it is summer - has no problems sleeping in an ice cold car?

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

Start of the interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda by the president of the court Matthieu Husson

15 h 10. - A first sexual encounter "on the bed", according to the Chilean

The story of Nicolas Zepeda continues. On the way back from the restaurant, Nicolas Zepeda and Narumi arrived in the campus car park, just as the famous night of the horror screams was about to begin.

"We agreed that I would go to her place. I got out of the car, took my suitcase and we went inside" Narumi's building, the accused says.

Complicated by the translation in real time, his explanations are confusing. When challenged by the president, Zepeda said that he had wanted to accompany the Japanese student, who had then suggested that he stay to take a shower. Because Narumi "didn't want him to go back to the hotel" in Ornans given the length of the journey, he said.

Here we are in Narumi's room 106. President Husson talks about the sexual relations described by Nicolas Zepeda. "It is a moment of affection, of closeness, a beautiful moment", the accused evokes. "There is tenderness, but also action: was it on the bed? the jadge insists. "The first time, yes". The two lovers then fell asleep.


15 h 25. - The screams in the night? Nicolas Zepeda "did not hear anything."

Nicolas Zepeda is asked about the numerous testimonies of students neighbouring Narumi, who heard screams of horror at around 3:20 a.m. on 5 December 2016.

"They gave the best possible description of what they heard. Like these people, I think it's something strange. Further research is needed to find out what happened", Nicolas Zepeda replies in a matter of fact way.

The president asked him what he had heard when he was there. "We didn't hear anything. If Narumi had heard something, she would have told me. I didn't hear anything," Zepeda maintains.

The next morning, although she is a regular student, Narumi Kurosaki does not go to French class at the CLA. Why didn't she go?

"In the morning we woke up around 7am. I saw that she was starting to get ready, but the weather was bad and she preferred to stay with me in the room."

President Matthieu Husson is puzzled. He recalls that Nicolas Zepeda had told the examining magistrate that Narumi had already anticipated, the day before, the idea of not going to class.

"In the morning, she checked if she had anything important to do," the Chilean said. "It wasn't my decision to make."

15 h 30. - The inconsistent version delivered by Zepeda in 2016 is put to the test

President Husson keeps the pressure on the accused. He refers to Nicolas Zepeda's version delivered at the end of December 2016 to the Chilean police, about his stay in France three weeks earlier. A five year old statement, full of inconsistencies.

The South American had then declared that he had left the room on the morning of 5 December, before admitting much later that he had stayed with Narumi until the morning of 6 December, the president notes.

In this statement, Nicolas Zepeda was careful to specify that Narumi was "very expressive" during their sexual encounter, while the press had already revealed the existence of loud screams in the university residence in the middle of the night. "I don't know why this Interpol commissioner highlighted this comment," Zepeda said.

The presiding judge is not satisfied. "It's strange, he writes down what he hears, right?"
The defendant's explanations remain... vague.

In the same version, Zepeda specifies that he "lost his phone in a bush", a detail that "was part of his story". "But there is still a day missing," the president of the trial court notes.

Why did he go out through the back of the university building?
"I thought it was more logical to use this exit than to go around, especially as it was closer to the car park," replied Nicolas Zepeda.

"You knew the place well", Matthieu Husson says ironically. The audience chuckles briefly and understands the allusion to the suspicious "prowler" who was filmed a few days earlier scouting the place.

At the time, when confronted by the Chilean police, Nicolas Zepeda concluded that he had "walked thoughtfully to the city centre" in the early hours of 5 December. "You never walked to the city centre," Matthieu Husson coldly observes.
"When I left the building, I was waiting for Narumi to write me a message. And then I retraced my steps."

15 h 50. - Thirty hours of great passion in the room?

President Matthieu Husson takes it one step at a time, this time referring to "the missing day" in the "2016 vintage" of Zepeda's version. That of 5 December, spent in the privacy of Narumi's room. "We had breakfast, fell asleep watching a movie. That's when people knocked on the door," the Chilean summarises.

Questioned by the president, Zepeda has to detail his four sexual encounters, "two consummated, two non-consummated", the accused explained.

President Husson wishes to summarise: "It was about thirty hours of great passion."
Nicolas Zepeda thinks he is exaggerating.
Matthieu Husson is not far from being annoyed.
The magistrate does not understand in these conditions how the South American reacts so placidly to the "cold shower" when Narumi, overcome with remorse, suddenly wanted him to leave her room.

"You don't seem to mind? The next day, you are described as smiling, calm...", Matthieu Husson tries.

"I don't need proof of affection," Zepeda replies.

"She wrote to many people, except you, did she treat you a little badly?

-"I am a calm, smiling person, I am like that."


16 h 10. - Suspicious detours south of Dole: Zepeda wanted to "see the Christmas lights"

One aspect of the Narumi case is disturbing: the passages marked by stops of Nicolas Zepeda's car in a remote area south of Dole, on December 1, 2016 at the end of the day, then on December 6 before dawn. Police believe the South American disposed of the body in the rugged area, that has many rivers and streams running through it.

"The first time I go to this area, I intend to visit the small villages, the Christmas lights, it's nice. It's different from Chile", Nicolas Zepeda spontaneously replies.

"The 6th is different, I get back in my car, I wait for a message from Narumi. I take the road, I drive, I go to a village, near a church that I had already visited, then I return to Dijon."

President Husson recalls that "it was dark". He is doubtful. Some photos of the churches in the villages south of Dole are projected on the screen. "The proximity of the churches reassures me. It's a family habit," Nicolas Zepeda comments.

What did the GPS say? "I just enter the final destination and it's up to the GPS to recalculate. Another surprise. On 6 December, the route taken by Nicolas Zepeda's car was far, very far from the shortest route between Besançon and Dijon. "No one goes that way unless you want to go there on purpose", Matthieu Husson points out to him. "I saw that the time difference between the motorway and the road was not important. The president disagreed: "From the Dole exit, it is questionable.

Zepeda dwells on his desire to visit churches. "You leave when the sun goes down, you must not have seen much of this region..." President Husson says. "I didn't want to get caught up in the traffic of people who worked in Dijon," he replies.


16 h 15. - Suspicious purchases of fuel products

Still standing, leaning over the microphone, Nicolas Zepeda now explains his suspicious purchases on 1 December, a 5L can of flammable products, a bleach-type detergent and a box of matches, intended according to him for "decoration."

The detergent: "I realised that I had made a stain on the seat of my car, so I went back to the supermarket. I wanted to clean it. I bought a multi-purpose spray."

The fuel can: "I saw that there was an offer. I wanted a container to put petrol in," Nicolas Zepeda repeats... In case he breaks down on the road.

Car parks, shopping centres, H&Ms, night visits to remote areas, your holidays in Franche-Comté were not very exciting... according to the president of the court, who remains unconvinced by the Chilean's long explanations

The hearing is suspended.

But Nicolas Zepeda has not finished with this day. The lawyers for the civil parties, and then the public prosecutor for the prosecution, still have many questions to put to him.

The final word will be left to the defence lawyers.

BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

16 h 50. - Narumi's family lawyer confronts the accused

The interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda is about to change into another dimension, much more muscular.

The lawyer for Narumi's family, Sylvie Galley, starts the confrontation by resuming his journey in Franche-Comté. She is sitting. He remains standing.

The criminal lawyer wants to hear from the accused about his very first night spent in the campus car park on 1 December. What is he doing? Why does the car light up again? Because Nicolas Zepeda went to get his suitcase from the boot. "I've changed," he says.

Me Galley is astonished. "You change at 1am, you put on your pyjamas? At the same moment, the lawyer knows, a prowler is filmed scouting the premises.

Another question about the 18 kg of his suitcase checked at the airport. "I had taken a lot of underwear," he says. "18 kilos of underwear..." Me Galley gasps. At her side, another murmur from her colleague from the civil parties, Mr Schwerdorffer: "Monsieur is very clean."

Sylvie Galley insists on the story of this prowler, "who has been going around the Narumi residence" these days. A mysterious and worrying prowler whom the prosecution refers to as Zepeda. Nicolas Zepeda is parked in the car park. "No, I was further away."
The lawyer sighs: "You were right across the street. The clothes of the prowler are identical to those of Nicolas Zepeda, according to two witnesses.
"It's a strange situation," the accused repeats.

Galley is convinced that the Chilean, who was seen by the two students, had gone to the kitchen of the Narumi building "to wash himself". Zepeda denies this. Instead, he opted for the sanitary facilities of restaurants, he says.

17 h 10. - Nicolas Zepeda re-interviewed on his (very) suspicious purchases

The lawyer for Narumi's relatives questions Nicolas Zepeda about the intriguing purchase of this matchbox at the beginning of his stay in Dijon: "I saw it, there was a motif representing France. I thought it was beautiful and I kept it. It wasn't for use."

"I think it's in Chile in my kitchen,"the South American adds.
"You never thought of taking a photo of it, we would have liked to see it," Me Galley reacts. Nicolas Zepeda also justified the purchase of an alcohol-based detergent (Saint-Marc brand) to clean "a melted chocolate stain" on his car seat.

The Kurosaki family's lawyer concludes this sequence with the purchase of the famous fuel can, which Zepeda allegedly bought only to recover the container... In order to fill it with petrol, in case of a breakdown. "The first time, I didn't see a petrol station, that's why I bought the can. At the first petrol station I saw, I emptied the can and filled it with petrol. He ended up pouring it into his fuel tank at the end of his stay.

17 h 30. - Tense but not very fruitful exchanges

The dialogue of the deaf between Me Galley and Nicolas Zepeda continued, about the stages of his journey in France, taken up one by one. The lawyer for the Kurosaki family tries to confront the accused with his contradictions. Insisting on details that mean a lot. Zepeda seems to have an answer for everything, even if he is not always consistent.

Me Galley returns to the dinner shared in Ornans by Narumi and Nicolas Zepeda: "We know that you were madly in love with her, a break-up that was not well taken, you talk about it to her cousin, you have difficulty admitting it, she had refused that you come to France. You surprise her by coming. Don't tell me that you talked about your relationship and your feelings that evening?

Nicolas Zepeda leans over the microphone: "Everything you are telling me is not compatible (with reality, editor's note). Everything is false."

A moment of hesitation. Nicolas Zepeda is not satisfied with the French translation of his answers. He controls his annoyance, frequently fidgeting with his microphone.


17 h 50. - Where are the condoms?

Sylvie Galley returns to the sexual acts. "You used a condom", the lawyer for Narumi's relatives asks him. Answer: yes. "Did you take a box with you, in your little suitcase?" "Yes."

Nicolas Zepeda asserts that he "threw them away". Me Galley has her prey: "How do you explain that they were not found in the room? The accused has his answer: "I threw them in the toilet"...

"I threw them in the toilet"... "The toilet was explored, nothing was found", the lawyer sniffs.

17 h 55. - Six minutes is a long time to die

Me Sylvie Galley throws all her strength into the battle of looks and words.

"Did you like Narumi?" she asks Nicolas Zepeda.
"Yes, it hurts me. It hurts me when she disappeared."
"She's still not dead? What has she been doing for the last five and a half years, Narumi?
"Believe me, I'd like to know too..."

Ms Sylvie Galley: What did you do to Narumi?

Nicolas Zepeda politely waits for the end of the translation. "Nada."

Me Galley's voice resounds, soft but firm, in the courtroom: "The screams, two minutes, silence, two minutes of screaming again, then silence, then two minutes of screaming...
Six minutes, Mr Zepeda. That's a long time to die."
Zepeda's response: "I didn't hear any of that.
Mr Galley leaves a moment of silence.
Then concludes: "Six minutes...


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


18 h. - Me Schwerdorffer enters the stage: "Perhaps you should face reality"

The civil parties keep their grip. Me Schwerdorffer approaches the dock to face Nicolas Zepeda physically.

The lawyer for Narumi's French boyfriend, Arthur del Piccolo, reiterates all the charges brought against him since the beginning of the trial. The stalking, jealousy, location on campus...

"I am not this person," the Chilean maintains.

"You understand that we doubt it. We are no longer dealing with coincidences. Do you understand that in criminal law, that these become evidence?" Me Schwerdorffer questions. Hew goes on to mock Zepeda's "lack of luck" as he has been stationed on the campus for several days without seeing Narumi.

Referring to Nicolas Zepeda's version of his return from the restaurant to the campus on 4 December, the lawyer announces that he has a "problem."
He repeats a past statement by Zepeda, who said that Narumi had offered to "go back to her room to have sex"... Today, the accused talks about a shower.

"That was transcribed verbally, you'd have to ask the inspector...", Zepeda replies. "What does this inspector have against you?" Maitre Schwerdorffer mocks again.

"I will tell you why you are lying. When you are in front of the examining magistrate, on 30 September 2020, in the presence of your lawyer, you say: "I asked Narumi if I could take a shower at her place. Today, it is she who proposes it to you? You have a way of adapting your answers according to events that is amazing."

There comes a time when you have to face reality.


18 h 15. - "Do you take us for idiots?" thunders Mr Schwerdorffer

Me Schwerdorffer continues his undermining work.

Simple question. When did Zepeda learn that Narumi was dating Artur del Piccolo?

"I didn't know until I returned to Chile (after 13 December 2016)."

The lawyer feigns surprise. "There are photos of her and Arthur on the desk in her room. A drawing with a little heart. Even if it eats you up, it's like that! You just happen to be there that day. She couldn't arrange her room..."

Me Schwerdorffer's voice explodes: "Do you take us for idiots?

"I hadn't seen these photos," the accused says.
"You are the man who asks her to delete friends on Facebook, you are jealous as can be," Me Schwerdorffer sighs.

"Your hypothesis is false. These photos were not in the room," Nicolas Zepeda wants to believe...
"Yes, they were, they were photographed by the investigators... What happened at 3:21 am with these screams, after which Narumi will never be seen again? Do you know what denial is?"

Nicolas Zepeda takes it without flinching: "I was sleeping and the photos were not visible in the room.

18 h 25. - Nicolas Zepeda heckled about his Catholic faith

Me Schwerdorffer nails Zepeda on two different versions. In the one delivered at the end of 2016, the South American claims to have left Narumi during the night at her request, because she felt guilty about having cheated on Arthur del Piccolo... Five minutes earlier, this Tuesday in the court of assizes, Nicolas Zepeda affirmed that it was only when he returned to Chile that he discovered the existence of the couple.

"Which one do you like the most, and which one is true?" the lawyer of Arthur del Piccolo challenges him. Without getting an intelligible answer.

"Are you particularly religious, Mr Zepeda? The Chilean nods.
"All that has happened, beyond the justice of men, does it not call for anything when you are faced alone with yourself? Forgiveness, recognition, the path of atonement?"

"These are values that I share, yes," the accused replies.

18 h 35. - Pause granted, to let the accused breathe

Advocate General Etienne Manteaux, for the prosecution, prepares to strike while the iron is hot.
Jacqueline Laffont intervenes and asks for a break for Nicolas Zepeda, to let her client catch some air. The president of the court, Matthieu Husson, grants her. "It is legitimate.
The hearing resumes in twenty minutes.

BBM