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

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


19 h.- Nicolas Zepeda finally admits his jealousy

Nicolas Zepeda is put at the disposal of the prosecution, represented by the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux.

Questioned from the outset about some of his messages about Narumi, the accused admits his "jealousy" towards certain males.

The public prosecutor is satisfied. "We're making progress". Not fast enough for his liking, since Zepeda immediately denies having connected from Japan to Narumi's university session, while the student was already in France.

The question is simple: did he spy on Narumi's Facebook account? Zepeda goes into a complex answer. Etienne Manteaux explodes. "Could he answer, instead of acting like a teacher?"

Hanging on the microphone, the defendant's answer is clearer. "No."

19 h 15. - "Narumi dumped you," the public prosecutor tells Zepeda.

Etienne Manteaux submits to the court a series of messages presented by Nicolas Zepeda, allegedly sent by Narumi on 8 October 2016.

Messages where the student appears rather happy and in love. Clearly, and he says so, the public prosecutor doubts the veracity of these documents, unusual in their form.

Etienne Manteaux compares these exchanges to the conversation actually found by the investigation in Narumi's computer, dated the same day. A violent exchange, a "rough and definitive" break-up, at the end of which Narumi insults the Chilean.

"Narumi dumped you, she had moved on" the public prosecutor sums up, eager to support the motive imputed to Nicolas Zepeda. That of a sickly jealous and vexed man, who came all the way to France to demand an explanation from his ex-girlfriend.

19 h 25. - Is he coming to the campus for Narumi? Yes but no, says Zepeda

The public prosecutor underlines how quickly Nicolas Zepeda goes to the Besançon campus, from his first night in France.

" It has to do with Narumi," the accused admits.

"We're making progress! You have the right to lie, but to the jury you said on the first day that you had come to the campus because it was a safe place," Etienne Manteaux is pleased to say.

But for Zepeda, one does not exclude the other. "Why is it so hard to say you're coming to Narumi? Everything shows it! It's stupid to deny it," the public prosecutor exclaims.

Nicolas Zepeda refuses the outstretched hand: "On 1 December, it wasn't so clear in my head."

19 h 35. - 1350 euros" spent by Nicolas Zepeda for his stay

As he did in front of President Husson and the lawyers for the civil party, the Chilean assures us for the umpteenth time that he was not this strange prowler filmed under Narumi's windows. And this, despite the chronological concordance between the use of his car and the repeated passages of the suspect prowler.

Why sleep "like a wretch, a homeless person" in his car? "A question of money," answers Nicolas Zepeda.

Etienne Manteaux was waiting for him and asked him about the minimum wage in Chile. He doesn't know. "It's 400 euros. That's it, when you've always lived on a pedestal, always well kept," Etienne Manteaux says and lists all the expenses for his French trip.

How much? "I paid for it with my savings..."
That's not the question, the public prosecutor insists. "I don't have any details, the flight was a reasonable price."
Silence.
"You spent 1,350 euros," Etienne Manteaux calculates, "that's three minimum wages in Chile. So you were well able spend 35 euros for a night in a hotel."

19 h 40. - And the missing condom wrappers? "I kept them."

"How do you expect us to believe you?", Etienne Manteaux laments, returning to the description of Nicolas and Narumi's reunion. "The facts are stubborn", sighs the public prosecutor, returning to the night of 4 to 5 December 2016. The night of the screams. The night of the disappearance.

"Nicolas Zepeda explains that he threw his two used condoms into the toilet," Etienne Manteaux recalls. "But the wrappers, that were not found in the bedroom bin"
"I kept them," the accused says.

Nervous laughter in the courtroom.
Etienne Manteaux rushes into this apparent contradiction: "You don't put them in the bin, you keep them! Mr Zepeda, he's a collector!"
The accused does not give up: "It's a Japanese custom, you don't throw away things in someone else's house."

"From the moment I left Narumi in her room, I don't know what happened," Zepeda repeats, hands resting on the edge of his box, torso leaning forward.

19 h 50. - The "conspiracy" of the phantom video surveillance image

The public prosecutor advances like a tank on the Chilean defendant, piling up factual, temporal and technical elements that undermine his version.

You are not talking to morons! Etienne Manteaux thunders again in the middle of one of Nicolas Zepeda's answers.

The exchanges are explosive and frontal. Particularly on the route taken for Chile after leaving the building of Narumi, on 6 December 2016, out of the scope of the video surveillance. The defence puts forward a thesis: that of a phantom image in which Nicolas Zepeda was filmed leaving the campus alone...

This image, mistakenly mentioned in four press articles at the end of December 2016, does not exist. However, those close to Nicolas Zepeda claim to have seen it published in the press. They then envisaged "a plot" by the French justice system to erase it.

20 h 10. - I understand that you will not confess

"You don't think it's time to tell it like it is?" Etienne Manteaux urges, questioning the "chance" put forward by Nicolas Zepeda, to justify the concordances between the material elements collected by the investigation, and the connections of Narumi's accounts after her physical disappearance. "It is you who is behind this phone and who operates Narumi's account," Etienne Manteaux sighs.

"I understand that you will not confess. I don't think it's in your interest, but it's your right..." the public prosecutor says, and he has a final question.

"What is this story about detergent, apart from cleaning Narumi's room? The accused maintains that he wanted to clean a stain in his car... "A vehicle that he also returned soiled with mud," the public prosecutor adds, to better underline the inconsistency in his eyes of this answer.

20 h 30. - Continuation and end of the debate on the video surveillance image

The president of the trial court reads out the statement of the journalist from L'Est Républicain who admitted an error, subsequently corrected eleven times in different articles of the newspaper, mentioning a possible CCTV image of Nicolas Zepeda, filmed "alone" after his night with Narumi in December 2016.

Contrary to what Zepeda's relatives claim, this image was never published. The public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, took exception to the accusations made by the relatives of the accused against the public prosecutor at the time. According to them, the prosecutor had discreetly demanded that certain media remove all traces of this alleged image. "This is particularly unpleasant", the public prosecutor said.

20 h 40. - Me Laffont rushes to the rescue of Nicolas Zepeda

The defence takes the floor to close the day's proceedings.

Me Laffont makes Nicolas Zepeda repeat that he was indeed "jealous" when Narumi was in France. The defence lawyer turns to her client and takes up with him the more solid aspects of his version. "Yes Counsel", the Chilean repeats regularly, to better accompany her in her demonstration. This is a softer way for Zepeda to end this day of questioning, which has been very trying for him.

The supposed questions from the defence turned into a monologue by Me Laffont, who read out messages from Narumi sent on the evening of 4 December 2016, "which show that after this dinner in Ornans, Narumi Kurosaki took the decision to stay with Nicolas Zepeda for some time." The lawyer wishes to emphasise that the Japanese student did agree to share her room and her night with Zepeda. "There was an invitation."

20 h 55. - End of the 6th day of the trial, a difficult one for the defence

The presiding judge Matthieu Husson suspends the hearing. See you tomorrow at 8am, for the resumption of the proceedings.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

En direct. Procès Narumi : le petit ami de la Japonaise disparue exige "des réponses" de Nicolas Zepeda



7 h 45. - The programme: Narumi's friends and family to speak

This seventh day of the trial will be marked by the hearings of those close to Narumi. That of her friend and room-mate, Shintaro Obata, but also her French boyfriend at the time, Arthur Del Piccolo. Narumi's sister and mother are also to be heard in the afternoon.


8:00am - The hearing resumes from Japan

The Doubs Assize Court is again projected 10,000 km from Besançon, to Japan, where Shintaro Obata, a friend of Narumi, is about to testify.

This young man was also her neighbour at the CROUS in Besançon in 2016, when his friend abruptly disappeared. His testimony is eagerly awaited.


8.10 a.m. - "I want justice to be done, for her memory

Sitting with his back straight, hands clasped in front of him, elegant in his suit, Shintaro Obata faces the court on the giant screen. He speaks in Japanese. His words are immediately translated by one of the three Japanese interpreters hired for the trial.

Shintaro explains that he was on the same university exchange for France as Narumi Kurosaki. He became friends with her in Besançon. Shintaro lived in room 107 of the Rousseau residence. Next to Narumi, in 106.

"I remember being in front of Narumi's room and also at the police station (after her disappearance, editor's note). I took part in the search," he begins, insisting on the good social integration of his friend into the life of Besançon. "She was a happy person. I hope that justice will be done for her memory."

8.25am - "No reason" to believe that Narumi disappeared voluntarily

Shintaro Obata insisted on the "sociable" character of his friend Narumi. Did she suffer from racist incidents in Besançon? "We were talking about French classes and Narumi shared with me some difficulties in integrating into this new environment, but she did not share any problems related to racial approaches," the young man from Japan replied.

The president wants to clarify this point, as the defence argues that Narumi was not necessarily comfortable in France. Does he think she may have disappeared on purpose? "No, not at all, I don't see any reason for her to be tempted to disappear."


8:38 a.m. - Narumi and her boyfriend from Besançon : "A new couple".

What about Arthur Del Piccolo, Narumi's boyfriend from Besançon at the time of her disappearance? "He was a student at the Japanese university but at the time I didn't know him. I got to know him in Besançon where I became friends with him."

Confirming that he had "heard that he and Narumi were together", Shintaro Obata speaks of a couple that was formed in France. "But since they didn't expose themselves too much and didn't show the nature of their relationship, I don't know more about their relationship."

This contrasts with what the Japanese student said during the proceedings. It was he who told the investigators that Del Piccolo seemed "very much in love" while Narumi was "only in love", President Husson noted.

Shintaro Obata's response: "I don't remember when they fell in love with each other, but if I understood at the time that they were a new couple, it was simply because one of them told me so.

As for his perception of the climate of their relationship at the time? "Neither of them showed any signs of turmoil or problems. The couple were doing fine."

8.50am - Narumi's phone "manipulated

Shintaro Obata last saw Narumi on Saturday 3 December in the dormitory's communal kitchen. "She was going to go downtown with Arthur to visit the Christmas market."

While he says he was "not really worried" about not seeing Narumi in class on Monday or Tuesday, "even though it was not like a student like her", it was a detail when he tried to contact her that alerted Shintaro Obata. And led him and the other Japanese students who were friends of Narumi to believe that someone was tampering with her mobile phone.

Indeed, when someone sent her messages in French, Narumi's mobile answered. But those in Japanese were not answered. "Yes," confirms the Japanese student. "We thought it was strange that none of the Japanese messages were answered. That's when we started to worry."

8 h 45. - Shouts, noises, but "as if coming from a distance".

The court proceeds with Shintaro Obata to the heart of the matter. The night of 4-5 December 2016 on campus.

"I heard noises and shouting, it woke me up in the middle of the night. At first I thought it was a student disturbance. It was only when Narumi Kurosaki was absent from class in the following days," he explained, that the witness "concluded that the source of the shouting was in Narumi's room."

"I vaguely remember that it sounded like beating," but in the heat of the moment, Shintaro "did not feel that it was coming from next door. President Husson returnes to the shouting. "It was short-lived. I think so, but I wasn't fully awake."

9 h. - The witness' memory seems to be failing him

President Matthieu Husson moves time forward to the next day, the evening of 5 December. While Nicolas Zepeda and Narumi (alive, dead?) were still physically present in room 106.

Shintaro Obata's memory would seem to be failing him.

Five years ago, the Japanese said at the time that he had received a worried message from Arthur del Piccolo. "We knocked on Narumi's door for two or three hours and there was no answer," he said. "Yes, because we were worried. We tried to find out where she was," he says today. Does he remember going with Arthur to find a watchman to force open the door of room 106? "Yes, we asked him for the keys. We opened it to inspect. President Husson corrected him: the scene described had in fact taken place several days later. Not on the evening of the 5th.

9 h 20. - The silence in room 106, which opposes Zepeda's statements

Me Schwerdorffer, Arthur del Piccolo's lawyer, takes over for the civil party. He invited the witness to describe the feelings of Narumi's French boyfriend when the student disappeared. "He suffered enormously," Shintaro Obata confirms.

The criminal lawyer summoned his memories again: were there any noises from the evening of 4 December until 6 December in room 106, the period during which Zepeda claims to have shared Narumi's intimacy? "No, no noise from everyday life". This contradicts the version of the Chilean defendant.

Me Schwerdorffer refers to Zepeda's account, who details four sexual interactions with Narumi in this time frame. "Not a sound, really?"
"No," he says.


9 h 45. - The defence raises doubts and attacks the Besançon police

Shintaro Obata is now in the hands of Nicolas Zepeda's defence.
Jacqueline Laffont notes that he is not the only one, she says, who did not perceive the cries of the night of the disappearance as coming from Narumi's room. Laffont cites the Japanese woman's other neighbour, room 108, who did not hear the horrific screams.

"It was not really screams coming from an adjoining room, it is difficult to think that these noises were so close," Shintaro Obata says. Mr Laffont wonders if he would have called security in case of fright: "I didn't think of any imminent danger at that moment". These statements may go in the direction of the defence, insofar as they sow a bit of doubt in the minds of the jurors.

In passing, Mr Laffont tackled the Besançon police. Shintaro and a friend had gone to the police station on 10 December, without their approach triggering an investigation. "We were received normally, but I had the impression that we were not able to convey our concern," the witness politely confirms. "Only the Japanese students were concerned."

Mr. Laffont challenged the public prosecutor, who regretted the lack of collaboration of the Chilean defendant with the justice system: "We can therefore deplore a delay in the investigation, which is not attributable to Nicolas Zepeda!"


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

10:00 - The long-awaited testimony of the boyfriend from Besançon

Arthur del Piccolo, 26 years of age and Narumi's boyfriend from Besançon at the time of her disappearance, will testify by videoconference from Tokyo, Japan, where he now lives. The young commercial engineer is also a civil party.

He is represented at the trial by Me Schwerdorffer.


10.10 a.m. - "A very beautiful love story"

"We started our relationship at the end of September," Arthur del Piccolo explains in his spontaneous statement. "We did a lot of cultural and sporting activities together. We had also taken a trip to Brussels. We had plans. I was going to present her to my family in December, for Christmas. In short, everything was going well... It was a very beautiful love story. Then there was the night of 4 to 5 December. Her disappearance, and finally her murder..."

"I went through several phases," Narumi's boyfriend from Besançon continues. And he details his emotional states: "Sadness, anxiety, powerlessness, anger. First sadness, then the following week worry. Which grew and exploded the day the PJ came to see me. With the knowledge that Narumi is certainly no longer of this world today and that the only suspect is certainly Nicolas Zepeda.


10 h 15. - Where is Narumi?" Arthur del Piccolo speaks directly to the accused

Very classy in a blue shirt, Arthur del Piccolo continues his spontaneous presentation.

"I come before you for two reasons," the boyfriend of the missing Japanese woman sums up.

"The first is to testify in memory of Narumi alongside her parents, and to obtain justice. The second reason, and I am addressing Nicolas Zepeda, is to obtain an answer to what happened on the night of 4 to 5 December 2016... Why, how, in what circumstances... And above all a very important question: where is Narumi? We need these answers to be able to mourn."

Sitting in his cubicle, white shirt and tie, Nicolas Zepeda looks placidly at the screen, translation headphones on his ears.

10 h 15. - Narumi "felt trapped in her relationship" with Nicolas Zepeda

Arthur del Piccolo is now questioned by the president of the court about the beginning of his relationship with Narumi, when she had recently arrived in Besançon.
"She had spoken to me about Nicolas Zepeda. I remember an episode in the laundry. She burst into tears and told me that she was not well in her relationship. She told me about her Facebook account, which had been hacked (during September 2016, editor's note). She said it was Nicolas Zepeda," Arthur del Piccolo recalls.

"I knew she was in a relationship, I didn't want to take the plunge until she had stopped it," he says. "She told me that she felt trapped in this relationship, that Nicolas Zepeda wanted to deprive her of her freedom. I was very touched by this because I had had a similar experience myself. I advised her to move on."

Already nervous, Nicolas Zepeda's father frantically shakes his legs as he listens to the testimony. Narumi's sister continues to write meticulous notes of the exchanges in her notebooks.


10:25 a.m. "She didn't tell me what she was going to do"

President Husson now turns to the day of 4 December. The two lovers had been seeing each other for the previous two days. Any arguments? "No, not at all," replies Arthur del Piccolo. But that climbing lesson he blamed her for not coming? "It was simply a misunderstanding. I had failed to confirm the fact that I was waiting for her there.
On 4 December, Narumi left Arthur del Piccolo's flat in the morning. "We had slept together," he confirms. "She wanted to get something to eat at home and then go to her dance class from 1 to 4 pm.

And afterwards? "I told her to come over for a kiss. It was 4pm when she came by to give me a kiss. I was downstairs in my building. We just saw each other for a few seconds. It was a kiss to say see you later."
What was planned next? "She didn't tell me what she was going to do. I stayed home, played video games. I was planning to contact her again a little later."

In the evening, the lovers exchanged a few messages. Narumi seemed worried.
"I wanted to know why she was worried," says Arthur del Piccolo. "I insisted on going to see her but she said she was too tired, that she preferred to talk about it more seriously the next day, either on Monday, or on Tuesday. I didn't insist and went to bed around midnight - 12:30.


10 h 35. - The hair-gripping scene of the evening of 5 December 2016

The trial court continues to rewind the clock. Did he know that Narumi, his girlfriend, had followed Zepeda to the restaurant? "Several days later".
On 5 December 2016, Arthur del Piccolo explains that he was briefly reassured by messages in English from Narumi, before the concern grew again.

It was at this point that the boyfriend of Japanese woman went to her room in the evening, hoping to see her. "There was no sign of life in that room," del Piccolo assures. "I wanted to ask the watchman to open the door, but at that very moment I received a strange e-mail from Narumi. The door was not opened after all."

The message is received at 11:03 pm: "Hi honey, I don't know why, but my text messages aren't working right. I wanted to tell you in person, but I can't take it anymore, I've met another boy. I don't know if I like him. I've been with him all day. I don't know what to do. Please forgive me, tomorrow I'll explain everything. Kisses, Narumi".

As the president read out the morning on the screen, Arthur del Piccolo appeared moved. "I had a mixture of anger and sadness," he recalled at the time.

According to Nicolas Zepeda's version, Narumi was inches away from Arthur in the corridor, in good health, but deliberately hiding behind his door.
"I don't think that's the truth," Del Piccolo says.
That night, Narumi is still behind that door, yes. But already killed, according to the police.

10 h 50. - Worried, Arthur del Piccolo conducts a personal investigation

Several days after Narumi's physical disappearance, Arthur del Piccolo finally gained access to the Japanese woman's empty room. "I saw her only winter jacket and her scarf there. It was incomprehensible that she was going to Lyon (to supposedly redo her passport, editor's note) without her coat."

Arthur del Piccolo and Shintaro Obata, Narumi's Japanese friend, quickly conducted a sort of counter-investigation, accumulating all possible details about the student's disappearance. Everything was recorded in a document. "It was natural for us to do this," explains del Piccolo. They also compiled a "table of all the people Narumi knew in France", President Husson notes.

10:55 a.m. - Tense exchanges

On 6 December, after writing to Narumi the day before that he did not accept "this kind of thing" - that is, being deceived - Arthur del Piccolo received a message from Narumi at 9.59am: "Good morning, I hope you are having a good morning. I don't feel like it. Not yet someone to tell me what to do, to own me. And further: "Let's give ourselves some space, I think we need it. Good day, Narumi."

"At the time, I still thought she was writing. Looking back, now..." He thinks it was Nicolas Zepeda who was in charge. Especially since, when he wrote her a long message to try to clarify and sort things out, starting tenderly with "My Little Narumi", he received a scathing reply: "I am not your Little Narumi."

"It was very violent," confirms Arthur del Piccolo. Meanwhile, the president notes that the messages allegedly signed by Narumi were peppered with words that belonged to the semantic field of Nicolas Zepeda. Like the notion of "conditions", used by the accused in his comminatory video message where he had addressed Narumi a few weeks earlier.

11:05 a.m. - Del Piccolo was slow to consider Zepeda's involvement

As Narumi's boyfriend, Arthur del Piccolo was the police's first suspect. When questioned by investigators, he mentioned the existence of Narumi's ex-boyfriend, Nicolas Zepeda. "But he is not in France," Del Piccolo told the police, not believing in this lead himself.

It was only later that he considered the hypothesis of the Chilean's involvement. On 19 December, when questioned again, Del Piccolo drew a more worrying picture of Zepeda, based on what Narumi had told him. His possessiveness. His jealousy. His intelligence.

Narumi is said to have told Del Piccolo that her ex "was crazy in the head", after Zepeda wanted to come to France to find her. "He has a certain sense of manipulation, gently, to make others understand that he is right. He has a high sense of rhetoric," Arthur del Piccolo adds.


11:25 a.m. - "A powerful moment

In response to a question from Ms Galley, the lawyer for Narumi's family, Arthur del Piccolo recalls the Skype call in November, when Narumi introduced him to her mother and sisters. "It was a powerful moment," he says. "I was happy to talk to her family, in Japanese, and I think they were happy too. And I was happy to be made official..."

This episode of the video conference with the family is important because a few days after Narumi's disappearance, a message was sent from her mobile phone saying she had met a new boyfriend. This message was accompanied by a photo of Arthur del Piccolo... whom she had already introduced to them.

11:30 am - According to Del Piccolo, Zepeda wanted to " put him out of the running."

Arthur del Piccolo's lawyer, Me Schwerdorffer, addresses his client. An important moment. Before the trial, Nicolas Zepeda's defence never ceased to deplore the police's lack of consideration for "other leads"... Del Piccolo was one of these leads. Me Schwerdorffer therefore seeks to defuse any doubt in the minds of the jurors.

"You take a long time to understand that she was killed," the lawyer be gins. The turning point came when the judicial police visited Arthur del Piccolo's workplace. "They told me that she was dead and that the only suspect was Nicolas Zepeda. I was in tears. I realised that there was no hope," Del Piccolo explains.

Nicolas Zepeda never tried to contact Narumi after 6 December 2016.
"That seems strange to me," says Arthur del Piccolo.
"Nicolas Zepeda does very intelligent things but also very stupid things," Me Schwerdorffer launches. Het goes on to comment on the break-up messages sent from Narumi's accounts, which the lawyer attributes to the Chilean. "A psychopathic message," the lawyer summarises.

"You have been reproached for directing the investigators towards Nicolas Zepeda," Me Schwerdorffer deplores, but considers that the delay of the police results, in reality, from "the perverse manipulation of Nicolas Zepeda to make us believe that Narumi was still alive."
Arthur del Piccolo goes on to say that these messages were a break. "It was meant to put me out of the running. Nicolas Zepeda wanted to create distance, it was a victory for him. He did the same thing with the family"...
All this "to gain time," according to Me Schwerdorffer.

11.45am - "Arthur del Piccolo was initially the main suspect

The public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux recalls that Arthur del Piccolo was initially the main suspect of the investigators.

Hence the investigation, the wiretapping, and the five hearings between 15 December 2016 and 10 February 2017 which he was subjected to.

Detailing each of the elements that were verified concerning Arthur del Piccolo (conversations, connections, geolocations, etc.), the prosecution seems to have undertaken to clear up point by point the thesis of a neglected lead that could later be put forward by Nicolas Zepeda's defence.


12.05 p.m. - A single question from the defence, on the break-up messages

Me Laffont for the defence of the accused takes her turn to speak, determined to heckle Arthur del Piccolo about the break-up messages that everyone presents as actually being written by Zepeda.

When the Japanese students were concerned about Narumi's disappearance on 10 December 2016, Arthur del Piccolo had called their approach "funny and absurd", recalls Me Laffont. The defence emphasises the extent to which Narumi's boyfriend seems to have considered these famous break-up messages "credible."
Del Piccolo justifies this casual attitude because he wanted to "reassure" Narumi's Japanese friends. But he insists: "There was anger and sadness" in him. And it was indeed "incomprehension that dominated".


12.10pm - "A difficult case, but not all tricks are allowed", says Mr Laffont

An unexpected moment. The defence team takes the lead to open a digression.

"It is normal for the public prosecutor to support Nicolas Zepeda's prosecution, I would like to say that the defence is in its role when it defends him," the Parisian criminal lawyer begins.


The controversy focuses on the doubts expressed by the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux, on the veracity of messages produced by the defense on Tuesday. Me Laffont recalls that these documents were available to all since December 2020. "If there is a question, there is only one question for the public prosecutor: why are these items not in the file?"

Another "insidious challenge" is the claim that Zepeda opposed a DNA sample from Chile. "This is not true.

"I know that this is a difficult case, but not all tricks are allowed," Me Laffont raises her voice in annoyance, a first in this trial.

"Too much is too much. We must respect each other in our actions. The honour of France is that there are lawyers to defend everyone... I will resume my usual tone, that is to say calm and courteous," she concludes.

The response of the public prosecutor, who was implicated by name, was: "What matters to me is that the truth be established."

12.29pm - The session is adjourned until 2pm


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog, Wednesday afternoon

En direct. Procès Narumi : "J'ai envie de tuer cet homme !", explose la mère de Narumi devant Zepeda


13 h 15. - Narumi's mother and sister "determined to confront Zepeda"

On Tuesday evening, the Kurosaki family's lawyer, Me Galley, commented on the tough interrogation imposed on Nicolas Zepeda. He ended up admitting his "jealousy": "There are a few concessions but they are tiny, all that is buried behind an absolute denial, locked up and we can't get past it. Even when confronted with the evidence, with the most incredibly convincing elements of proof, he continues to say that it's not him."

Sylvie Galley spoke about the upcoming testimony of Narumi's mother and sister this afternoon before the jury. "They are ready and determined to confront Nicolas Zepeda, to contradict him, to give their vision and above all to clear Narumi's honour, whom he described as a lying woman, a woman who deceives, a woman who conceals everything."

"When they listen to this description," continues Me Galley, "I could feel them coming out of their shells. I feel the anger, even if they remain very dignified. I think they will have a lot to say."


14 h.- The hearing resumes, in front of an already full courtroom

The trial court resumes, for a new major part of the trial: the testimony of Narumi's relatives. The room had already been packed with onlookers for a good fifteen minutes. The spectators had realised that the number of seats was limited and were now taking the lead.

Two other transmission rooms are open to the public. And they too are often full.

2.10pm - The very disturbing statements of Zepeda's cousin

Before the testimony of the Kurosaki family, President Husson returns to the episode of Nicolas Zepeda's "Spanish cousin", who is in fact Chilean like him. This is a new incriminating sequence for the accused.

Questioned by the police, Juan Felipe Ramirez explained that he had been contacted by Nicolas Zepeda, who had asked him to take him in for a few days. Zepeda arrived in Barcelona on 8 December 2016, after his stay in Franche-Comté.

Did they discuss Narumi? "Nicolas Zepeda tells him that their break-up was in September, that he had not seen her since and that he was very much in love with a German girl," the president quotes. Juan Felipe Ramirez said that his cousin left him a T-shirt and a knife.

His behaviour was considered "normal". The cousin finds it important to point out that Nicolas Zepeda had advised him "to be discreet about his visit, not to talk about it to anyone, not to publish anything on the internet."

Why so? To hide the situation from his father, Zepeda had replied.


14:15 - Nicolas Zepeda's sudden interest in "death by asphyxiation"...

At his request, the cousin Juan Felipe Ramirez was heard a second time at the end of January 2017 by the Catalan police to make a new statement.
A week earlier, Nicolas Zepeda had encouraged him "to give as few explanations as possible" to the police, reminding him that "the family should be united and help each other", which Juan Felipe Ramirez had perceived as "threats".

The Barcelona cousin was angry and disappointed with Zepeda when he learned that Zepeda had lied to him about the reasons for his stay in France, and the existence of a reunion with Narumi. "At first, Nicolas Zepeda spoke about his girlfriend in the present tense, but as the discussion progressed, the past came up. The cousin remembers a phrase: 'Narumi loved the sea'.

The rest sounds like a potential earthquake. Juan Felipe Ramirez details a disturbing conversation with Nicolas Zepeda, who was interested in "medical terms relating to death by asphyxiation", with a series of questions about "hanging."

"What should I do if someone has hanged themselves?

"How long does it take to die?

"How long do I have to rescue a hanged person?

"How do I know if after a hanging a person was alive or dead?

It was then, according to this cousin, that Zepeda formulated this mysterious phrase: "Sometimes having a lot of information means a lot of responsibility".

2.45pm - "I hope she'll be back soon."

The president now reads the transcript of the exchanges between the two cousins following the spontaneous statement made to Interpol in Spain by Juan Felipe.

Nicolas Zepeda wrote that Narumi's family was like his own when he was in Japan. Then, quoting the articles that appeared after his disappearance: "With the press, they probably think the worst of me. I hope she' ll be back soon!

4 January: in a new exchange, Nicolas Zepeda shows confidence in his exchanges with his cousin in Spain. He had just spoken to a Chilean law firm that had told him that there were no extradition agreements with France. "I am more at ease," the accused writes.


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2.45pm - Narumi's mother "apologises for the inconvenience caused"

The tension in the courtroom rises again.

Taeko Kurosaki, Narumi's mother, stands up for the first time in the trial. Her lawyer accompanies her to the central podium, supporting her with both hands behind her back.

Taeko is dressed entirely in black, from head to toe. She places her clutch in front of her, which she has been holding against her chest for a week. Inside is a photo of Narumi.
Her tears precede her first words, chopped up by sobs.

"First of all, I would like to express my gratitude and my apologies for the inconvenience caused by this case, for all those who have taken the trouble to pursue this investigation for so long, for my eldest daughter," she says, bowing to the court.

Her youngest daughter, Kurumi, is also crying.

2.55pm - "I raised Narumi with all my love"

A dark shadow in front of the jury, Taeko Kurosaki continues: "For more than five years, I have been physically destroyed. I have a great distrust of humans. I gave up my job, I isolate myself without seeing anyone every day. That's why I find it hard to speak. It may be that my speech is long, interspersed with silences... I apologise for that."

Various people in the room have reddened eyes. The public prosecutor himself seems very touched. The moment is poignant. Still in tears, the mother evokes her missing daughter with difficulty. "I want you to understand how wonderful this person was. Narumi was born on 23 July 1995. I raised her with all my love," she says. "I breastfed her, she grew up healthy. She was cheerful, laughed a lot. She was so adorable, I loved her so much, I couldn't part with her for a moment.

Taeko marks a long silence, as if struggling with herself. Before detailing, step by step, Narumi's early years. School, drawing, learning to write, playing with her cousins. "She absorbed everything with courage and intelligence," her mother observes.
Sitting in his box, his gaze fixed on his ex-girlfriend's mother, Nicolas Zepeda seems impassive. His face is hidden behind a medical mask.

3.20pm - A mausoleum of words for her missing daughter

"She excelled in everything," Narumi's mother continues. Her voice is still filled with grief, her words interrupted by sobs. Overwhelming. And building, sentence after sentence, a mausoleum of words for her lost daughter.

"She never boasted. All she wanted was to improve herself. She worked from dawn to dusk, and she got a good result every time. She had passed the entrance exam to a private university but, thinking of her younger sisters who would follow her, and of me, her mother, who was splitting her time between three employers, she gave up and decided to take the even more difficult entrance exam to a state university.

3.20pm - The mother tells of the meeting between her daughter and Nicolas Zepeda

Taeko Kurosaki's story is as slow as it is painful.

Narumi's mother confides that she has "written a lot in (her) diary" since the affair began. Taeko then goes into detail about her daughter's meeting with Nicolas Zepeda, right up to the day in March 2015 when the Chilean helped the Kurosaki family set up a bed in their flat. She remembers asking "Nico" many questions about his native country, with Narumi's help in translation.

Taeko tells another story. "Mr Zepeda wanted to see our photo album, to see pictures of Narumi as a child. There was tenderness.

When Nicolas Zepeda had to leave Japan for the first time, the Chilean "cried his eyes out at the airport." This was the beginning of a troubled period for the Narumi-Nicolas couple, who were affected by the distance, between break-ups and reunions. She also recalls her daughter's holidays in Chile. Zepeda boasted of financing the trip, Taeko assures us, "but Narumi had to pay for her return flight."


4:00 pm - Taeko gives the jurors a lot of details, anxious to tell everything

Nicolas Zepeda returned to Japan in April 2015 to see Narumi again. A few months pass. But the young Japanese woman, attracted by her desire to go elsewhere, "fulfilled her dream" by obtaining a grant for a university exchange in France.

Taeko Kurosaki recounts the difficult situation experienced by Nicolas Zepeda, whom her daughter was preparing to leave behind. 15 July 2016. Narumi's mother dwells on Zepeda's "bad temper" as he felt excluded from a meal. "He retaliated by taking Narumi's bike to leave, while leaving his own with a flat tyre."

The mother's account is extremely meticulous. Taeko delivers a sum of details that are sometimes secondary, but we can guess that for her, nothing is anecdotal, nothing is superfluous. Everything makes sense. In her wounded mind, nothing must escape the jurors charged with sealing Nicolas Zepeda's fate.

4.40pm - In tears, Narumi's mother holds up her daughter's portrait to the jury

The testimony of Narumi's mother is interminable. One senses a woman trapped in her memories. Prisoner of her unfinished mourning.

Haunted by the last few days spent in Japan with her daughter, in the presence of Nicolas Zepeda, whom she perceives as her murderer. She who has been isolating herself for five years suddenly has an audience: Taeko Kurosaki experiences the moment as a necessary therapy.

Emotion grips her again violently as she describes the day Narumi left for France. "Since Narumi's disappearance, I haven't spent an hour, not a minute, without this photo..." she cries, opening her flower-decorated pouch, which never leaves her, in the same movement. The mother takes out Narumi's portrait, which she places on the desk.

Facing the jury. In front of the French justice system.


17:00 - Nicolas Zepeda "controls all the people I meet," Narumi writes to her mother

"Let me read these email exchanges between Narumi and me," Taeko Kurosaki continues in front of the trial court.

Their first conversation was on 8 September 2016. "Nico asks me insistently where I've been, who I've been with, when I've been there, which friend I'm dating," Narumi writes to her mother. She is suffocated by the South American's remote jealousy.

"He says I'm a liar, I don't understand why. He controls everyone I meet (...). I told him that every encounter is a treasure in life. It's getting worse and worse. I had to cancel appointments with my friends in France. I want to break up with him.
Between Narumi and Nicolas, real-false break-ups will punctuate the weeks that follow.

27 September: "I don't know if I love Nico, but Nico loves me too much. I don't dare break up because I feel sorry for him. I don't think about him all the time, but Nico thinks about me all the time.

29 September: "Nico has lost his mind," Narumi worries when Zepeda plans to come to France. "I told him that he would surely come to France to look for her," says Taeko Kurosaki. "Narumi said, 'No-no, he's not coming. I told her: 'Be careful, it's Nico, nobody knows how he can act'.

Later, Narumi shares her belief that it was Zepeda who had hacked into her Facebook account. "He was reading all my exchanges with my friends and deleted pictures of boys he was jealous of. Since then, I only see the dark side of this man."

5:20pm - Relatives "panicked" at the news of his disappearance

The trial court goes back in time to the day before Narumi Kurosaki disappeared.

"Mum, the roads are freezing," she wrote to her. "Do you have warm clothes?" her mother worries. "Yes"... "That was her last answer," Taeko Kurosaki cries.

Beyond 5 December 2016, none of the attempts by Narumi's relatives to contact her directly are successful. A few written messages were sent to her family afterwards, but Taeko found them completely incoherent in form and content.
Then came the news of her disappearance. "Her father and I were in a panic, we didn't know what to do.

Without yet realising the full extent of the situation.

17:40 - Narumi's sister's intuition

How to deal with this sudden disappearance 10,000 km from Besançon, in Japan? The Kurosaki family quickly plunges into deep distress.
It is Narumi's boyfriend, Arthur del Piccolo, who provides Narumi's relatives with the first explanations. The young man shows the family suspicious text messages sent by Narumi's accounts.

One of the sisters of the missing student notices a detail: a confusion between "j" and "y". A mistake that Narumi would not make... She has a hunch: "It's Nicolas."


17 h 50. - You're a terrible liar," Taeko Kurosaki explodes.

Narumi's sister gets up and comes to whisper in her mother's ear that the clock is ticking. Taeko Kurosaki apologizes again, and then all of her inner locks are broken.
Narumi's mother explains that she realized too late that "Nicolas Zepeda has continually deceived (her) whole family."

Taeko explodes: "He's a big liar! How many times has he lied during this trial? Ever since I realised that he was the culprit, I realised that I will never see my daughter again!"

"He will never tell the truth," she shouts from the middle of the room.

"He will never tell the truth during this trial, nor afterwards... The police had forbidden me to do so but in secret, I sent a message to Nicolas in December 2016. This message was not read. And was never read."

6 p.m. - "I can't let this demon go free," explodes Narumi's mother

Time suspends around this cursed mother, who empties her soul before the jury.

"In June 2017, I went to Chile with the hope of finding my daughter... I wanted to see with what face, Zepeda continued to live. He looked happy. I followed him secretly. All the time. He looked happy. I thought he'd kill me if he recognised me, but it didn't matter. I followed him."

Taeko says she then ran into Nicolas Zepeda. "He saw me and immediately turned his face away. He looked down and walked past me, disappearing into the crowd...".
In the hall, many spectators are silently crying. "I tried to kill myself I don't know how many times! I choked myself, I hit my head against the wall until I got bumps. I jumped under a moving car. I wanted so badly to get to Narumi where she is. But I still have two girls who are so dear to me..."

Her sobs explode again into the microphone, held up in front of her: "I can't let this demon go free. We must not let this monster go free!"
"I want to protect all women on earth, and the price of that will be my life."


6.10pm - "I want to kill this man."

"Nicolas' parents said that they had given him a specific education to make him think of others", recalls Taeko Kurosaki.
I would like to kiss my daughter so much, but all I have left is this photo. And then she breaks down in tears. She catches her breath.
Then in another heartfelt cry: "If I think of Narumi crying alone somewhere and no one can find her, I want to kill him, I want to kill that man."

Addressing now directly the parents of the accused: "You three, Nicolas and his parents, you kiss each other in front of us, in this Court, every day. Is this an altruistic attitude? To show yourselves in front of us who suffer every day?
She continued: "As I am a mother, I also understand the feeling of Mr Zepeda's parents. Parents want to believe in their children. And I myself would like to believe in the earthly life that continues for Narumi until the end of my life..."

Another deep breath, another cry from the heart: "The duty of parents is not only to protect and love their children. When their children make mistakes, it is also their duty to set them straight. They must also face reality and the truth."


6.15 p.m. - Exceptional scene, the public applauds Narumi's mother

In the courtroom, the emotion is at its peak.

"If Narumi had still been alive today, she could have built a better world," Taeko Kurosaki tells the jurors...

"Do not forget the fact that my daughter lived in this place, in this country," she concludes in tears.

The mother bows to thank the jury, then remains prostrate on her desk, trembling.

Her daughter Kurumi comes to get her, to literally walk her to the civil parties' bench.

A surreal and rare scene, the public breaks the silence by applauding her.

On her bench, Nicolas Zepeda's mother also has reddened eyes.

The accused, for his part, rushes out of the back door of his box.

The hearing is suspended for twenty minutes.


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DIRECT. Procès Zepeda à Besançon : "Je ne peux pas laisser ce démon en liberté", la mère et la soeur de la victime, dévastées, bouleversent la cour

18:48: The hearing resumes. The various parties do not wish to ask the victim's mother any questions. Kurumi Kurosaki, Narumi Kurosaki's younger sister, 4 years her junior, now takes the stand.

7.15pm: The 23-year-old starts to cry, after saying a few words. "My first name was given to me by my older sister. Every time I write my name, every time I hear my name, I feel my sister's love," she says. The pain that floods the court on this 7th day of the trial is deeply upsetting.

She recalls happy memories with her two sisters on the stand. "I always say we are three sisters."

7.24pm: She recounts that Nicolas Zepeda monopolised her sister and even went so far as to throw away Narumi Kurosaki's mail: "My sister always had to think of him first otherwise he wasn't happy."

The testimonies of the victim's family paint a picture of a sickly jealous, possessive, and even vicious Nicolas Zepeda. According to the younger sister, who was sobbing, he tried to keep Narumi Kurosaki away from her family.

"When I realised that my sister had really disappeared. I was convinced that Nicolas Zepeda was involved in this case."

7.43pm: "We are not afraid of death, but we are afraid of reality." Kurumi Kurosaki also explains that she wanted to commit suicide, as did her mother. "But we survived until today. My sister taught me to enjoy life. That's why we are here today."

"We had no money to pay for our flight, no money to look for my sister. We were desperate because we were powerless. We are immensely grateful to the people who have come to our aid, the people of France, the lawyers... All the people who helped us."

"We saw his cold blood and cruelty," Kurumi Kurosaki says of Nicolas Zepeda, noting that the defendant's face had not changed at all when the horrific screams were described during the trial.
"For my other sister who couldn't be here, and for Narumi too, we want to find out the truth."

"Where is she? That is all I want to know!" the young woman exclaims. Nicolas Zepeda remains impassive.
"If you really love my sister, just tell us where she is! I'd like to ask that to this defendant," she adds.

===============

continued with L'Est Republicain, live blog

En direct. Procès Narumi : "J'ai envie de tuer cet homme !", explose, bouleversante, la mère de Narumi devant Zepeda


Kurumi pauses briefly, then says, like her mother before her: "If Nicolas Zepeda's family loves their son, they must help him not to lie."

"We want justice to be done. Thank you," Kurumi concludes, before joining her mother on the bench.


7.48pm - "Speechless", Nicolas Zepeda does not know "what to do to comfort" Narumi's relatives

"I would like to know if Nicolas Zepeda can answer Kurumi's question," says Mr Schwerdorffer for the civil parties. "This is the only question that has mattered to the Kurosaki family for five years. Where is Narumi?"

The president of the trial court invites the accused to stand up.

Zepeda leans towards his microphone, and with him the whole courtroom...

"I am speechless. I am very moved by the testimony of Narumi's mother and her sister," he says.

And then he utters this final sentence, which will no doubt leave a lasting impression on this trial: "I don't know what I could do to comfort them..."

"Answer my question," Me Schwerdorffer retorts.

"Mr Zepeda, you will be questioned tomorrow," President Husson concludes.


20:20 - End of the 7th day of the trial, rich in emotions

The president of the court, Matthieu Husson, suspends the session.

It will resume tomorrow at 8am with a new video conference live from Japan.



9.05pm - "Something indecent" in the way Nicolas Zepeda speaks, according to Me Galley

Sylvie Galley, lawyer for Narumi's family, recalls the moments of rare emotional intensity that marked this day. One after the other, Narumi's mother and sister gave heart-rending testimonies, the former even provoking applause from the audience. "They were quite surprised and overwhelmed by the expressions of sympathy and love they received after the hearing. They were a bit overwhelmed," their lawyer says.

However, Me Galley regrets that nothing seemed to destabilise the Chilean: "All the interventions, even the most unbearable ones in terms of emotion, left him unmoved." She even sees a certain indecency when Zepeda "says that he would like to do something."

21:30 - Towards a new interrogation of Nicolas Zepeda on Thursday

The murder trial of Nicolas Zepeda will continue tomorrow from 8am, with new testimonies.

The accused will also be questioned again on various evidences of the case, on which the South American will have to explain himself.


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L'Est Republicain, live blog Thursday

En direct. Procès Narumi : "Le menteur, il est là !" Nicolas Zepeda pointé du doigt pour ses traductions secrètes


7 h 45. - The agenda: Narumi's written messages at the heart of the debates

After Wednesday's hearing of Arthur del Piccolo, Narumi's boyfriend from Besançon and above all the shocking testimonies of Narumi's mother and sister, this time the ( true/false?) messages written by Narumi will be at the centre of the proceedings.

Another key moment of the trial, a recapitulative interrogation on the facts of Nicolas Zepeda is also on the agenda.

8 h 20. - Technical problem: delay in starting the trial at the courthouse

Never before has such a trial been organised in Besançon from a logistical and technical point of view (videoconferencing, interpretation in three languages, reception of media, etc.). No problem had interrupted this very well-oiled machine... Until this Thursday morning.

The vision connection planned for 8 a.m. with Japan did not work. Somewhere in a Tokyo courtroom, two young women are waiting to testify: Megumi Sugisaki and Rina Sakamaki. These two witnesses claim to have been contacted at the end of 2016 by Nicolas Zepeda, to help him translate some sentences into Japanese. These words were strangely found in the written messages sent by Narumi's accounts after her physical disappearance.

8 h 50. - Suspicious translations: first damning testimony for Zepeda

Live from Tokyo, Megumi Sugisaki appears on the screen, invited to make a first spontaneous statement: "In 2016, Nicolas Zepeda asked me to translate a number of texts into Japanese. I remember the content. He wanted me to translate a message with a feminine style, which indicated that the person was going to undertake a journey, which is why she could not answer." Sentences that were found in Narumi's (true/false?) messages after her disappearance.

Determined, Megumi continues: "In mid-December 2016, Nicolas called me to delete our correspondence on Messenger. Without telling me the reason, he asked me to take a picture of my screen, to prove that my messages had been deleted..." The Japanese woman also remembers Nicolas' "tone of voice", which did not seem "calm" to her. Ten days later, Megumi learned that Narumi had disappeared. Zepeda called her several times, asking about the media coverage of the case in Japan.

9 h 05. - Were the translations requested before or after 5 December?

President Husson now questions the witness. In particular, about the exact nature of the messages that Zepeda asked her to translate into Japanese, and to the female:

"I'm taking a train to go on a trip so I can't use the wifi" or "I had a fight with my boyfriend." Megumi Sugisaki confirms.

When did he request these translations? "In 2016, October or November." That would be a month before the Chilean came to France and Narumi disappeared.

As for the date on which he asked her to erase all traces of their conversations? "I can affirm that it was on 15 December. I have dated proof. On the other hand, I don't remember how many days earlier the request for translation was made."

This is an important question. The question is whether the translations were requested before or after 5 December, the date of the Japanese student's disappearance. "A few days or a few weeks before the request to delete the exchanges?" the president asks again. But the young Japanese woman could not specify.



9 h 14. - I told one of our teachers about her requests.

"I want to learn Japanese with expressions from everyday life", Nicolas Zepeda is said to have explained, to justify his requests for translations. When did Megumi Sugisaki realise that these translations might be related to Narumi's disappearance? "After the news of Narumi's disappearance appeared in the Japanese media, I told one of our teachers about Zepeda's requests and that's when I realised that there might be a connection. But without any certainty."


9 h 20. - According to the witness, Zepeda "said horrible things" about Narumi

President Husson wants to clarify Megumi Sugisaki's ties to Nicolas Zepeda, with whom the witness became friends as soon as the South American arrived in Japan in 2014. Megumi studied for a year in Chile the following year. There, Nicolas "took good care of me", she remembers, "he is someone who thought of others, nice, pleasant, but he refused to let us enter his inner life." When questioned by the police, Megumi also said that "he was proud of his country and himself" and that he "did not change his mind easily".

Nicolas Zepeda returned to live in Japan in April 2016 on a tourist visa. Why? "He was looking for a job or an internship". Not for Narumi? "No". Questioned by the police in 2017, Megumi had nevertheless answered in the affirmative. "My memory is blurred", she apologised.

Zepeda had confided in her, Megumi says, about tensions with Narumi. "He told me about arguments and said that he had been abused by Narumi. And after they broke up? The witness confirms that the Chilean continued to "say horrible things" about her.

9 h 38. - "I was used by him", says Megumi Sugisaki

On questioning by Me Galley, lawyer for Narumi's family, Megumi Sugisaki clarified that Nicolas Zepeda "complained that Narumi had had relations with other men". "He was therefore trying to give a bad image of her," Mr Galley commented. About his feelings about Narumi? "From what I knew of her, I found it hard to imagine that she was violent," as Nicolas Zepeda claimed. Looking back? "The fact that he asked me to delete our exchanges makes me think, even if I won't talk about manipulation, that I was used by him."

Finally, about the fact that Zepeda didn't try to contact Narumi after she didn't give any sign of life? "Even then, the dry and cold tone in which he said he didn't care particularly contrasted with the passion with which he seemed to love Narumi."

Advocate General Etienne Manteaux stands up, with "only one question" in mind about Megumi's stay in Chile in 2015. "The first month, I lived in a room belonging to Nicolas Zepeda's sister. I saw him regularly," the witness said. "You were infinitely closer to Nicolas Zepeda than to Narumi," the public prosecutor said, to underline the power of this testimony, which further weakens the defendant's version.

9 h 40. - The defence tries to weaken Megumi's testimony

For the defence, Me Laffont returns to the heart of the matter, namely the requests for translation that are so controversial. The lawyer stressed that it was not uncommon for her client to ask Megumi Sugisaki for translations into Japanese. "Yes, it happened," she confirms. Me Laffont also looks at the timing of these suspicious requests, made in 2016 by Zepeda. September, October, November, December? Before or after Narumi's disappearance? Understand: premeditation or not... "She doesn't remember the dates," insists Mr Laffont. No, the young witness regrets.

10 h 12. - Rina Sakamaki's turn, second witness of the morning

Second witness of the morning, Rina Sakamaki, 28, knew Nicolas Zepeda but not Narumi.

On 11 December 2016, after her return to Japan, she received a message from Zepeda. After a few greetings, he said he was back in Chile and had started learning Japanese with the aim of returning to Japan. "He told me that he wanted to learn colloquial language, common expressions...", says the young Japanese woman. "And he asked me: 'When you go on a trip, how can the family ask if it's all alone? I answered him. But he asked me again and said: 'But if it was you, how would you put it?

Rina Sakamaki also mentions another translation request. It concerned the sentence: "I have a new boyfriend", which was one of the sentences Narumi's family received from her mobile phone after she disappeared.


10 h 23. - He asked me to delete our messages

After recalling the sentences Zepeda asked her to translate ("I left alone" and "I have a new boyfriend"), Rina Sakamaki points out: "He called me some time later. He had a cheerful voice. He told me that he had a very nice and beautiful girlfriend..."

A few days later, another call. "It was 15 December 2016. His tone had completely changed, he sounded bored, as if cornered. In short, he seemed to be in trouble. He explained to me: 'I'm back in Chile, I've started a new life and I'd like to break with my previous life.' Then he asked me to delete our message exchange. But I had no connection with his coming to Japan. I had only seen him two or three times. And I had never met Narumi.

10 h 30. - "I was shaking": Rina's shock at the messages received by Narumi's family

Speaking energetically to the camera, Rina Sakamaki continues. Still talking about the disturbing call from Nicolas Zepeda: "I felt that he was very, very stressed. I realised that if I deleted all these messages, it would make him feel better. So without thinking too much, I deleted them..." Insufficient in the eyes of the Chilean. As for Megumi Sugisaki, he asked her to take a picture of her screen to prove it. "I was sad that he didn't believe me".

The situation took a turn for the worse a month later, on 12 January 2017. Rina tells of having "spontaneously" discussed Nicolas Zepeda with a student at the University of Tsukuba. The Japanese woman then recounts the episode of the translation requests. Her interlocutor became "all pale", the young woman says. The student, who also knew Narumi and her relatives, showed her messages received by the Kurosaki family after the Japanese woman's disappearance...

- I have a new boyfriend.
- I'm going on my own

Rina is in shock. "I was trembling", she relives today... These are the sentences - written in feminine style - that Rina Sakamaki translated for Nicolas Zepeda on 11 December 2016.


11 h. - Nicolas Zepeda "uses all means to achieve his ends"

Encouraged by the lawyer of Narumi's family, Rina Sakamaki continues to lead her charge against Nicolas Zepeda.

"When it suits him, everything is fine, but when we need him, he is never there. Today, I have a very bad image of him. He is someone who uses all means to achieve his ends," the witness says.

"When questioned by the judge, Nicolas Zepeda had declared that Rina was lying,", Me Schwerdorffer says.
"It is shocking! I can cite many witnesses to prove that this request for translation by Nicolas Zepeda existed", Rina Sakamaki takes offence.

The suppression of their famous exchanges? "It was not me who asked him to do so," Zepeda assured her during the investigation. "I am beginning to understand the character better," Rina reacts, "it's a fact, it was Nicolas Zepeda who asked me."

Me Schwerdorffer continued: "No history, no messages... No body, no murder?"

11.22am - "The liar, he's here!

"We have proof that the witness is not lying and that the liar is there," the public prosecutor thunders, pointing at the accused.

He goes on to quote a message from Rina Sakamaki on 11 December: "I am currently giving Japanese lessons to Nicolas."
And Etienne Manteaux said to Nicolas Zepeda: "She didn't delete this message, unfortunately for you Mr Zepeda!

Before delivering the coup de grâce by mentioning the screenshot of messages sent from Narumi's account: "I recently met a new boyfriend", "I'm leaving on my own". Exactly the same sentences quoted by the witness.


11 h 25. - Zepeda's defence remains silent, the hearing suspended

Nicolas Zepeda has just been called a "liar" by the public prosecutor. The defence lawyers are invited to react to the damning testimony of Rina Sakamaki and, if they wish, to the charges formulated by the civil parties and the prosecution. "No questions, Mr President."

The hearing was suspended for 20 minutes.

11 h 50. - Jérémie Bride, important witness, comes forward

Jérémie Bride advances to the lectern with a determined step, respectfully greeting Narumi's relatives as he passes with a brief nod.

This French teacher-researcher from the University of Tsukuba (Japan) was in charge of international exchanges. He knew Nicolas Zepeda, Narumi, Arthur del Piccolo and other Japanese students. "A common denominator," the president of the court summarises.

The man explains that he was informed from a distance, in mid-December 2016, of Narumi's worrying disappearance. "I thought of Nicolas Zepeda, whom I knew. I called him and he explained that he had no news. He did not mention that he had been to France," he adds.


12 h 10. - The accused appears to have concealed his stay in France

Encouraged by the president, Jérémie Bride clarified his testimony: "I phoned Nicolas Zepeda once to find out if he had had any news of Narumi. He replied that he had not heard from her for a while and that he was in Chile. This was on 15 December 2016."
The man then had "a doubt" and called him back the next day. At his request, Zepeda filmed the street, even asking passers-by to confirm that he was in Santiago.

"I ruled out any hypothesis of his involvement in Narumi's disappearance," Jérémie Bride states.

President Husson returned to their conversations and feigned surprise: "Mr Zepeda didn't tell you that he was in France (a few days earlier, editor's note)? "No. The Chilean tells an anecdote, according to which Narumi sometimes disappeared voluntarily. And draws a not necessarily positive portrait of Narumi."


12 h 35. - Zepeda not worried about Narumi, but concerned for himself

Invited by the prosecution to react to Nicolas Zepeda's statement that he had not asked him if he had recently seen Narumi in France, Jérémie Bride suppressed a laugh and then replied: "Yes, I did ask him that. That was the purpose of my call."

And when the prosecution asks how Nicolas Zepeda left Japan, Jérémie Bride: "I remember that one of his friends in Japan himself told me that he didn't know if he was still in Japan, or in Chile, or elsewhere.

The parallel investigation carried out by Arthur Del Picollo and the other friends of Narumi in Besançon? "Nicolas Zepeda did not seem worried about Narumi's disappearance. But he was concerned. He wanted to know if I knew anything, what I had heard about..."

12 h 40. - Once again, the defence lawyers opt for silence

As always, the defence is invited to speak last. And as with the previous testimony, Nicolas Zepeda's lawyers "have no questions."

The hearing is suspended until 2pm.


BBM

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

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

I’m sure he needed some air after that

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


19 h.- Nicolas Zepeda finally admits his jealousy

Nicolas Zepeda is put at the disposal of the prosecution, represented by the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux.

Questioned from the outset about some of his messages about Narumi, the accused admits his "jealousy" towards certain males.

The public prosecutor is satisfied. "We're making progress". Not fast enough for his liking, since Zepeda immediately denies having connected from Japan to Narumi's university session, while the student was already in France.

The question is simple: did he spy on Narumi's Facebook account? Zepeda goes into a complex answer. Etienne Manteaux explodes. "Could he answer, instead of acting like a teacher?"

Hanging on the microphone, the defendant's answer is clearer. "No."

19 h 15. - "Narumi dumped you," the public prosecutor tells Zepeda.

Etienne Manteaux submits to the court a series of messages presented by Nicolas Zepeda, allegedly sent by Narumi on 8 October 2016.

Messages where the student appears rather happy and in love. Clearly, and he says so, the public prosecutor doubts the veracity of these documents, unusual in their form.

Etienne Manteaux compares these exchanges to the conversation actually found by the investigation in Narumi's computer, dated the same day. A violent exchange, a "rough and definitive" break-up, at the end of which Narumi insults the Chilean.

"Narumi dumped you, she had moved on" the public prosecutor sums up, eager to support the motive imputed to Nicolas Zepeda. That of a sickly jealous and vexed man, who came all the way to France to demand an explanation from his ex-girlfriend.

19 h 25. - Is he coming to the campus for Narumi? Yes but no, says Zepeda

The public prosecutor underlines how quickly Nicolas Zepeda goes to the Besançon campus, from his first night in France.

" It has to do with Narumi," the accused admits.

"We're making progress! You have the right to lie, but to the jury you said on the first day that you had come to the campus because it was a safe place," Etienne Manteaux is pleased to say.

But for Zepeda, one does not exclude the other. "Why is it so hard to say you're coming to Narumi? Everything shows it! It's stupid to deny it," the public prosecutor exclaims.

Nicolas Zepeda refuses the outstretched hand: "On 1 December, it wasn't so clear in my head."

19 h 35. - 1350 euros" spent by Nicolas Zepeda for his stay

As he did in front of President Husson and the lawyers for the civil party, the Chilean assures us for the umpteenth time that he was not this strange prowler filmed under Narumi's windows. And this, despite the chronological concordance between the use of his car and the repeated passages of the suspect prowler.

Why sleep "like a wretch, a homeless person" in his car? "A question of money," answers Nicolas Zepeda.

Etienne Manteaux was waiting for him and asked him about the minimum wage in Chile. He doesn't know. "It's 400 euros. That's it, when you've always lived on a pedestal, always well kept," Etienne Manteaux says and lists all the expenses for his French trip.

How much? "I paid for it with my savings..."
That's not the question, the public prosecutor insists. "I don't have any details, the flight was a reasonable price."
Silence.
"You spent 1,350 euros," Etienne Manteaux calculates, "that's three minimum wages in Chile. So you were well able spend 35 euros for a night in a hotel."

19 h 40. - And the missing condom wrappers? "I kept them."

"How do you expect us to believe you?", Etienne Manteaux laments, returning to the description of Nicolas and Narumi's reunion. "The facts are stubborn", sighs the public prosecutor, returning to the night of 4 to 5 December 2016. The night of the screams. The night of the disappearance.

"Nicolas Zepeda explains that he threw his two used condoms into the toilet," Etienne Manteaux recalls. "But the wrappers, that were not found in the bedroom bin"
"I kept them," the accused says.

Nervous laughter in the courtroom.
Etienne Manteaux rushes into this apparent contradiction: "You don't put them in the bin, you keep them! Mr Zepeda, he's a collector!"
The accused does not give up: "It's a Japanese custom, you don't throw away things in someone else's house."

"From the moment I left Narumi in her room, I don't know what happened," Zepeda repeats, hands resting on the edge of his box, torso leaning forward.

19 h 50. - The "conspiracy" of the phantom video surveillance image

The public prosecutor advances like a tank on the Chilean defendant, piling up factual, temporal and technical elements that undermine his version.

You are not talking to morons! Etienne Manteaux thunders again in the middle of one of Nicolas Zepeda's answers.

The exchanges are explosive and frontal. Particularly on the route taken for Chile after leaving the building of Narumi, on 6 December 2016, out of the scope of the video surveillance. The defence puts forward a thesis: that of a phantom image in which Nicolas Zepeda was filmed leaving the campus alone...

This image, mistakenly mentioned in four press articles at the end of December 2016, does not exist. However, those close to Nicolas Zepeda claim to have seen it published in the press. They then envisaged "a plot" by the French justice system to erase it.

20 h 10. - I understand that you will not confess

"You don't think it's time to tell it like it is?" Etienne Manteaux urges, questioning the "chance" put forward by Nicolas Zepeda, to justify the concordances between the material elements collected by the investigation, and the connections of Narumi's accounts after her physical disappearance. "It is you who is behind this phone and who operates Narumi's account," Etienne Manteaux sighs.

"I understand that you will not confess. I don't think it's in your interest, but it's your right..." the public prosecutor says, and he has a final question.

"What is this story about detergent, apart from cleaning Narumi's room? The accused maintains that he wanted to clean a stain in his car... "A vehicle that he also returned soiled with mud," the public prosecutor adds, to better underline the inconsistency in his eyes of this answer.

20 h 30. - Continuation and end of the debate on the video surveillance image

The president of the trial court reads out the statement of the journalist from L'Est Républicain who admitted an error, subsequently corrected eleven times in different articles of the newspaper, mentioning a possible CCTV image of Nicolas Zepeda, filmed "alone" after his night with Narumi in December 2016.

Contrary to what Zepeda's relatives claim, this image was never published. The public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, took exception to the accusations made by the relatives of the accused against the public prosecutor at the time. According to them, the prosecutor had discreetly demanded that certain media remove all traces of this alleged image. "This is particularly unpleasant", the public prosecutor said.

20 h 40. - Me Laffont rushes to the rescue of Nicolas Zepeda

The defence takes the floor to close the day's proceedings.

Me Laffont makes Nicolas Zepeda repeat that he was indeed "jealous" when Narumi was in France. The defence lawyer turns to her client and takes up with him the more solid aspects of his version. "Yes Counsel", the Chilean repeats regularly, to better accompany her in her demonstration. This is a softer way for Zepeda to end this day of questioning, which has been very trying for him.

The supposed questions from the defence turned into a monologue by Me Laffont, who read out messages from Narumi sent on the evening of 4 December 2016, "which show that after this dinner in Ornans, Narumi Kurosaki took the decision to stay with Nicolas Zepeda for some time." The lawyer wishes to emphasise that the Japanese student did agree to share her room and her night with Zepeda. "There was an invitation."

20 h 55. - End of the 6th day of the trial, a difficult one for the defence

The presiding judge Matthieu Husson suspends the hearing. See you tomorrow at 8am, for the resumption of the proceedings.


BBM

“The accused does not give up: ‘It's a Japanese custom, you don't throw away things in someone else's house.’”

Huh? I’ve spent 20+ years living in Japan, and I’ve never heard of this. Maybe it’s something regional? I know that Japanese is a second language for him, so he is mistaken? Or maybe he is simply lying?

 

[ZaZara]

A little side step while the trial continues. France3 has interviewed several Chileans about the trial and their impressions & opinions

TÉMOIGNAGES. "Dans notre pays, il serait libre...", le procès de Nicolas Zepeda à Besançon vu par les Chiliens

While the trial of Chilean Nicolas Zepeda is in full swing in Besançon until 12 April, we interviewed Chileans who are closely following the trial from their country. Testimonials.

"We think that if he had committed such a crime in our country, he would be free, because Nicolas comes from a wealthy family... This is how things are here. People with money go unpunished most of the time," according to Daniela, editor of a TV programme in Chile, after our request for personal testimonials via social networks, during the sixth day of the trial of the Chilean suspected of murdering his former Japanese girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki, while she was studying in Besançon in December 2016.

On Twitter in particular, the trial is being closely followed by Chileans. Only two Chilean national media were accredited to Besançon to follow the proceedings live.

The feeling expressed by Daniela is shared by many people who responded to our call. This is the case of Carmen, who explains to us: "If he had been tried in Chile, he would probably be free, since here, unfortunately, money, power and influence reign." Paz, a 32-year-old filmmaker, also shares her feelings. "Nicolas Zepeda is a young man from high society. In Chile we have a few similar cases where rich kids commit crimes and go free because of their family contacts. Nicolas Zepeda in Chile would be free, that's why he acts so casually" she analyses.

Nicolas Zepeda, who is still presumed innocent, has been described several times in the French press as a son of a well-to-do family, whose parents have a very comfortable situation. His parents owned several properties in Chile at the time the indictment was issued by the French justice system. Nicolas Zepeda's multiple trips to the four corners of the world, but especially his arrival at the Chilean court in a luxury vehicle, were widely reported by the media.

Juanita, another Chilean, agrees and says that she is partly happy "that Zepeda is being tried in France, because in Chile the judicial system is quite corrupt, and people who can pay for their acquittal do so. She added: "In the midst of all the horror of this case, I have to say that I am fascinated -in the sense of admiration- by the way the investigation was conducted. I wish the French police would train the Chilean police."

Catalina, a Chilean who has been living in France for almost 6 years speaks of a "daily reality in Latin America." "Most of these cases are closed or take a long time to convict the murderer and, when they are, there are sentences of 10 to 15 years with the possibility of a new trial and release", she continues.

Constanza, a publicist living in Santiago de Chile, explains that many women "still feel unprotected and afraid in situations like Narumi's."

If Nicolas Zepeda is struggling to convince the court of his innocence, as shown by the various interrogations and exchanges that have taken place since the beginning of the trial, this is also the case in his home country.

For Diego, from Santiago de Chile, the attitude of the accused is surprising. "Nicolas Zepeda's answers are vague and incoherent. It is undoubtedly an elaborate defence story. I hope the accusers and investigators can get to the truth," he says. Nico, a Chilean national, says he feels "angry" because "Mr Zepeda has all the answers".

Veronica, a 46-year-old Chilean mother of a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, was affected by the case. "This case has moved us as a family, especially because of the coldness, the persecution and the harassment that Narumi has suffered," she says. She points out the "inconsistencies in Nicolas Zepeda's account".

According to Lilio, a 47-year-old professional journalist living in the Chilean capital, Chileans, and even more so women in her country, hope "that justice will be done for Narumi Kurosaki and for so many women who have been victims of feminicide."

"It is shameful that a Chilean should give this bad impression of our country. We want justice for Narumi and for Zepeda to pay for the damage he has caused. We do not believe that Zepeda is innocent, all evidence points to his guilt," Catalina concludes.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog Thursday afternoon

En direct. Procès Narumi : "Je ne suis pas parfait, mais je ne l'ai pas tuée", conclut Nicolas Zepeda en pleurs


14 h. - Last chance for Zepeda to explain his story

Nicolas Zepeda is innocent... At least that is his line of defence. Does the jury believe him?

Accused of having murdered Narumi, the Chilean has a final opportunity to defend his version - that of the unlucky man "in the wrong place at the wrong time" - this afternoon during his summary examination, orchestrated in person by the president Matthieu Husson.

The questions of the civil parties and the public prosecutor are expected to be scathing, sharp and uncompromising. Will Zepeda resist these new pressure tactics? Will he provide new explanations for the inconsistencies and oddities that seem to have been present in his statements since the beginning of the trial?

Let the accused speak.


14 h 05. - Zepeda in trouble right from the start about his stopover with his Spanish cousin

In his capacity as president, before a packed courtroom, Matthieu Husson sets the tone. The president first wants to hear from Nicolas Zepeda about his stopover at his cousin's house in Barcelona, immediately after Narumi's disappearance. A trip planned in advance, Zepeda had claimed. But the president was surprised: the Chilean had only informed Juan Felipe Ramirez the day before his arrival.

Standing in his box, Nicolas Zepeda launched into a slalom version, evoking "a mistake in the date" of the rental of his car in France... The president stopped him dead in his tracks. "He was expecting me on the 8th, I arrived on the 7th", the accused rephrased. "That's not what he says", the president observes, with the deposition of the famous cousin provided to the police in front of him.

The two cousins do not agree either on the reason for this stay. "A confusion", summarised Zepeda, clearly in difficulty. "There is no consistency in your answers", Matthieu Husson coldly observes, determined to confront the South American with his contradictions.

One major one concerns Narumi, whom he had just left in Besançon. His cousin was positive: Nicolas Zepeda had assured him that he had had no recent news of the Japanese woman. "He wanted to be careful and not talk to me about my break-up," the accused analysed. False, according to his own cousin.

14 h 15. - Questions about death by asphyxiation? "I don't remember"

Zepeda's cousin, a medical student, tells the police about a more than disturbing conversation, just a few days after Narumi's disappearance... The accused, he details, had asked him a long series of questions about "death by asphyxiation" and "hanging."

With his hands on the edge of his box, Nicolas Zepeda shortened his answers: "I don't remember these questions at all."

The veiled threats to his cousin not to collaborate with the police?
"In fact, it was Juan Felipe who called me to talk, he had several doubts related to Narumi's disappearance."
And?
"No, I never told him that," Zepeda finally replies, with a slight grimace.

The Chilean had asked his cousin to keep his visit to Barcelona a secret from his family.
"Are you afraid of your father, Mr Zepeda?"
"He would have got angry... "
Matthieu Husson, feigning surprise: "But you weren't doing anything wrong. What would it be like if you did something wrong?"
"It would be terrifying..."

14 h 40. - Tangled-up answers

When Jeremiah Bride, the coordinating professor at the University of Japan, asked him if he had heard from Narumi, why did the accused answer "No"? "It didn't happen like that," Zepeda says. "I had only seen him a few times, but he was not on my Facebook list of contacts."

The professor in question, who remained in the courtroom after his morning statement, smiled as he heard the accused dodge the issue. All the better to evade the question. The president rephrased it.

"He was not part of my circle of trust," the accused explains. "I didn't have to share intimate things with him."

"It could be a lie of omission...", the president observes. "You have however indicated that you were separated and that you had no contact for some time."

Nicolas Zepeda returns to elaborate considerations. The accused seems to have adopted the tactic of the cuttlefish, whose ink sprays make it easier to escape.
But President Husson is stubborn. And, even though most of the defendant's answers tend to make you forget what the questions were, he goes back to the drawing board.
So that Zepeda, often at a dead end, repeats: "I don't remember."

14 h 45. - New denials by the accused, 'incomprehension' of the president

The Court of Cassation this morning referred to the requests for "secret" translations that Zepeda had submitted to Japanese friends. Friends whom he then contacted again in mid-December 2016, demanding that they remove all traces of these requests.

Nicolas Zepeda speaks without saying anything, or very little.
"Did you have these messages deleted?" the president rephrases. Nicolas Zepeda insists on the "concern" of his friends about Narumi's disappearance, without answering directly. His lawyer, Me Laffont, rubs her forehead, eyes closed. The accused pauses to drink some water, before launching into a long tirade on "this concern" that would have pushed his two friends to erase their conversation with him.

President Husson openly reveals his incomprehension: "It was in fact you who took it upon yourself to have these messages deleted."


15 h. - I don't know...".

Did Zepeda make any requests for translations to the two Japanese students who testified on Thursday morning?
"We had an agreement to translate entire paragraphs..."
But the specific messages, "I left on my own" and "I have a new boyfriend"? President Husson persists.
"I don't know...", the accused replies.

"Are you not troubled that these are messages that Narumi's friends will receive from her mobile phone after her disappearance?"
"I have a problem, I don't understand," Zepeda says, with a shaky voice. "There were Facebook groups in the press after the announcement of Narumi's disappearance... I didn't ask to write these sentences."

Does he think that it was Narumi who sent these messages to his relatives, with the photo of Arthur del Piccolo, who had already been introduced to them?
"I don't know what Narumi has in mind, if she is the one who sent this."
"And if it is neither her nor you, who is it?" the president asks.
Answer: "I would like to know..."

15 h 10. - With his back to the wall, Zepeda holds on: "That night, I was sleeping"

The president Matthieu Husson changes his tone: "I'm not going to go through all the steps of what we've been saying for almost two weeks... I'm going to ask you a question," the magistrate warns, suddenly catching the interest of the audience.

"We have studied the reasons for your trip to Europe and to Besançon in particular. It has been established that you spent the night of 4 to 5 December 2016 with Narumi, after which nobody saw her again," the president summarises.

So here we are. Once again. "My question: do you not wish to say exactly what happened, do you want to tell us?"
"Which night are you referring to?" Nicolas Zepeda hesitates. The audience cannot hold back sighs of exasperation.

"I've already answered that question, that night I was sleeping..." Nicolas Zepeda stays on course: he saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing about Narumi Kurosaki's disappearance.



15 h 30. - The nightmare, Mr Zepeda, is being lived by Narumi's family

Lawyer for the family of the missing student, Ms Galley is now trying to push Nicolas Zepeda to the limit. True to form, he evades, sidesteps or beats around the bush. Exasperating.

The lawyer's voice betrays her annoyance: "How do you explain your cousin's statements?" He breaks down. Then he wipes his tears with his handkerchief and says: "I love my cousin very much, and this hurts me even more because he is part of my family. I can't explain what he was afraid of. Me and my family are wondering the same thing."

On their bench, the parents of the accused, translation headphones on their ears, remain unmoved.
"And these questions about asphyxiation, hanging, what are these conversations?
"He's a doctor, he's a professional, we talk about a lot of things..." the accused replies. "But it wasn't me who asked the questions. We just talked about medical aspects..."

New assault: "Strangulation, asphyxiation... Aren't there any images that come back to you?"

Zepeda pulls himself together: "I'm not the one who asked questions on that subject."

Me Galley then points out that, since the beginning of the procedure, he has lost the respect of most of the people who knew him.

"It hurts me a lot", Nicolas Zepeda replies. "This is part of the nightmare I am living."

Me Galley reacts: "The nightmare, Mr Zepeda, is being lived by Narumi's family. You are alive."

15 h 40. - Where is Narumi? Crying, Zepeda yells, "I want to know too!"

The Kurosaki family's lawyer insists. "Mr Zepeda, what did you do to Narumi?"
She hits a wall.
"Since the moment I left her in her room, I don't know anything," the accused says.

Me Galley asks for photos of the missing Japanese woman to be shown on the giant screen. Narumi as a child, with a ball. In a swimming pool. A smiling, happy girl. "Do you recognise these photos?" she asks.
A new surge of tears in the throat, then the eyes of the accused.
"Can you look her straight in the eye, knowing the harm you have done?

He holds on.

"Are you a Catholic? You don't think you'll have to make a path to forgiveness, you think you'll get it?"

He holds on.

"You said you wanted to do something to comfort Narumi's mother and sister. They're not even wondering what happened in that room anymore, they know you killed her, they're just wondering where she is... Mr. Zepeda, if you want to ease their pain and your own, now would be a good time to admit that you killed her?"

Zepeda looks at Mr Galley and says, "I didn't kill Narumi."

"When you dream about her, is she alive or dead?"

He holds on.

"Do you see her dying again?" Mr Galley tries.
"I see her happy, and in my dreams she is fine," Nicolas Zepeda cries.
Mr Galley: "Where is she?"
Zepeda remains silent, his face wet with tears. He uses his handkerchief. Taeko Kurosaki has taken the portrait of her daughter out of her pocket, facing the accused. As if Narumi is looking at him.
"I see her happy, I try to talk to her, but I don't understand what she's saying," Nicolas Zepeda explains, leaning forward, "I have so many things to ask her," he muses as a sob bursts out.

Me Galley's voice is infinitely gentle. "Like what?"
"Sorry?" Zepeda is alone with himself: "I have so many questions, but it's stupid. She's in my head..."

For the first time in the trial, Nicolas Zepeda loses his composure, his voice explodes in the breathless courtroom: "I didn't kill Narumi, I want to know too! I WANT TO KNOW TOO!

Me Galley faces him, standing calmly, "Tell us, we want to know too..." Nicolas Zepeda remains silent for one, two, five, ten seconds. "I want to know too."

The conclusion of Narumi's lawyer cuts through the air like a blade: "I'll leave you with your conscience, Mr Zepeda."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

16 h 30. - I'm not in my cousin's head," the accused defends himself

The trial has once again started after an interruption during which Zepeda's mother went to talk to her son.

It was the turn of Me Schwerdorffer, lawyer for Narumi's boyfriend from Besançon, to put the accused on the spot. He began by discussing his current relationship with his surgeon cousin, whom he had gone to visit in Spain after he left Besançon and who has made a statement against him.

"The last time I spoke with him," Zepeda replies, "was in 2017, when my grandmother was in intensive care."

He is Chilean, returned to Chile, but he refused to testify in this trial, the lawyer observes. Then he asks, "What would he be afraid of?"

Answer: "I couldn't tell you."

Why didn't he tell this same cousin about his meeting a few days earlier with Narumi?

"It was an exercise in caution on my cousin's part, he knew we had broken up a few weeks before... I'm not in his head."

16 h 40. - "We understood your line of defence"

" Repeating Zepeda's statements during the proceedings, Me Schwerdorffer challenges him: "You stated in your initial hearing: 'We were to meet the next day, and she told me that we would talk about it the following day and that she would show me the town'. So why did you leave at 4.40am to go to Dijon?"

Zepeda argues that this was a false statement that was later retracted.

"This is not true", the lawyer points out. "It is part of the procedure! But, yes, you then adapted your speech and added a day.

"No, it's not like that," the accused replies.

"You are lying," the lawyer retorts. And then he observes: "But indeed, being a liar, manipulator and stalker does not make you a murderer... This is the line of your defence, we have understood it well."


16 h 50. - Me Schwerdorffer bets on irony

Me Schwerdorffer advances with a weapon: irony. He returns to the purchase of the matchboxes from Zepeda, a few days before Narumi's disappearance.
"I don't mind you buying these to decorate your kitchen, but you have to admit that it's amazing?"
Zepeda stands by his explanation.
"The only souvenir you buy from the region is a matchbox from Dijon! And you buy it with Winflam, a fuel?"
Nicolas replies, "If I wasn't being investigated, no one would find it strange."

On his stay in Besançon, Zepeda says he spent a lot of time in the campus car park, sleeping and watching films. Me Schwerdorffer has a different opinion. His car was an "observation post to spy on Narumi, to know her schedule."

"Mr Zepeda, do you want to help? You are suspected of having murdered Narumi, what is your other hypothesis?"
Nicolas Zepeda remains seated when he answers, without a clear answer. The lawyer points out to him that in essence he is admitting that Narumi is dead.

"If I sum up, you're a liar, but it's not embarrassing, you know that no body has been found, you think that you have a chance of getting away with it, since there are no eyewitnesses, and that all you have to do is say 'It wasn't me' to get away with it. Because that would be fine in Chile, without any problem," an implacable Me Schwerdorffer summarises.

Nicolas Zepeda does not yield an inch.

Me Schwerdorffer does not insist any further: "We should not expect anything from Mr Zepeda, other than him seeking to save his skin."


16 h 58. - Are you making fun of the world?

Before questioning the accused, the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux says he is "struck by the fact that the mother of the accused went to join him in the dungeon during the suspension of the hearing, "like the trainer of a boxer who, after each round, comes to treat his champion to put him back in the saddle after an uppercut."

Forcing him to stand up, although he had been answering sitting down since the resumption of the hearing, the Prosecutor asked him if he shares this consideration: "When you are innocent, you have nothing to hide."
Zepeda nods.

The public prosecutor now goes on to confront the accused with his various concealments and varying statements. As the accused continues to evade, the public prosecutor cannot help but utter: "Are you making fun of the world?"


17 h 05. - The annoyance of the prosecution is palpable

Etienne Manteaux does not want to give up. "The facts are stubborn and so am I," the public prosecutor warns. He takes the court to Dijon, at the Toison d'Or shopping centre, on 6 December 2016, where signs of Narumi's (false?) life seem to have been detected. Zepeda's phone operates the centre's relay from 9.16 a.m. to 2.41 p.m.
"I arrived around noon," the South American contradicts.
"So your phone is lying?"
Zepeda tries to claim the hypothesis of "a margin of error."

Faced with the attitude of the accused, the public prosecutor's annoyance is palpable. He does not hide it. He even claims it.
A brutal and noisy fight then erupts between Etienne Manteaux and Me Benedetti, the defence lawyer, over witness statements.
There was a lot of shouting and a lot of hand-wringing. But nothing that would advance the debate on the substance.


17 h 25. - Do you want to remain quiet, or would you like to have details?

The accusation recalls some of the astonishment of the surgeon's cousin whom Zepeda went to meet in Spain. In particular, when Juan Filipe called him to ask him for details about his involvement in the Narumi case.

Nicolas Zepeda replied in sibylline terms: "Do you want to keep quiet, or would you like to have details? Both things involve responsibility." Before cutting the conversation short, he told him that he was on his way to his lawyer's office. He hasn't been back since.

No comment from Zepeda. He again answers in the opposite direction, once again invoking "the context."

17 h 35. - The accused on the grill, given a rough ride by the public prosecutor

The public prosecutor lowers his voice. He still has an ace up his sleeve. "Narumi's mother told us yesterday, 'I wrote to Mr Zepeda, he never replied to me'... Why?"
Zepeda sighs, "I still regret not answering that message."

Etienne Manteaux has a handle, he doesn't let go: "We know how much Narumi meant to you, you spend two wonderful nights in Besançon (from 4 to 6 December 2016, according to his version), Narumi disappears, her mother writes to you... You don't answer?" the public prosecutor insists.
"I think I was afraid"
Of what?
"When I received this message, it was a very harsh letter, I did not know what to do. I often thought of Narumi's mother. When I think of her, I think of my mother."

Etienne Manteaux askes again, ''Why did you never write to the Japanese student in the days after the disappearance?"
Nicolas Zepeda has no clear explanation. "I knew that, from Chile, I could do nothing. I knew that some people were already looking for her. But I did my research, I spoke to people around me..."

Etienne Manteaux jumps at the chance. "Who? You won't get away with that. Who?! I want names!"

"Friends in Chile." A flutter in the courtroom. "I don't remember. Five years have gone by."

"Mr Zepeda, I will try to remain calm," Etienne Manteaux resumes, aware of the trap closing on the accused.

"Since I've been in prison, I don't have access to my accounts."

17 h 45. - Mr Zepeda, you are a liar!

When Narumi's mother thought that her daughter might be sequestered in Chile, she went there for two weeks to investigate the area around the Zepeda house. "She told us on Wednesday that she had run into you and that you didn't even greet her before rushing into the crowd," recalls the public prosecutor. "Why?"

Zepeda's answer: "I didn't know she was in Chile. It was in the evening. When I saw her, I couldn't believe it was her. She was following me. And when I turned around, she was turning away.

The public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, shouts at him: "Mr Zepeda, you are a liar! Her trip was publicised in the media and you could not have been unaware of it because you were so aware of the case."

The prosecution attempts a final question: "Where is Narumi's body?"

Zepeda answers, unsurprisingly, "I don't know."



17 h 50. - Shaken by sobs, Zepeda sticks to his last word: "I did not kill Narumi"

Me Jacqueline Laffont stands up, to better face her client, Nicolas Zepeda, standing in his box.

"We were all upset by the heartbreaking testimony of Narumi's mother and sister. I think you were upset too. I have to ask you this question, I am here to defend you... Are you able to answer the last hope of Narumi's mother and sister, who want to know where the body of their daughter, their sister, is?

Zepeda clutches his microphone: "I don't know where it is, I didn't kill Narumi, I want to know too."

Mr Laffont returns to the "few steps" taken by her client during this trial to change his version. On his desire to find Narumi?
"Secretly, yes, I hoped to see her again", admits Zepeda.
The hypothesis of an argument that went wrong?
"I know Narumi well enough not to let things turn into a form of rage, as you are implying."
"I'm not insinuating anything, I'm asking questions," Mr Laffont delicately corrects, indicating that his version is the one he also supports with regard to his own lawyers.

The hearing is suspended until Friday 8 April, 9am. "Do you want to say something, one last time?"

The moment is solemn. This is the last chance for Narumi's family to get an explanation for her mysterious disappearance.
"There are many things I can be blamed for, I am not a perfect person, but I did not kill Narumi, I did not kill her..."
Nicolas Zepeda breaks down again, staring at his lawyer as if in torment, his baby face tense with sobs. "I did not kill her, I did not..." His sentence hangs in the air. He hides his face in his hand, his whole body shaking with spasms.

In a cathedral-like silence, Jaqueline Laffont sits down.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


6.30 p.m. - "The Chilean's 'make or break' strategy

In the media, Me Schwerdorffer shared his conviction: "Nicolas Zepeda imposes on his lawyers the strategy of the so-called 'make or break.' He is convinced that the Chilean jurisprudence of 'no body, no crime, no conviction' will prevail in France."
[ it won't, note by me ]

Still in the strategic analysis, the lawyer for the civil party deciphers another aspect: "If he confesses, he deprives himself of a future appeal.

With this conclusion: "Narumi's sister said it very well, he doesn't think of others, he thinks exclusively of himself."


BBM


Recently, Le Monde Justice published an article about the long and complicated road that finally ended with extradition of Nicolas Zepeda from Chile to France. The publication was behind a paywall, but what I could read was interesting, and I found some more on someone's blog.

Given the legal situation in Chile it is nothing short of a miracle that Chile not only decided to extradite Zepeda, but that their Supreme Court also formulated a new accusation against Zepeda for "having killed Narumi and hiding her body so that it would never be found by the police."

So much for 'no body no crime'. IMO many Chilean lawyers are studying the decision. The defense of Nicolas Zepeda claimed at the time that there were no serious indications of a homicide, it was only a matter of a disappearance. Instead, they got a ticket to the Assizes of Besançon.

Decision of the Chilean Supreme Court here, at the end of the article:
Suprema confirma extradición a Francia de Nicolás Zepeda por la desaparición de Narumi Kurosaki | Nacional | BioBioChile

Le Monde:
Procès de Nicolas Zepeda : l’extradition inespérée

Nicolas Zepeda trial: the unexpected extradition

The Supreme Court of Santiago has agreed to hand over to France the main suspect in the murder of Narumi Kurosaki, even though there is no convention between Chile and France.

The presence of Nicolas Zepeda in the box of the Doubs court of assizes, in Besançon, to answer for the murder of Narumi Kurosaki between 4 and 6 December 2016, has long appeared unexpected. It is the result of long negotiations between France and Chile involving legal, historical and political considerations. In mid-December 2016, the young Chilean was already the number one suspect in the disappearance of the Japanese student.

Through his telephone data, the tracking of his rental car and the use of his bank card, investigators have acquired proof of his presence on the spot from 30 November to 6 December. They also know that on the evening of 4 December, Nicolas Zepeda had dinner with his ex-girlfriend in a restaurant near Besançon. He was therefore the last person to see her alive. After the discovery of all the young woman's belongings in her student room during a search on 13 December, the investigation, initially opened for a disturbing disappearance, took a new turn. On 23 December, the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux issued a supplementary indictment for murder and issued an international arrest warrant for Nicolas Zepeda.

Alerted to the suspicions hanging over him, Nicolas Zepeda spontaneously presented himself at a police station in Santiago de Chile. He confirmed that he had indeed dined and spent the night with Narumi Kurosaki but denied any involvement in her disappearance. The young man, from a very wealthy family, had already taken out insurance with a prestigious law firm in the Chilean capital, which he reported on 3 January in an email to one of his cousins who was worried about him: "A Chilean judge will never extradite a national to France," he wrote.

This certainty is shared by the public prosecutor Etienne Manteaux, since no extradition agreement exists between the two countries. But the investigation continues in France, Japan and Chile, where the investigating judge and the prosecutor will hear Nicolas Zepeda in April 2019. In front of them, he asserts his right to remain silent.

The French judicial authorities then considered passing the case on to their Chilean counterparts so that the young man could be tried in his country. But the Chilean authorities appeared very reluctant.

The individual tragedy of Narumi Kurosaki clashes with Chilean national history and its more than 3,000 people who disappeared under the Pinochet regime. No trial is possible for them, as the justice system refuses to prosecute crimes without a body.

Trying Nicolas Zepeda, when the body of Narumi Kurosaki has never been found, would therefore create a precedent in Chile, which the families of the thousands of disappeared would not fail to take advantage of.


BBM


I am not a lawyer, but IMO, even if the decision made made in an extradition procedure, this is a small step that may have huge consequences in years to come in Chile.

 

[ZaZara]

“The accused does not give up: ‘It's a Japanese custom, you don't throw away things in someone else's house.’”

Huh? I’ve spent 20+ years living in Japan, and I’ve never heard of this. Maybe it’s something regional? I know that Japanese is a second language for him, so he is mistaken? Or maybe he is simply lying?

Running ahead of today's blog, here's a sweet snippet:

At the invitation of the prosecution, Narumi's sister stands before the jury to comment on this unusual statement. "I was born in Japan, I lived there for 22 years... I have never heard of such a custom. When I'm at a friend's house and I have things to throw away, I ask them where their rubbish bin is and I use it.

Etienne Manteaux agrees: "That's what a bin is for.

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

Running ahead of today's blog, here's a sweet snippet:

At the invitation of the prosecution, Narumi's sister stands before the jury to comment on this unusual statement. "I was born in Japan, I lived there for 22 years... I have never heard of such a custom. When I'm at a friend's house and I have things to throw away, I ask them where their rubbish bin is and I use it.

Etienne Manteaux agrees: "That's what a bin is for.

Liar, liar pants on fire

Thanks for sharing

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog

En direct. Procès Narumi : Nicolas Zepeda "vient d'une autre planète" estime une psy, interrogée sur "son déficit d'empathie"

8 h. - Today's programme: the shrinks speak

After two days of intense emotions, the trial court goes in search of rationality. Two experts will be heard by the jury.

The psychiatrist Jean Canterino, then the psychologist Clara Cavignaux have examined Nicolas Zepeda as part of the investigation. They are both invited to share their findings and take questions from each party to the trial.

It is possible that Nicolas Zepeda will then be questioned about his personality. This is a decision for the presiding judge, Matthieu Husson.


8 h 30. - Doctor Nicolas and Mister Zepeda?

The public, journalists, lawyers, the magistrate, Narumi's relatives, his own parents... Everyone has been scrutinising him for the past ten days, scrutinising his every word, watching his every move. Nicolas Zepeda is at the heart of the Narumi mystery, Narumi who is nowhere to be found for five years.

What did he do in that infamous room 106, that he shared with the student? This is obviously the central question in this extraordinary case. But other questions will occupy the court of assizes, this Friday: beyond his possible guilt, who is really this Nicolas Zepeda, what are his psychic mechanisms? What does he feel? What does he think?

There is the image he defends, of a smooth, well-educated boy unlucky to have been "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
There is the chilling portrait painted by the prosecution, of a manipulative murderer, driven by a frightening sang-froid.
There is also this man who has been pressurised in his box for ten days, sometimes confused in his justifications, a man who sobs and cries his innocence.

The objective of the day? To solve the Zepeda mystery.



9 h. - According to the psychiatrist, Nicolas Zepeda " is into manipulation of others."

The hearing resumes with Jean Canterino, a psychiatrist, who speaks by video from Lyon. The specialist had examined Nicolas Zepeda on 7 October 2020 in Besançon prison. Dr. Canterino will first of all spontaneously present his remarks.

The first remark, confirms what the court has experienced since the opening of his trial: "Nicolas Zepeda has a way of giving very complex answers to very simple questions, this is done to confuse the interlocutor and very often, I had to reframe the discussion," a characteristic detail of a man who is into "manipulation of others," the expert begins.

The psychiatrist defines the background: "no mental illness" in Zepeda.


9 h 10. - Dr Canterino did not find any "psychiatric danger".

Nicolas Zepeda was never under psychiatric care, Dr Canterino notes. Zepeda told him that he was monitored "once a year" by a psychologist, as part of a "global health check-up". He would have an "intellectual level above average," Dr Canterino notes, and mentions in passing a "tendency to jealousy."

Nicolas Zepeda had addressed the facts of the case.
His break-up with Narumi? "Not conflictive, and due to distance and misunderstandings."
On the accusation of murder? "I asked the question several times, and he answered that he didn't understand the question..." the psychiatrist sounds surprised.

In summary: "A tendency to manipulate others, no impairment of his discernment in the eyes of the law (therefore eligible for a prison sentence, editor's note), no psychiatric dangers."


9 h 20. - A system of attempted control

The president of the court, Matthieu Husson, dwells on certain aspects of Zepeda's psychiatric examination.

"We noticed that he was sometimes unable to answer questions... Is that a part of this?" the magistrate wonders. "Not a part, it's totally that", the psychiatrist supports. He was struck by Zepeda's "shifting speech."

Manipulation? "There are people who always need to guide the conversation, therefore he takes over the control. It's a system of trying to dominate," the psychiatrist analyses. "A desire to dominate?" asks the president. The expert agrees.


9.35 am - Me Schwerdorffer steers the debate to jealousy

Me Schwerdorffer puts Dr Canterino on the track of jealousy, which Nicolas Zepeda finally admitted half-heartedly during his trial.

"Jealousy is like lying, there are several degrees... Sick jealousy prevents mourning (of the relationship, editor's note). However, when there are acts of violence during a break-up, that is because the person is incapable of mourning the relationship," the expert comments.

For the prosecution, Etienne Manteaux extends the discussion. The public prosecutor recalls that at the opening of the trial, Nicolas Zepeda denied having committed a "monstrous" act, but raised the hypothesis of guilt. How can one imagine that one can kill, without psychiatric pathology? Etienne Manteaux asks.

Dr Canterino gives some examples. "Intelligence does not mean being rational," the psychiatrist adds.

9.40 a.m. - The defence criticises the psychiatrist: "Your expert opinion is worthless!

Me Laffont, for the defence, requests to specify the duration of the expertise carried out in 2020. One hour. "We can all become dizzy when we think that in one hour, a doctor, however competent, can pass judgement on us..."

Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer describes her client's situation. The incarceration in isolation, far from his country, his loved ones, in the middle of a health crisis. "Is this not a trauma for any human being?"

"This is the case for all the people we see in prison. And we see a lot of them," the psychiatrists adds that examinations with interpreters "are more and more frequent. If you go to see a doctor for an hour and he doesn't note anything in particular, my advice is to change address!"

Me Laffont insists: "What you say is false, confinement was exceptional. He had no emotional support." Dr Canterino dismisses the remark: "We react according to who we are. The depressed person will get depressed, the manipulative person will manipulate, stress will show who we are."

Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer replies: "If I had a doctor who, after an hour, gave such a definitive opinion, I would indeed change doctors" and continues her charge.

The expert quotes an Italian proverb: "Lies have short legs"... "I don't want to be funny,"Me Laffont says, she is clearly annoyed by the expert. The tone rises between them, and the president is obliged to intervene to calm things down.

The videoconference ends and Dr Canterino disappears from the screen.

Me Laffont is not satisfied. "It's a lousy report, that's all. It's not up to the task!


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog



9.50am - After the psychiatrist, a psychologist givers her views on the Zepeda case

It is the turn of the psychologist Claire Cavignaux to come forward, while the electricity is still crackling in the courtroom after this first heated debate.

The expert takes the lead: "The examination lasted seven hours."

The psychologist also notes many "detours" in Nicolas Zepeda's "abstract" and "ambiguous" answers.

The latter presented his childhood and family environment in a "very positive" way.

Claire Cavignaux senses that Nicolas Zepeda's father is, for the accused, "an important source of narcissistic valorization... His father is like his number one fan."

A feeling of "superiority" is evident in Zepeda's comments, who was quick in wanting to become "autonomous."

He gives a "rather narcissistic presentation of himself," the psychologist notes a lot of "pride" about his background.

"What we can see is that his life changes completely at university, when he arrives alone in Santiago," the psychologist continues, "with a loss of control, he is less comfortable not being number one. He experiences a lack of consideration. It was destabilising enough to consult a psychologist. He explains that he wanted to develop his capacity for empathy."

According to Claire Cavignaux, "this raises a fundamental problem" in this respect.

The psychologist is not kind to Zepeda's attitude "in search of control."
She adds: "There is a notion of dominance when you try to impose your way of thinking on the other person."

"When he feels diminished, Zepeda may erupt in rage," according to the psychologist, citing an anecdote after which the Chilean "felt diminished, underestimated."

The psychologist recalls the couple's difficulties when Narumi left for France, and the "ultimatum" given to Narumi. "Faced with this loss of control, he will accentuate his controlling behaviours, as well as his lack of consideration for others.".

10.20 a.m. - The expert mantionst "an ability to plan strategically"

Claire Cavignaux continues her presentation focusing on the personality of Nicolas Zepeda.

The expert unfolds her statement, noting "a narcissistic dimension at the interpersonal level" in the Chilean, presenting a "talkative individual, with superficial charm, presumptuous, with a search for control, both of himself and of others, and a tendency to social dominance."

The psychologist points out "a low tolerance when his needs for power and admiration are frustrated, and they can easily be." She also notes "a deficit of empathy, an emotional coldness, compensated by a better intellectual understanding of other people's emotions."

Zepeda benefits from "self-control, he is not impulsive, he is a very thoughtful person."

Claire Cavignaux - and this is not insignificant - sees in Nicolas Zepeda a "capacity for long-term planning, for calculation, in a pragmatic, strategic way.".


10.30 a.m. - How to explain Zepeda's tears during his trial?

The president of the court of assizes, Matthieu Husson, still wants to hear the psychologist on his relationship with Narumi...

And on their reunion, on December 4, 2016, when the Japanese student was inevitably "surprised" by his arrival in Besançon.

During his psychological examination, Nicolas Zepeda was not very forthcoming about this episode. "He finds it difficult to talk about other people's emotions in general, there is not much going on emotionally," Claire Cavignaux says.

The president pointed out that during the trial, Zepeda "broke down" at the mention of the reunion.

"A trial is extremely stressful for anyone," she continues.

"In terms of loss of control, it is narcissistically complicated and can lead to emotional explosions.

Another hypothesis of the expert: "In certain individuals who lack empathy, they can simulate, they can overact, they can dramatise..."

President Husson seems perplexed. "This is not the impression we got."


10:35 a.m. - Jealousy or possessiveness?

Claire Cavignaux's testimony continues before the jury. In particular about the "jealousy" attributed to Nicolas Zepeda.

For the psychologist, the accused falls more into the "possessive register."

During Narumi's stay in France, Zepeda reproached her for "a lack of respect" and asked her to delete males from her Facebook, President Husson recalls.

The psychologist said: "He may be afraid that she will fall in love, it's jealousy.

However, in her eyes, the problem would be deeper if his fear was that Narumi "shared moments with other men, whom she perceived as better than him."


10.40 a.m. - "Lack of consideration for the distress of Narumi"

Sylvie Galley now questions the psychologist.

The lawyer for the Kurosaki family recalls the five conditions imposed by Zepeda on Narumi when she arrived in France.

"You will never cause a problem, you will never be angry, you will never be mean, you will never say a bad word, you will never negotiate anything," Me Galley recalls.

"If I change, I'll lose myself, if I change, I'll hate myself," Narumi replied. You can feel someone who wants to escape this control, by breaking up," the lawyer for the relatives of the missing student continues.

The psychologist comments: "In any case, Nicolas Zepeda does not take her into account, there is an absence of consideration for her distress."

10:50 a.m. - "It would have been very difficult to tolerate".

Me Schwerdorffer, lawyer for Narumi's French boyfriend, leans over to his microphone.

The criminal lawyer reads at length to the psychologist the exchanges between Nicolas Zepeda and his lover at the time, in which the Chilean threatens to leave her if she behaves like "a bad girl".

The psychologist confirms "the manipulative side" of the manoeuvre, "these are games that can be found in dysfunctional relationships."

Me Schwerdorffer continues his reading, very unfavourable to Nicolas Zepeda. "It's hyper-violent, do we agree?"

The psychologist continues with her comments: "One can feel a lot of dominance, a lot of pressure on the other person, once again, without considering the person in front of him."

The lawyer continues: "He presents us with a completely different character. Nicolas Zepeda puts a lot of energy into making us believe that Narumi wanted to have a sexual relationship (on the evening of their reunion, editor's note) by explaining to us that he kept the condom wrappers."

What he really wants to know: could he have lost his nerve if Narumi had refused him?
"It would have been very difficult to tolerate," the expert confirms.

Lastly, Me Schwerdorffer wonders if Zepeda is not confessing, because he would feel "a certain pleasure in being the only one to know what happened, when you are undergoing, when you are completely dependent on his will. Isn't this a way for him to keep power?"

The psychologist hesitates, but does not take the outstretched hand: "I'm embarrassed, at the risk of frustrating you, because we are not assuming the presumption of innocence.

The lawyer salutes her response: "It is to your credit that you are prudent."


11.05 a.m. - Could Zepeda have committed the irreparable act, with no known previous history of violence?

The public prosecutor emphasises the "narcissism" observed in Nicolas Zepeda. Since the beginning of the morning, seated in the front row, the father of the South American has not hidden his annoyance.

Standing cross-legged facing the court, Claire Cavignaux accompanied him in his reflection... She offers a surprising detail in passing: Zepeda himself was taking notes during his psychological examination.

Etienne Manteaux also dwells on the "absence of impulsivity" noted by the psychologist in Nicolas Zepeda, while underlining a propensity for "anger, in case of frustration." One can sense what the public prosecutor is getting at...

The psychologist made a distinction between verbal aggression and "physical aggression", noting that the Chilean claimed never to have been involved in any fights.

"It's common to see men in domestic homicides without any previous violent episode," Etienne Manteaux points out.

The psychologist agrees.

11.10 a.m. - On the empathy deficit, Zepeda seems to "come from another planet".

The psychologist now turns to the side of the box of Nicolas Zepeda and his lawyers.

Me Laffont returns to the "probable empathy deficit" noted by the expert in her client and asks about its possible origin.

"It's an excellent question," the psychologist says. She mentions the existence of possible childhood "traumas". Another possible origin: "A rather cold social environment, which does not favour emotional expression".

This answer seems to please the defence, to the extent that Claire Cavignaux continues: "He has a different perception of the world and of emotions than we do. During our exchanges, he appears to come from another planet, he has difficulty in speaking spontaneously. But that is his way of being."

The hearing is suspended for twenty minutes.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


11:45 a.m. - "In detention, one tends to keep one's feelings to oneself

President Husson summarises the conclusions of the psychologist experts who have been heard.

Nicolas Zepeda insists on the conditions of these examinations. He also speakes of his difficulties in "opening up" to his experts. "In detention, we tend to keep our feelings to ourselves. It is difficult to open up because feelings are what we have left," he insists.

Ma Galley makes an observation on the lack of empathy noted by the psychologist, which according to the lawyer would explain Nicolas Zepeda's lack of empathy during the Kurosaki family's testimony.

Me Galley concludes by noting that "this trial is ending without Narumi's relatives having any answers to their questions."


1.55am - Zepeda trapped on the disappearance of condom wrappers

The public prosecutor, Etienne Manteaux, returned to a different subject before the end of the trial.

Nicolas Zepeda explained to the court a few days ago that the reason why no condom wrappers were found in Narumi's room by the police was because the Chilean had respected "a Japanese custom" which forbids leaving such things in his host's trash.

At the invitation of the prosecution, Narumi's sister stands before the jury to comment on this unusual statement. "I was born in Japan, I lived there for 22 years... I have never heard of such a custom. When I'm at a friend's house and I have things to throw away, I ask them where their rubbish bin is and I use it."

Etienne Manteaux states the obvious: "That's what a bin is for."

Nicolas Zepeda wishes to react. "Perhaps I didn't explain myself well, it was a reflex. When you chew gum, you can wrap it in paper and put it in your pocket. It was a reflex", he says and takes a sip from his water bottle.

"It was you who told us about a Japanese custom, not us who invented it," the public prosecutor rages.

"It's possible that I had misunderstood this custom at the time..."


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


12.10pm - Premeditation or not, Nicolas Zepeda faces life imprisonment if convicted

The hearing is coming to an end. But the chess game continues.

The public prosecutor wishes to register the status of ex-partner for Nicolas Zepeda, in relation to Narumi.

"I understood that the question of premeditation would perhaps be disputed," Etienne Manteaux anticipates and points to the defence lawyers.

The public prosecutor recalls that if this premeditation is not retained by the jury, the murder of an ex-partner incurs the same maximum sentence. "Life imprisonment," Etienne Manteau cautions.

Duly noted.


The president of the court of assizes then formulates the three questions that the court of assizes will have to answer this Tuesday, April 12, after the closing arguments of each party on Monday.

Is Nicolas Zepeda guilty of having voluntarily caused the death of Narumi Kurosaki?

If so, did he plan to commit the murder?

Along with this third question, the answer to which seems obvious: Was Nicolas Zepeda the former partner of Narumi Kurosaki at the time of the crime?


The hearing is adjourned. It will resume on Monday morning.


BBM

 

[ZaZara]

L'Est Republicain, live blog


12.20pm - "Absolute despair" of Narumi's relatives, with no news about the body

At the end of the hearing, Mr Galley spoke of the "absolute despair" of Narumi's mother and sister, who had come all the way to France with the ihope that perhaps the location of the student's body would be discovered.

"They know what happened in that room, they know that Nicolas Zepeda killed Narumi," Me Galley explains, but her clients are "desperate to realise that after two weeks of trial and despite a barrage of questions and evidence, Nicolas Zepeda has not changed his story."

Is this a failure? "On the whole, it's a disappointment," the lawyer admits, but the opportunity for them to testify about their pain in front of the court on Wednesday was "a form of closure" after five years of silence.



12:30 p.m. - Schwerdorffer envisages "a very harsh verdict"

Regarding the psychological expertise of Nicolas Zepeda, Randall Schwerdorffer insisted on the "lack of empathy" of the Chilean, who did not hesitate in his "dysfunctional" relationship with Narumi to manipulate and threaten her.

If convicted, "the verdict will be very harsh," the lawyer of Narumi's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Arthur del Piccolo, predicted.



12 h 45. - "Upset" by the trial, Ms Laffont insists on Zepeda's consistency

Jacqueline Laffont, who is known for defending high-profile clients such as Sarkozy, Hulot and PPDA, rarely speaks outside the courtroom. For the first time in the trial, Nicolas Zepeda's lawyer departed from her usual routine.

Me Laffont admitted to being "very tested, very upset" by the debates, "of a painful dramatic intensity rarely reached. I have been through many trials, and this one was special."

Her assessment? "Nicolas Zepeda is consistent: he has been saying for five years that he did not kill Narumi. I asked him the questions myself, questions asked by everyone..." And always this consistency, Nicolas Zepeda says "he did not kill Narumi."
Me Laffont noted a single moment of "letting go of this control that we all talk about, and that is precisely what he shouted...".

"We are here, these areas of mystery existed before the trial, they still exist: what happened, how? This is where I am. You have heard it as I have, this is my client's position. And I will defend my client.



13 h 30. - Continuation and end of the trial, Monday and Tuesday

After nine full days of proceedings, the trial of Nicolas Zepeda is coming to an end. Monday will be devoted to the closing arguments. In turn, in the form of monologues, Me Schwerdorffer and then Me Galley for the civil parties, Etienne Manteaux for the prosecution, Me Benedetti and Me Laffont for the defence, will speak to summarise their positions and their arguments.

The six jurors and the three professional magistrates who form the jury will meet behind closed doors on Tuesday 12 April to deliberate.

Their mission: to seal the judicial fate of Nicolas Zepeda.

As Narumi's former partner, Zepeda faces life imprisonment if convicted, whether or not premeditation is proven.


BBM