Narumi trial: Nicolas Zepeda sentenced to 28 years in prison


“I am not Narumi’s murderer”, assured the Chilean Nicolas Zepeda for the last time this Tuesday before the Doubs Assize Court where he was answering for the assassination of his Japanese ex-girlfriend Narumi Kurosaki, before the jurors do not retire to deliberate.

“I never wanted to be in the midst of the pain of Narumi’s family,” he continued. At the end of this declaration, the jury – six jurors and three judges – withdrew to deliberate.

The verdict fell at the beginning of the afternoon: the 31-year-old man was sentenced to 28 years of criminal imprisonment, five years after the disappearance of the young woman. At the statement of the verdict Nicolas Zepeda remained frozen. Sitting in front of him, Narumi’s mother observed him, her head tilted slightly to the side, handkerchief in hand and still holding the photo of her daughter, whom she has not let go of since the start of the trial, 15 days old. earlier.

As a reminder, Advocate General Etienne Manteaux had requested life imprisonment against Nicolas Zepeda on Monday.

Narumi has not been seen since December 4, 2016 and her body has never been found.

During these two weeks, Nicolas Zepeda has continued to proclaim his innocence. “I’m not who I want, but I’m not an assassin, I’m not Narumi’s assassin,” he said again, in French, during his last speech on Tuesday morning.

Despite a large body of incriminating evidence, the accused continued to proclaim his innocence throughout his trial. Narumi Kurosaki has not been seen since December 4, 2016 and her body has never been found. The 21-year-old student arrived in Besançon in the summer of 2016 for a year of study after breaking up with Nicolas Zepeda.



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