Nicolas Zepeda, on March 29, 2022, at the courthouse of Besançon, eastern France. PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP
A French court on Thursday, March 26, sentenced a Chilean to life in jail for killing his Japanese ex-girlfriend in 2016, increasing his sentence in the latest ruling in the missing body case. It found Nicolas Zepeda, 35, was guilty "beyond all doubt" of the premeditated murder of Narumi Kurosaki, a 21-year-old student, in the eastern city of Besançon.
Zepeda, who has been in detention since being extradited from Chile in 2020 and has always claimed his innocence, listened to the verdict with his face in his hands. His lawyer said he would be appealing to the country's top court. In the front row, the victim's mother, accompanied by Kurosaki's sisters, held and gently touched a photo of the young woman.
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Chilean man accused of murdering ex-girlfriend proclaims innocence yet again to French court
