Documents are seen in the courtroom ahead of the arrival of Nicolas Zepeda from Chile, on the opening day of his appeal trial after he was sentenced at first instance for murdering Japanese student Narumi Kurosaki, in Vesoul, France, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
VESOUL, France (Reuters) - The appeal trial of a Chilean man accused of murdering his Japanese ex-girlfriend in France in 2016 was suspended just after it started on Tuesday in the city of Vesoul in eastern France.
Nicolas Zepeda was found guilty by a court last year of murdering 21-year-old Narumi Kurosaki in Besançon. He said he was innocent and appealed the verdict.
Kurosaki's body has not been found.
The proceedings were suspended for at least an hour shortly after they started on Tuesday, as the accused no longer wanted his lawyer to represent him.
A court-appointed lawyer was chosen by the presiding judge instead, and the new lawyer asked for a suspension to be able to talk with her client, Randall Schwerdorffer, a lawyer for Kurosaki's family, told Reuters.
It is unclear how long the suspension will last and Zepeda's lawyer was not immediately contactable.
"It's unbelievable," Schwerdorffer said of the uncertainty over when things would proceed, adding that Zepeda had had a year to prepare for the appeal trial and that what he called "toxic" changes were taking their toll on Kurosaki's family, who travelled to France for the hearings.
"Whether Mr Zepeda agrees or not, this appeal trial will take place at one point. We are ready," Schwerdorffer said, adding: "I'm looking forward for the trial to resume... so we can go to the bottom of this."
(Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
