News on the Nicolás Zepeda case (updates, part 3)
Hello everyone, I hope you’re all doing well.
You may not know this, but I’ve been working on a story for almost a year now (I don’t do this full-time, so the research takes a while), and every time I think I’m finally going to be able to publish it, a new detail pulls me back into my research. That’s partly why my posting schedule is so erratic. But don’t worry, I’ve resigned myself and decided to prioritize “shorter” cases so I can keep bringing you new stories while I work toward finishing the big case.
Today, I’m bringing you updates on one of the cases I’ve already covered, and brace yourselves, because the killer we’re going to reexamine has shown some serious nerve over the past few months.
Nicolás Zepeda’s new trial
I’m quite late on this, but our murderous Chilean incel had his third trial in March 2026. This trial had to be scheduled after the French Supreme Court overturned his conviction in the criminal court in February 2025 after a flaw was found in the procedure.
The family of Narumi Kurosaki, his former partner who has been missing since 2016, had to return to France to attend the hearings at the Rhône Assize Court. Nicolás’ family also made the trip, but was unable to attend the initial hearings because they were scheduled to testify later in the trial. They nevertheless ensured that their beloved Nicolás was well represented, notably by hiring attorney Robin Binsard, known for having defended the Balkany couple (corrupt politicians) and Pavel Durov, the CEO of the social media platform Telegram.
Nicolás’ father also expressed his support for his son by self-publishing, the week before the trial, a 460-page book co-written with two private investigators titled “Where Is Narumi? When Justice and Truth Are at Stake.”
The trial began on March 17, 2026. Eight days of hearings were scheduled instead of the usual 12, for a reason I couldn’t figure out.
The first three days of the trial did not get any particular twists, but the fourth day was especially interesting because the expert psychologist took the stand.
She described Nicolás as “confident in his charisma,” “insensitive to feelings of guilt,” and “raised on narcissistic validation,” with a tendency to “absolve himself of all responsibility” to the point of “erasing the other person’s reality.”
This scathing analysis added to the incriminating evidence that had been present in the case from the start, leaving the defense with only one exploitable area of doubt: the two unidentified male DNA samples found in Narumi’s dorm room. It wasn’t much, but the lawyers clung to it.
Nicolás also tried to draw up his own arguments to refute the hypotheses put forward by the prosecutor and supported by the evidence.
If he was located in the woods of Franche-Comté at the time of the disappearance, it was because he had gone there to rest. Sure. If he bought a bottle of bleach, it was to clean a stain in his car. Sure. If he bought a 5-liter can of fuel, it was to fill it with gas in case of a breakdown (because we French people don’t have access to such luxuries as gas stations or traveling mechanics). If he bought a box of matches, it was because he thought it was pretty. He even says he brought it back to Chile. By plane. Of course.
At least he admitted that he had tried several times to get into Narumi’s university dorm, instead of continuing to claim that he had run into her completely by chance.
At the end of the proceedings, the attorney for the civil parties rightly pointed out that Nicolás traveled 15,000 km to try to win Narumi back, but 0 km when she disappeared.
On March 25, the prosecution sought a 30-year prison sentence for the defendant, who was sentenced the following day to life in prison after the jury found that the crime had been premeditated.
Sylvain Cormier, Nicolás’ lead attorney, denounced what he saw as punishment for having “dared to exercise a fundamental right, to file an appeal with the Court of Cassation, and for having dared to challenge the conviction handed down in Vesoul.” Personally, I think it’s more a punishment for having taken an innocent life rather than for questioning one’s own actions, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
The defense has filed a new appeal, and the French Supreme Court must now confirm that there were no procedural irregularities regarding this new conviction of the 35-year-old Chilean who, if the sentence is upheld, will not be eligible for parole until he turns 51.
The body of Narumi, a young student described as full of life, intelligent, and generous, has still not been found, and Nicolás still refuses to reveal where he hid her.
Let me know what you think about this case in the comments, or on Reddit / Tumblr / Bluesky / Threads / Instagram / Mastodon / Facebook! You can also subscribe below to get the new articles in your inbox. I hope you find some money on the ground today, and I’ll see you next time !
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