Missing Japanese student likely murdered, French prosecutor says

Record ID: 163052

  • Title: Missing Japanese student likely murdered, French prosecutor says
  • Date: 4th January 2017
  • Summary: BESANCON, FRANCE (JANUARY 4, 2017) (REUTERS) RIVER AND PARK VARIOUS OF MISSING POSTER READING (French) "WHERE IS NARUMI?" WITH THE STUDENT'S PHOTO KUROSAKI'S PHOTO ON MISSING POSTER
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2017 19:33
  • Keywords: Narumi Kurosaki student missing crime Chilean suspect
  • Location: BESANCON, FRANCE
  • City: BESANCON, FRANCE
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015XO272F
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:The 21-year old Japanese student Narumi Kurosaki who has gone missing since December 4 in the French eastern city of Besancon is probably dead and was most likely murdered, Besancon's prosecutor told Reuters TV on Wednesday (January 4).
    The young woman, who was studying French at Besancon's linguistics centre, was declared missing by Franche-Comte University on December 13th and a first procedure was immediately opened for "worrying disappearance".
    The criminal investigation was a few days later re-qualified as "kidnapping and detention", and re-qualified a third time into "murder", as investigators progressively excluded the hypotheses of voluntary disappearance, suicide and accident.
    "Those close to Narumi Kurosaki quickly mentioned to investigators the worrying and distinctive personality of her ex-boyfriend from Chile. Some other elements quickly gathered by the police...allow us to say... the most extremely plausible hypothesis becomes, unfortunately, the death of this young woman who would have been a victim of a murder," Besancon's prosecutor Edwige Roux-Morizot told Reuters TV.
    Roux-Morizot said the ex-boyfriend had a very possessive nature, citing a number of Kurosaki's close friends. She was no longer dating the Chilean man when she arrived in France in September.
    An international warrant has been issued against the Chilean, who is the number one suspect in the case.
    Kurosaki was last seen alive on December 4th, between 2100 and 2200GMT, and the investigation determined that her ex-boyfriend was then in Besancon.
    On that night, a scream was heard by different students living on the same building as Kurosaki. Investigators also found reddish dots on an exit door of the building, which is now under analysis for blood stains.
    "I have a friend who lives on the very same floor where Narumi was living, that is on the first floor, and who heard, on the eve or on the night when she disappeared alarming sounds, like screams," said Olivier, who is studying economics in the same campus.
    He said it was not unusual to hear shouting in the campus, especially during parties, so his friend did not bother checking where the sound was from.
    Olivier had met Kurosaki and had chatted with her informally, and was friends with her on Facebook.
    "She was very, very nice and quite discreet. I had seen her twice or three times since classes had resumed in September, and her disappearance was quite a shock," Olivier said.
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