VESOUL: A French court on Tuesday delayed by two days the start of appeal proceedings for a Chilean man convicted of murdering his Japanese ex-girlfriend in 2016, after the defendant dismissed his lawyer. The proceedings were delayed until 9:00 am (0800 GMT) on Thursday, presiding judge Francois Arnaud said at the criminal court in Vesoul, eastern France.

Nicolas Zepeda, 32, was sentenced in April last year to 28 years in jail for the murder of Narumi Kurosaki, then aged 21, in December 2016. As the appeal got under way, judge Arnaud read out a letter from Zepeda's lawyer saying that he had been dismissed on February 18.

Although the court at first appointed two new defence lawyers for him, Zepeda, who appeared in court wearing a black fleece jacket and a dark green shirt, ultimately named his own, Renaud Portejoie. "This appeal has been scheduled for a year, he's had a year to choose a new lawyer," said Randall Schwerdorffer, a lawyer representing Kurosaki's boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Arthur del Piccolo.

Kurosaki's mother and two sisters had travelled from Japan to attend the appeal hearing. "It almost seems like he doesn't want to face up to the trial today, but whatever happens, whether (Zepeda) agrees or not, this appeal will take place sometime or other," Schwerdorffer said.

Some 31 media organisations, including Chilean and Japanese outlets, were accredited to cover the trial, which is expected to last two weeks. A verdict had been expected on March 8. Zepeda faces up to life in prison but remains covered by the presumption of innocence given his appeal.

Kurosaki, a brilliant scholarship student, arrived in the eastern French city of Besancon in the summer of 2016 to learn French. She disappeared on December 4. Zepeda, with whom she had broken up a year before, was the last person to see her alive.

In his first trial, prosecutors said Zepeda was unable to deal with the couple's breakup, coming to Besancon to kill Kurosaki in her student dorm room before dumping the body in the forests of the rugged Jura region.

They pointed to evidence from witnesses, telephone records and geolocation of the car Zepeda hired. The Chilean has admitted spending the night with Kurosaki in December, claiming he ran into her by chance while travelling through France.

But several witnesses reported hearing "screams of terror" and thuds "as if someone was striking someone else"-though none called the police at the time. But so far no trace has been found of Kurosaki's remains. - AFP