Witnesses have gathered in a small city in upstate New York over the past three weeks to testify in the trial of a man accused of strangling a young nursing student to death. But there is no jury, no American judge and the man accused is seated next to his defense attorney 2,200 miles away — in Nicaragua.
Authorities say Tercero, now 23, strangled Anderson at his off-campus residence in Binghamton in March 2018. Anderson, who was from Westbury on Long Island, was found dead in Tercero's bed. The two college students had a romantic relationship but Tercero wanted a more serious relationship, according to trial testimony.
The spectacle of a person being tried in another country under a foreign legal system for a killing that took place on U.S. soil is unusual, but not unprecedented. "We will argue against the proof," Tercero's defense attorney said, according to an interpreter, the Press & Sun-Bulletin reported earlier this month.
That same day, in Binghamton, a police investigator testified via the video link that Tercero left a note at his residence saying he was sorry. Down the hall, Anderson's friends and supporters watched the bright and grainy livestream from a wood-paneled viewing room. Before that round of sanctions, the U.S. had already imposed sanctions against Vice President Rosario Murillo — who is married to President Daniel Ortega — and other Nicaraguan officials.
Foxy Knoxy part 2?