Argentina Allows Extradition of US Man Suspected of Murdering Wife On Condition He Does Not Face Death Penalty
Kurt Sonnenfeld, a 9/11-truther who has been living in Argentina with a charge of first-degree murder hanging over his head for the 2002 death of his wife Nancy Sonnenfeld, will be extradited to Denver to finally face charges.
As reported in the Denver Post, three members of the Argentina National Supreme Court have approved Sonnenfeld’s extradition with the stipulation that they receive assurances from United States officials that Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey's office will in no way seek the death penalty against Sonnenfeld.
Sonnefeld was sent as a cameraman by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to document the wreckage of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks.
On Jan. 1, 2002, Sonnefeld phoned 911 dispatchers alleging that his wife had shot herself in the head.
Officers had to smash a window to get in as Sonnefeld could not open the door.
As reported in an earlier Denver Post Cold Cases blog post, the officers found Nancy Sonnenfeld sitting on the center of a dark blue chaise lounge wearing only a tank top and underwear.
She was still breathing with a bullet hole in the back of her head.
Initially arrested, as a coroner's report showed his wife’s injury was not consistent with having been self-inflicted, the charges against Sonnefeld were dismissed six months later due to insufficient evidence.
By the time the murder charges against Sonnenfeld were refiled a year later, the man had moved to Argentina, where he married a college student and fathered twin girls.
Although held for seven months in a Buenos Aires prison, a federal judge rejected the U.S.’s request for extradition and Sonnenfeld went on to become a sort of Argentine hero after writing a book called "El Perseguido" about his perceived experience of being hunted by the U.S. government for his "truther" convictions.
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