Kurt Sonnenfeld

Kurt Sonnenfeld (born 1962) is an American currently awaiting extradition to the US from Argentina for the alleged 2002 murder of his then wife, Nancy. Prior to 2002, Sonnenfeld was a videographer for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and was one of four FEMA photographers who were given exclusive access to the World Trade Center site following the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001.^[1] In addition to the photographs and video he took on behalf of FEMA, he claims to have taken additional video footage and photographs which he says provide evidence that the U.S. government had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.^[2]

Books

On May 8, 2009, Kurt Sonnenfeld presented his book, El Perseguido (The Persecuted), at the 35th Annual Buenos Aires Book Fair in Argentina. In the book, he describes the harassment which he alleges was imposed upon him by various U.S. government agencies following his work as a videographer at the World Trade Center site.^[3] In November of 2012, New Horizon Press published, "The Spin Doctor: Hero or Cold-Blooded Killer?," ^[4] by Denver Post Staff Writer Kirk Mitchell, which disputes Sonnenfeld's claims about the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. ^[5]

Murder suspect

His name has been associated with controversy since 2002 when his first wife, Nancy, died from a gunshot wound to the head. The precise circumstances of her death are unknown, but Sonnenfeld is currently wanted for her murder by the Colorado police. At the time of his wife's death, January 1, 2002, he was arrested for her murder. Officers responding to the scene reported seeing high-velocity blood spatter on Sonnenfeld's face, indicating he was in close proximity to the gunshot. Gunpowder residue was found on his pants and jacket but not his hands. Gunpowder residue was found on his wife's hand and only her fingerprints were found on the gun.^[6] An alleged suicide note in Nancy's hand writing was later found by investigators, working in favor of Kurt's defense. Prosecutors dropped the case in June 2002 but maintained the right to refile. The renewed interest by prosecutors in Colorado was premised on alleged confessions Sonnenfeld made to two other cellmates while he was in jail awaiting trial.^[7]

In 2002, after prosecutors in the office of former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter dismissed the charges, due to insufficient evidence, Sonnenfeld moved to Argentina, where he was held for seven months in Villa Devoto, an infamous Buenos Aires prison, until a federal judge rejected the U.S. extradition request.^[8] The US government has been seeking Sonnenfeld's extradition from Argentina since 2004, but Sonnenfeld says that they want his extradition in order to eliminate him due to his video evidence that the U.S. government had prior knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.^[9] Initially, the Argentine court refused the extradition request, saying they had not received sufficient assurances from Colorado that Sonnenfeld would not be executed. But Colorado assured Argentina that it would not seek the death penalty.^[10] On January 2, 2015, the Argentine Supreme Court announced its decision to extradite Sonnenfeld to the United States and on September 16, 2015, the Court approved the extradition. ^[11] But on November 17, 2015, CBS's crime program, 48 Hours, provided documents to The Denver Post that detailed an executive decision by Argentina's president to block the extradition, citing human rights violations. ^[12]

References