Nine men and one woman are on trial over an armed heist which saw Kim Kardashian tied up in her hotel bedroom and millions of pounds’ worth of her jewels stolen, as ITV News Entertainment Reporter Rishi Davda explains
Words by ITV News producers Isaine Blatry and Sarah Toner
Ten suspects will go on trial in Paris on Monday for the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian in 2016, in which $10 million worth of jewellery was stolen.
They’re also accused of the abduction and kidnapping of the reality star and the concierge of the residence where she was staying during Paris Fashion Week on the night of October 2.
The court will hear how masked men forced their way into Ms Kardashian’s accommodation and made off with more than $10 million worth of jewellery.
Lawyers for Ms Kardashian say she will give her testimony in person in the coming weeks.
“Ms Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time,” they said.
“She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities.
“She wishes the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion, in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case.”
What happened?
On the night of the robbery, police say the criminals, posing as policemen, entered through two large, unmarked red doors on Rue Tronchet, where Ms Kardashian was staying.
They held the concierge at gunpoint to gain access to the apartment before entering Ms Kardashian’s bedroom, police said.
In an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians in 2017, Ms Kardashian spoke publically for the first time about the incident, saying she thought she was going to be raped and killed.
“Then (one of the armed men) duct tapes my face, my mouth, to get me to not yell or anything and then he grabs my legs,” she said.
“I wasn’t, I had no clothes on under (my robe), and he pulled me towards him at the front of the bed and I thought, ‘Okay, this is the moment. They are going to rape me.’
“And I fully mentally prepped myself and then he didn’t, and he duct-taped my legs together.”
She added: “Then they had the gun up to me and I just knew that was the moment they are just totally going to shoot me in the head.
“I just prayed Kourtney (her elder sister) was going to have a normal life after she sees my dead body on the bed.”
Ms Kardashian told investigators she was taken to a bathroom and placed in the bathtub before the men made off with her jewels.
Her attackers fled on bicycles, and she managed to free herself by removing the tape from her hands and mouth.
She also removed the tape from her feet and rushed to her stylist’s room. She called her sister Kourtney to tell her about the theft.
Shortly afterwards, Ms Kardashian filed a complaint and told investigators that she wanted to leave France as soon as possible to be reunited with her children.
Another key victim, the hotel’s concierge Abderrahmane Outaiki, will also testify to what he endured.
His lawyer, Mohand Ouidja, described the night vividly: “He starts work at 9pm as usual, and is immediately confronted with false police authority. Men dressed as policemen handcuff him, threaten him, and shuffle him around the hotel like a piece of merchandise. Held at gunpoint, he’s forced to cooperate.
“Although he kept his calm, criticised by some, the calm came at a high price. He has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
Who are the suspects?
Thanks to DNA evidence, CCTV footage, and phone records, police quickly identified the group behind the robbery.
Those on trial are said to be men in their 60s and 70s with previous criminal records.
The French press has dubbed them ‘The Grandad Robbers’, and they allegedly have long-standing careers as bank robbers.
Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box. One of them has died, and another is seriously ill and can’t be tried.
According to the investigation, five of the ten defendants were present at the scene of the robbery.
Two of the accused have partially confessed to the crime, as their DNA was found at the scene.
The alleged ringleader, Aomar Aït Khedache, is one of two suspected robbers who allegedly entered the apartment. Nicknamed “Old Omar”, his genetic profile was found on the tape used to gag Ms Kardashian.
He left the hotel on a bicycle, as did two other robbers, then met his son, who was waiting for him in a parked car at a nearby train station.
Aït Khedache, now 70, is accused of masterminding the heist. His lawyer, Chloé Arnoux, expressed concern over the intense media spotlight.
She told ITV News: “I’m really afraid that this special attention, which is international, would lead to making this case a window for harsh or exemplary justice, not based on what’s fair or useful to society, but on what public opinion demands, and sometimes that’s really different.”
Aït Khedache’s lawyer Chloé Arnoux said he does not seek to escape responsibility but fears becoming a scapegoat
From his cell, Aït Khedache wrote Kardashian an apology letter, saying he was “deeply moved” by seeing her emotional testimony and acknowledging the lasting psychological harm he caused.
The second robber said he tied up the concierge with cables but did not go up to Ms Kardashian’s apartment.
Yunice Abbas, 71, said he acted as a lookout in the ground-floor reception area, making sure the escape route was clear.
He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Ms Kardashian, but admitted he shared responsibility for the crime.
Abbas was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision.
In 2021, he co-authored a French-language book titled “I Sequestered Kim Kardashian.”
He said he plans to apologise to Ms Kardashian, saying in an interview with the Associated Press, “I mean it sincerely.”
Didier Dubreucq, 69, known as “Blue Eyes,” is the second alleged robber suspected of entering the flat.
He denies any involvement, although he was filmed by CCTV cameras and numerous telephone contacts with the other co-defendants show his involvement, according to the investigation.
The other defendants are suspected of providing information about Ms Kardashian’s presence in the apartment. Others are accused of playing a role in the resale of the jewellery in Antwerp, Belgium.
If found guilty, those accused of the more serious crimes could face ten years to life imprisonment.
What was stolen?
The gangsters stole many pieces of jewellery, including her engagement ring, estimated to be worth more than $4 million.
In police reports given to the French authorities Ms Kardashian listed the items as having been stolen: Two diamond Cartier bracelets, a gold and diamond Jacob necklace, diamond earrings by Lauren Schwartz, Yanina earrings, three gold Jacob necklaces, little bracelets, jewels and rings, a Lauren Schwartz diamond necklace, a necklace with six little diamonds, a necklace with Saint spelt out in diamonds, a cross-shaped diamond-encrusted Jacob cross, a yellow gold Rolex watch, two yellow gold rings and an iPhone 6 and a BlackBerry.
A diamond cross on platinum, which was lost during the suspects’ escape, was the only piece of jewellery recovered.
In the aftermath of the robbery, Ms Kardashian has said she changed her approach to social media, speaking multiple times about her new aversion to posting locations and other sensitive information in real-time.
“I was just really scared of everything,” she told David Letterman of her feelings following the crime, as she recounted how the gun-toting robbers forced her to hand over her engagement ring.
“They kept on saying, ‘the ring, the ring,’” she said.
“I can’t sleep at night unless there’s half a dozen security guards at my house, and that has just become my reality.”
She also said the incident changed her priorities.
“I was definitely materialistic before,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in 2017.
“Not that there’s anything bad with having things and working to get those things – I’m really proud of everyone around me that’s successful… But I’m not here to show off the way I used to.
“It’s just not who I am anymore. I just don’t care about that stuff anymore. I really don’t.”
The trial is scheduled to last four weeks.
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