Kim Kardashian delivered harrowing testimony in a Paris courtroom Tuesday as she confronted several of the men accused of tying her up at gunpoint and stealing millions of dollars in jewelry from her during a 2016 armed robbery. Speaking under oath, the reality television star described moments of acute fear and trauma, stating, "I absolutely did think I was gonna die."
The testimony came during an ongoing trial involving 10 defendants accused of orchestrating and executing the high-profile heist. French media have dubbed the accused "grandpa robbers" due to their older ages, with some suspects in their 70s. The trial is scheduled to continue through May 23.
According to Kardashian, now 44, the masked intruders entered her hotel suite during Paris Fashion Week and pulled her by the arm, opening her robe and exposing her body. "I was sure that I was going to be raped," she testified, as reported by NBC News. Instead, the assailants tied her legs together and bound her hands before throwing her onto the bed.
Kardashian said she repeatedly pleaded with the men: "I have babies and I need to get home to my babies." At one point, she thought one of them said "shut up." Despite realizing the attackers appeared focused on stealing her jewelry, she feared for her life. "At that point I was sure that's when they were going to shoot me," she said. "So I said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend."
The suspects ultimately took approximately $9 million in jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring from then-husband Kanye West. Other stolen items included diamond bracelets, a gold Rolex, diamond earrings, and a Jacob & Co. necklace, according to testimony and French reports. Much of the stolen property has never been recovered.
Kardashian recounted that after the robbers fled, she waited several minutes before freeing her hands and hopping to the adjacent room to alert her stylist and close friend Simone Harouche. "To see my friend with her feet taped and her bathrobe, a very light robe with nothing under it, all messed up and pulled, I obviously thought she could have been raped or very violated," Harouche told the court.
Harouche testified that she was asleep in the hotel suite when she was awoken by Kardashian's screams. "What I heard specifically: 'I have babies and I need to live,' this is what she kept saying. 'Take everything-I need to live,'" she said. Harouche said she feared they would both die.
Both Kardashian and Harouche testified to the long-term psychological impact of the robbery. "She was very free at the time and we never thought being in our hotel room meant that we should ever fear for our safety," Harouche said. Kardashian stated she now travels with four to six bodyguards at all times, even at her home in California.
Defense attorneys questioned whether Kardashian's high-profile lifestyle contributed to the robbery, suggesting her publicized location and displays of wealth may have made her a target. Harouche pushed back. "Just because a woman wears jewellery that doesn't make her a target," she said. "That's like saying because a woman wears a short skirt that she deserves to be raped."
One of the suspects on trial, Yunice Abbas, 71, has admitted involvement in the crime. He co-authored a book titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, which he now claims misrepresents his role. "I regret it, not because I got caught, but because ... there was a trauma," he testified in April.
French authorities originally arrested 17 suspects in early 2017, ultimately charging 10. Half face charges of direct involvement, while the others are accused of aiding in logistics and planning. One of the accused is the brother of Kardashian's Paris chauffeur.
According to AFP, Kardashian's attorneys, Leonor Hennerick and Jonathan Mattout, said last week, "She is committed to attending in person the trial and to confronting those who attacked her. She will do so with dignity and courage."
