`Kim Kardashian's testimony in the 2016 Paris jewelry heist trial has brought the harrowing details of that night back into the spotlight, offering a stark reminder of the trauma she endured. Appearing before the Assize Court in Paris on Tuesday, Kardashian recounted the terrifying moments when armed intruders stormed her hotel room, making it clear she feared for her life during the ordeal.
Her emotional account, particularly the chilling statement, "I absolutely did think I was going to die," underscored the severe psychological impact of the robbery, which saw attackers make off with more than 10 million dollars worth of jewelry. The trial involves a group of ten suspects, many of whom are elderly, who have been dubbed the "grandpa robbers" by the media.
Recounting the Terrifying Night of the Heist
The incident took place in the early hours of October 3, 2016, during Paris Fashion Week. Kim Kardashian was staying at the Hôtel de Pourtalès, an exclusive, discreet location often referred to as the "No Address Hotel." Accompanied by her sister Kourtney Kardashian, their stylist Simone Harouche, and her bodyguard Pascal Duvier, she had attended various events throughout the week.On the night of the robbery, Kourtney and her assistant Stephanie Shepherd had plans to go out, and Kardashian opted to stay in. Her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, left to accompany Kourtney and their half-sister Kendall Jenner, who were heading to a nightclub. This left Kardashian alone in her hotel room, a vulnerability that the perpetrators seemingly exploited.
Around 2:56 a.m., Kardashian heard a noise at her door. She initially called Duvier. Shortly after, masked men, posing as police officers, gained entry to her room. According to Kardashian's testimony and previous accounts, they were accompanied by a handcuffed hotel receptionist whom they had forced to open her door.
Recalling the intrusion during her testimony, Kardashian said she was confused when men dressed as police entered her room with the receptionist. She immediately thought of her children. "I said to the concierge, ‘I have babies, tell them, I just have to make it home,’" she testified.
The situation quickly escalated. Kardashian, wearing only a bathrobe, was grabbed and pulled from her bed. She has described the moment she was dragged into another room and dropped onto the floor. The attackers were armed, and a gun was pointed at her multiple times – to get her to move from room to room and then again while she was on the bed.
The Emotional Courtroom Testimony
Tuesday's testimony was the first time Kim Kardashian had publicly recounted the full details of the robbery in a courtroom setting. Addressing the judge and potentially facing some of her alleged attackers, her account was deeply emotional.When Judge David De Pas directly asked if she thought she was going to die that night, Kardashian's response was unequivocal and heartbreaking: "I absolutely did think I was going to die."
She elaborated on her fears, including the terrifying thought of being sexually assaulted. While she clarified that she was not physically assaulted in that manner, she recounted being pulled towards one of the suspects on the bed while she was essentially naked under her robe, leading her to believe that rape was imminent.
Kardashian also spoke of her intense fear for her sister, Kourtney. She prayed that Kourtney would not return to the room while the robbers were still there, envisioning her sister discovering her "dead on the bed, shot dead," a memory that would traumatize her forever.
After the robbers finally left the room, Kardashian remained bound with handcuffs, zip ties, and duct tape. She described waiting several minutes before she was able to free herself from the restraints on her hands. Her immediate instinct was to seek safety. She exited the bathroom where she had been locked and went to find her friend, Simone Harouche, who was staying on the floor below.
Kardashian revealed that she hid on the balcony outside her room after escaping, fearing the robbers might return. She described this action as an instinct, not knowing what their intentions were and unwilling to take any chances. This detail paints a vivid picture of her desperate state of mind in the immediate aftermath.
During the proceedings, one of the defendants, Aomar Ait Khedache, a 69-year-old man who is deaf and mute, provided a written statement expressing remorse. Khedache, known as "Old Omar," has reportedly admitted to being involved in the heist but denies being the ringleader. He asked Kardashian for forgiveness.
Kardashian acknowledged the letter in court. While she stated, "I do appreciate the letter," she conveyed that forgiveness, while given, does not erase the profound impact of the crime. "I forgive you for what has taken place, but it doesn’t change the emotion and the feelings and the trauma, the way my life is forever changed," she responded, highlighting the lasting psychological scars she carries.
Supporting Testimony and Defense Against Victim-Blaming
Kim Kardashian was not the only witness to testify about the events of that night. Her stylist and friend, Simone Harouche, also gave her account on Tuesday. Harouche described waking up to "a very different sound" coming from the room above – a sound she recognized as Kardashian pleading for her life.Harouche recounted her shock upon seeing her friend after the ordeal. She described Kardashian's appearance – her feet taped, her robe pulled and in disarray with nothing underneath – which led Harouche to fear that Kardashian could have been raped or severely violated.
She painted a picture of a friend utterly distraught and consumed by fear. "She was beside herself," Harouche told the court. "I’ve never seen her like this before. She just was screaming and kept saying, ‘We need to get out of here. We need help. What are we going to do if they come back? We may need to jump out the window or hide in the first floor.’" Harouche emphasized that Kardashian was solely focused on immediate survival: "She was just thinking: ‘How are we going to be safe? How are we going to survive?’"
Harouche was also asked a question that touches on a sensitive aspect of the public reaction to the crime: whether she felt Kardashian had attracted the robbery by publicly displaying her wealth on social media. Harouche firmly rejected this notion, coming to her friend's defense.
"Just because a woman wears jewelry, that doesn’t make her a target," Harouche stated, drawing a parallel to powerfully refute the implication. "That’s like saying because a woman wears a short skirt that she deserves to be raped." Her testimony not only corroborated Kardashian's fear but also pushed back against victim-blaming narratives that emerged after the heist.
Details of the 2016 Incident and Its Genesis
The events leading up to the robbery highlight how the attackers may have targeted Kardashian. Her arrival in Paris via private jet and subsequent movements were tracked by photographers, and the location where she would be staying, the Hôtel de Pourtalès, quickly became public knowledge.Security at the luxury residence has been a point of discussion since the crime. While described as discreet, it appears the level of security was insufficient to prevent a determined group from gaining access. The fact that the robbers were able to force the receptionist to surrender a key to Kardashian's room underscores a significant lapse in security protocols.
Once inside, the perpetrators quickly subdued Kardashian. Her previous interviews, including one with David Letterman in 2020, have provided details mirroring her court testimony – being grabbed, pulled, fearing rape, and then being bound and locked in the bathroom while the robbery took place.
Reports indicate the group was inside the hotel for only 49 minutes. They specifically targeted Kardashian's valuable jewelry, including the large diamond engagement ring given to her by her then-husband, Kanye West, which was valued at 4 million dollars. After taking the items, the robbers fled the scene on bicycles, an escape method that struck many as surprisingly low-tech for such a high-profile crime.
Kardashian's account of her desperate actions after freeing herself – screaming for help from the balcony – further illustrates the sheer terror she experienced and her immediate focus on survival and seeking assistance.
The Lasting Impact on Social Media Use
Before the robbery, Kim Kardashian was perhaps the most prominent example of a celebrity who shared nearly every aspect of her life, often in real-time, across various social media platforms. Her Snapchat stories during Paris Fashion Week often showed her location, her activities, and sometimes glimpses of the valuables she had with her.She herself acknowledged the potential link between her social media habits and the crime. In an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2017, she reflected on the night: "I was Snapchatting that I was home and that everyone was going out. So I think they knew Pascal was out with Kourtney, and I was there by myself."
The traumatic experience fundamentally changed how Kardashian engages with social media. She has significantly altered her approach, opting for a delay in posting details about her current location or activities. At the New York Times’ DealBook conference in 2019, she explained this shift.
"I learned from a bad experience I had when I was robbed that people really knew my every move," she said. "They knew what I had, they knew where I was, what I was doing, and that to me really changed the things that I post."
Now, her strategy is to maintain a sense of connection with her audience but with a crucial layer of security. She stated that she might record something to share later but will wait until she has left a location before posting it online. This change, while perhaps subtle to her followers, represents a significant personal adjustment aimed at increasing her safety and privacy after a deeply violating experience.
The Defendants and the French Legal Process
The trial currently underway involves ten individuals arrested in France in the months following the 2016 heist. They face serious charges including armed robbery, membership in a criminal gang, and kidnapping. If convicted, they face a maximum sentence of more than 20 years in prison.Among the notable defendants is Aomar Ait Khedache, the man who offered a written apology to Kardashian. Despite his reported admission to participating, he disputes being the leader of the operation. Another defendant is Yunice Abbas, who co-wrote a book about the robbery titled *J’ai séquestré Kim Kardashian* (I kidnapped Kim Kardashian).
Abbas's comments about the incident have sometimes appeared brazen. In a 2022 interview with Vice, he was quoted as saying, "Since she was throwing money away, I was there to collect it, and that was that." When asked if he felt guilty, he reportedly replied, "No, I don’t care. I don’t care." However, ahead of the trial, he reportedly told the Associated Press that he intended to apologize sincerely.
Didier Dubreucq is another defendant, though he denies being one of the robbers who actually entered Kardashian's room. The group's advanced age earned them the "grandpa robbers" moniker, a detail that adds a unique, almost surreal, layer to the case.
The French legal system for serious crimes like this operates differently from those in some other countries. The trial is taking place in the cour d'assises, which handles the most severe criminal offenses and is where juries are used in France. Defendants do not enter formal pleas of guilty or not guilty in the same way as in common law systems; instead, the trial is an exhaustive examination of the evidence. Furthermore, television cameras are not permitted in the courtroom, meaning the public receives updates primarily through reports from journalists present.
Originally, twelve people were charged in connection with the heist. However, only ten are standing trial together. One suspect has passed away since the charges were filed, and another, 80-year-old Pierre Bouianere, is unable to participate due to health issues and will be tried separately at a later date.
The testimony of Kim Kardashian, along with that of her friend Simone Harouche, provides crucial firsthand accounts of the terror inflicted during the robbery. As the trial continues, the court will weigh these emotional testimonies against the evidence presented by the prosecution and the defenses mounted by the accused. The outcome will determine the fate of the ten individuals on trial and potentially offer a degree of closure, though as Kardashian herself noted, the trauma of that night will forever remain.