A Paris court will reach a verdict on Friday in the trial of 10 people alleged to have been involved in thetheft of jewelleryworth millions of euros from the American reality TV starKim Kardashianwhen she attended Paris fashion week in 2016.
Three pensioners and a man in his 30s are accused of breaking into a luxury residence in Paris, where they tied up Kardashian andheld her hostage at gunpointin her bedroom in the early hours of 3 October 2016.
The armed, masked men, who were dressed in police jackets, escaped with jewellery worth up to an estimated €10m. The jewels, which were never found, included a 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring given to Kardashian by her then husband, the rapper Kanye West, estimated to be worth £3m.
The leaders of the gang, aged in their 60s and 70s, were nicknamed the “grandpa robbers” by French media.
They arrived by bike or on foot at the smart residence in centralParisand held a receptionist at gunpoint before going up to Kardashian’s room, where she had been sleeping. They tied her up and taped her mouth, and left her on the bathroom floor before escaping.
The state prosecutor, Anne-Dominique Merville, told jurors this week not to be fooled by the men’s age. She said they were seasoned criminals with previous records and prison sentences.
She said: “They were masked, wearing gloves, they were going to hold her and tie her up. They have no empathy forKim Kardashian, for the receptionist.”
Merville said jurors, who are sitting with a panel of judges, should not to be taken in by “the reassuring wrinkles” of the accused and should remember they were charged with involvement in a violent crime.
She called it a “meticulously prepared” robbery, where “thieves” were recruited. She said: “They came for the ring, they got it. They knew exactly what they were doing.”
The state prosecutor suggested that the judge and jury should return a guilty verdict and 10-year prison sentence forAomar Aït Khedache, 68, a retired restaurant owner, who she said was the mastermind of the robbery. She said he ‘“gave orders”, recruited others and travelled to Belgium to sell the jewellery. He admitted involvement but denied being the mastermind.
She suggested 10-year prison sentences should be given to Didier Dubreucq, 69, who is also alleged to have gone to Kardashian’s bedroom but denies the charges, as well as Yunice Abbas, 71, whowrote a bookabout the robbery and admitted to arriving at the scene with two accomplices on bicycles to “keep watch”. The state prosecutor also recommended a 10-year-sentence for Marc-Alexandre Boyer, the youngest member of the group, now in his 30s, who she said posed “a risk of reoffending”.
Five other men and one woman are accused of taking part in planning or aiding the plot.
The state prosecutor earlier this week recommended seven-year sentences for Gary Madar – the brother of Kardashian’s chauffeur – and his friend Florus Heroui, who it was alleged in court obtained and shared information about Kardashian’s schedule in Paris. They denied the charges.
She recommended eight years for Khedache’s son, Harminy, accused of being the driver on the evening of the robbery. He denied the charges.
The only woman on trial was Cathy Glotin, described in court as a “respectable grandmother involved in charity work” but who also “knew delinquency and had no qualms about taking part in criminal acts”. She was accused by the prosecution of arranging the meetings between her partner Khedache and the accomplices. She denied the charges. The state prosecutor recommended a six-year sentence.
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The heist was thought to be the biggest robbery of an individual inFrancein 20 years.
Kardashian, a billionaire celebrity influencer and business owner who is now a criminal justice advocate in the US,attended the trialin Paris, telling the court she had feared she would be raped and murdered by the masked gunmen who entered her rented suite in the city centre.
At the time of the robbery, Kardashian was without security protection and was alone in her bedroom in an exclusive building, known as a “no address” site, where celebrities often rent sumptuous suites.
Her bodyguard had instead accompanied her sister, the reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian, to a Paris nightclub after the sisters had spent the day at fashion shows being photographed.
At that time, Kardashian routinely posted most of her daily movements and whereabouts on social media, where she also displayed her jewellery, including a large diamond engagement ring. Those details on social media may have facilitated the thieves’ targeting of her.
She told the court her life had changed. “It changed the way that I felt safe at home,” she said, adding that she now had up to six security guards there. “We never felt that we were unsafe before this. This experience changed everything.”
In court, some of the men apologised to Kardashian.
Kardashian said to Khedache in court: “I forgive you for what has taken place but it does not change the emotion, the feelings, the trauma and the way my life is forever changed.”
The verdict is expected on Friday night.