PARIS: Reality television star Kim Kardashian broke down in tears as she faced the alleged ringleader of the 2016 Paris hotel robbery during a criminal trial on Tuesday, telling the court she forgave him but continued to live with the trauma of the terrifying ordeal.
Kardashian, 44, recounted in vivid detail the moment five masked men, posing as police officers, broke into her private suite during Paris Fashion Week and held her at gunpoint.
“I absolutely thought I was going to die,” she told the court. “I thought about my sister, that she would walk in and see me shot dead and have that memory forever.”
Speaking calmly but emotionally, Kardashian described being tied up with zip ties and duct tape and thrown onto the floor.
She feared she was about to be raped when one of the assailants grabbed her leg. “But he ended up tying me up and closed my legs,” she said.
“I was grabbed, dragged into the other room and thrown onto the floor, but wasn’t hit, no.”
She said the intruders, who stole more than $10 million worth of jewellery including a $4 million engagement ring given to her by then-husband Kanye West (now Ye), did not strike her but left her deeply shaken.
“It changed the way that I feel safe at home,” she said, revealing that she now employs four to six security guards just to feel secure. “I can’t sleep at night if there aren’t multiple security people.”
The robbery took place at a luxury residence during the early hours of 3 October 2016. Kardashian had been packing for her departure the next morning when she heard footsteps and saw armed men force their way in.
“They were yelling ‘ring, ring!’ in English, with an accent,” she recalled.
“One pointed a gun at me. I was pretty hysterical and I just looked at the concierge and told him, ‘What is going to happen to us? I have to make it home to my babies’.”
Kardashian’s stylist, Simone Harouche, who was also in the apartment at the time, testified before her. Harouche said she locked herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian’s sister Kourtney and their bodyguard.
“She was beside herself,” Harouche said of Kardashian after the robbers left. “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?”
Harouche, who broke down during her testimony, said she later changed careers and sought therapy due to post-traumatic stress. “It made me fearful of being around celebrities,” she told the court.
Ten defendants—nine men and one woman—are being tried at the Paris criminal court. Five face charges of armed robbery and kidnapping and could be sentenced to life imprisonment. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or illegal possession of weapons.
While most of the stolen jewellery was never recovered, a cross encrusted with six diamonds was found by a passerby and handed to the police.
Outside the court, Kardashian’s supporters, including young social media influencers, queued to witness the hearing.
“We came to show our support for Kim Kardashian because she’s someone we’ve followed since we were very young,” said influencer Leo Saint-Charles.
“She inspires us a lot, and we’re here to support her in this trial, which was very traumatic for her.”
