Kim Kardashian's stylist recalls 'terror' of Paris robbery ahead of star's testimony
Arthur Vercken, lawyer of Gary Madar, speaks to the media on the day Kim Kardashian is expected to attend the trial of Madar and 9 other people accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of jewellery from her, who was held at gunpoint in her apartment during Paris fashion week in 2016, a trial known as the \"Rue Tronchet\" affair, at the Court of Appeal of Paris, France, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Abderrahmane Ouatiki arrives with his lawyers Henri De Beauregard and Mohand Ouidja, on the day Kim Kardashian is expected to attend the trial of 10 people accused of stealing millions of dollars worth of jewellery from her, who was held at gunpoint in her apartment during Paris fashion week in 2016, a trial known as the \"Rue Tronchet\" affair, at the Court of Appeal of Paris, France, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
FILE PHOTO: Kim Kardashian arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 97th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 2, 2025. REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo
PARIS - Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify on Tuesday afternoon at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewellery worth millions of dollars.
The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators.
Ahead of Kardashian's testimony, her stylist Simone Harouche, who was asleep in the same luxury hotel flat at the time of the attack, spoke to the court on Tuesday morning.
"We've been friends since we were little girls. So when I heard this sound, it was very different, and it woke me up, because it was a sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror," Harouche, who was downstairs in the duplex flat, told the court.
"'I have babies, and I have to live' - that's what I heard her say," Harouche recalled, adding that she rushed to lock herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister Kourtney and their bodyguard for help.
When the robbers left and Kardashian joined her downstairs, "she was beside herself, I've never seen her like that before," Harouche said. "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."
Cameras are usually not allowed in courtrooms in France, and Kim Kardashian's testimony will not be broadcast live.
In 2020, Kardashian told U.S. talk show host David Letterman about the heist in an interview, fighting back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night.
"They kept on saying 'the ring, the ring'," Kardashian said.
"I kept looking at the concierge," she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive hotel who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment.
"I was like, 'Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies ... I have to get home'."
'GRANDPA GANG'
Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial, many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed "the grandpa gang," has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was.
"It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted," Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago. Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery - and wrote a book about his role. In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologise to Kardashian.
Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, nicknamed "Omar the Old," said last month he hoped the fact that Kardashian is a global celebrity wouldn't affect the trial. Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies.
"This trial attracts international attention because of who the plaintiff, the victim, is," Berton said. "What we hope is that it won't change anything in the way the facts are judged."
In all, nine men and one woman are being tried by the criminal court. Five of them - all men - face armed robbery and kidnapping charges and potentially risk being sentenced to life imprisonment. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.
As the robbers escaped on foot or with bicycles, they lost some of the jewellery, including a cross with six diamonds, which a passerby found in the street and brought to the police. But most of the jewels, including the $4 million engagement ring, were never found.
In addition to the 10 on trial, one suspect is too ill to be put on trial at this time and one is dead, prosecutors said. REUTERS
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