Eight people have been found guilty of a violent robbery of Kim Kardashian in a Paris apartment in a $10m jewellery heist that left the celebrity traumatised.
The verdict came after a four-week week trial that unfolded nearly a decade after the US influencer’s harrowing ordeal. The high-profile case saw the Californian star break down in tears in the witness box of the French courtroom as she described her fear of rape and murder at the hands of the robbers.
Nine men and a woman were accused of carrying out, or aiding, the robbery of Kardashian, then 35, while she was alone in her apartment during a visit to the French capital for its 2016 fashion week. The more elderly suspects became known in France as “the grandpa robbers” and arrived in court in orthopaedic shoes while one leaned on a cane.
At the heart of the trial was 69-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, a veteran of Paris’ criminal underworld. He admitted his involvement in the robbery but denied being the ringleader.
His DNA, found on the zip-ties used to bind Kardashian, cracked open the case. Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices, and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. The loot was never found. Khedache claims he was only a foot soldier and blamed a mysterious “X” or “Ben” – someone prosecutors say never existed.
Khedache begged the court for “a thousand pardons” in his final statement, written on a piece of paper because he has become deaf and mute. Prosecutors have asked for a 10-year sentence.
It was nearly three weeks into the trial when Kardashian arrived at the Palais de Justice to face the alleged robbers for the first time in nearly a decade.
Offering only sparing and occasional glances towards the accused, Kardashian revisited her fear of being raped and murdered on the night of 3 October 2016.
“I have babies,” she recalled telling the armed robbers, after she was tied up and thrown onto the bed. “I have to make it home. They can take everything. I just have to make it home.”
Her robe fell open – she said she was naked underneath – as one man pulled her toward him. “I was certain that was the moment that he was going to rape me,” Kardashian told the court.
She revealed how the robbery “changed everything” for her family. “I started to get this phobia of going out,” she said, adding that without half a dozen security guards she “can’t even sleep at night”.
In one powerful moment, the judge read aloud a letter from Khedache, also known as “Old Omar”. The letter, which told of the man’s regret after seeing the psychological impact the robbery had had on her, was written following his initial arrest in 2017 – but Kardashian had never known about it.
“I do appreciate the letter, for sure,” Kardashian told him.
“I forgive you for what had taken place. But it doesn’t change the emotion, the trauma, and the way my life is forever changed.” Adding that she is studying to become a lawyer, Kardashian said she regularly visits prisons. “I’ve always believed in second chances,” she added.
The robbery is thought to be France’s biggest robbery of an individual person, with the value of stolen jewellery reported at nearly $10m – including an 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring gifted by former husband Kanye West worth $4m.
Twelve people were originally charged with the robbery, despite only 10 standing trial. One suspect died before the case reached trial and another, who was declared unable to participate for health reasons, will be tried separately.
Defence lawyers have asked the court for leniency, citing the defendants’ age and health. But prosecutors insist that criminal experience, not frailty, defined the gang.
Khedache, 68, who admitted a role in the robbery but denied prosecutors’ claims that he was the ringleader, received the stiffest sentence of eight years imprisonment, but five of those are suspended.
Yunice Abbas, 72, also admitted his role in the robbery, speaking out in French media before the trial began and expressing his regret in the courtroom. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, with five of them suspended.
Didier Dubreucq, 69, was accused of being one of the two men who directly carried out the robbery, and of holding Kardashian at gunpoint. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, with five of them suspended.
Gary Madar was accused of being an accessory to the heist by feeding information to the gang about Kardashian’s whereabouts. His brother, Michael, owned a firm which provided transportation and taxis to the world-famous family for years. He was acquitted.
Florus Héroui, 52, accused of having received information about Kardashian from Madar, was also acquitted.
Marc Boyer, 62, was accused of obtaining the gun used for the heist – but investigators believed his son played a more significant role. He was was fined the equivalent of around £4,500.
His son, Marc-Alexandre Boyer, 36, was accused of going inside the flat, and was sentenced to seven years in prison, with five suspended.
François “Big Guy” Delaporte, 61, was charged with “associating” with the gang, and “possessing false administrative documents”. He received a three year suspended sentence.
Christiane “Cathy” Glotin, 78, the only woman on trial, continued to plead her innocence on Friday. She was sentenced for four years in prison, all suspended.
Harminy Aït Khedache, 38, son of Aomar, was accused of being the getaway driver in the heist. He was sentenced to five years in prison, four of them suspended.
