Kim Kardashian Takes the Stand in Her Paris Robbery Trial
Kim Kardashian took the stand in Paris on Tuesday to testify against the group of burglars who allegedly tied the reality star up, held her at gunpoint, and stole $9 million worth of jewelry from her back in 2016.
According to NBC News, Kardashian was asked to recount her memory of the robbery. She explained that she was in bed when she heard “stomping” outside, followed by two men dressed as police officers entering her room at the Paris residence where she was staying. “They had a gentleman handcuffed and I recognized him as being the concierge from downstairs,” she said. Kardashian, who was wearing only a bathrobe during the ordeal, said that one of the men taped her hands and mouth while another pointed a gun at her. Kardashian explained that one of the men grabbed her by the legs and pulled her, leaving her naked and exposed. “I was sure that I was going to be raped,” she said.
“At that point I was sure that’s when they were going to shoot me,” Kardashian told the court, per the BBC. “So I said a prayer for my family and my mom and my sister and best friend.” She also brought up her fear that her sister Kourtney would be the one to find her dead body. “I would be shot dead on the bed and she would see that and have that memory forever,” Kardashian said. The judge then reportedly asked Kardashian if she thought she was going to die that night. “I absolutely thought I was going to die,” she replied.
The robbers ended up taking off with millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry, including the $4 million engagement ring Kardashian had received from her then-fiancé, Kanye West. With the exception of a cross pendant that the robbers dropped on the ground, none of the jewelry was ever recovered.
Earlier on Tuesday, Kardashian’s friend and stylist Simone Harouche — who was staying with Kardashian the night of the robbery — took the stand, telling the court she was woken up in the middle of the night by “a sound that I had never heard from Kim,” per the Guardian. “It was terror. What I heard specifically: ‘I have babies and I need to live,’ this is what she kept saying. ‘Take everything — I need to live.’”
While there are ten defendants in this trial, only two of them have admitted to being part of the robbery. One of them, Aomar Ait Khedache, wrote Kardashian a letter after being arrested in 2017. Kardashian was unaware of the letter, so the judge read it aloud, per the BBC.
“Madame, after seeing you in a French TV show and seeing your emotion and realising what psychological harm I did to you, that [sic] I decided to write to you,” the letter reportedly said. “Not with the aim of getting forgiveness … I want to tell you human to human how I regret my actions and how I was touched to see you cry … I am sorry for the pain I caused you, your husband, your children and those who love you.”
Upon hearing the letter, Kardashian reportedly began to cry and told Khedache, who was sitting near her in the courtroom, “I do appreciate the letter for sure. I do appreciate it, I forgive you.” She added that “it doesn’t change the emotion, the feelings, and the trauma and the way my life has changed.”
Kardashian later explained that the robbery caused her to completely overhaul how she handles traveling and personal security. “I have a lot of security around my house,” she said. “Even if it’s excessive or ridiculous to other people, that’s what I need to feel safe and sleep, and I’m okay with that.” She added that she never posts to social media in real time unless it’s public information that she’s going to be somewhere at a certain time.
At one point, Kardashian was asked what she was hoping to get out of the trial. “This is what I do,” she said. “I want to become a lawyer and I do believe everyone has the opportunity to speak their truth, and this is my closure and my opportunity to put this to rest after everything I’ve been through.”
“It was terrifying and life-changing, and I don’t wish that kind of terror on anyone — to think you could be killed or raped,” Kardashian said. “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.”
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