‘Grandpa Robbers' who zip-tied Kim Kardashian at gunpoint as she begged for life found GUILTY 10yrs on from Paris raid
A GANG of "grandpa robbers" who zip-tied Kim Kardashian at gunpoint nine years ago before fleeing with jewellery worth millions have been found guilty by a French court.
Ten suspects have been on trial since last month over the 2016 gunpoint mugging, which saw the A-list celebrity lose $10million worth of valuables in Paris.
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Kim Kardashian leaves the Assize Court after testifying in a trial over the 2016 robbery
Credit: AFP
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Suspected ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache
Credit: Splash
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Yunice Abbas, one of the men accused of robbing Kim, has expressed regret
Credit: Splash
Of the 10 people being tried, five are on trial for armed robbery and kidnap charges, while the rest are on for complicity in the heist or possession of a weapon.
At the heart of the trial was 70-year-old Aomar At Khedache, a veteran of the Paris criminal underworld.
Wiretaps captured him giving orders, recruiting accomplices, and arranging to sell the diamonds in Belgium. The loot was never found.
His DNA, found on the zip-ties used to bind Kardashian, cracked open the case.
Khedache today begged for forgiveness before a jury and offered "a thousand pardons" to the reality TV star.
The 'heist of the century' trial came nine years after the robbers stormed Kim's luxury residence during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week.
Masked men dressed as police entered Kardashian's Paris home, bound her with zip-ties and vanished with $10 million in jewels.
Kim was left pleading for her life during the attack after they bound her hands and feet, and taped her mouth - known as sausaging someone in French.
Most of the stolen valuables were never recovered, including a diamond ring given to Kardashian by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West.
The ring alone was valued at $3.9million, and the robbery was the biggest against a private individual in France in 20 years.
They then carried her to the bathtub wearing only her dressing gown.
When the robbers fled, Kim freed herself by scraping the tape on her wrists off against the sink, then she hid with her friend, shaking and barefoot.
The terrifying ordeal led to the Kardashian family changing how much they share of their lavish lifestyles on social media.
Nine years after the raid, Kim made an emotional appearance at the trial of 10 people who are accused of being involved in the traumatic burglary.
Kim Kardashian's ex-bodyguard was right to leave her before Paris robbery, his lawyer says
Her testimony earlier this month was the emotional high point in the trial.
In a packed courtroom, she recounted how she was thrown onto a bed, zip-tied, and had a gun pressed to her on the night of the robbery.
She broke down as she said: "I absolutely did think I was going to die, she said. I have babies. I have to make it home.
"They can take everything. I just have to make it home."
The elderly gang - now in their 60s and 70s - had been inspired by Kim's flashy posts online showing off her bling.
A chauffeur allegedly told them that she was alone in her secluded hotel room in the 8th arrondissement during Fashion Week.
It was supposed to be one final job for the veteran robbers who each had a string of convictions.
They claimed not to know who the social media influencer was but instead demanded the concierge take them to 'the rapper's wife'.
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Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Lauren Sanchez and Eva Longoria selfie in Paris
Credit: Instagram
In an emotionally charged moment in the courtroom, Judge David Du Pas read out a letter from suspected ringleader Aomar Ait Khedache.
The letter read: 'Madame, after seeing you in a French TV show and seeing your emotion and realising what psychological harm I did to you, that I decided to write to you.
'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, you children and those who love you."
Kim's tearful testimony
by Julia Atherley, from Paris
KIM Kardashian wept as she told a French courtroom that she thought she was about to die during a terrifying diamond heist before offering forgiveness to her robbers.
The celebrity, 44, had $10 million worth of jewellery stolen by a gang of masked robbers while she was tied up and had a gun held to her back during Paris fashion week in 2016.
Nine years after the raid, Kim made an emotional appearance at the trial of 10 people who are accused of being involved in the traumatic burglary.
Supported in court by her mum, Kris Jenner, 69, she broke down as she described the moment she thought the men who had broken into her hotel room were about to rape and shoot her.
Speaking of her terror as she was thrown onto her hotel bed at gunpoint, naked under her hotel robe, she said: 'The robe opens up and everything is exposed on my bottom half.
'I was certain that was the moment he was going to rape me. He pulled me towards him and I said a prayer and tried to mentally prepare myself.'
She added: 'I absolutely did think I was going to die.
'I was on the bed and then one of them had the gun up to me and at that point that's when they were going to shoot me, that's when I was certain that they would shoot me."
Kim's friend and stylist Simone Harouche, 45, was in a downstairs bedroom during the ordeal and told the court she could hear Kim screaming in 'terror'.
She said: 'I was afraid that she was raped or violated and I feared the worst.
'It was terror. What I heard specifically was 'I have babies and I need to live'. That was what she kept saying. 'Take everything, I need to live'.
It has taken almost 10 years for the 10 defendants to be brought to court, with Covid lockdowns and a backlog of terrorism cases in the French justice system blamed.
Kardashian broke down in tears while the letter was read out, and was handed a tissue by a member of her legal team, before telling career criminal Khedache that she forgives him.
She told the court: 'I do appreciate the letter for sure. I do appreciate it. I forgive you for what had taken place.
"But it doesn't change the emotion and the trauma and the way that my life had forever changed.
'But I do appreciate the letter, so thank you.'
In a handwritten note in response, Khedache - who is deaf and mute - wrote: "Your forgiveness is a sunshine that has enlightened me... I am forever grateful."
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Kim Kardashian, accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner, left court after a gruelling afternoon
Credit: AP
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A court sketch shows Kim testifying at court
Credit: Reuters
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Kim flaunting the £3million engagement ring on Instagram
Another of the defendants, Yunice Abbas, also said he regretted his part in the terrifying raid.
Abbas has previously written a book about his involvement in the heist.
When asked if he wanted to say anything to Kardashian, Abbas stood up and said: "Hello. I recognise your trauma. I regret my part."
Kardashian, who once said this experience really changed everything, hopes the verdict will offer a measure of closure.
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