Kim Kardashian's Paris robbery was planned for two years. It would all unravel in minutes.

Almost a decade ago, Kim Kardashian was alone in a Paris hotel room when thieves burst through the door. They grabbed the then-35-year-old by her ankles and dragged her off the bed.

"Don't kill me, I have babies, don't kill me, please, I have babies! I'm a mum! Take whatever you want," she reportedly screamed.

The assailants bound her feet and hands. They carried her to the bathroom. They wrapped tape around her mouth and head to stop her screaming.

Then, they ransacked the room, taking an estimated $9–10 million USD worth of jewellery, before they fled the scene.

Now, in 2025, the case has finally landed in a courtroom, and Kardashian has faced down the robberies. Here's everything you need to know.

Kim Kardashian's emotional testimony.

The reality TV star and businesswoman faced a gruelling day in court on May 13 as she gave an emotional testimony at the trial with her mother, Kris, watching on in support.

Kardashian, 44, said she was terrified and thought she was going to die, or be raped, as the armed suspects broke into her hotel room when she was wearing nothing but a robe.

"I was sure that I was going to be raped," she said, according to NBC News.

When it became clear she was being robbed, her fears instead turned to the fact she could die, and she imagined her sister Kourtney, 46, could discover her once she returned to their hotel room.

Image: Getty.

She said she believed: "I would be shot dead on the bed and she would see that and have that memory forever."

Before the emotional testimony, the Skims creator waved to onlookers outside the Palais de Justice.

She wore a black ensemble and a diamond necklace by Samer Halimeh New York worth a whopping $3 million USD.

What happened the night of the robbery?

It was just after one o'clock on the morning of October 3, 2016 when the Night Guard at Hôtel de Pourtalès opened the door to three men who he thought were police. Soon, there was a pistol at his back and handcuffs on his wrists.

The three men who had arrived on bicycles wanted money. "Is Kanye West here?" they said.

In the hotel's penthouse — the 'Sky Penthouse', which attracted a rate of more than $16,000 per night — reality TV star Kim Kardashian was alone in her bedroom, wearing only her bathrobe, after a day at Paris Fashion Week.

Her best friend, Simone Harouche was in a downstairs bedroom and her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, was with her sisters, Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner, at a nightclub, L'Arc Paris.

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian in Paris in October 2016. Image: Getty.

Kardashian believes her security guard's absence was a detail noticed by her assailants through her social media posts.

When the thieves burst through the door, they grabbed Kim by her ankles and dragged her off the bed.

"Don't kill me, I have babies, don't kill me, please, I have babies! I'm a mum! Take whatever you want," she reportedly screamed.

Earlier that day, Kim and her friends had a conversation over lunch about what they would do if ever faced with a robbery. Kim had said, "Take everything. Just take everything. Nothing is important."

That was put to the test.

The assailants bound her feet and hands. They carried her to the bathroom. They wrapped tape around her mouth and head to stop her screaming.

The robbers ransacked the room, taking an estimated $9–10 million worth of jewellery, including two diamond Cartier bracelets, a gold and diamond Jacob necklace, Lorraine Schwartz diamond earrings, her 20-carat engagement ring from then-husband Kanye West, and more. Kim was left bound and terrified in the bathtub as the men fled the scene.

In their hasty escape, one robber accidentally dropped a diamond-encrusted cross worth $53,400 AUD – the only item ever recovered from the heist. The remainder of the bounty of jewellery is believed to have been sold on the black market.

Listen to The Quicky discuss this case. Post continues below.

Kardashian managed to free herself from the restraints and raised the alarm, saying, "I removed the tape from my hands and my mouth, I removed the plastic. I realised they were a bit young [or inexperienced] because of the way they strapped me."

Soon, her bodyguard and family returned.

The next day, the Kardashians flew home to the U.S., and Kim retreated from the public eye for months, traumatised and shaken.

How did they catch the robbers?

The Kardashian security may have made some blunders on the night of the crime, but the "grandpa robbers" didn't pull off a flawless heist.

"When they dressed up as police they thought 'that's it, nobody will be able to recognise us'," said Patricia Tourancheau, a crime reporter and the author of Kim and the Grandpa Robbers.

"They didn't take into account the progress made by police techniques, which can now find micro traces of DNA anywhere."

The timing was also against the robbers. A year earlier, in November 2015, France was struck by multiple terrorist attacks.

Three suicide bombers struck near the Stade de France, a stadium in Saint-Denis just outside Paris. Four different shootings took place. And hundreds of people were held hostage in a theatre. This multi-site terrorist attack was the first of this magnitude in France, as per the French Ministry of Health.

Hôtel de Pourtalès in Paris, France. Image: Getty.

As a result, France was on high alert and had significantly increased its security measures. This included the expansion of their CCTV surveillance system.

What's more, when fleeing the scene on a bike, Abbas — seemingly accidentally — dropped a bag of jewels on the ground. A passer-by then found a diamond-encrusted pendant on the street and handed it to the police, further aiding the investigation.

Abbas and the other suspected "grandpa robbers" were arrested in January 2017. Police confirmed they had been under surveillance for weeks after DNA traces left at the scene matched with Khedache.

It was later revealed that the gang had been following Kim for up to two years, monitoring her movements and social media activity.

Kim spoke about her experience in 2017.

On an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians in Season 13, Kim said she was certain she was going to be raped on the night of the robbery. "He grabs my legs and I had no clothes on under [my robe]," she said on the show.

"He pulls me towards him at like the front of the bed and I thought, 'OK, this is the moment you're going to rape me'. I fully mentally prepped myself… and he didn't."

Even more heartbreaking was the certainty Kim had of her imminent death. In that certainty, she was most worried about her sister, Kourtney, who she knew would be the one to find her body.

"They had the gun up to me and I just knew that was the moment that they were just totally going to shoot me in the head," Kim said.

"I just prayed that Kourtney's going to have a normal life after she sees my dead body on the bed."

The thieves left when Kim's phone lit up with a phone call from Duvier. "I told [the thieves], 'You know who is ringing now? It is her bodyguard. If she doesn't answer, he will come with police'," the night watchman, who was in the apartment held at gunpoint, told Vanity Fair.

"I was Snapchatting that I was home and that everyone was going out," Kim said. "So I think they knew Pascal [Duvier] was out with Kourtney and that I was there by myself. They had this window of opportunity and just went for it."

She stopped posting to Instagram for a month after the attack.

Who are the suspects in the Kim Kardashian robbery case?

While police initially arrested 17 people in relation to the robbery, only 12 people were charged. As most of the suspects were born in the 1950s, French media dubbed the group the "grandpa robbers".

One of the "grandpa robbers" died in March 2025. A second was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and ruled unfit to stand trial. That leaves 10 defendants to appear in court; nine men and one woman. Five are accused of taking part in the heist, and six are accused of being accessories to the crime.

They are facing charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, and conspiracy. If convicted, some face up to 30 years behind bars.

Two of the "grandpa robbers" have confessed to the crime, as per the BBC — Aomar Ait Khedache, 68, and Yunis Abbas, 72.

Khedache, also known as "Omar the Old", was the alleged ringleader of the heist, though he denies this status. On Monday April 28, he appeared in court with a cane and hearing aids, citing speaking and hearing problems.

Abbas, meanwhile, was the alleged lookout and underwent triple-bypass heart surgery in prison. He also penned a memoir titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian. He has previously served 20 years in prison, and was struggling financially at the time of the robbery.

"We were all granddads," he told TF1 TV in France on Sunday. "I had a proposal for a big job, which would be my last … They told me there was a 20-carat diamond that wasn't protected … That was tempting."

Abbas went on to say that, at the time, he was not aware of who they were robbing.

"I was told it was the wife of a rapper. I didn't ask questions … I see her as a victim; we had nothing against her personally."

Defendant Yunice Abbas leaving court in April 2025. Image: Getty.

He told the Associated Press: "I will apologise. I mean it sincerely."

The trial commenced on Monday, 28 April and is expected to run through May 23, with a verdict to follow soon after.

Will Kim Kardashian testify in court?

Yes, Kim Kardashian will testify in court. The 44-year-old is set to take the stand in person on May 13, as confirmed by her lawyers.

"Ms. Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time," wrote her attorney, Michael Rodes, in a statement.

"She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities. She wishes the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion, in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case."

The trial is being held before a jury which, in the French judicial system, is reserved for only the most serious crimes.

Watch: Kim Kardashian discusses the Paris robbery. Post continues below.

Why was the trial delayed for so long?

The trial faced a series of significant delays, with several key factors contributing to this lengthy wait.

The French judicial system experienced a backlog due to a series of high-profile terrorist trials, which took precedence and clogged the court dockets.

The pandemic further slowed legal proceedings across France, as courts faced closures, staffing shortages, and restrictions on in-person hearings.

And French authorities were reportedly cautious about holding a major, high-profile criminal trial just before the 2024 Paris Olympics.

What's next?

This trial marks a significant moment as Kardashian will confront her assailants in court.

The proceedings are already generating global media interest, not only due to Kardashian's fame but also because of the unprecedented nature of the crime — a high-profile celebrity targeted in one of the most secure cities in the world during a major fashion event.

Kardashian's testimony is anticipated to be a pivotal moment in the trial, offering a personal account of the trauma she endured, and potentially influencing the outcome for the accused.

The trial will likely prompt renewed discussion about celebrity security, privacy, and the risks posed by social media sharing. It may also influence how high-profile cases are handled in France moving forward.

This article was originally published on April 18, 2025 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature Image: Getty.