A tearful Kim Kardashian described how she was convinced she was going to be raped and shot dead when two gunmen burst into the bedroom of her luxury hotel apartment in Paris while the TV star was in bed, reports The Guardian.
One of the men, who were dressed as police officers, shouted “ring, ring,” pointing to his fingers, before dragging her across the bed leaving her naked body exposed and using zip ties and tape to secure her wrists and ankles. They then taped her mouth and carried her into the bathroom, where they dumped her on the floor.
Kardashian was in Paris – a city she said she had “always loved” – for fashion week in October 2016 and was staying in a luxury hotel when the robbers attacked after she returned from dinner. Ten people – nine men and a woman aged between 35 and 78 – are on trial in connection with France’s biggest personal robbery in 20 years. Eight of the accused deny any involvement.
The suspects, nicknamed the “grandpa gang” because of their advanced age, fled with jewellery estimated at $10m (£7.5m) in value, including the 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring Kardashian’s then husband, rapper Kanye West, gave her, estimated to be worth $4m.
Taking the stand at the Palais de Justice in Paris on Tuesday, Kardashian, 44, was reduced to tears as she was asked to recall the attack.
She said she was ready to sleep having packed up everything including her pyjamas ready to fly back to New York the following day. Hearing footsteps on the stairs of the two-storey hotel apartment she thought it was her sister Kourtney and a friend returning from a nightclub.
Two men dressed as police officers entered the room with the concierge of the building who they had taken hostage at gunpoint.
“I didn’t understand what was happening. I was just about to fall asleep. I was naked with a robe on and I pulled it.
“I heard one of the men saying forcefully ‘ring, ring’ a few times over and pointing at his hand.
“A lot of terrorist attacks had happened in the world … I thought it was some kind of terrorist attack. I didn’t quite get at first that it was about my jewellery.”
She said the robbers found her diamond ring but were not satisfied and dragged her into another room where they found her jewellery box.
“One was holding me by my neck and back and one had a gun to my back. I thought: ‘Should I run down the stairs?’ but then I realised they would probably shoot me and that’s when I decided I should just do what they said.
“They threw me on the bed and the smaller one started to tie my hands together with a zip tie. I was pretty hysterical. I looked at the gentleman who was the concierge and said: ‘What is going to happen to us? Are we going to die?’
“I asked him to translate and say to them: ‘I have babies; I have to make it home. They can take everything but I have to make it home to my babies,’ but he just looked at me and said: ‘I don’t know what is going to happen to us.’
“He saw I was hysterical. Then one of the men leaned into me and said: ‘Shhh, and you will be OK.’ Then he put tape around my hands and my mouth.”
Read more of this report from The Guardian.