Kim Kardashian’s stylist appeared in court on Tuesday, May 13, to give her account of the night the star was bound and gagged in a Paris hotel suite in 2016 during a $10 million jewelry heist.
The incident has been dubbed the “grandpa robbers case” since some of the 10 defendants facing charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy were in their seventies at the time. Eight of the 10 deny any involvement in the incident during Paris Fashion Week. The jewelry haul included Kardashian’s diamond engagement ring from then-husband Kanye West, worth $4 million.
The BBC reported that stylist Simone Harouche told the Palais de Justice in the French capital that she was asleep downstairs when she was woken up by a “sound that I had never heard from Kim. It was terror.”
She added: “What I heard specifically was ‘I have babies and I need to live, take everything, I need to live.’ She came into my room and she had tape around her. I thought she could have been raped or very violated.”
Harouche said that Kardashian was screaming and saying, “We need to get out of here, we need help.” She even suggested jumping out of a window before her bodyguard Pascal Duvier returned to the hotel after being out at a club with one of the star’s sisters.
“It was like Kim was not in her body, she was in so much shock and I was still so very afraid because I didn’t understand what had happened and didn’t know who the men were and whether they were coming back,” said Harouche.
The judge also asked Harouche whether Kardashian was wrong to share so much on social media, referencing the fact that, days before the robbery, she had shared photos of her diamond ring.
“No,” said Harouche. “Because the fact a woman wears jewels shouldn’t make her a target. It’s like saying that because a woman wears a short skirt she deserves to be raped.”
Harouche went on to say that the robbery had changed Kardashian’s life forever. “I think it changed both of us but I think particularly for her, her loss of freedom — she now has a completely different lifestyle,” she said. “To lose your sense of freedom is a big thing, it’s horrible.”
Harouche revealed that, since the incident, she herself has experienced PTSD and even changed careers. “Being woken up to loud violent noises is not normal and now sounds can trigger me,” she said.
Kardashian is due to appear in court later today to give her own account of the terrifying night.
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