Paris
CNN
—
Kim Kardashian began testifying at a Paris court on Tuesday in the trial of the burglars accused of tying up and robbing her at gunpoint nearly nine years ago.
The billionaire reality TV star will detail how, during the 2016 Paris Fashion Week, she was robbed of nearly $10 million in cash and jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring – gifted to her by her then-husband Kanye West – that was never recovered.
Kardashian arrived in court with her mother, Kris Jenner, wearing a diamond-encrusted necklace – in a seeming nod to the jewels taken from her on the night of the burglary.
“Hi, I’m Kim Kardashian, and I just want to thank everyone – especially the French authorities – for allowing me to appear before (you) and let me tell my truth,” she said, beginning her testimony.
The defendants – nine men and one woman whose ages range from 35 to 78 – are facing charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy. Eight of them deny involvement, while two have admitted to lesser offenses.
Several are repeat offenders, and much of the start of the trial – which opened on April 28 – has focused on their previous criminal acts.
On Tuesday morning, a childhood friend of Kardashian’s – a key witness in the trial – told the Paris court how the reality TV star had begged her burglars to “take everything” and to let her live.
Simone Harouche, who has known Kardashian since they were 12 years old, was hired as her stylist in Paris in October 2016 and was staying in the hotel suite during the heist.
Through an interpreter, Harouche told the court that she had gone to sleep in a room downstairs from Kardashian’s and was woken by the sounds of the attack.
“I know her very well. I know her sounds, her mannerisms,” Harouche said. “So when I heard this sound, it was very different. It woke me up from my sleep – because it was a sound I had never heard from Kim. It was terror.”
Harouche said she heard her friend pleading with her burglars, saying: “I have babies and I need to live. Take everything.”
Fearing the burglars would next try to enter her room, Harouche locked herself in the bathroom and texted Kardashian’s sister, Kourtney, and her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier.
Duvier testified last week that he found Kardashian “crying hysterically” when he arrived at the hotel.
Once the burglars had left, Harouche described how Kardashian, having clearly “suffered major trauma,” was frenetic and terrified that the men could soon return.
“I heard her hopping down the stairs. She came into my room and she had tape around her feet,” Harouche said. “She was just screaming and kept saying: ‘We need to get out of here. What do we do if they come back? We might need to jump out the window.’”
The night “changed her life forever,” Harouche said. ““I’ve seen her in grief, through a divorce, the worst of times. I’ve never seen her like this.”
After the experience, Harouche said she no longer wanted to expose herself to the risk of working with celebrities. “I changed professions and now I do interior design,” she added.
Dubbed the “Grandpa Robbers,” of the original 12 suspects, one has since died, and another defendant who has Alzheimer’s disease has been ruled unfit to stand trial. If convicted, some of the remaining defendants could face up to 30 years in prison.
The trial has been delayed for years partly because of major cases like those related to the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.
The trial is scheduled to run through May 22, with a verdict expected on May 23.