Suspect in Kardashian jewel heist case plans to take responsibility for his role at Paris trial
One of the suspects in the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian said he plans to take responsibility for his role in the 2016 high-profile heist and will apologize in court as the trial begins Monday in Paris.
Yunice Abbas, 71, who has publicly acknowledged his participation in the heist, is among 10 suspects facing charges including armed robbery and kidnapping.
“I will apologize,” Abbas told The Associated Press. “I mean it sincerely.”
Kardashian, 44, is expected to testify in person at the trial scheduled to run through May 23. In interviews and on her family’s reality TV show, she has described being terrified as robbers pointed a gun at her to steal millions of dollars worth of jewelry in an apartment where she was staying for Paris Fashion Week. She said she thought she was going to be raped and killed.
Abbas said he acted as a lookout at the reception area on the ground floor, ensuring the escape route was clear. He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Kardashian, but acknowledged he shared responsibility for the crime.
He was arrested in January 2017 and he spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision. In 2021, he co-authored a French-language book titled “I Sequestered Kim Kardashian.”
Tied up with plastic cables and tape
In her account to investigators, Kardashian described two men forcing their way into her bedroom and pointing a gun towards her, asking for her ring. She said she was tied up with plastic cables and tape while the intruders were looking for jewels, including her engagement ring worth millions of dollars.
In a 2020 appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show, she tearfully recalled thinking: “This is the time I’m going to get raped. I’m like, ‘What is happening? Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children. I have babies, I have a husband, I have a family’.”
She told investigators the men brought her in the bathroom before they ran off and she managed to free herself.
The residency’s concierge, held at gunpoint and forced to lead the robbers to her apartment, also suffered psychological impact.
Investigators found Abbas’ DNA on plastic ties used to tie the hands of the concierge.
Asked about the trauma Kardashian suffered, Abbas said : “It’s true, I didn’t think about it. I recognize that because I did not brutalize her myself… I was not blaming myself regarding this aspect, and yet I’m responsible for it too.”
Stolen jewels worth $6 million
