Kim Kardashian $10M jewel heist suspect says he regrets ‘trauma’ he caused

72-year-old Yunice Abbas was the first of several defendants set to testify at trial, nearly 10 years after the armed robbery of the reality star.

One of the suspects in the armed robbery of reality TV star Kim Kardashian said he regrets the “trauma” he caused her nearly nine years after Kardashian was bound, gagged and robbed at gunpoint during Paris Fashion Week in October 2016.

The robbery was considered the biggest heist targeting an individual that Paris had seen in decades. The jury of six citizens will conduct the trial, along with three magistrates — a procedure in France reserved for the most serious crimes.

Defendant Yunice Abbas said this was the first time he truly recognized the “trauma” he caused Kardashian, as the trial began Tuesday in the proceedings against 10 people charged in connection with the 2016 robbery, where more than US$10 million worth of jewelry was stolen.

“I regret it, not because I got caught, but because … there was a trauma,” Abbas, 72, told the jury.

Abbas was the first of several defendants set to testify in the trial and had previously confessed to his role in the crime in his 2021 book, titled I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian, which came up during the testimony.

He claimed that he was not responsible for the title of the book and he said he was not involved in tying up Kardashian during the robbery, according to NBC News.

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 spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision. Abbas and nine others, called the “grandpa robbers” in local media due to their ages, are alleged to have played different roles in the heist.