‘Grandpa gang’ accused of $10m Kim Kardashian Paris robbery in court
Bound, gagged, and locked in the bathroom of a luxurious apartment in central Paris, Kim Kardashian feared death as five masked thugs stole millions of dollars worth of her jewellery.
In a case which would leave the Californian media personality and businesswoman traumatised for years onwards, a gang of robbers rampaged through the apartment on 3 October 2016, where she was alone while her bodyguard was out with her sister, Kourtney.
Ten people, including five male pensioners dubbed the ‘Grandpa robbers’, will now face trial nearly nine years after the crime, which took place as Kardashian, then 35, visited the French capital for its 2016 Fashion Week.
The defendants face charges including armed robbery, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy. Eight of the ten deny any involvement in the case, which is seen as France’s biggest robbery of an individual person, with the value of stolen jewellery reported at nearly $10 million – including an 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring gifted by former husband Kanye West worth $4 million.
A manhunt followed the robbery, with DNA traves on the plastic bands used to tie Kardashian’s wrists helping lead to the initial arrest of 17 people in January 2017.
Twelve people were later charged in a trial, which was due to begin in 2021. A number of factors reportedly led to its long delay, including multiple Covid lockdowns, court timetables clogged up by other major trials – including for the 2015 Paris attacks and French political figures Marine Le Pen and Nicolas Sarkozy – and even fears of a negative impact on tourism with Paris hosting the 2024 Olympics.
Kardashian, who fears she has become a “full robot” with “no emotion” following the harrowing ordeal, is expected to give evidence in person at the trial, which will see prosecutors trawl through DNA evidence and surveillance footage before it wraps up in late May.
She is expected to describe how she sat alone in her bedroom without security protection when the five robbers, who were posing as police officers, forcibly entered her apartment and conducted the robbery.
At the time of the incident, Kardashian posted regularly on social media, displaying her jewellery and revealing her location. These details, Kardashian later said, may have helped to facilitate the robbery. “They knew my every move and what I had,” she told the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, adding that she has now changed how she posts online.
The 44-year-old may also speak on the damaging long-term psychological effects the robbery had on her, something she has been open about in recent years.
It was on 3 October 2016 when Kardashian was laying in the bed of the luxury apartment in central Paris, that she heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. After calling out, and hearing no response, she knew something “wasn’t quite right”, she recalled in an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians months after the crime.
Two men in police uniforms had handcuffed the concierge and forced him to let them into her apartment. “What I’ve heard from talking to him afterward is they said, you know, ‘Where’s the rapper’s wife? Let us up to her room!’ in French,” Kardashian recalled. “He ended up being our interpreter because I couldn’t understand them, they couldn’t understand me.”
When she was dragged to the hallway at the top of the stairs, Kardashian saw that the pair were armed – and began to fear the worst.
“He pulled me toward him at the front of the bed and I thought, ‘OK, this is the moment they’re going to rape me,'” she said. “I fully mentally prepped myself – and then he didn’t.”
The robber put duct tape round her legs and a gun to her head, she explained: “I just knew that was the moment. They’re just totally going to shoot me in the head. I just prayed that Kourtney’s going to have a normal life after she sees my dead body on the bed.”
She was left, bound and gagged, as the robbers escaped with her jewels. News of the heist spread rapidly worldwide, splashed across the front pages as the internet personality rushed back to the US.
Just one day later, it was brought up as a hypothetical scenario in the Supreme Court during Lawrence Eugene Shaw v. United States, concerning the definition of bank fraud. During oral arguments, Justice Stephen Breyer asked: “Even Kardashian’s thief, if there is one, believes that all that jewelry is insured. Indeed, over-insured. So it’s not theft?”
Speaking openly since the horror episode, Kardashian believes that the Paris robbery made fundamental changes to her personality and her approach to the world. She fears she is turning into a “full robot with like, no emotion,” she said in an episode of the reality show last year.
“[My therapist] was like, ‘You think calm is your superpower. I think you are so desensitized from trauma that you literally are frozen in fight or flight,'” she said. “So then she was like, ‘One time in life something happened, and you remained calm, and that worked for you. So you will always choose calm.'”
Aomar Ait Khedache, known as “Old Omar”, is alleged to have orchestrated the operation to rob the global megastar. The 68-year-old admits participating in the heists but denies acting as the group’s ringleader.
Another alleged culprit was Yunice Abbas, a 71-year-old who has admitted his part in the robbery and even wrote a memoir about it – before a French court ruled he could not take any profits from its sales.
Speaking out in French media ahead of the trial, Abbas said he was part of the group who entered the building and that he stood guard downstairs. On Sunday, he told TF1 TV that the culprits were “all grandads”.
Having served 20 years in prison for robbery, Abbas had struggled financially after being out of prison for 10 years.
“I had a proposal for a big job, which would be my last … They told me there was a 20-carat diamond that wasn’t protected … That was tempting,” he told the French broadcaster.“I was told it was the wife of a rapper. I didn’t ask questions.”
Twelve people were originally charged with the robbery, despite only 10 standing trial. One suspect died before the case reached trial and another, who was declared unable to participate for health reasons, will be tried separately.
Gene Hackman autopsy results shine light on actor’s challenging medical history
The final autopsy results for Gene Hackman have been revealed more than two months after the actor was found dead at home with his wife in Santa Fe.
The bodies of the Oscar-winning actor, 95, and his wife of 30 years Betsy Arakawa, 65, were found along with their dog on 27 February. They had been dead for some time before they were discovered by a maintenance worker.
Early investigations ruled out death by carbon monoxide poisoning, while a necropsy report confirmed that Arakawa had died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne disease.
Hackman’s autopsy has revealed new details about the health of the star of The French Connection and Unforgiven, with the results stating he had a “history of congestive heart failure” as well as “severe chronic hypertensive changes, kidneys” and “neurodegenerative features consistent with Alzheimer’s Disease”.
Arakawa died one week before Hackman, who may not have been aware his wife was dead due to the advanced condition of his Alzheimer’s.
“Autopsy showed severe atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease with placement of coronary artery stents and a bypass graft, as well as a previous aortic valve replacement,” the results, which were obtained by Fox News Digital, revealed.
“Remote myocardial infarctions were present involving the left ventricular free wall and the septum, which were significantly large. Examination of the brain showed microscopic findings of advanced stage Alzheimer’s disease.”
According to the autopsy, Hackman had been fitted with a “bi-ventricular pacemaker” since April 2019. He was also clear of hantavirus, which was the cause of Arakawa’s death after their home became a possible “breeding ground” for the rodent-spread disease.
The hantavirus disease is spread through the urine, faeces and saliva of infected rodents and is most commonly transmitted in the US by the harmless-looking deer mouse. The severe and potentially deadly illness affects the lungs, presenting flu-like symptoms before progressing.
A subsequent environmental risk assessment conducted by the New Mexico Public Health Department found signs of rodents across multiple buildings on the couple’s estate, according to documents seen by TMZ.
Rodent faeces were found in three garages, two casitas (guest houses) and three sheds on the couple’s property. Two rodents (one dead) and a rodent nest were found in three detached garages. Two vehicles on the property also showed signs of rodent presence, with nests, droppings and sights of the animals.
The infestation appeared to have been ongoing as live traps had been set up in the outbuildings, according to the report.
However, the primary residence was deemed low-risk, with no signs of rodent activity inside the couple’s home. The investigation had been conducted to determine the risk to first responders and family members who had visited the property following the deaths.
It was also required in order to determine its risk of spreading. Three more people have been killed by the virus in a small Californian town, unrelated to Arakawa’s death.
Hantavirus pulmonary disease is fatal in nearly four out of 10 people who are infected. Just under 730 cases were identified in the US between 1993 and 2017. Nearly all cases were west of the Mississippi River.
Canada heads to the polls in election turned on its head by Trump
Canada is voting in a crucial election dominated by Donald Trump’s trade war and in the aftermath of a deadly car-ramming attack in Vancouver.
Voters will either pick either Prime Minister Mark Carney, head of a Liberal party that has had a decade in power, or leader of the opposition Conservatives, Pierre Poilievre.
A poll by Abacus Data published on Sunday, found that the Liberals were on 41 per cent of the vote compared with 39 per cent for Conservatives.
Mr Poilievre, a populist firebrand who campaigned with Trump-like bravado, had hoped to make the election a referendum on former prime minister Justin Trudeau, whose popularity declined before his resignation earlier this year as food and housing prices rose and immigration surged. But then Mr Trump became the dominant issue as he slapped 25 per cent tariffs on Canada and threatened to make them “the 51st state”.
Last year, the Conservatives held a 20-point lead in national polls over the governing Liberals for months, but when the election was called the Liberals were level in the polls as Mr Carney hit out at Mr Trump. They edged ahead in April.
Louis Theroux: The Settlers paints grim picture of life in West Bank
The evolution of Louis Theroux as a documentary maker has been fascinating to observe. Back in the 1990s, he specialised in knowing winks to camera, deploying a mixture of charm and carefully calibrated haplessness to gain the confidence of his subjects. Usually, these weren’t particularly serious people – but even if they were, he tended to undermine them by accentuating their absurdity. White supremacists, for example, or Christian nationalists, weren’t seen as much more than fodder for mockery back then.
So much for those innocent, flippant times: Theroux is older and wiser and, in any case, has been hunting for bigger game for some years now. He first visited Israeli settlers in the Palestinian West Bank back in 2011. Even then, it wasn’t a situation that invited levity in any way.
His return in BBC Two’s Louis Theroux: The Settlers uncovers an even bleaker modern reality. A decade and a half ago, the people he met felt like outliers. His original documentary was called Ultra Zionists, a title that told its own story. Now, this once-fringe group are represented at the very heart of the Israeli government: Israel’s current minister of national security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is seen on a stage during this film, whipping up the crowd. In the aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, this is their time.
“Welcome to Judea,” says settler Ari Abramowitz when Theroux arrives at his home. Abramowitz’s abode is illegal under international law – he’s armed to the teeth, and these settlements (essentially, residential incursions into Palestinian territory) are guarded by the Israeli army in defiance of the law. What emerges is an ideology of closed loops. Where is the nearest Palestinian town, asks Theroux. “I’m so uncomfortable using that word,” Abramowitz replies, objecting to the descriptor “Palestinian”. “I don’t think they exist as a real nation, with a real claim to this land.”
He sees himself as “the tip of the spear… defending the entire Western world”. The land, he believes, belongs to Israel. His proof is the Bible – a document that, as Theroux points out, is essentially regarded as a land deed by the settlers. Abramowitz, incidentally, hails originally from Texas.
This rigidity eventually causes a narrative problem for the documentary. Everywhere Theroux goes, he bumps up against the same brick wall. “The land is ours. Palestine doesn’t exist. It’s not a matter for debate.” Accordingly, the film isn’t really packed with an escalating series of revelations, just an escalating sense of futility, as the same arguments are repeated almost ritualistically. The rigidity is the point.
Still, even unconsciously, plenty of issues are clarified. Daniella Weiss, the 79-year-old known as the “godmother” of the settler movement, is clear about where she stands in relation to the Israeli government. “Netanyahu … is very happy about what we do here. But he cannot say it.” Essentially, she’s confirming the existence of a state agenda that runs contrary to the Geneva Conventions.
But sadly, the world doesn’t currently seem interested in intervening. Theroux’s implicit message here is essentially moderate and compromising. He posits a two-state solution and asks the settlers he meets whether it concerns them that the level of threat they evidently feel might be shared by the people they regard as mortal enemies. Again, he hits a revealing blankness – the lack of concern for Palestinian civilians is as absolute as the scorn for international law.
Often, this manifests as a sort of deadly, weaponised pettiness. A group of Palestinians harvesting olives are menaced by a group of heavily armed IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) soldiers. Theroux meets Issa, a Palestinian man who gives him a guided tour of Hebron. Everything is closed. It’s an impossible maze of checkpoints. IDF soldiers are everywhere, checking papers, obstructing movement, proscribing free will. There’s clearly a tactic of making life impossible in a practical sense, in the hope that Palestinians will leave out of sheer despair. And many have.
Towards the end of the film, Theroux stops at a West Bank checkpoint and a soldier asks him how long he intends to stay in Israel. It feels like a Freudian slip: does this representative of Israeli state power already consider the acquisition, occupation and incorporation of this land a done deal? And the realisation occurs that eliciting these tiny moments of accidental honesty is still Theroux’s biggest strength as an interviewer. People don’t feel threatened by him. They’re inclined to open up.
At the beginning of his career, he often deployed this skill in the service of frivolity. He’s now added seriousness – and even, at times, a degree of physical bravery. He’s been criticised in some quarters for platforming this particular strain of extremism, but no one is getting off the hook here – and in fact, challenging people who seem beyond the pale is hardly unfamiliar territory for Theroux.
Arguably, given that the situation he’s examining feels like an endlessly repeating horror show, it becomes all the more important that documentary makers find a way in. For all the familiarity of his techniques – and even if his subjects seem tragically stuck – Louis Theroux continues to evolve.
UK temperatures could top 28C this week – but how long will it last?
The UK is set to bask in a mini heatwave this week as temperatures could reach up to 28C in “an early dose of summer”, the Met Office has said.
The mercury could hit 10C above average by the middle of this week as Britain enjoys “a very fine spell of weather”, according to the Met Office’s deputy chief meteorologist David Oliver.
This is despite being likely to fall just outside of official Met Office heatwave thresholds, said Mr Oliver. To officially qualify as a heatwave, temperatures must hit a certain temperature – of 25C across much of Britain, rising to 28C in London – for three consecutive days.
But while no overall heat records are expected to be broken – with the UK record for April standing at 29.4C, and May at 32.8C – some local areas could see new monthly highs.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: “We’re certainly on track to see the warmest spell of the year so far.”
Monday is likely to be the hottest day so far of 2025, with the following days potentially setting several new highs until the weather peaks, said Mr Snell.
After temperatures reached a provisional high of 22.4C at Hull’s East Park on Sunday, parts of the country are expected to see highs of 25C on Monday.
The warmer climes are set to be widely enjoyed across the UK, with both Belfast and Glasgow set to see highs of 18C on Monday and 20C on Tuesday, similar to conditions expected further north in Aberdeen.
Broadly, however, the hottest weather is expected in London and South East England this week.
The mercury will rise each day until a peak on Wednesday or Thursday of 28C, with a small chance of seeing 29C, according to the Met Office.
Mr Snell added: “There will be plenty of sunshine around, the very north of Scotland at times will see some spells of rain, especially at the beginning of the week, but it’s going to be limited to the far north of Scotland. For a lot of the UK it’s going to be largely sunny.”
On Friday, temperatures will start to drop towards the average for the time of year, with temperatures in the high teens in the south and mid teens in the north, Mr Snell said.
There is the low risk of some heavy showers or thunderstorms developing later on Thursday and into Friday, but most areas should remain largely dry, the Met Office said.
Cooler temperatures are expected over the weekend, with the weather likely becoming more changeable next week as dry, settled periods are interspersed with spells of wetter weather and temperatures closer to the monthly average for May.
Additional reporting by PA
How online schools can help children form friendships as they learn
When thinking about the best education for your child, it’s naturally not just academic success that comes to mind. A good quality school experience is made up of many parts and one key element is the socialising opportunities that school can provide. Socialisation is crucial for building social skills, growing emotional intelligence and helping children form their own individual identity, as well as giving them an additional incentive to attend a place where they have fun and feel part of a community.
While it might be assumed that the social options are reduced when children attend online school, this is not the case. In fact, there are a number of advantages in terms of the structures, support and diverse social opportunities offered to children who join online schools.
Online schools give students the opportunity to form connections with a much more diverse community of students. The online model allows schools to welcome young people from around the world and this gives pupils a chance to make friends with students from differing backgrounds and cultures. Furthermore, this means they can meet more like-minded individuals and form stronger bonds and more meaningful friendships. This access to such a big and vibrant community also ensures that students can really find ‘their people’ and avoids situations where students are stuck in small circles or forced to engage with classmates that don’t share the same interests or passions.
This is something that Grace, who is now in year 13, has experienced since moving to online school. At her previous school, she was struggling with socialisation and felt that she didn’t really have a self-identity. At an online school, she has found she can be more herself. “A lot of people think that online school is about being alone, but I’ve found that without the physical element, I can express myself better,” Grace explains. Subsequently, the majority of her closest friends are from her online school and many she has met offline too. “I feel like I’ve met my people,” she says.
Isabella, who is in year 10, has also found that her experience of socialising at an online school has suited her much more than previous bricks and mortar schools. With her father’s job meaning the family moves country every three years, she has always previously struggled forming new friendships at the schools she joins. “I’m always the ‘new’ student, and it’s tough,” she says. After experiences with bullying, she found that online school is an environment she can thrive in. “You don’t have to turn on your camera or use your microphones if you’re not feeling comfortable. I’m not really a ‘social’ person, but I have made some friends here because we have these breakout rooms where we can talk to each other,” she adds.
While young people might not be meeting their fellow students physically every day, online schools put in place extensive measures to ensure that socialising is available for those who want to. This can be seen clearly at King’s InterHigh, the UK’s leading global online school which welcomes children aged 7 to 19 from across the world. Here, students join a warm and welcoming community with a huge range of opportunities for socialising. There’s dozens of clubs and societies for students across all year groups, representing a vast range of interests from chess to technology, sculpture to debate. Throughout the yearly student calendar, there are a number of events, showcases, and competitions of all kinds that provide a chance to socialise in different settings. Some happen internally, like the King’s InterHigh Arts Festival, while others allow students to interact with peers from outside their school when attending events like the International Robotics Competition.
Assemblies bring students together on a weekly basis and give them the chance to celebrate each other’s achievements, hear from their Student Council representatives, and find out what’s coming up at school. Each student is also assigned to one of the school’s eight houses and these smaller, tight-knit communities bring students a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Additionally, inter-house competitions are a fun and friendly way for students to engage and bond.
Although much socialising can come as a result of activities organised by the school, students at King’s InterHigh who are aged over 13 can continue building these relationships in a more informal setting thanks to the in-house, monitored, social media platform. Restricted solely to school students, the platform is safe, secure, and monitored to ensure a positive socialising environment for all those who choose to use it.
Online schools don’t just offer opportunities to socialise online but also offer ample opportunities to cement these connections in offline settings. At King’s InterHigh, there are global meet-ups throughout the year which bring together families allowing both children and parents and guardians to connect in real life. Regular educational school trips, from Geography excursions to science practical exams at other Inspired schools (the group of premium schools of which King’s InterHigh is part of) also allow children to socialise and have fun together in different settings.
Meanwhile, the annual summer camps, themed around a variety of interests and passions, including adventure sports, fashion, football, and tennis, are open to students across all Inspired schools and are held at spectacular Inspired campuses worldwide. Furthermore, the Inspired Global Exchange Programme offers a range of school exchange opportunities, lasting from one week to a full academic year.
Choosing where to educate your children is a big decision for any parent or guardian that involves many factors. However, when it comes to the social benefits, for the right child, online schools offer something truly transformative. To find out more about King’s InterHigh and whether it might be the right learning choice for your family, visit King’s InterHigh
Shopping centre evacuated after suspicious package found
A controlled explosion has been carried out and a shopping centre in Lancaster evacuated following the discovery of a suspicious package.
Lancashire Police said a bomb disposal team was called to the scene at St Nicholas Arcades on Monday morning after the item was discovered.
Members of the public were urged to avoid the area, and some city centre streets nearby were cordoned off.
A police spokesperson confirmed at 10:45am that the incident was ongoing, while a statement quoted by multiple outlets said: “We currently have a cordon in place in Lancaster Gate, Lancaster.
“This was following a report we received at 6.32am that a suspicious package had been found near to a property.
“Colleagues from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team are on their way and we ask people to avoid the area as a precaution.”
In a later statement issued just prior to midday, the force said bomb disposal experts had carried out a controlled explosion.
“Following the controlled explosion, it was found that the item was of no threat. Our enquiries are ongoing into how the item came to be in that location,” the statement said.
Police said the road cordons had been removed, while St Nicholas Arcades announced that it had fully re-opened not long after 11am and apologised for any inconvenience.
St Nicholas Arcades – known locally as St Nics – is described by Visit Lancashire as being “at the heart of Lancaster’s shopping experience”.
It is previously reported to have drawn around four million visitors per year.
A protest vote is a democratic safety valve: but use it with care
If you live in one of the parts of England that is voting on Thursday, we encourage you, above all, to vote. The Independent does not tell its readers how to vote but, like a benign constitutional monarch, it sometimes encourages and warns. Turnout is usually low for local elections, but voting is important and however you intend to cast your vote we urge you to take part in the democratic process.
The opinion polls suggest that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK will do well. It is poised to win the Runcorn and Helmsby parliamentary by-election, which is also being held on Thursday, and to win the mayoralties of Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Doncaster. The party is likely to win hundreds of local council seats and may end up in control of some authorities, either by itself or in power-sharing arrangements with others.
Reform’s success will be dismissed by the Labour and Conservative parties as “a protest vote”. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, was dismissive before a single vote had been cast, saying: “Protest is in the air; protest parties are doing well at the moment.”
Unfortunately for her, if a governing party is unpopular, and the Labour Party undoubtedly is, you would normally expect the official opposition to give voice to that discontent and to benefit accordingly in mid-term elections.
What is unusual is that both the two main traditional parties are unpopular at the same time. The Conservatives have only just been rejected by the voters in the most emphatic terms, and it will take some time before they will be allowed a hearing. What was more surprising, perhaps, was the speed and extent of the disillusionment with the Labour government. Never before has a “landslide” general election victory been obtained on such a low share of the vote; and never before has such a triumph turned so quickly into disappointment.
It is no wonder therefore that Reform will do well, and well enough possibly to eclipse the success of other “protest parties”. The Liberal Democrats, well established in local government and long experienced in harvesting defectors from other parties, are also likely to do well on Thursday. The Green Party and pro-Palestinian independents may also pick up support from disillusioned Labour voters.
None of these should be dismissed as mere “protest” votes, as if they were a temporary, misguided and unserious diversion. Purists will say that it is a mistake to use a vote for a local councillor or regional mayor to express dissatisfaction with government policy on immigration, the cost of living or the NHS. This is to overlook the right of voters to use the system in whatever way they see fit. A so-called protest vote is an important democratic safety valve, a way for citizens to use the electoral machinery to send a message.
But – and this is where The Independent issues a warning – elections are about who holds power. Protest is democratic and necessary, but if it gives you a council run by incompetents, ideologues and conspiracy theorists, you are unlikely to benefit as a resident. Mr Farage’s party ought to be given the chance to prove that its representatives are none of these things, but the record of his previous political vehicles is not promising.
These local elections are about who can be trusted to empty the bins – and it is fortunate indeed for the Labour Party that there are no elections in Birmingham this year – but they are also part of the national political story. Two stories in particular. One is whether Labour can recover from the mess it has made of its first nine months in government. The other is the struggle for the leadership of the opposition, not just the one between Ms Badenoch and Mr Farage, but that between Ms Badenoch and Robert Jenrick, the rival she defeated last year.
Whether you disparage them as protest votes or not, they are votes, and they will help determine our future, locally and nationally. Use them carefully.