Suspect in Kardashian jewel heist case plans to take responsibility for his role at Paris trial

PARIS (AP) - 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."

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."

According to Abbas, minutes after the raid started, his accomplices came down from Kardashian’s apartment and gave him a bag of jewelry.

As he was fleeing the scene on a bicycle, he saw a police car, but officers were not yet aware of the robbery. Abbas said as he rode the bicycle the bag containing the jewelry became caught in the front wheel and he fell to the ground, spilling the contents of the bag. "I picked the jewels up and left," he said.

The following morning, a passerby found a diamond-encrusted cross in the street and handed it to police. That was the only jewel from the robbery that was ever recovered.

French justice estimated stolen items to be worth $6 million in total.

Abbas said he didn't know Kardashian's identity at the time of the robbery.

"I was told about a famous person, a rapper's wife. That's all the information I had," he said. "Until the next morning, when I heard on TV about the influencer. That's when I understood who she was."

He said he will detail his role during the trial, which will be conducted with a jury, a procedure in France reserved for the most serious crimes - yet he would not denounce his accomplices.

"I'm only an outsider. I'm not the one who masterminded the case. I take my share of responsibility," he said.

Most of the suspects have denied involvement, except for Abbas and another man whose DNA was also found at the scene.

Thierry Niemen, the journalist who co-authored Abbas’ book, said Abbas approached him because he wanted to "tell his own truth" amid what he saw as inaccurate or sensationalized accounts.

The book also revealed investigative details, including how the FBI helped French police identify Abbas' DNA despite him wearing gloves.

"This is the case of all superlatives," Niemen said. "The FBI overseeing an investigation on French territory - that's already a superlative." Kardashian was then the top influencer in the world and the case was the most popular topic on the social media in 2016, Niemen stressed.

Abbas' earnings from the book have been frozen pending the outcome of the trial.

Kardashian’s lawyer, Michael Rhodes, has said the reality TV star and entrepreneur wants the trial “to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case.”

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AP Writer Nicolas Vaux-Montagny in Lyon, France contributed to the story.