A new podcast series from the Daily Mail, part of the acclaimed 'The Trial' series, has been launched to delve into the 2016 robbery of Kim Kardashian in her Paris hotel room. The series is hosted by the Mail's crime correspondent Caroline Cheetham and Paris-based reporter Nick Fagge, who explore the background and details leading to the trial of ten elderly suspects known in the French media as the 'grandpa gang'.
The robbery occurred during Paris Fashion Week in 2016, when men impersonating police officers entered Kim Kardashian's hotel at gunpoint. They bound the TV star, who was half-naked at the time, gagged her, and stole jewellery estimated to be worth $10 million. The robbers fled on bicycles, leaving Kardashian tied up in the bathroom. She managed to free herself and called the police from her stylist’s room next door.
According to the podcast, the investigation quickly identified the suspects partly due to information provided by a man named Gary Madar, described as a 'celebrity fixer' and one of the accused. He reportedly passed details about Kardashian's movements—especially when she was without her bodyguard—to another suspect, Flo Heroui, who owned a bar frequented by the group. It was revealed that Michael Madar, Gary’s brother, was employed as Kardashian’s chauffeur in Paris, providing inside knowledge that facilitated the robbery.
Police were able to track the gang through mobile phone locations and DNA evidence, including fibres found on zip ties used to restrain Kardashian. Many suspects are aged in their sixties and seventies, which led French media to dub them the 'grandpa gang'. Among them, Aït 'Omar' Khedache, 70, and Yunice Abbas, 71, have partially admitted involvement in the heist.
Nick Fagge, reporting from the trial venue in a distinctive room on an island in central Paris, described the defendants as frail and elderly. He noted that Omar Khedache struggled to hear and follow court proceedings, responding to questions only in writing and confirming his retired status. Abbas was described as short, with a bald head and a demeanour likened to a ‘bad-tempered bull terrier’.
The podcast also addressed suggestions that some suspects might not have fully been aware of who Kim Kardashian was, despite targeting her for the high-profile robbery. The trial is scheduled to last for about a month, with Kardashian expected to provide testimony at some point.
The Daily Mail reports that the podcast will continue to provide detailed coverage of the trial, with episodes released twice weekly. Listeners can access the show through various podcast platforms, and ad-free versions are available through subscription services linked to The Crime Desk network, which hosts the wider 'The Trial' series.
This new series offers an in-depth look at the events and individuals involved, enabling listeners to follow the courtroom revelations as the case unfolds.
Source: Noah Wire Services