A major suspect in the Kim Kardashian Paris heist has died just before the trial was about to start.
According to The Daily Mail, the suspect, Marceau Baum-Gertner, died in Paris in March. He was scheduled to face court Monday alongside 10 other people accused in the robbery. Officials haven’t revealed how he died.
“Mr Baum-Gertner had been released on bail following his arrest over the Kim Kardashian robbery eight years ago, and was living in Paris, while regularly reporting to police,” an insider told the Daily Mail. “His name was on the defendants’ list for the trial, and he was very enthusiastic about clearing his name in court. This was until he died suddenly in the 10th arrondissement of Paris on March 6.”
During early questioning, Baum-Gertner refused to snitch on his associates, but The Daily Mail source said other criminals feared he’d start talking during trial to get a lighter sentence.
“He was suspected of liaising with mafia gangs from across the world over the Kardashian jewelry, and criminals are known to have issued threats against him following widespread publicity connected to the case,” the insider revealed to The Daily Mail.
Baum-Gertner allegedly worked with a crime ring that bound and gagged Kardashian at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016, stealing $10 million in jewelry, including a $4 million diamond ring. He supposedly found buyers for the stolen goods and was a notorious figure in Paris’ criminal underground with multiple convictions.
In March, TMZ reported that Kim K plans to show up in person this May to testify. She previously described the robbery to a judge, but this will mark her first time telling her story to a jury.
