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Home / Entertainment

Michael Jackson's former bodyguard examines the 10 key questions surrounding the Kim Kardashian West heist

Daily Mail
6 Oct, 2016 06:00 AM8 mins to read

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Investigators in Paris are now trying to track down the gang responsible for holding Kim Kardashian at gun point. Photo / AP

Investigators in Paris are now trying to track down the gang responsible for holding Kim Kardashian at gun point. Photo / AP

Investigators in Paris are now trying to track down the gang responsible for holding Kim Kardashian at gun point at her luxury apartment and stealing $14 million worth of jewellery.

But mystery surrounds who was responsible for the raid or how the armed gang even managed to make it into the reality TV star's apartment.

They struck at 2.30am on Monday (local time), just hours after Kim wore her $4.5million engagement ring, given to her by rapper husband Kanye West, for only the second time on Snapchat.

Here MailOnline poses 10 unanswered questions that remain following the heist in the French capital while martial arts guru Matt Fiddes, the former bodyguard of Michael Jackson, gives his view on the robbery:

1. Why were Kim Kardashian and her best friend, the stylist Simone Harouche, by themselves in an unguarded flat with at least $14 million worth of jewellery that Kim has pictured on social media? Family and other aides were staying less than a mile away at the Four Seasons George V Hotel.

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Fiddes told MailOnline that there was never an occasion when he was looking after Michael Jackson that the star would be left completely alone.

He said: "Michael used to tell me that he had never walked down the street alone without security since he was seven years old.

"Kim should have absolutely not have been left alone without security, it is all very fishy.

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'When you are carrying expensive jewellery such as that, it is not unusual for the jewellery itself to have its own bodyguard.

"It's a different world now with social media and by showing off your wealth you are becoming a target."

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2. Why was there no CCTV whatsoever inside or directly outside the palatial apartment block - where flats rent for up to $14,000 a week? Such cameras not only detect the approach of criminals, but also deter them.

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Fiddes says that a celebrity on Kim Kardashian's level should have had security cameras fitted, not only outside the building but inside too.

He explained: "A camera should have been fitted to the bedroom door where she was sleeping along with a sensor.

"A screen could have been set up in the chief of security's bedroom, and somebody would have watched it all night.

"It is standard procedure. There is something not right there."

3.Why was only one night porter on duty in a block used to house some of the biggest stars in the world, including Madonna and Leonardo di Caprio? The block provides cooks, chauffers and other staff, so why not a 24/7 dedicated security team?

Fiddes said it seems unusual that Kim's own security did not stay with her at the apartment.

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He added: "It is normal for celebrities on her level to bring their own security team.

"I would have said she should have had seven or eight security people outside the building and another two or three more trusted people inside.

"In America, when I was with Michael Jackson we would also have a link to local police and they would come right away if there was an incident."

On the night of the raid, Kim's bodyguard Pascal Duvier was at a nightclub with her sister Kourtney. Photo / Getty Images
On the night of the raid, Kim's bodyguard Pascal Duvier was at a nightclub with her sister Kourtney. Photo / Getty Images

4. How did the gang get through a deadlocked armoured door that was also bolted from the inside? There was no sign of forced entry, and no reason whatsoever why anybody would have allowed unidentified men entry in the middle of the night. Even if they were falsely claiming to be police, a simple telephone call could have alerted bona fide officers.

Fiddes said it would be normal for security teams to do a sweep of the building before there client would get there.

He explained: "A high level celebrity would bring their own security team do to a complete sweep of the building.

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"They would normally go to a place a day or two before the celebrity to a reccy and check out everything in the building where their client would be."

5. What information would the porter - who was tied up and gagged - have had about Kim's whereabouts, movements, and personal security arrangements? It is standard policy in VIP portered blocks for residents to have absolute privacy, and not to divulge any information to what would amount to very junior and low paid staff members.

Fiddes says that it is difficult to keep a celebrity's movements under wraps, especially when they are high profile.

But he added: "You have people like maids and concierge in hotels, they will tell people who is staying there.

"Usually they want autographs and the celebrity obliges but that is why stars bring their own security."

6. Why did Kim's bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, leave her alone to go to a nightclub? And how - apparently - did the gang know he was not there?

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Fiddes claimed it is beyond belief that Duvier was not with Kim, and was instead two miles away with her sisters Kourtney and Kendall Jenner at L'Arc nightclub.

He explained: "My take on that is that you have to be willing to take a bullet to protect people and when you get to the stage you can't, that is when you have to move on.

"That was part of the reason why I left my job with MJ (Michael Jackson) because I had children.

"It seems that he has become more of a friend to Kim rather than an employee. You can see that when the prankster tried to grab her a few days earlier.

"He also has his own social media accounts, which we would not have been allowed to do at all.

"When I worked for Michael, we weren't even allowed to tell our wives or girlfriends where in the world we were."

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7. Why was Kim allowed to leave France within a few hours of the crime, so as to return to the USA?

It is common procedure for victims of serious crime to assist police and prosecutors with enquires for at least a few days afterwards. Key information could easily be forgotten if and when Kardashian ever returns [to Paris] to speak to police again.

A French police officer enters the residence of Kim Kardashian West in Paris following the armed robbery. Photo / AP
A French police officer enters the residence of Kim Kardashian West in Paris following the armed robbery. Photo / AP

8. Why were only three bodyguards protecting members of the Kardashian clan in France during the country's ongoing State of Emergency, which was imposed following terrorist attacks in Paris? Kim Kardashian was meant to be in her own flat with one bodyguard, while the other two security men were with other family members at the George V.

Fiddes said Kim may have been badly advised to go to Paris for fashion week given the current state of emergency in France.

He explained: "When her security were doing their research, they would see Paris has had two major terror attacks recently.

"She is one of the most high profile celebrities in the world and I might have advised her not to go, especially if it was just to attend some fashion shows.

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"She is a major target, especially as she an high profile American woman.

"There were times with Michael when he really wanted to visit places but they were just too dangerous.

"We had to tell him, look we can't go there."

9. How did five assailants manage to get in and out of the building, and then away on bicycles? The men apparently escaped with nobody seeing them at all apart from their principal victims, Kim and the unidentified porter.

Fiddes says that in his previous role, Michael Jackson had a videographer who would document his every move.

He explained: "We would do this to protect his safety and the safety of the people around him.

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"It meant you could identify people who were constantly following him and we could review the footage.

"One of the reasons was if a fan said MJ's car ran over their foot and they wanted to sue us, we could look back and stop a lawsuit dead in the water.

"We used camcorders back then, but it is easy now to use dashcams or cameras you can wear."

10. There have been a spate of "home jackings" - French slang for robberies in private residences - in the district where Kim lives in Paris, so why wasn't she warned, and better protected

Fiddes says that security teams would usually do their research into the place their client was staying.

He said: "You would get your security to do a reccy beforehand and expect them to look into the history of the area.

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"Then they can then plan accordingly. It is not Kim's fault. She seems to have been badly advised."

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