A notorious figure in the Paris underworld, Marceau Baum-Gertner, died suddenly, leaving the Kim Kardashian $10 million robbery case shrouded in mystery.
The Daily Mail reported that Baum-Gertner, a 72-year-old suspect in the 2016 heist, passed away on March 6, 2025, just weeks before his trial, which was set to begin on April 28, 2025, with Kardashian as a key witness.
The robbery occurred on October 3, 2016, at the Hotel de Pourtalès during Paris Fashion Week. Masked assailants used a vintage Mauser revolver, gaffer tape, and a tie to restrain Kardashian.
They stole $10 million in valuables, including an 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring designed by Lorraine Schwartz.
The ring, classified as the purest type with no impurities, has never been recovered.
Baum-Gertner, nicknamed "Nez Râpé" or "Rough Diamond," was a seasoned criminal with 11 prior convictions. His record included handling stolen goods, forgery, robbery, and a 2011 sentence for stealing $7 million in Cartier diamonds.
In 2016, he faced trial for running a counterfeit banknote operation but was not convicted. Authorities suspected Baum-Gertner was the "super fence" responsible for finding buyers for the stolen jewelry. He allegedly liaised with mafia gangs from Georgia, Israel, and the USA.
Baum-Gertner made at least eight trips to Antwerp, Belgium, to meet potential buyers after the robbery. The Banditry Repression Brigade bugged Baum-Gertner’s phones and tracked his white Renault Scenic with a GPS device.
Detectives filmed him meeting underworld figures in Antwerp alongside Aomar "Old Omar" Aït Khedache, the confessed ringleader. Baum-Gertner was arrested in January 2017 after meetings with Aït Khedache and Christiane "Cathy" Glotin, the only female defendant.
Baum-Gertner was released on bail and lived in Paris, reporting regularly to police. He insisted on his innocence, telling Judge Armelle Briand, "I never had the Kardashian jewels." His death in Paris’s 10th arrondissement went unnoticed initially, as a March 14, 2025, communiqué listed him as a defendant.
Kim Kardashian, set to testify in person, will travel from Los Angeles to Paris for the trial. Her lawyer, Michael Rhodes, confirmed her commitment to facing the remaining ten defendants.
During the robbery, she pleaded, "Don't kill me, I have babies." Baum-Gertner received death threats from gangland sources before his death. An investigating source noted that criminals targeted him due to the case’s high publicity.
His cause of death remains undisclosed, described only as unexpected. The trial, delayed by court backlogs and events like the 2024 Olympics, involves ten defendants.
Aomar Aït Khedache and Yunnis Abbas have confessed, while others deny involvement. Pierre Bouianère, another suspect, was excluded due to Alzheimer’s, with his case handled separately.