Beaten, tied up and threatened with a knife: the details of Donnarumma and his pregnant wife's shocking robbery
A Paris court has opened hearings in the case of the violent robbery of Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his wife Alessia Elefante, which occurred three years ago. The documents reveal a harrowing picture of four robbers who broke into their home, beat, tied up and threatened the couple with a knife, ignoring Elefante's pregnancy. Two of the main suspects are immigrants, and one of them even caused a disturbance in the courtroom.
Three years after the violent break-in at their home, a Paris court has opened hearings in the robbery case of Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and his wife Alessia Elefante. According to court documents, four robbers used a ladder to access the roof of the upscale building on the prestigious Avenue Montaigne, descended to the balcony, and broke in through the window during the night while the couple was sleeping. The 27-year-old Donnarumma testified that he woke up to the whisper of one of the intruders, "Shhh," and immediately received a strong punch to the face and was threatened with a knife. The robbers shouted at him: "The watches, bring the watches!" and he directed them to a luxury Audemars Piguet watch on the nightstand. Meanwhile, his partner Alessia suffered particularly violent and cruel treatment. In her testimony, she said the robbers asked and screamed: "Where is the money? Where are the watches?" She gave them a Cartier watch, jewelry, and about 2,000 euros in cash, but the robbers demanded the code to the safe. When she told them she didn't know the code and that the safe was empty anyway, the robbers lost their composure: "They got angry and thought I was lying," she recounted. "They pulled my hair and hit me on the thighs. I told them I was pregnant, but they didn't care and continued." Donnarumma eventually provided the code to the safe, which, as Alessia noted, was indeed empty. The robbers fled with a large haul including jewelry, luxury bags, cash, and keys to the goalkeeper's Lamborghini and Mercedes. From the court hearings, it emerges that two of the main participants, Ilias Karbouch (21) and Kyan Mamouni, a pair of immigrants, are suspected of orchestrating and ordering the robbery from a detention center where they were staying at the time. Karbouch even caused a major disturbance on the first day of the hearing when he shouted, cursed, and threatened police officers in the courtroom, until the president was forced to remove him after he declared: "I don't care, I don't want to be in this trial at all." Two other participants who were minors at the time of the incident have already been tried and sentenced to prison, while another participant confessed to his part but took his own life in 2024. The couple's lawyers stated that despite the time that has passed and the fact that they have since married and had a child, the two are still dealing with the severe trauma from that night.