Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Sherri Papini was a 34-year-old mother of two who disappeared for 22 days from November 2, 2016, before she reappeared on Thanksgiving day along a Sacramento-area highway. She then told authorities that two Hispanic women abducted her and held her captive. She said that they beat and branded her during her time being held captive. However, she later admitted that she was not abducted and willingly fled to Costa Mesa, California, to be with her then-boyfriend, James Reyes, according to People Magazine.
According to KCRA, Sherri Papini had a swollen nose, was branded on her right shoulder, and bruised on her face when reappeared. She had ligature marks, rashes, bruises, and burns all over her body. She also told authorities that someone from law enforcement was involved in her abduction.
In 2022, Sherri Papini pleaded guilty to mail fraud and making false statements to the FBI. NBC News reported that the charges weren’t because of the kidnapping hoax but rather because of the prolonged manipulation and lies she told authorities over the years. The court sentenced her to 18 months in prison and asked her to pay nearly $310,000 in restitution, according to CNN.
The California Victim’s Compensation Board reportedly spent over $30,000 on scheduled therapy visits and an ambulance trip, while the United States Social Security Administration’s expenditure amounted to above $127,000. The expectation was for her to repay the whole amount. Additionally, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office was to be compensated with $148,866, which went into investigating the abduction. Sherri Papini was asked to pay the FBI $2,558, per People Magazine‘s report.
How did Sherri Papini get caught?
ABC News reported that Sherri Papini seemed interested in speaking with authorities once she returned. The police reportedly had very little evidence or information to dig into and could only come up with very generic sketches of the Latina women that Papini described. Her story about why the Hispanic kidnappers branded her reportedly changed every time. Each account was inconsistent with the other.
The police then collected Sherri Papini’s clothes to conduct a forensic examination. They found the DNA of a male on the clothes but could not determine the person’s identity. They then interacted with Papini’s ex-husband and her friends. Her ex-husband told detectives that she tended to run away. Her then-husband, Keith Papini, was also questioned, and he reported some instances of infidelity. However, no solid progress was made until 2020, when the DNA found was matched to James Reyes using genetic genealogy.
James Reyes was a former boyfriend of Sherri Papini and initially claimed that he didn’t come into contact with Papini. He later revealed that she asked for his help to get away. Papini reportedly asked Reyes to rent a car and pick her up. They then drove to Costa Mesa, where they stayed in his apartment for weeks. He claimed that the wounds and injuries on her body were mostly self-inflicted. She reportedly asked him also to brand her.
Authorities then questioned Sherri Papini, who maintained her innocence. They then arrested and charged her with making false statements and mail fraud.
Where is Papini now?
In August 2023, People Magazine reported that Sherri Papini was to be released into community confinement. She would be staying in a halfway house. By this time, she had served less than a year of her 18-month sentence in prison. She was reportedly shifted to a residential reentry facility in Sacramento County from the Federal Correctional Institution, Victorville Medium I, in Victorville, California. As per another report, in October 2023, Papini was released early from the halfway house.
However, Papini will remain under supervised release for the three years following her release. She was 41 years old at the time of her release. Regarding her divorce from Keith Papini, KRCRTV reported that Sherri Papini had been uncooperative with court orders relating to the separation, as stated by Keith’s attorney. She also failed to attend a court hearing scheduled in October and had her attorney speak over a call instead.
As per a report by the Independent, during a hearing in November, Sherri and Keith Papini had a fallout over their financial situation. Keith accused Sherri Papini of having gone on a reckless spending spree in August 2022. She allegedly spent $3,238 on the spree using a credit card that Keith gave her to improve her credit score.
Sherri Papini reportedly told the court that she wanted half of the money that was earned by the couple. She claimed that her husband’s control over the money that they collectively earned left her with nothing and ruined her financial situation. Keith Papini claimed that her legal team is reluctant to talk to him.
Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies and More Lies is a TV documentary that explores how Sherri Papini faked her own kidnapping and manipulated authorities.
