Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Sherri Papini is a 34-year-old mother of two who was reported missing by her husband, Keith Papini, in November 2016. She reportedly went out for a jog near her home in Shasta County in Northern California before disappearing. However, three weeks later, on Thanksgiving day, Papini reappeared alongside a highway, injured and bruised. She told police that she had been abducted by two Hispanic women in an SUV and was beaten and branded over the weeks while she was held captive in a closet, according to CNN.
Authorities launched an extensive search for the Hispanic women who kidnapped Sherri Papini, and Papini received around $30,000 as victim compensation funds from the state. However, the information that Papini shared with the investigators was rather vague. She was reportedly reluctant to talk to authorities, and it took detectives a long time to come up with sketches of the Hispanic women who allegedly abducted her.
However, no leads were made in the case. The DNA that was collected from Sherri Papini’s clothes was identified to be that of a male but did not match anyone in the database. According to the complaint, Papini had a swollen nose and was bruised on her face. She also had rashes, ligature marks, bruises, and burns all over her body. Her right shoulder was violently branded, KCRA reported. Papini had also lost a significant amount of weight when she was found.
How did authorities find out that Papini was lying?
In 2020, using genetic genealogy, the police matched the DNA found on Sherri Papini’s clothes to her ex-boyfriend. When they first interrogated him, Papini’s ex-boyfriend told the police that he only met her many years ago. However, he soon revealed that Papini was with him during the 22 days when she was reported missing. She reportedly asked him to rent a car and pick her up on November 2, 2016, the day she disappeared.
They both stayed at his two-bedroom apartment for some time. He claimed that all the injuries and bruises that were found on her were self-inflicted. She purposefully lost weight, cut her own hair, and harmed herself. She also asked her ex-boyfriend to brand her right shoulder. He reportedly bought a wood-burning tool and did as she asked him to, according to People Magazine.
After that, Sherri Papini allegedly told his ex-boyfriend that she missed her children and wanted to return. He then dropped her on the highway with her waist chained and left. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, authorities found DNA evidence, cell phone records, and car rental details, which all proved that she had been staying with her former boyfriend by will and without any coercion.
In a meeting that authorities then held with Sherri Papini, they reportedly warned her that it was a crime to lie to federal investigators. However, she stuck to her kidnapping story despite another warning and a clear indication that the police had enough evidence to prove that the story was false. She also claimed benefits from the California Victim Compensation Board and Social Security Administration in the name of “post-traumatic stress.”
How much prison time did Sherri Papini get?
ABC News reported that Sherri Papini was arrested and charged with mail fraud and making false statements. In September 2022, she reportedly pleaded guilty to both charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release. However, she was released in to community confinement early, in September 2023, CBS News reported.
Sherri Papini was also asked to pay $310,000 in restitution. As per People Magazine, she reportedly received $30,000 from the California Victim’s Compensation Board. The United States Social Security Administration spent over $127,000. As part of the investigation, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office spent $148,866, while the FBI’s expenses amounted to $2,558. She will have to pay the government authorities back. In March 2024, KCRA reported that Sherri Papini had not yet paid the money. Considering the litigation charge, the sum she owed then amounted to $340,221.
According to the Independent, Keith Papini filed for divorce and received temporary custody of the children. The couple had reportedly been married for 13 years before that. Of Sherri Papini’s actions, the fact that she repeatedly lied to law enforcement was what got her convicted rather than the hoax itself. She also brought up racial divisions by making up that Hispanic women kidnapped her.
During the trial, Sherri Papini’s defense argued that the public nature of the case had already taken a great toll on the accused and that a lower sentence should be given to her. The kidnapping hoax garnered a lot of media attention, initially as a case with no leads and later as a faked kidnapping.
Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies and More Lies is a documentary that follows Papini’s kidnapping hoax and how she lied to authorities for years together. The movie first aired in 2022 and is currently streaming on Peacock.
