Viswa Vanapalli
Beginning in November 2016, the community of Redding, California, was blown away by the shocking developments in Sherri Papini’s case. While she claimed to have been kidnapped and held captive for three weeks, the evidence and inconsistencies in her statements pointed in another direction. ABC News’ ‘20/20: The Vanishing Act’ as well as Hulu’s ‘Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini’ focus on how Sherri faked her own abduction and the crumbs that led to her conviction.
Sherri Papini Faked Her Own Kidnapping
On November 2, 2016, Sherri Papini, a young mother of two, didn’t show up at the children’s daycare to pick them up. Keith Papini, her then-husband, used the Find My iPhone app to trace her phone and earbuds to an intersection in Redding, California. Sherri had gone for an afternoon jog at around 2 pm near their home in the Mountain Gate area and was not seen after that. Therefore, a few hours later, the 34-year-old was reported missing, leading to an extensive search but to no avail.
But on November 24, 2016, she was located on a rural road in Yolo County, about 146 miles from her house. Sherri appeared to have a chain around her waist, and her wrists and ankles were bound. Apart from that, she lost weight, her hair was cut, and she had several bruises all over her body. She also had branding on her shoulder that seemed to be a Bible verse. Sherri was initially reluctant to speak with the authorities. However, they soon learned that she claimed to have been kidnapped by two Hispanic women; women who’d apparently told her that the police were actually involved in her abduction.
At the time, the investigators gave Keith a recording device to document everything she told him. In it, Sherri was heard saying regarding one of her purported kidnappers, “She was laughing at me. ‘No one believes you. Everyone thinks you ran away. No one believes you. Guess what? The buyer’s a cop. They’re never gonna find you.'” Sherri also talked about being kept chained in a closet and fed very little food. She claimed that the kidnappers even made her wear an adult diaper, only to suddenly be let go three weeks into captivity.
Yet, the authorities found several inconsistencies in her stories, including her explanation for why she got branded; Sherri initially claimed it happened because she’d tried to escape but later said it was requested by the man who was supposed to buy her. So, the police decided to dig deeper. Upon talking to people who knew the mother of two, it appeared that she had a propensity to lie, and during her younger years, she had often run away. Some friends also mentioned the fact she had previously made up things like being abused. Furthermore, her phone records indicated that she had been talking to multiple men in the time leading up to her disappearance.
The authorities also collected Sherri’s clothing, and analysis revealed the presence of male DNA. In 2020, they matched the biological evidence to James Reyes, an ex-boyfriend of Sherri’s. It was at this point that the investigation took a shocking turn. When James was questioned, he told the police that Sherri had contacted him and claimed that Keith was abusing her, driving him to help her get away. He stated that Sherri asked him to pick her up on November 2, 2016, before driving her to his Costa Mesa, California, home.
James added that the injuries Sherri had were self-inflicted and that she had asked him to help brand her. However, around Thanksgiving weeks later, the stay-at-home mother wanted to go home because she missed her kids. So, James dropped her off at the rural road, where she was eventually found. Later, it was also reported that a MySpace account associated with Sherri had a racist rant targeting the Latino community many years prior. Though, she claimed that someone else had taken over her account and posted that.
Sherri Papini is a Free Woman Today
When the authorities confronted Sherri Papini with all the aforementioned new evidence, she didn’t budge from her story – she maintained her ruse of being a battered victim and continued trying to have her husband by her side. Nevertheless, she was formally arrested and indicted in March 2022. The following month, the mother of two pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements and one count of mail fraud. At that time, she spoke in court about being treated for anxiety, depression, and PTSD since 2016. It’s also imperative to note that Keith filed for divorce and sole custody of their son and daughter in the aftermath of the events. He’d supported her tirelessly since her return and couldn’t believe the extent to which she’d gone for attention.
In September 2022, a judge sentenced Sherri, about 40 years old, to serve 18 months in federal prison. This was more than double what the prosecutors had asked for. She said in court, “I am so sorry to the many people who have suffered because of me. The people who sacrificed for the broken woman I was. The people who gave willingly to help me in a time that I so desperately needed help. I thank you all.”
Besides the prison sentence, Sherri was also asked to pay around $310,000 in restitution. Earlier, officials had stated that the hoax kidnapping, ensuing investigation, and her cashing checks from the California Victim’s Compensation Board and Social Security Disability income cost the taxpayers about the same amount. In the end, today, upon serving most of her time, the 41-year-old is a free woman – she was released from the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution-Victorville in California on September 29, 2023. From what we can tell, she was initially placed in a residential reentry facility in Sacramento County, only to be discharged from there within a month too, enabling her to lead a completely free, independent life at the moment.
According to records, Sherri continues to reside in Shasta County, California, from where she’s visiting her children as much as possible under the required controlled circumstances. That’s despite Keith’s preference to keep them away since she’d apparently even tried to harm them when they were toddlers – she’d purportedly wrap a rubbing alcohol-dipped rag around their necks until they fell so ill she had to take them to the hospital and gain attention from medical and legal professionals alike. As for her professional standing, she has since told her daughter she’s now an author; she said, “[I am] writing two books. I work lots of hours to write chapter books. So, when I tell you I’m working remotely, that means I’m at home writing chapters on my laptop.”
