Who is Sherri Papini?
SHERRI Papini was a married mother of two when she made headlines in 2016 for her disappearance while running.
Police initially believed she was kidnapped jogging near her home in California before she was found 150 miles away three weeks later.
Who is Sherri Papini?
Sherri Papini left her home on November 2, 2016, to jog along the Old Oregon Trail and Sunrise Drive in Mountain View, California.
Papini's husband, Keith Papini, reported her missing when she failed to return and pick up her kids from daycare.
Her sister, Sheila Koester, told the Ventura Star, "She was out for a run. She wouldn't leave her babies."
Her family set up a GoFundMe in the hope it would help return her to them, when on Thanksgiving Day that year, she was found bound and gagged on the side of Interstate 5, about 150 miles from her home.
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A mystery donor initially offered a $50k ransom for Papini’s safe return which doubled to $100k but the offer was pulled the day before police found Papini.
When Papini was found on the side of Highway 5, she said she had been thrown from a dark-colored SUV and described two armed Hispanic women who spoke only Spanish and played mariachi music while they allegedly tortured her.
Keith shared his horror at seeing his wife's serious injuries which extended to bruises covering her body, and she was covered in blood and branded.
Shortly after returning to their home in Redding, California, Sherri and her family moved to an undisclosed location, claiming it was too difficult to stay in their house following the ordeal.
Was Sherri Papini's kidnapping a hoax?
After a thorough investigation, Papini was arrested on March 3, 2022, after police said they discovered she had faked her 22-day abduction.
She was then charged with lying to federal agents and defrauding the state's victim compensation board of $30k.
Authorities said Papini had not disappeared - instead, she was staying with a former boyfriend nearly 600 miles away from her Orange County home and hurt herself to back up her false claims.
"Ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted," US Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a statement.
The California mom-of-two said she was taken by two Hispanic women back in 2016 but police reported they found a man's DNA was found on her clothes.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office revealed that in the lead-up to her disappearance, Sherri exchanged text messages with a man in Michigan and when they visited the man's home, he allegedly told police everything.
Police said the unnamed man told them he was Papini's ex-boyfriend and she called him to help her escape.
He claimed that he was led to believe she was being abused by her husband and after receiving the call, he claimed he drove to pick her up and bring her back to his home in Southern California.
Papini allegedly asked her ex-boyfriend to help cause some of her injuries, including driving to Hobby Lobby to pick up a wood-burning tool which she then asked him to use to brand herself.
According to the affidavit, Papini also chopped off her hair and ate minimal amounts of food to lose weight.
Police said they corroborated her ex-boyfriend's story through phone records, his work schedule, rental car receipts, odometer records, toll records, and an interview with his cousin, who says they saw Papini in the home.
When investigators questioned Papini, she stuck to her story but was handcuffed in front of her two children and brought to jail which her family had said was an "ambush."
Was Sherri Papini convicted?
Papini was charged on April 12, 2022, with 34 counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements to police.
She pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements and was convicted on September 19.
Papini was sentenced to 18 months in prison to deter other individuals from committing a similar crime. She was also required to pay $309,902 in restitution, but the judge said there was little chance Papini would be able to repay the amount.
“Let’s be realistic about it,” the judge said. “That restitution is never going to be paid. That $300,000 she’s going to be ordered to pay will never be paid unless she wins the lottery.”
But he said the charges are meant to stop would-be copycats.
After she was sentenced, Papini told the court: "I stand before you humbled by the court. I'm so sorry to the many people who have suffered because of me. I thank you all."
She continued: "I am guilty of lying and dishonor. I trust in this court … and I trust in you. What was done cannot be undone. I am choosing to humbly accept all responsibility."
However, she was released from prison in August 2023 — six months early.
Following Papini's arrest, her husband filed for divorce, saying he was "traumatized" by the events.
Where is Sherri Papini now?
On October 23, 2023, Papini appeared in court teary-eyed to demand a portion of her ex-husband's insurance payout after his California home was impacted by a wildfire in 2021, the New York Post reported.
Papini argued that she was entitled to a portion of the payout.
When questioned, Keith revealed the money was gone stating the money was used for living expenses.
Additionally, he used the payout to pay his mother a $500 monthly allowance who was housing him and his family after the impact.
When it was Keith's turn to speak, he revealed Sherri racked up a significant credit card debt.
According to the Daily Mail, Papini allegedly made a $3,200 purchase at Best Buy.
Papini repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment when asked about her large purchases.
On June 6, 2024, People reported that Sherri was writing books according to notes kept by a monitor supervising her with her children.
According to a supervised visitation report from January 17, 2024, Sherri told her child that she was writing two books.
She said, "Do you know what an author is? Mommy’s also an author now. She’s 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.”
Sherri's case will be revisited in Hulu's latest docuseries, Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance Of Sherri Papini, which premiered on June 20, 2024.
For the first time, Papini will speak out publicly in an Investigation Discovery docuseries.
According to Variety, the currently untitled ID series will premiere in 2025.
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