Papini told authorities she had been abducted at gunpoint and held captive by two armed and masked Hispanic women, one in her 20s or 30s and the other between 40 and 50, who spoke Spanish most of the time. The twin charges carried a maximum possible sentence of 25 years in prison. "Shasta County Sheriff's Office immediately began investigating, calling on the assistance of the FBI. RELATED VIDEO: Sherri Papini Charged with Making False Statements to Law Enforcement 5 Years After Alleged Abduction. According to the Daily Mail, the picture was posted by Sherri's mother, Loretta Graeff, on her Facebook page. When Sherri Papini surfaced 22 days after disappearing while out for a run, her story about being abducted didn't add up. Papini offered no explanation during her brief, tearful comments to the judge before she was sentenced. Hannah Parry "Sherri and Keith have cooperated with law enforcement's requests despite repeated attempts to unnecessarily pit them against each other, empty threats to publicly embarrass them and other conduct that was less than professional. His client was ordered to report to federal prison on Nov. 8. He discovered her earbuds wrapped loosely around her phone less than a mile from their home. The mom-of-two provided FBI investigators with sketches of the alleged kidnappers. Be the first to know what's trending, straight from Elite Daily, Aliyah Bah Didnt Choose The Influencer Life But She Was Made For It, The Triangle Method Is TikToks Favorite Flirting Technique, A #SwiftTok-Obsessed NYC Writer Tracks Her Screen Time For 1 Week, By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. , updated In August 2020, Papini was warned that it was a crime to lie to federal agents during an interview with federal and local investigators, said the press release. She turned up Thanksgiving Day on the side of a highway in Yolo County about 150 miles away. and Rich Pedroncelli/AP In this 2016 file photo, Sherri Papini is seen on a sign reporting her missing in Northern California. And when investigators confronted her with what they'dbeen told just several days priorthat her ex-boyfriend had picked her upfrom Reddingand driven her to Costa Mesa, Calif., where she voluntarily stayed with him until she wanted to leaveshe denied it. Hoodwinked: Sherri Papini reappears after missing for 22 days with an unbelievable story Bee photo illustration; photo by Andrew Seng By Ryan Sabalow and Sam Stanton Updated July 28, 2022. Managed by his sister Suzanne, who now lives in Long Beach, California, the Bring Sherri Home Safe appeal eventually raised a total of $49,070 just short of the $50,000 goal. Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko at his office on Feb. 19, 2013 in Redding, Calif. Investigators say they have no reason to doubt Sherri Papini's. "So, that's the risk she runs of rolling the dice to go to trial.". When she was found after a three-week search in 2016, a Northern California woman told police she had been abducted and branded by two women who kept her chained in a closet. Sherri Papini looks like a shell of her former self after returning to her rural home with her family in Redding in the Sacramento Valley. Papini was released on a $120,000 bail. It was a daily reminder.". Mother-of-two Sherri Papini went for a jog on Wednesday, November 3, and was found three weeks later. Jackson, who says the department fielded over 800 tips and conducted hundreds of interviews during the investigation, tells PEOPLE he has mixed feelings about the outcome. "You can go to prison for mail fraud and for making a false statement to a government official. Her husband, Keith Papini, told "GMA" in an exclusive statement that she endured mental and physical abuse while being held captive for three weeks. Updated It also claimed that she wanted advice because Papini was reportedly planning on moving back in with her mom. "Victims of crimes may not believe they will be believed by law enforcement because of this hoax.". In a Nov. 29, 2016, statement toGood Morning America, Keith thanked the "incredible humans" around the world who'd shown their support for his family over the course of their "torturous journey," and shouted out a number of individuals and organizations by name. Investigatorswerelooking into the possibility that Keith had something to do with Sherri's disappearance,a romantic partner routinely being No. That was when they requested a "familial DNA" search, a technique that searches offender DNA databanks for a father, son or brother of an unknown perpetrator. and Portanova said in a pre-sentence court filing that Papini was "in pursuit of a non-sensical fantasy" when she fled to a former boyfriend in Southern California, nearly 600 miles south of her home in Redding. James Wilkinson Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School, says it might be in Papini's best interest to accept a plea deal. Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. And once she began, "each lie demanded another lie.". Here The Sun looks at the seven chilling clues behind the story of her alleged abduction. In photos that were taken on Saturday, according to DailyMail.com, Sherri's. They really have a lot of power.". Online records show that the 40-year-old isserving her term at the medium-securityFederal Correctional Institution Victorville. In this 2016 file photo, Sherri Papini is seen on a sign reporting her missing in Northern California. At the time, it appeared to show the mom running away from her alleged kidnappers. He added there is no indication they met up. Keith said that he had received a text message from Sherri at 10:37 a.m. on Nov. 2, a Wednesday, asking if he was coming home for lunch. In the footage, Papini can be seen running left and right for several yards, eventually disappearing off camera, to be found shortly afterward by police. A $50,000 reward was offered for any information leading toSherri's whereabouts. "Obviously the court did what it thought was right, and frankly it's difficult to argue with the justice of the sentence," Portanova said. The other alleged kidnapper was between 40-50 years old and had tall black hair. On Aug. 10 investigators interviewed the ex-boyfriend, and he admitted that he had helped Papini "run away" because she had told him that her husband had abused her, the complaint states. So, you get a lot less time in state court, especially a very liberal jurisdiction like Chicago, than he would in federal court. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? 2023 E! Sherri Papini, the mother of two who ignited a massive search after her husband reported that she'd been kidnapped while jogging near her rural California home in 2016 but was charged last week with making up the entire story, was released this week on a $120,000 bail. Sherri Papini's latest news has spurned quite the response from the public. 909.579.6680. As part of a plea bargain, she is required to pay more than $300,000 in restitution. CNNs Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report. and She had a chain around her waist and clamps around her wrists. During her teen years, it was reported that Papini ran away from home. She's going to have to decide if she accepts those charges or if she's going to fight it.". Papini is facing charges of making false statements to a federal officer and mail fraud, and she could get up to 20 years in prison if she is convicted. After further questioning, the boyfriend said that he and Papini had communicated over prepaid phones and concocted a scheme to pick her up in Redding and drive her back to his two-bedroom apartment in Costa Mesa. Her hair was haphazardly cut, she was covered in bruises and other marks, and she had a chain around her waist that was tethered to one of her wrists. Portanova blamed it on "what sounds like a fierce storm that was going on for a long time inside her head" but said she is now a changed woman. The local sheriff is insisting that his men are still looking for the two Latino women who . They're not just going to let her apologize and move on with her life. In a statement issued March 4, 2021, herfamily said they were "appalled" by how Sherri had been treated by authorities in front of her children. Keith added: She has been branded and I could feel the rise of her scabs under my fingers.. No way. FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, a "missing" sign for Mountain Gate, Calif., resident Sherri Papini, is seen along Sunrise Drive, near the location where the mom of two is believed to . "Probably the best thing she could do right now is accept responsibility and drop the level of the offense. "We are overwhelmed with joy of how supportive everyone has been to help bring us together as a family again,"they saidin a statementprovided to the media by Sherri's sister Sheila, per CNN. ", Talking to reporters later that day, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said, "We are ecstatic to report that Sherri Papini has been located and has been reunited with her family on this day of Thanksgiving. Papini faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted of making false statements, and a maximum 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 on the mail fraud charge. The husband of Sherri Papini, the Northern California woman accused of faking her own kidnapping in 2016, has filed for divorce and custody of the couple's two children, court records show.. And how much should she be punished for? During a virtual court hearing, Papini was told she had to surrender her passport and ordered to participate in a psychiatric program. "I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I've caused all my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me," she saidin a statementreleased by herattorneyWilliam Portanova's office. ", Describing how difficultSherri's disappearance was on its own, compounded by the "turmoil" of the last five-and-a-half years, he added, "We, both children and I, need time to recover and stabilize. They were once engaged, the ex explained, and they had a "long history together as friends," but when she reached out to him, he was quoted, it was "'out of the blue. Cops investigating her disappearance had discovered Papini's texts and tracked down the manin Detroit, Michigan on November 9 - a week after she disappeared. This seems particularly odd considering the condition that Sherri's husband described her to be in when she was released. The same bag she used to flag someone down once she was able to free one of her hands.". Photo: Courtesy Keith Papini Editor's note: Sherri Papini signed an agreement with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to counts of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud, thus putting. A Warner Bros. Papini's case was high-profile from the start. Keith used the Find My iPhone app that helped track her device. Her husband knew something was wrong when he realized that Papini had not retrieved their kids from daycare, per People. "They're going to have to file, as victims, they're going to file the restitution paperwork and it's going to outline all these law enforcement agent hours, police, officer hours, sheriffs. They included her husband's sister, with whom she has been living she split with her husband, who filed for divorce and sought custody of their children after she pleaded guilty. ", When he first sawSherri in her hospital bed, Keith described,her face was "covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings, the bridge of her nose broken. Police said Papini, who had vanished on November 2 leaving behind her phone with a clump of hair still attached to the headphones, had been beaten and branded. Three weeks later, on Thanksgiving Day, she was found alone on Interstate 5 about 140 miles from home. VIDEO: Police Share New Details on Missing California Mom's Alleged Kidnapping, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "In fact, it has only begun a new chapter. But cops believed at the time that she had been abducted - despite what seemed to be inconsistencies in her account. Discovery Company. And, he added, though he didn't have a TV, shekeptupwith the news on her phone and, knowing that people were looking for her, didn't want to be seen. Hours. "She could drop her phone," Keith said, "but she would never, in a million years, not pick up our children on the time that she normally would've.". For a google map and directions, click here. It turned out to be Sherri, found 146 miles away from her home. Sherri Papini would have gone to the police station, Thomas said. Shasta County Sheriff's Office Captain Brian Jackson, one of the lead detectives on the notorious 2016 case of Sherri Papini, the 34-year-old mother of two who disappeared while out on a jog in rural Redding, Calif., said he felt serious pressure to find her alleged abductors. The Californian, now 39, was arrested on Thursday more than five years after she vanished. When Sherri Papini was released by the two alleged kidnappers, reports stated that Sherri was found beaten, bloodied, and bruised. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. She claimed she had been kidnapped by two Hispanic women who could not be identified because they constantly covered their faces. He first realized something was seriously wrong when she failed to pick up their kids, then-4-year-old son Tyler and 2-year-old daughter Violet, from daycare. Papini was represented by attorney Michael Borges, Horwood said. VIEW ALL PHOTOS. Strands of hair were also discovered near the intersection of the Old Oregon Trail and Sunrise Drive. I don't like people being exploited. They included law enforcement officers who searched for her, the community that believed her for four years, those who lived in fear because of her fake story of being abducted by two Hispanic women, and the Latino community that was falsely viewed with suspicion. "Ex-Boyfriend said he was nervous and wanted to hold steady while doing the brand because the tool was so hot it glowed red," the complaint states. The bizarre kidnapping story has made the housewife a very famous victim. There was great joy and heightened talk when Papini reappeared just as suddenly as she'd vanished, 22 days later and 150 miles south of Redding, wandering along a highway around 4 a.m. She was emaciated, covered in bruises, burns and rashes. Miss Papini took money from real victims," Alegria said. The story was covered by news outlets around the globe. '", He said Sherri told him Keith had physically and sexually assaulted her and police had refused to help. He admitted to the FBI during an Aug. 10, 2020 interview that he helped Sherri "run away," according tothe March 3 filing. She was seen stepping outside her home Saturday in a white jacket with her husband, Keith, and two small children. In March 2020, investigators got a familial hit on the unknown male DNA, identifying a potential relative of the man they were looking for. On November 2, 2016, Sherri Papini, a young mother of two, didn't show up at the children's daycare to pick them up. When being quizzed by cops, she claimed that she had been held by two Hispanic women. So Keith Papini told Good Morning America on Nov. 6, 2016, four days after his wife, Sherri Papini, went out for an afternoon jog and didn't come home. Countless hours were spent following leads, all in an effort to bring this woman back to her family. All the details on the case that's now a Lifetime movie starring Jaime. And then, less than 24 hours after shestarted researchingthe case on her own, King was offered thechance to play Sherri. — -- Frightening details are being revealed of the trauma and apparent abduction of California mom Sherri Papini, who was found alive on Thanksgiving after missing for three weeks. She was able to flag down help, even . In audio footage played in "Lies, Lies and More Lies," Reyes tells detectives that while Sherri inflicted most of the injuries herself, he did give her a bruise a couple times. "Once we had the DNA, I knew we'd be able to find something, and I just kept telling our guys and our ladies, be patient it's going to happen and we just kept pushing on," he said. ", Ring says if Papini is offered a deal and she turns it down and "the case proceeds to trial, and if she's found guilty, the punishment is usually much, much more than what the prosecutors offered her," says Ring. Probation officers and Papini's attorney had recommended that she spend a month in custody and seven months in supervised home detention, while prosecutors wanted her to serve the eight months behind bars. "They put her on trial. Papini quietly answered, "Yes, sir," when the judge asked if she understood the sentence. In 2000, mom Loretta Graeff alleged her daughter, who was then 21, had been harming herself and blaming it on her, according to a 911 call log obtained by the Sacramento Bee. The driver, Allison Sutton, told MSNBC she kept on driving but called the police to tell them exactly where she was. That June, investigators collected items from the ex's trash outside his Costa Mesa homeand they found that DNA from the mouth of an Honest Honey Green Tea bottle was a match to the DNA lifted from Sherri's clothes. Upon being returned home, she didn't even stay one night at the hospital. According to the March 3 filing,investigators found the DNA of an unknown female from an evidence swab of Sherri's body and the DNA of an unknown male from tests of her clothes. REDDING, Calif. This is the first look at the California mom who vanished while jogging and then mysteriously reappeared on the side of a highway weeks later. Hedidn't want to say anything about Sherri's case that "would inflame the situation or attract media attention. "The question is, why did she commit it? She said she'd spent much of captivity chained in a room with boarded-up windows and that the women played loud music. Returning to an empty houseand soon finding out the kids hadn't been picked up, Keith useda phone-finder app to trace Sherri's celland he found itnear the intersection of Old Oregon TrailandSunrise Drive, about a mile away from their home,along with her earbuds, a few strands of blonde hair tangled amid the wires. At around 4:30 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 24, 2016, 22 days after she went missing, a number of motorists called 911including a truck driver who stopped andwaited for California Highway Patrol to arriveto report a woman standing or running down the middle of Interstate 5 in Yolo County. Papini claimed she was abducted at gunpoint by two Hispanic women in a dark SUV while on a run near her home on Nov. 2. Based on her account, police searched for two Hispanic women matching Papinis description. Police hope to get more details about the suspects, he said. "Ex-Boyfriend said he helped her create some of the injuries, although he never laid his hands directly on her; for example, she told him, 'bank a puck off my leg,' so [he] shot a puck off her leg, lightly," the complaint states. But investigators ultimately found Papini had made it up, according to prosecutors.