"Supermom" Sherri Papini Admits to Kidnapping Hoax

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

True Crime, News

4.2 • 8.1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 April 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sherri Papini admits her 2016 kidnapping was a hoax. The 39-year-old mom was reported missing on November 2, and told investigators when she was found 22 days later that a pair of Hispanic women kidnapped her at gunpoint. Papini said her kidnappers abused her and then shoved her out of a car. Papini was emaciated, her hair was cut shorter, and she had cuts and bruises all over her body, but prosecutors said she caused the injuries herself. The case was broken in 2020 when DNA led investigators to Papini’s ex, who told them she had been with him the entire time. Federal prosecutors charged Papini with 34 counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements. Papini accepted a plea deal, but didn't explain why she created an elaborate kidnapping hoax, although she apologized for her actions. Since her arrest, Papini's husband has started divorce proceedings.

Joining Nancy Grace Today:

Sheriff Michael Johnson - Shasta County Sheriff's Office
Matthew Mangino - Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County), Former Parole Board Member, Author: "The Executioner's Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States"
Dr. Angela Arnold - Psychiatrist, www.angelaarnoldmd.com, Expert in the Treatment of Pregnant/Postpartum Women, Former Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynecology: Emory University, Former Medical Director of The Psychiatric Ob-Gyn Clinic at Grady Memorial Hospital
Bill Garcia - Private Investigator, "Bill Garcia Investigative Services", Part of Search Team for Sherri Papini
Kristy Mazurek - Emmy Award-winning Investigative Reporter, President: "Successful Strategies"

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Crime stories with Nancy Grace.
0:14.0	For those of you that have a family at home when you walk in the door and nobody's in
0:20.0	the kitchen, nobody's in the den, nobody's in the bedrooms, nobody's in the front yard,
0:25.6	the back yard, the back porch, nothing. And suddenly, you know something is very, very
0:33.4	wrong? That's exactly what happened to Keith Papini when he walked in the front door.
0:41.3	Listen.
0:42.3	Hello, can I help you?
0:57.2	Hi, Ladies and Gentlemen.
1:19.4	like hair ripped out of it like in the headphones. So I'm like totally freaking out thinking like somebody like what's your
1:25.0	Grabber.
1:25.8	Thank you.
1:26.3	Someone grabbed her now take a listen to our cut one from Channel seven K R C R.
1:35.2	Keith Papini came home last Wednesday and his wife Sherry Papini was nowhere to be found.
1:40.5	And normal days that I would open the door and my
1:43.4	family comes and runs and gives me a hug. But there were no welcoming hugs. So he searched in the house and their property,
1:51.0	but learned that children were still at daycare. He found Sherry's phone down the street.
1:56.3	That's when I knew she had been in my opinion taken or abducted.
2:00.0	Now days later family, friends, the community and law enforcement are still looking for Sherry.
2:06.3	It's the worst thing in the world. It's the worst thing ever.
2:09.5	Time going by slowly and their children don't know their mother is missing.
2:14.4	It's hard waiting. You know, you're waiting. You're waiting for a phone call. You're waiting for something to tell us, you know,
2:19.7	this is the direction or this is the house or this is the car and that is
	...

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