Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this article:
- Sherri Papini served 11 months in prison after pleading guilty to fabricating her 2016 kidnapping.
- The California woman has been rebuilding her life and her relationships with her children.
- In a new docuseries, she walks back statements of guilt and says her abduction really did happen.
Three years after admitting her alleged kidnapping was a hoax, Sherri Papini is now claiming it wasn’t a hoax at all.
The Redding, California, mother—who went missing in 2016 and reappeared three weeks later, falsely telling authorities she had been abducted and tortured—is speaking publicly for the first time since her prison release in Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie. The four-part docuseries debuted Monday on Investigation Discovery, with two more episodes airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The series will also stream on Max.
The disappearance of Papini, now 42, made national headlines and set off an FBI-assisted search for her alleged kidnappers. However, investigators eventually caught on to inconsistencies in her testimony and arrested her in 2022.
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, Papini pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements. According to authorities, she lied about her abduction and was actually staying with an ex-boyfriend at the time. In September 2022, Papini was sentenced to 18 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and ordered to pay $309,902 in restitution.
Now free, Papini alleges in the new documentary project she actually was abducted. Here’s what to know about her life after prison and what led her to this new claim.
Papini lived in a halfway house after her release
In August 2023, Papini was released early from a satellite camp of the Federal Correctional Institution Victorville Medium I in Victorville, California. She served only 11 months of her sentence.
According to court records, she was placed in community confinement and released from a halfway house in Sacramento County on September 29, 2023. She is on supervised release until 2026.
As of November 2024, a large portion of Papini’s restitution is still outstanding. Of the $148,866 she owes to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, Papini only returned $1,003, an administrator told the Record Searchlight. It’s unclear how much of her other payments owed—to the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, and the FBI—have been returned.
She is divorced and rarely sees her children
On April 20, 2022, just days after Papini submitted her plea agreement, her husband filed for divorce. Sherri and Keith Papini had been married since 2009 and had a son and a daughter. Keith also requested emergency custody of the kids: Tyler, then 9, and Violet, 7.
“I am asking that the court help me protect my children from the negative impact of their mother’s notoriety,” Keith said at the time.
Their marriage was dissolved in May 2023, and Keith was granted full custody of their children. Sherri is allowed monthly one-hour visits with her kids, which are supervised by a judge-appointed agency.
Keith told People he doesn’t speak to Sherri outside of court or mediation. He opened up to the public about his ex-wife in the 2024 Hulu documentary Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini,
Papini has been writing books
According to the Record Searchlight, court notes from a professional monitor showed that Sherri plans to write two books. During a supervised visit in January 2024, Sherri told her daughter she’s “making a business that will be a foundation to help people.”
“Mommy is 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 added.
Today, she says her ex-boyfriend abducted her
The new ID docuseries includes interviews with Sherri and her parents, Richard and Loretta Graeff. In Caught in the Lie, Sherri now accuses her ex-boyfriend James Reyes, who previously denied any wrongdoing in the case, of abducting her after she intended to end their long-distance affair, which she hid from her then-husband Keith. “The injuries that occurred... the bites on my thigh, the footprint on my back, the brand, the melting of my skin—I am telling you there was no consent,” she said, according to People.
Another piece of information Sherri reveals is that she was sexually abused “really early on in childhood” by someone other than her parents. She says the experience helped mold her personality. “It really led to this shaping of, OK, if I can just please this person and if I can placate or make them calm down or make them be OK, I’ll get hurt less,” she said, according to US Weekly.
Her mother, Loretta, seemingly corroborates this story, acknowledging there was “inappropriate sexual behavior that I really don’t want to get into.”
For even more details, the first two episodes of the docuseries are now streaming on Max. The final two parts air Tuesday, May 27, on Investigation Discovery starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
