FAMILY members of a California mother accused of faking a 22-day kidnapping have hit out at police for “ambushing” her in front of her children when she was arrested on Thursday.
Sherri Papini, 39, has been charged with lying to federal investigators about being kidnapped in 2016 and fraudulently obtaining $30,000 from the state’s victim compensation board.
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The mom-of-two vanished while out jogging on November 2, 2016, sparking a widespread search involving multiple police departments and the FBI.
She was found alive 22 days later on Thanksgiving Day by motorists at the side of a road around 150 miles from her home in Redding.
Emaciated and bound, Papini claimed to investigators that she’d been abducted at gunpoint by two Hispanic women, even providing descriptions of the pair to the FBI for a composite sketch.
No arrests were ever made in the case, with authorities struggling to identify a motive for the kidnapping.
Police now alleged Papini made up the entire ordeal, with DNA evidence suggesting she’d actually been staying with an ex-boyfriend for the 22 days she was believed to be missing.
The ex-boyfriend reportedly admitted to the hoax and Papini was taken into custody on Thursday.
‘DRAMATIC’ ARREST
In a statement to The Sun, Papini’s family slammed authorities for arresting her in front of her two children.
“We love Sherri and are appalled by the way in which law enforcement ambushed her this afternoon in a dramatic and unnecessary manner in front of her children,” the statement began.
“If requested, Sherri would have fully complied and come to the police station, as she has done multiple times before, where this could have been handled in a more appropriate way.”
The family also hit out at police for allegedly attempting to “pit” Papini and her husband Keith against one another during their investigation.
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They claim such efforts include making “empty threats to publicly embarrass them and other conduct that was less than professional.”
“We are confused by several aspects of the charges and hope to get clarification in the coming days,” they added.
When reached by The Sun by phone, Papini’s sister Sheila Koester declined to elaborate on the statement further but added more information will be shared by the family in the near future.
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office has not yet returned a request for comment on the claims made by Papini’s family.
UNCORROBORATED CLAIMS
Skepticism has long surrounded Papini’s abduction claims, despite her detailed account to authorities about what happened.
Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016, leaving family members fearful she’d been abducted while out on a jog.
Hours before she vanished, Papini sent a message to her husband Keith asking if he would be home for lunch, but he said that he wouldn’t be.
She then failed to pick up her kids from a daycare center and was reported missing later that afternoon.
Keith told Good Morning America at the time: “Everybody who knows my wife knows that there’s no reason for her to leave … She was definitely taken against her will.”
A motorist then found Papini on November 24 in rural Yolo County, around 150 miles from her Redding home.
She was emaciated and bound at the waist by a chain, which was tethered to her left wrist with a zip tie. Hose clamps were fixed to her ankles in what the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office later described as “pain compliance restraints.”
Papini was also covered in bruises, had her long blond hair shaved off, a “brand” on her right shoulder, and had suffered a broken nose.
‘MADE UP RUSE’
But in a statement on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip A. Talbert said the almost six-year investigation into the case has revealed that Papini fabricated the entire story, even going as farm to harm herself to substantiate her claims.
Investigators said they were able to determine that Papini was with an ex-boyfriend – who hasn’t been named – who was in on the ruse from the beginning.
The bogus kidnapping was reportedly plotted on pre-paid cell phones, an affidavit released by Talebert’s office this week claims.
Described in the report as an “attention-hungry woman” who had numerous affairs, Papini ask her former lover to picker her up and then spent the next few weeks at his apartment, the ex-boyfriend confessed to cops.
The ex-boyfriend also allegedly told police how he hired a rental car to drive her back to her family’s neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day, 2016.
“When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern,” Talbert said.
“Shasta County Sheriff’s Office immediately began investigating, calling on the assistance of the FBI. Countless hours were spent following leads, all in an effort to bring this woman back to her family.
Talbert added: “Three weeks later, she was found 146 miles south of where she disappeared, and the focus went from trying to find her to trying to find her abductors.
“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 based on the defendant’s conduct.”
Papini is currently facing mail fraud charges and could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in jail.
She also faces up to five years in prison after being accused of lying to investigators.
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