Northern California detectives to discuss Sherri Papini case on 2-hour ‘Dateline NBC’ episode
Shasta County sheriff’s detectives will appear in Friday’s two-hour episode of “Dateline NBC” to reveal details about the investigation of Sherri Papini, who made up her 2016 “kidnapping” from Redding and pleaded guilty this week in federal court in Sacramento.
Sheriff’s Detectives Kyle Wallace and Brian Jackson “who cracked the case” will discuss the investigation into Pappini’s false claims she was kidnapped when she emerged more than three weeks after her disappearance, according to the show’s producers. The new episode of “Dateline NBC” will air at 9 p.m. on NBC.
The episode also features interviews with Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson and Trudy Nickens, founder of Nor-Cal Alliance For The Missing.
Papini, a 39-year-old mother from Redding, pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements and admitted she made up the kidnap story that riveted the nation five years ago.
“I’m sorry, your honor,” Papini told Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on Monday. “I’m sad. I feel very sad, your honor. I feel very sad.”
Papini was arrested and charged with 34 counts of mail fraud and one count of lying to the FBI. She agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Her attorney, Sacramento defense lawyer William J. Portanova, is expected to argue for a minimum prison sentence for his client. Prosecutors are expected to recommend to the judge a sentence of eight months.
The mail fraud charge stems from her use of more than $30,000 she received from the California Victim Compensation Board, which she spent on therapy sessions, ambulance services and $1,000 to buy window blinds for her home, court documents say. The judge said she may be ordered to pay restitution, including $127,000 in Social Security benefits she falsely claimed, $148,000 to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office and $2,500 to the FBI.
Officials now say an ex-boyfriend helped her leave her Redding-area home and hide out 600 miles south in his Costa Mesa apartment for three weeks as Papini’s husband and friends raised frantic alarms about her disappearance and the supposed kidnapping became worldwide news.
Papini reappeared on Thanksgiving morning near Woodland, with a chain around her waist and one arm.
“She repeatedly told law enforcement that she had been kidnapped by two Hispanic women and she told them she had been abducted at gunpoint,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Veronica Alegria told the judge.
Papini described the women to an FBI sketch artist and told agents the younger woman let her go while the older one was abusive and mean to her.
FBI agents and Shasta County sheriff’s investigators continued to probe the case and in 2020 matched DNA found on Papini’s clothing when she reappeared to that of the ex-boyfriend, who told investigators he had helped her disappear, court records say.
Papini, who is scheduled to be sentenced July 11, could face up to 20 years in prison on the mail fraud count and five years for lying.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 8:48 AM.
