Video shows Sherri Papini breaking down in 2020 interrogation over kidnapping hoax
Sherri Papini is seen breaking down in tears during a 2020 interrogation by Shasta County Sheriff’s Office detectives, new video released Tuesday shows.
The Shasta County mother of two was sentenced Monday to 18 months in federal prison for faking her own kidnapping, which led to a three-week, multi-state search before she resurfaced on Thanksgiving Day in 2016.
The sentencing ended a six-year drama that began Nov. 2, 2016, near the Papini family’s Redding-area home, where Papini was reported missing after going for an afternoon run. National media and tabloids flocked to the tale, dubbing her a “super mom” and splashing photos of her onto their front pages.
The August 2020 interview shows her breaking down in tears as she is questioned by investigators, accompanied by her husband.
Sherri Papini, 40, pleaded guilty last spring to staging the abduction and lying to the FBI about it. As part her plea deal, she is required to pay more than $300,000 in restitution.
Probation officers and Papini’s attorney had recommended that she spend a month in custody and seven months in supervised home detention. Prosecutors wanted her to serve eight months in prison.
But Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb said he chose an 18-month sentence in order to deter copycats in the future.
The judge said he considered the seriousness of the offense and “the sheer number of people who were impacted.” 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.
The new video shows Papini, her husband and detectives talking in an interrogation room:
Keith Papini: “You need to stop what you’re doing right now and tell me the truth.”
Sherri Papini: “I don’t want them to find her, I don’t want them to find her.”
Later, in another clip inside the Interrogation room:
Detective: “It’s not an abduction, she asked me to come and get her, I rented a car, I drove up and picked her up. He passed the polygraph test Sherri. If that’s not what happened then what did happen Sherri?”
Sherri Papini: “I don’t know. No, there’s no way it’s James, there’s no way.”
Detective: “The DNA doesn’t lie. His DNA was on you.”
Sherri Papini: “There’s no way.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 10:54 AM.
