Inside the Shocking Aftermath of Sherri Papini's Kidnapping Hoax

Keith said that he had received a text message from Sherri at 10:37 a.m. on Nov. 2, a Wednesday, asking if he was coming home for lunch. Not having his personal phone at work with him, he didn’t text back until 1:39 p.m.

Returning to an empty house and soon finding out the kids hadn’t been picked up, Keith used a phone-finder app to trace Sherri’s cell—and he found it near the intersection of Old Oregon Trail and Sunrise Drive, about a mile away from their home, along with her earbuds, a few strands of blonde hair tangled amid the wires.

“On normal days, I would open the door and my family comes, runs and give me a hug,” he later told KRCR-TV.

“Unfortunately, there are random, ignorant people on the internet that are casting aspersions on both Sherri and Keith,” self-identified family member Rod Rodriguez III wrote Nov. 8 on the Facebook page Redding Crime 2.0, denying rumors that Keith had “‘lawyered up’” and noting that Sherri’s husband had cooperated fully with the investigation.

“In regard to the hurtful rumors regarding Keith, everyone that actually knows him knows of his and Sherri’s wonderful loving relationship and devotion to their family and knows he had nothing to do with Sherri’s disappearance,” Rodriguez continued, per the LA Times. “That is why everyone of them was out searching last weekend, one notable family rented search helicopters and another couple cut their vacation short and flew home across the Atlantic while another flew down from Idaho.”

Talking to reporters later that day, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said, “We are ecstatic to report that Sherri Papini has been located and has been reunited with her family on this day of Thanksgiving.” 

But, “the investigation is far from over,” he continued. “In fact, it has only begun a new chapter.”

There was “sensitive information” the sheriff wouldn’t disclose yet, but he shared that Sherri “was released by her captor on a rural road near I-5…She was bound with restraints but was able to summon help from a passing motorist.” Authorities were searching for two Hispanic women driving a dark SUV who were said to be armed, he noted, adding, “Detectives will not rest until her captor or captors are identified and brought to justice.”

The public still clamoring for answers a few days later, Bosenko said Nov. 27, “We currently have no reason to disbelieve Sherri Papini’s story. She was assaulted and had injuries which she was treated for.” At least 20 warrants had been issued for cell tower data and surveillance footage from locations in Redding and Yolo County, he shared, and the search was still on for the two armed women.

But patience is a virtue the Internet does not possess.

What did Sherri Papini tell police about being kidnapped?

All according to a 55-page criminal complaint affidavit filed March 3 and obtained by E! News, what Sherri told investigators, in the days after her return and over the ensuing months and years, was this:

Meanwhile, in addition to appearing for requested meetings to look at photo arrays of possible suspects, Keith and Sherri contacted the FBI on multiple occasions between her return and May 7, 2018, to share new details. The last update came from Keith, who told investigators that his wife had recalled during a therapy session that one of her captors tried to pour a sticky substance down her throat and she used her own underwear to wipe her mouth, after which she fell asleep.

According to the March 3 filing, investigators found the DNA of an unknown female from an evidence swab of Sherri’s body and the DNA of an unknown male from tests of her clothes. The profiles were uploaded to the national Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS. In September 2019, Shasta County Sheriff’s detectives requested a familial DNA search from the California Department of Justice.

In March 2020, investigators got a familial hit on the unknown male DNA, identifying a potential relative of the man they were looking for. The person who pinged in the database had two sons, one of whom was the ex-boyfriend in question.

That June, investigators collected items from the ex’s trash outside his Costa Mesa home and they found that DNA from the mouth of an Honest Honey Green Tea bottle was a match to the DNA lifted from Sherri’s clothes.

The man (referred to throughout the court filings as Ex-Boyfriend) co-operated with the investigation and has remained unidentified. He admitted to the FBI during an Aug. 10, 2020 interview that he helped Sherri “run away,” according to the March 3 filing. They were once engaged, the ex explained, and they had a “long history together as friends,” but when she reached out to him, he was quoted, it was “‘out of the blue.’” 

He said Sherri told him Keith had physically and sexually assaulted her and police had refused to help. (Law enforcement had no records of abuse claims against Keith.)  

The fraud charges stemmed from Sherri seeking treatment on the state’s dime, the funds provided by the California Victim Compensation Board. According to a court filing detailing the charges, her application to CalVCB stated the money was needed for “medical and/or dental expenses,” “moving or relocation expenses,” “mental health treatment” and “home security improvements.” A total of $30,614.15 was used to pay for ambulance transportation upon her return, therapy and new window blinds for her home. 

From June 5, 2017, until March 8, 2021, she paid for what prosecutors characterized in court documents as “fraudulent treatment for anxiety and PTSD from her ‘kidnapping.’” 

E! News confirmed April 22 that Keith filed for divorce after 12 years of marriage and was asking for temporary custody of Tyler, 9, and Violet, 7. 

“Now that I have learned the truth as reflected in the plea arrangement” Sherri made, Keith stated in a declaration filed in Shasta County Superior Court and obtained by the Sacramento Bee, “I must act decisively to protect my children from the trauma caused by their mother and bring stability and calm to their lives.” 

He alleged that Sherri hadn’t seen the kids since April 4 and had missed one scheduled visit, and he was asking for future visitation to be “determined by what I believe is in their best interest.” 

Describing how difficult Sherri’s disappearance was on its own, compounded by the “turmoil” of the last five-and-a-half years, he added, “We, both children and I, need time to recover and stabilize.”

Keith concluded, “I wish to make it clear that my goal is to provide a loving, safe, stable environment for Tyler and Violet and I believe the requested orders are consistent with that goal and the best interests of the children.” He didn’t want to say anything about Sherri’s case that “would inflame the situation or attract media attention.”

Ultimately, he stated, “I am asking that the court help me protect my children from the negative impact of their mother’s notoriety.”

What happened to Sherri Papini?

On Sept. 19, Sherri was sentenced to 18 months in prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release.

Online records show that the 40-year-old is serving her term at the medium-security Federal Correctional Institution Victorville.

Surprising only in that it took this long, Lifetime is on the case with Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini starring Jaime King as the unfortunate teller of tales.

King told E! News’ Francesca Amiker that she had read about the case and immediately sensed there were some untapped layers in this story.

“Frankly, it made me mad,” the Hart of Dixie star said. “You could see this woman that’s seemingly beautiful and perfect, and the way that they told her story was basically that she’s this terrible human being that did this horrific thing to her family and the community. And she did make some horrific choices, absolutely.”