California mother’s kidnapping drama still haunts ex-husband

Sherri Papini’s ex-husband is still questioning why the mother of two pretended to kidnap him.

“I believe the main thing will be attention,” Keith Papini told Fox Information Virtual. “I think he likes it when people feel for him and see him as a victim at the expense of anyone else. To be honest, I don’t think he’s able to see what he did and “It’s great to be able to see the lives it’s impacted.” He caused so much pain to so many people.”

Keith reflected, “I always think about all the people (who tried to help) during those 22 days (she was missing).” “All those kids who maybe weren’t allowed to ride their bikes anymore, all those women who maybe no longer went jogging… I don’t think they had any understanding of how damaging it was.”

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With seven years of silence following, Keith talks about the high-profile fraud that rocked his Redding, California, family. He appears in a brand new true-crime documentary on Hulu, “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherry Papini.”

A legal professional for Keith, 41, did not immediately respond to Fox Information Virtual’s request for comment.

“I’ve been contacted by a number of different outlets over the years,” Keith said when asked why he was coming forward now.

Keith Papini speaks in the documentary series “Perfect Wife”. (Hulu)

“I feel like I was finally at a place where I could talk about all the pain that Sherri caused our family… I wanted to get the truth out about what really happened.”

Keith said it was looking like a fairy tale before his year turned into a nightmare. He described being immediately impressed by the blue-eyed “hot blonde”. After tying the knot in 2009, he and Sherry welcomed a son and daughter. Future made a picture-perfect impression for the couple.

Sherry and Keith Papini have two children together, Violet, 9, and Tyler, 11. (Hulu)

“I never felt disliked by him,” Keith said. “She wrote songs, she wrote me notes constantly. She would tell me how happy she was with our marriage and that we would never get divorced. She loved me very much, and I would repeat those things over and over to her. ”

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Keith Papini told Fox News Virtual that he never felt “unloved” by Sherri Papini during their marriage. (Hulu)

He shared, “There was no part of me that ever thought she would fake injuries and cheat to the extent that she did.” “I couldn’t have predicted it. But I thought our lives would be happy. We’d have wonderful kids.”

“I was blindsided,” Keith said.

“I was blinded.”

– Keith Papini

The pair’s fortunes began to unravel on November 2, 2016. That night, Keith reports his wife missing, later learning that she was not home and had not picked up their children from daycare. Her handbag and jewelery are left behind.

An intensive search for the missing mother began. It would not happen until November 26 that any driver saw the emaciated Sherry covered with injuries. She lived under restrictions and about 150 miles from her home.

Keith Papini has been consoled by friends and members of the country. (IMAGN/Andreas Fuhrmann-USA TODAY Network)

Sherry told the government that two masked Hispanic girls forced her into an SUV at gunpoint and held her captive.

FBI poster of the suspects in the kidnapping of Sherry Papini. (FBI)

His yellow hair was shoulder-length, and he had a faint “brand” burned on his right shoulder, as stated by the government on the date. There was both male and female DNA on her body and clothes.

A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $49,000 to help the country, which the couple used to pay expenses and alternative expenses, according to court filings.

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A reception was held for Sherry Papini, 22 days after she was discovered. On Thanksgiving morning he was found overwhelmed and in chains. (IMAGN/Andreas Fuhrmann/Document Searchlight-USA TODAY Network)

During the lengthy investigation, Keith eagerly took a lie detector test and passed. He also produced “all my phones and computers, anything the police needed.”

Keith said that at first, he was excited to be reunited with his love. However, later on he started questioning Sherry’s story.

Keith admitted, “There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, but I wanted to support my wife.” “If you can’t trust your wife, who can you trust? I just kept telling myself, ‘I’m going to do everything for my wife.’ I was led to believe that she was happy with us and that she didn’t want a life with anyone else… I just wanted to support her all the time that we were together… I would never know everything of the truth.”

“There were a lot of things that didn’t add up, but I wanted to support my wife.”

– Keith Papini

Sherry Papini was found about 150 miles from her home. (Document Searchlight via IMAGN/Andreas Fuhrmann/USA TODAY Network)

Keith wasn’t the only one to be skeptical.

Sherry provided an FBI cartoon artist with a description of her alleged kidnappers, including a detailed account of her alleged capture. Alternatively, investigators found evidence that might contradict his story. In fact, the government said, Sherry was living with an ex-boyfriend about 600 miles from her home and had perjured herself to support her cheating statements.

Sherry Papini leaves federal court with her attorney William Portanova ahead of her arraignment later on April 13, 2022 in Sacramento, California. (AP Photograph/Lavish Pedroncelli)

“When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, the community was filled with fear and anxiety,” U.S. Attorney Philip Talbert said in a comment on the date. “Ultimately, the investigation revealed that no kidnapping had occurred and time and resources that could have been used to investigate the actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted.”

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“When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, the community was filled with fear and anxiety,” U.S. Attorney Philip Talbert said in a comment on the date. (IMAGN/Nathan Solis-USA TODAY Network)

The DNA found on Sherry eventually ended up in an open petition to the former lover, the court. The former told investigators that Sherry stayed with him at his house throughout the past, even though they never had sex.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko is seen speaking at an information conference about the Sherry Papini case in Redding, California. (Andreas Fuhrmann/The Document via Searchlight AP)

According to a 55-page affidavit filed in court, their account was verified when the government tracked the locations of two prepaid mobile phones they used to secretly talk to each other in early December 2015. Were staying. To back up felony fees. A cousin of the former boyfriend also told investigators that he saw Sherry at the guy’s apartment twice, both times unsupervised.

The information supported the ex-boyfriend’s story that he rented a car and drove Sherry back to Northern California.

Sherry Papini was arrested in 2022. She was charged with making fraudulent statements to federal agents and mail fraud. (Imagination)

In March 2022, Sherry was arrested on charges of making fraudulent statements to federal agents and mail fraud. Shortly afterwards, he officially confessed to his crime and admitted that his kidnapping claims were bogus.

Keith said that at first, they tried to provide protection for their young children from the possibility that Sherry’s kidnappers would come to “finish the job.” However following Sherry’s later confession, he attempted to protect her from constant media scrutiny.

“We were living in fear that someone was following us,” he said. “If the kids were playing outside, and they saw someone, it was almost like they were taught to run inside. A part of me knows that six years of their childhood was almost stolen by Sherry.”

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According to the documentary, Sherri Papini has described Keith Papini as controlling in the past. He said the allegations were “hurtful” and “false”. (hulu)

According to the documentary, Sherry claimed that Keith used to be a controlling partner. He said the allegations were “hurtful” and “false”.

Keith claimed, “…she was saying I was beating her and the police wouldn’t do anything.” “… (when it came to our mutual friends)… it was a completely different story… It was sad to hear those things at the moment because I’m not sleeping, I’m not eating. I’m not living my wife’s life. And to know that she was saying these… untrue things, it’s hurtful… but you can see a pattern here.”

In September 2022, Sherry was sentenced to 18 months in prison for faking her own kidnapping. She was acquitted in early 2023.

Sherry Papini, center, leaves her sentencing hearing at the Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse and Federal Development in downtown Sacramento on Sept. 19, 2022. William B. The Senior U.S. District Court’s verdict on Shubb sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison. In 2016, a drama of her kidnapping was staged. The court decision said it gave him the long sentence to deter others from committing related crimes. (Imagination)

Sherry has never given any rational reason for her habits. His actions stunned sovereign psychological status experts, who said they did not conform to any conventional analysis.

Defense attorney William Portanova attributed this to “something like a terrible storm going on in her mind for a long time”, but said she was now a reformed woman. He noted in pre-sentencing court that Sherry was “pursuing a meaningless fantasy.”

Following her initial arrest, Sherry received an award of over $30,000 for psychiatric care for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He billed the restitution charity to the victim for treatment and was ordered to pay it again as part of his compensation.

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Keith Papini said he will never know the whole truth about what really happened. Nowadays, Sherry Papini still lives in California. Her ex-boyfriend was never charged. (IMAGN/Amber Sandhu-USA TODAY Network)

Keith applied for dissolution and sought custody of their children, with Sherry later accepting responsibility. He claimed he had proven “zero remorse”.

Keith said, “…it wasn’t just some lie that he told that ended up with him getting arrested.” “It was a lie she told every minute of every day… Maybe she wasn’t being fulfilled by being a stay-at-home mom… She never apologized to me or the kids.. .She acts like it never existed.”