From Harrowing Abduction to Infamous Hoax: Timeline of Sherri Papini Case Before Monday's Sentencing

Mar. 15, 2025

Sherri Papini pleaded guilty in April, 2022.Photo: Rich Pedroncelli/instagram

In November 2016, Sherri Papini, a then 34-year-old mother of two, claimed to have been the victim of a violent abduction as she went on her routine morning jog in her Redding, Calif., neighborhood.

She was found 22 days later on Thanksgiving morning walking on the side of a highway outside of Sacramento shackled with restraints and appearing to have been beaten.

Earlier this year, she signed an agreement in which she will pleaded guilty to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud.

On Monday, she will be sentenced for the high-priced scam that cost authorities hundreds of thousands of dollars and an excessive amount of law enforcement manpower.

The timeline below outlines the moments between Papini’s fake abduction, the unraveling of her outrageous story and her subsequent sentencing after pleading guilty to the charges against her.

The Alleged Abduction

Nov. 2, 2016:Papini is believed to have been kidnapped.

Her husband, Keith Papini,reports her missingthat evening, after he comes home to find she isn’t there and had not picked up their kids from daycare.

An extensive search for the missing mom ensues.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told PEOPLE early on in the investigation, “There were no real viable leads.”

Sherri Papini and family.Courtesy Keith Papini

The Immediate Aftermath

“These Hispanic females are armed, considered dangerous and they have a handgun, at least a handgun with them,” Bosenko told reporters during a press conference, at the time.

FBI.

Papini’s family is reportedly ecstatic to be reunited with her just in time for the holidays.

Her sister, Sheila Koester, previously told PEOPLE, “I feel like it was a whole world effort, just with everyone posting on Facebook and the news coverage we got,” Koester said. “It was an amazing Thanksgiving.”

Papini’s Story Unravels

Spring 2017: Investigators discover evidence that would later contradict the idea that Papini was abducted.

According to charging documents released later in the investigation, DNA discovered on Papini’s clothing when she was found didn’t belong to her faux female kidnappers, but rather to the relative of an offender.

The offender’s DNA was found in a databank and it was determined he was related to an ex-boyfriend of Papini.

Aug. 2020:DNA from an iced tea bottleretrieved from the ex-boyfriend’s trash matched the DNA collected from Papini’s clothing.

During an interview with investigators, the former boyfriend admitted he helped Papini “run away” because she claimed her husband abused her.

The pair concocted a scheme and he picked her up from Redding and drove her to his apartment in Costa Mesa, PEOPLE previously reported.

He told detectives that Papini hit and burned herself to create her injuries. She also chopped off her hair.

After 22 days together, Papini told the ex-boyfriend that she missed her kids and wanted to go home. He said he dropped her off on the side of the road where she was later found.

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Papini is Charged and Arrested

March 3, 2022:Papini is arrested and charged with making false statements to a federal agent and mail fraud. She is taken into custody at her children’s piano practice, according to theSacramento Bee. She is later released on $120,000 bail.

Papini Admits the Whole Thing Was a Hoax

April 2022:Papini formally pleads guilty, admitting her kidnapping claims were a hoax.

She pleads guilty to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud.

Sherri and Keith Papini.Courtesy Keith Papini

April 2022:Two days later, herhusband Keith files for divorce.

Papini Will Be Sentenced Monday

Although Papini complained that she is already being punished for what “feels like a life sentence,” prosecutors are seeking to keep her locked up for eight months, citing court documents,FOX News reports, while the defense is hoping for a 30-day stint behind bars.

Along with jail time, she has been ordered to paymore than $300,000 in restitutionto multiple government agencies.

source: people.com