Sam Amico
It’s one thing to kidnap somebody; it’s quite another to do it to yourself.
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Either way, you stand a good chance to end up in prison.
One California woman found that out the hard way, after being sentenced to 18 months behind bars. The crime? You guessed it. She faked her own kidnapping, apparently for attention.
Sherri Papini, 40, created a major stir in 2016, right around Thanksgiving, for going missing. Her husband went on multiple shows and Papini was all over the news as a “missing person.”
Once it came to light that the whole thing might be a hoax, Papini’s husband took great offense.
Sherri Papini Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison
“I am so sorry to the many people who have suffered because of me,” Papini said in a statement to the judge who sentenced her. “The people who sacrificed for the broken woman I was. The people who gave willingly to help me in a time that I so desperately needed help. I thank you all.”
Sherri Papini was originally reported missing in November 2016, as she never returned from a jog. Three weeks later, she was found injured and alone alongside an interstate about 140 miles from where her job began.
She told police that she had been abducted and tortured by two Spanish-speaking women, who supposedly chained her in a closet and branded her with a heated tool.
None of it actually happened, detectives later figured out.
As CNN reported, “The accusations led authorities to carry out an extensive search for the supposed Hispanic captors that came up empty for several years. She also received more than $30,000 from the state in victim compensation funds.”
Husband Keith Papini has since filed for divorce and is seeking custody of their two children, citing “the negative impact of their mother’s notoriety.”
He can probably throw in the fact that for the next 18 months, their mom won’t even be around.
