New Sherri Papini documentary will showcase infamous kidnapping hoax 'in her own words'

After being arrested in 2022 for an apparent kidnapping hoax, Sherri Papini will now tell her side of the story during a multi-part documentary airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) channel.

Papini disappeared on Nov. 2, 2016, while running in her Mountain Gate, California neighborhood. Following an exhaustive three-week search by authorities and Papini's family, the then-34-year-old was found on the side of a Yolo County, California road, bruised, chained up and with a brand on her right shoulder.

Once found, Papini told police that she was kidnapped at gunpoint by two Hispanic women and held against her will. Investigators determined Papini's claims were fabricated, and authorities believed she was staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa, California, and harmed herself to make her fake kidnapping look real.

Papini was arrested on March 3, 2022, and charged with making false statements to federal authorities and 34 counts of mail fraud. In September 2022, Papini signed a plea deal and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to a federal officer.

Now a free woman following her October 2023 release, Papini will share "her story" through exclusive interviews during the docuseries, according to the ID channel's news release.

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“Sherri Papini drew worldwide attention when she went missing and then again, when she returned. While many perspectives have been told, there is one point of view that the world hasn’t heard and that is from Sherri herself. Investigation Discovery will present a new side of Sherri Papini’s case - told by her in her own words,” Jason Sarlanis, President of ID, said in the release.

When will Sherri Papini's docuseries release?

Production is underway for the Papini's docuseries and is scheduled to premiere on ID sometime in 2025, according to the release.

The Hulu docuseries "Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini", released in June, also delves into the kidnapping hoax.

Why did Sherri Papini lie to authorities?

While the docuseries should shed some light on why Papini lied about the kidnapping, authorities said in 2022 that she did apply to the California Victim's Compensation Board for victim assistance money. From 2017 to 2021, Papini collected about 35 payments totaling over $30,000.

"Not only did Papini lie to law enforcement, her friends, and her family, she also made false statements to the California Victim Compensation Board and the Social Security Administration in order to receive benefits as a result of her alleged “post-traumatic stress” from being abducted," a Justice Department release said.

Despite an FBI special agent and a detective with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office telling Papini on Aug. 13, 2020, that it was a crime to lie to federal agents, she continued to claim she was kidnapped, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Papini was even told by the agent and detective that they had DNA and telephone evidence showing that she was with her former boyfriend, but she continued to lie.

What were Sherri Papini's consequences for lying?

In addition to Papini being sentenced to prison, she was ordered to pay $309,902 in restitution for losses incurred by the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and the FBI.

“I feel there's absolutely zero remorse for what she has done,” Keith Papini, Sherri Papini's husband, told USA TODAY in June. “I don't even think she understands how big of a lie – and I've used the term ripple effect – that she has caused throughout so many lives. I don't think she cares, personally.”

Keith Papini has full custody of the couple's children and said he and Sherri Papini no longer speak. The two only see each other for court appearances. 

What else will be featured in the docuseries?

The docuseries will also feature "unprecedented access to archival footage, legal documents, and court filings as well as extensive interviews with those close to Papini and the investigation," according to ID's release.

The additional content will offer "new insights and potential answers to the questions that still swirl around this case nearly a decade later," the network said.

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