California woman admits to faking 2016 kidnapping

The California woman accused of lying about a 2016 kidnapping that sparked a worldwide manhunt admitted Tuesday that her narrative about being abducted was false, saying she was “deeply ashamed” and would spend the rest of her life trying to make peace.

Sherri Papini, 39, apologised to her family, friends, and all those who were hurt by her narrative and those who tried to help her in a statement posted by her lawyer.

“I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done,” she stated.

Papini consented to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of lying to a law enforcement officer, which carry maximum terms of 20 years and five years, respectively.

The Sacramento Bee broke the news.

Papini paid reparations to federal, state, and local entities totaling over $300,000. Indictments would be reduced, prosecutors claimed.

Papini, a Redding mother of two, was found last month, nearly six years after she went missing. On Nov. 24, 2016, three weeks after her disappearance, she was located 146 miles south on Interstate 5.

Last month, federal officials stated she had self-inflicted bruises and a “brand” on her shoulder that she blamed on her kidnappers.

Papini said she was kept against her will by two Hispanic women, prompting an FBI sketch artist to create a likeness and a five-year hunt in California and other places.

“In truth, Papini had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa and had harmed herself to support her false statements,” the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

He said he picked her up in Redding after she informed him she needed to go. He also acknowledged to scorching her shoulder.

The prosecutor’s office claimed Papini lied to investigators in August 2020 when they confronted her with proof of a fake kidnapping.

From 2017 to 2021, she sought $30,000 in victim assistance monies to help pay for therapy sessions and an ambulance ride to the hospital.

Papini was due in court Wednesday, according to documents.

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