Keith Papini, the ex-husband of Sherri Papini, is still questioning why the mother of two staged her own kidnapping. He believes that attention was a core motivation for Sherri, as she enjoyed being seen as a victim at the expense of others. Keith expressed his disbelief at Sherri’s actions and the pain she caused so many people during the hoax. After seven years of silence, Keith is finally speaking out about the incident in a new true-crime docuseries on Hulu called “Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini.” He is determined to share the truth about what really happened and the impact it had on their family.
Keith described his life with Sherri before the hoax as a fairy tale, with a seemingly perfect marriage and two children. He never suspected that Sherri would fake her own kidnapping to the extent that she did. The discovery of Sherri missing on November 2, 2016, triggered an extensive search that ended when she was found nearly 150 miles from home, bound and covered in bruises. Sherri claimed she had been abducted by two masked Hispanic women at gunpoint, but evidence later revealed that she had staged the entire ordeal.
Despite initially supporting Sherri, Keith began to question her story as inconsistencies emerged. He reflected on the pain and confusion caused by the hoax and expressed regret over not knowing the full truth. The revelation that Sherri had been staying with an ex-boyfriend during her disappearance, and had hurt herself to support her false statements, further complicated the situation. Authorities discovered that the kidnapping was a hoax, wasting valuable time and resources that could have been used for real crime investigations. A cousin of Sherri’s former boyfriend testified that he saw Sherri at the man’s apartment twice, both times without restraints. Records confirmed the ex-boyfriend’s account that he drove Sherri back to Northern California.
Sherri was arrested in March 2022 and charged with making false statements to federal agents and mail fraud. She later pleaded guilty to fabricating her kidnapping claims.
Keith initially tried to protect his children from potential kidnappers after Sherri’s disappearance, but later shielded them from media attention following her admission. He felt that Sherri’s actions had stolen precious time from their childhood.
Sherri accused Keith of being a controlling spouse, which he denied. He found her allegations hurtful and untrue, especially as he was tirelessly searching for her safety.
Sherri was sentenced to 18 months in prison for faking her kidnapping, but was released early in 2023. Mental health experts were puzzled by her behavior, which was described as pursuing a nonsensical fantasy.
After her arrest, Sherri received psychiatric care for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, which she billed to the state’s victim compensation fund. Keith filed for divorce and sought custody of their children, claiming Sherri had shown no remorse for her actions.
“Perfect Wife” is now available for streaming, with contributions from the Associated Press.
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