Sherri Papini, the woman charged with faking her own kidnapping in 2016, admitted to the ruse on Tuesday in a plea deal, saying she felt “ashamed” of what she did.
In November of 2016, Papini, then 35, disappeared while jogging in her neighborhood in Redding, California, causing a massive search and gaining worldwide media attention. She was found 22 days later, roughly 150 miles from her home, with sustained injuries, claiming she had been abducted.
However, after years of questioning details about the case, police arrested Papini on March 3, 2022, on suspicion that she lied about the kidnapping and defrauded the victim compensation board for $30,000.
Police arrested Sherri Papini on March 3, 2022, on suspicion that she lied about the kidnapping and defrauded the victim compensation board for $30,000. Above, a handcuffed woman, part of a group of 72 alleged members the “Barrio 18” gang, waits to be registered by the National Civil Police after being arrested on charges of extortion and murder in Guatemala City on May 2, 2016.
Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday morning, Papini signed a plea agreement that states that she will plead guilty to counts of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud.
Papini said in a statement issued through her attorney:
“I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I’ve caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story and those who worked so hard to try to help me. I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.”
“We are taking this case in an entirely new direction,” said her attorney, William Portanova, according to the Sacramento Bee. “Everything that has happened before today stops today.”
Before the plea deal, Papini’s charges could have amounted to up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, according to the DOJ. The plea agreement was delivered to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento, and a hearing will most likely take…