Sherri Papini, the California woman who was convicted of faking her kidnapping in 2022, now claims she actually was abducted — this time saying her ex-boyfriend was the culprit.
Papini, 43 — who lied to the FBI in 2016 by claiming two Hispanic women had held her captive for three weeks — said she was in fact kidnapped during that time period by her former boyfriend James Reyes.
Papini said she never told police the truth about her disappearance because she was afraid of Reyes and also scared of her then-husband.
“I’m not actually asking anyone to believe anything,” Papini told ABC News in a tearful interview to promote her new self-published memoir, “Sherri Papini Doesn’t Exist.”
“I just am free now, and I have the capacity to speak for myself without being afraid and without having to lie and not being as fearful as I have been before.”
Her mysterious disappearance in the Northern California town of Redding launched a dramatic, 22-day manhunt in November 2016 — only for authorities to discover her “abduction” was a hoax she staged with help from Reyes.
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Papini told cops she was kidnapped at gunpoint while jogging near her home by two hispanic women who tossed her in an SUV then chained, beat and branded her.
She was ultimately found on Thanksgiving day on a highway about 150 miles away from Redding with burns, bruises and a Bible verse branded on her shoulder — injuries Reyes told police were largely self-inflicted.
During their investigation, the feds found that Papini was secretly staying with Reyes while her husband, two children and officials desperately searched for her.
In her new book, however, she claims she was held against her will and abused by Reyes, which he denies. Authorities have said Papini manipulated Reyes into helping her with the kidnapping hoax.
She also writes that she was in an emotionally abusive and controlling marriage to her then-husband, Keith Papini, allegations he has denied.
“To be clear, there was one thing that I lied about,” Papini told ABC. “Everything else was accurate and true. I lied about the identity of my captor.”
“It’s time to tell the truth. I’ve done it. I’ve suffered for it. You watched me burn for it, go to prison, and lose custody of my children and ruin my entire life,” she said. “And it’s time to come forward and tell the truth to everyone.”
Papini pleaded guilty in April 2022 to lying to the FBI about the fake kidnapping and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. She ultimately served 10 months behind bars.
