This time I will present the unique case of the kidnapping of Sherri Papini. For how many stories do you know when the kidnappers were only women? Equally rare are the cases of torturers who released their victims for no reason. The mere kidnapping didn't seem to make much sense either. The end of this story seems to be obvious for some people, for others it is completely surprising. What turns out for you?
Sherri Louise Graeff was born on June 11, 1982, in Redding (California, USA). Her parents are Rich and Loretta Graeff. The woman has a sister, Sheila Koester. Sherri's first husband was David Dreyfus, from whom she divorced in 2007. In October 2009, the woman got married for the second time. Her chosen one was Keith Papini. The couple had two children: son Tyler and daughter Violet. In addition, relatively little is known about a woman's life.
The whole story began on November 2, 2016. That day, Keith Papini returned from work that afternoon. The man was employed by Best Buy. Upon his return, he became concerned because his wife was not at home. This was quite unusual for her, as usually, Sherri waited for her husband to return. The man soon became sure that something bad must have happened. It turned out that the wife did not collect their children from the babysitter.
Keith decided to act. He used the Find My iPhone application to locate Sherri's phone. The man found his wife's cell phone and headphones about 1.5 km from their home. It was as if the woman had gone for a run. Keith Papini thought someone had kidnapped Sherri while jogging, so he reported the matter to the police
Investigators started the proceedings fairly standard. They decided to check whether her husband was in some way related to the disappearance of the woman. Keith Papini, however, was cooperative. He even volunteered for a polygraph test. The polygraph test was therefore carried out. The man passed this test successfully. However, the detectives did not finally remove him from the list of potential suspects.
The investigative work was quite intense. 12 search warrants were issued in Michigan alone. It was so strange that the woman was missing in California. Investigators did not reveal why they extended the search circle to other states. In such situations, the FBI gets involved. Therefore, the special agencies provided support to the local police.
The case took a completely different turn on Thanksgiving, which fell on November 24, 2016. Sherri was found around 4:30 am that day on the side of County Road 17 near Interstate 5 in Yolo County. It was about 240 km south of where the woman was missing. Everyone concluded that after three weeks the woman was released by the kidnappers. Papini was still tied up. In addition, she was bruised, skinny, and her hair was cut short.
During the interrogations, Sherri said she had been held by two Latin American women. The kidnappers spoke Spanish to each other and wore masks. Sometimes they also covered Papini's eyes so that she would not remember their facial features. Based on the account of the abductee, memory portraits of the women were prepared.
During her imprisonment, a mysterious mark was left on the woman's right shoulder. To Sherri, it looked like a verse from the Book of Exodus. The woman, however, was unable to explain this hypothesis. It is also unclear what this form of disfiguring the victim would mean. The kidnapped 34-year-old claimed that the windows of the house where she was held were boarded up. The kidnappers were also supposed to play loud music. The younger woman was nicer and released Papini. The older one was supposed to be aggressive, and malicious and it was she who caused most of the injuries. Unfortunately, all this information did not help the detectives in particular.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko, however, was zealously investigating. Authorities were looking for a dark SUV that two Hispanic armed women were to drive. Detectives drafted nearly 20 search warrants. They also informed the public that they are investigating telephone records, bank accounts, email, and social media profiles.
Female DNA was found on Papini's things. But it wasn't hers. Strangely enough, male genetic material was also discovered. It wasn't Keith's DNA. It was interesting because Sherri did not mention any male perpetrators. The FBI ran the samples against the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). However, experts did not find the person to whom the genetic material belonged.
In March 2022, it was announced who owned the DNA found on Papini's clothes. It turned out that this person was the… ex-boyfriend of the allegedly kidnapped woman, James Reyes. The man confirmed that Sherri had been staying at his home in Costa Mesa, California for three weeks. At that time, the women were searched for by the police, the FBI, and loved ones. It became clear that Papini had made up the story of her abduction. To make her side of the story credible, she cut her hair and starved herself. It is said that she herself caused the bruises and cuts.
Reyes claimed that he decided to help Papini. The woman confided in him that she was beaten and raped by her husband. She decided to run away from the torturer, which she had been planning for some time. Eventually, however, Sherri began to miss the children and decided to come back.
On March 3, 2022, Sherri Papini was arrested by the FBI. She was accused of giving false testimony and faking a kidnapping. The woman upheld her story while questioned by an FBI agent and a local detective. These untrue statements were made in August 2020. Importantly, Papini was informed that lying to federal agents was a serious crime.
It's also worth noting that from 2017-to 2021, Papini received over $30,000 from the California Victim's Compensation Board. In retrospect, we know that these funds have reached her account undeservedly. The woman was not a victim of any crime.
On March 9, 2022, Papini was released from custody pending trial. However, she had to pay a deposit of 120,000. dollars and return the passport. Neither she nor her attorney commented on the charges against her. Papini faced up to 25 years in prison on the charges. The case attracted a lot of media attention. National law enforcement experts were amazed at the improbable details and inconsistencies in the reported abduction.
Finally, six weeks after her arrest, Papini signed a plea in which she pleaded guilty to orchestrating fraud. She did not go to jail, but she has to pay enormous compensation. The authorities spent around $ 150,000 on the investigation. Investigators also lost hundreds of hours that could have been spent on clarifying some real criminal cases.
The day Sherri was arrested, the woman's husband announced that their relationship was over. In April 2022, Keith filed for divorce. He also applied for sole custody of the children. The man argued that Papini suffers from mental problems and is unable to properly care for their son and daughter. It was only a few days after Sherri pleaded guilty. Thus, in addition to the financial losses, Sherri suffered another, perhaps even more severe, punishment.
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