Sherri Papini Revises Kidnapping Claims Amid Prison Sentence

Sherri Papini, who disappeared in 2016 while jogging in Redding, California, initially claimed she was kidnapped by two Hispanic women and held captive with injuries including a brand on her shoulder. This story captivated national attention but unraveled when DNA evidence linked her to ex-boyfriend James Reyes, who admitted she stayed at his apartment and that her injuries were self-inflicted to support the fabricated kidnapping narrative. In 2022, Papini pleaded guilty to faking her abduction and served under a year in prison, also reimbursing over $300,000 in costs related to the search. However, Papini has since revised her account, now asserting in an upcoming Investigation Discovery docuseries that Reyes actually kidnapped, abused, and drugged her, a claim that contradicts her previous admissions and Reyes's own statements that he was helping her run away voluntarily. The polygraph expert involved in the docuseries expressed belief in some of Papini's current claims, though her shifting narratives continue to cause public controversy and division among those close to her. Reyes was never charged, and the case remains a complex and evolving story of alleged deception, abuse, and legal consequences.