A Northern California woman pleaded guilty on Monday to falsifying her own abduction and lied to the FBI about it, leaving her motive unanswered in a carefully planned scam that launched a three-week search before reappearing on Thanksgiving in 2016
Sherry Papini, 39, of Reading, gave no explanation for her complex fraud during the half-hour trial, answering only “Yes, Your Honor” and “No, Your Honor” in a trembling voice as U.S. Senior District Judge William Schubb. the evidence against her.
“I feel very sad,” she said with tears when Schub asked her how she was feeling.
Papini agreed to plead guilty to an agreement reached with prosecutors last week and is scheduled to be convicted on July 11th.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of the lowest sentence, which is estimated at between eight and 14 months in prison, compared to a maximum of 25 years for both charges.
She also agreed to pay more than $ 300,000 in restitution. This includes the cost of her search, which spanned several western states, and the subsequent investigation into “two Spanish-speaking women” who she said abducted her at gunpoint.
Papini was actually staying with an ex-boyfriend for nearly 600 miles in Orange County, Southern California. Three weeks later, he left her on Highway 5, almost 150 miles from her home.
She had ligaments and self-inflicted injuries, including a swollen nose and a blurred “mark” on her right shoulder. He had other bruises and rashes on many parts of his body, traces of ligatures on his wrists and ankles, and burns on his left forearm.
The married mother of two continued to lie about it back in August 2020, when there was in fact no kidnapping, she pleaded guilty.
Papini did not offer a justification for doing so.
Her lawyer, William Portanova, said last week that she doubted even she knew.
He suggested “a very complicated mental health situation” and said that her long-delayed acceptance of responsibility and punishment was part of the healing process.
Papini said Monday that she has received psychiatric care for anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder since her return – a treatment worth more than $ 30,000, for which she charged a state victim compensation fund and which is now part of her restitution.
“It is a mistake to assume that mental illness is the cause of unusual behavior,” said Dr. Ian Lamour, a forensic psychiatrist and honorary expert witness who teaches at the University of Arizona Medical College and the Mayo Clinic.
There may be a rational, albeit mysterious, explanation, Lamurio said, although he warned that he had not investigated Papini and many factors in the case remained unknown to the public.
Prosecutors say her fake abduction was not impulsive and that she had planned it for more than a year without her husband knowing. The ex-boyfriend told investigators that they did not have sex while she was with him.
Papini’s organization and planning seem to make conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression an unlikely explanation, said Lamurio, who specializes in complex criminal and civil cases.
Maybe she expected the kidnapping scam to bring her “fame and fortune,” he said.
And she benefits financially: in addition to the victim’s compensation, she has to pay almost $ 128,000 for disability. Separately, the GoFundMe campaign raised more than $ 49,000 to help the family.
As a likely related factor, Lamoureux studied the false hero or the phenomenon of the “pathological hero”, which takes advantage of society’s attitude towards victims as heroes. Those who simulate their own victimization may seek recognition or popularity, and if they have a mental illness, this may suggest a narcissistic or irrational personality disorder.
Another possible explanation is that she falsified her abduction to avoid other adverse consequences, he said, usually something like a divorce or dismissal, even though Papini was a mother who stayed at home.
Lamoureux said creating a crisis could be a way for those with fragile egos and poor coping skills to strive to prevent a bad outcome.
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