Sherri Papini slammed by cop for stoking fear in town with ‘kidnapping charade’ & blasts she’s now ‘made her bed’
A STAY-at-home mom accused of staging a 22-day kidnapping has been slammed by police over the "selfish charade" who say they're "happy" she's now behind bars.
Sherri Papini, 39, has been charged with lying to federal investigators about being kidnapped in 2016 and fraudulently obtaining $30,000 from the state's victim compensation board.
The mom-of-two vanished while out jogging in Redding, California on November 2, 2016, but mysteriously reappeared 22 days later on Thanksgiving Day, claiming to have been abducted and held captive by two gun-wielding Hispanic women.
No arrests were ever made in the case with police struggling to identify a motive for the seemingly random crime.
After a six-year investigation, Papini was arrested on Thursday with prosecutors alleging she had made the entire ordeal up and was actually staying with an ex-boyfriend at the time she was believed missing.
'SELFISH ACTS'
In an interview with The Sun, Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson blasted Papini for wasting the more than half a decade of police time and resources that were spent investigating her "bogus claims."
Johnson also called Papini "selfish" and "callous" for sowing needless fear in the local community, adding that he has "zero sympathy" for her in the wake of her arrest.
"Shasta County is a pretty tight-knit community and a safe community, so when Sherri reported this abduction - or should I say charade - it really caused a lot of anxiety," Johnson said.
"People were afraid to go out for jogs or to be out in public alone.
"They thought we had abductors and sex traffickers lurking around here at a profound rate."
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As the case gained national attention, Johnson said his department also came under increasing scrutiny for how its officers were handling the case.
"It's okay to be questioned and second-guessed at times if the case is legitimate," he said, "but when we come to find out it was all a charade it's really frustrating for us."
Johnson continued: "So I've got to tell you, from the point of when she is now having been charged, we're really happy that a person who wasted so much money and resources, and who through her selfish acts created so much hysteria in our community, is now being held accountable for what she's done."
'ZERO SYMPATHY'
Johnson said investigators were suspicious for some time that Papini's story may have been fabricated, but still they had to work for months on end to chase every lead and carry out their due diligence to "get their facts straight."
Following her arrest on Thursday, Johnson said: "I have zero sympathy for Sherri Papini. I do, however, have compassion for her husband, the kids and her other family members that were duped and unknowingly victimized by what she was doing.
"So as far as the family goes, I can certainly appreciate it and my heart goes out to them.
"But as far as Sherri Papini goes, I have I have no sympathy for her," Johnson added.
"She made her own bed. She created this whole situation, and now she has to answer for it."
FAMILY 'APPALLED' BY COPS
In an earlier statement to The Sun, Papini's family said they were "appalled" at authorities for arresting the 39-year-old in front of her two children.
"We love Sherri and are appalled by the way in which law enforcement ambushed her this afternoon in a dramatic and unnecessary manner in front of her children," the statement began.
"If requested, Sherri would have fully complied and come to the police station, as she has done multiple times before, where this could have been handled in a more appropriate way."
The family also hit out at police for allegedly attempting to "pit" Papini and her husband Keith against one another during their investigation.
They claim such efforts include making "empty threats to publicly embarrass them and other conduct that was less than professional."
"We are confused by several aspects of the charges and hope to get clarification in the coming days," they added.
When asked about the family's claims, Johnson said Papini was arrested by the FBI and he was unsure of the nature in which she was taken into custody.
The FBI has not yet returned a request for comment on the matter.
UNCORROBORATED STORY
Skepticism has long surrounded Papini's abduction claims, despite her detailed account to authorities about what happened.
Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016, leaving family members fearful she'd been abducted while out on a jog.
Hours before she vanished, Papini sent a message to her husband Keith asking if he would be home for lunch, but he said that he wouldn't be.
She then failed to pick up her kids from a daycare center and was reported missing later that afternoon.
Keith told Good Morning America at the time: "Everybody who knows my wife knows that there's no reason for her to leave ... She was definitely taken against her will."
A motorist then found Papini on November 24 in rural Yolo County, around 150 miles from her Redding home.
She was emaciated and bound at the waist by a chain, which was tethered to her left wrist with a zip tie. Hose clamps were fixed to her ankles in what the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office later described as “pain compliance restraints.”
Papini was also covered in bruises, had her long blond hair shaved off, a "brand" on her right shoulder, and had suffered a broken nose.
'ATTENTION HUNGRY WOMAN'
But in a statement on Thursday, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California Phillip A. Talbert said the almost six-year investigation into the case has revealed that Papini fabricated the entire story, even going as farm to harm herself to substantiate her claims.
Investigators said they were able to determine that Papini was with an ex-boyfriend - who hasn't been named - who was in on the ruse from the beginning.
The bogus kidnapping was reportedly plotted on pre-paid cell phones, an affidavit released by Talebert's office this week claims.
Described in the report as an "attention-hungry woman" who had numerous affairs, Papini ask her former lover to picker her up and then spent the next few weeks at his apartment, the ex-boyfriend confessed to cops.
The ex-boyfriend also allegedly told police how he hired a rental car to drive her back to her family's neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day, 2016.
"When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern," Talbert said.
"Shasta County Sheriff's Office immediately began investigating, calling on the assistance of the FBI. Countless hours were spent following leads, all in an effort to bring this woman back to her family.
Talbert added: "Three weeks later, she was found 146 miles south of where she disappeared, and the focus went from trying to find her to trying to find her abductors.
"Ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted based on the defendant's conduct."
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Papini is currently facing mail fraud charges and could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in jail.
She also faces up to five years in prison after being accused of lying to investigators.
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