A Northern California woman pleaded guilty Monday to faking her own kidnapping and lying to the FBI about it, leaving her motive unanswered in the carefully planned hoax that set off a massive three-week search before she resurfaced on Thanksgiving Day in 2016.
Sherri Papini, 39, of Redding, offered no explanation for her elaborate hoax during the half-hour court hearing, answering only “Yes, Your Honor,” and “No, Your Honor” in a trembling voice as Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb outlined the charges and evidence against her.
“I feel very sad,” she said tearfully when Shubb asked her how she was feeling.
Papini agreed to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors reached last week and is scheduled to be sentenced July 11.
Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence on the low end of the sentencing range, estimated to be between eight and 14 months in custody, down from the maximum 25 years for the two charges.
She also agreed to pay restitution topping $300,000. That includes the cost of the search for her that covered several Western states, and the subsequent investigation into the “two Hispanic women” she said had kidnapped her at gunpoint.