Sherri Papini is set to speak out for the first time about her 2016 kidnapping case and its viral aftermath.
Papini will share her story in a new Investigation Discovery series set to premiere in 2025. “Sherri Papini drew worldwide attention when she went missing and then again, when she returned,” Jason Sarlanis, president of ID, said of the show in a July 2024 statement. “While many perspectives have been told, there is one point of view that the world hasn’t heard and that is from Sherri herself. Investigation Discovery will present a new side of Sherri Papini’s case — told by her in her own words.”
Papini made headlines in November 2016 after she was allegedly abducted while going for a jog in her California neighborhood. The mother of two was found chained and beaten on the side of a road weeks later, with details later emerging that she was branded and had a bag placed over her head by two perpetrators.
As new details about the case came to light, questions arose about the validity of Papini’s claims, ultimately revealing there was more to the case than what had been shared.
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Scroll down for everything to know about ID’s upcoming Sherri Papini docuseries:
Does the Sherri Papini Docuseries Have a Title?
The show did not have an official title at the time of its July 2024 announcement.
When Will the Sherri Papini Docuseries Premiere?
A release date for the project has yet to be announced, though the show’s July 2024 press release announcement revealed the series is currently under production.
Will the Sherri Papini Docuseries Feature New Information?
According to the show’s July 2024 press release, “The multi-part docuseries will feature exclusive interviews with Papini about her disappearance and the subsequent media firestorm and federal investigation that followed.”
The series will also “feature unprecedented access to archival footage, legal documents, and court filings as well as extensive interviews with those close to Papini and the investigation — offering new insights and potential answers to the questions that still swirl around this case nearly a decade later.”
What Happened to Sherri Papini?
Many of the details about Sherri’s abduction were shared via police and her now ex-husband, Keith Papini. “She screamed so much,” Keith shared in a December 2016 interview with ABC News’ 20/20. “She said she was coughing up blood from the screaming, trying to get somebody to stop.”
Sherri was found less than a month after her disappearance, telling police that she was taken by two Latina women at gunpoint and was subsequently tortured and branded by them. Evidence later revealed that both male and female DNA was found on her clothing, with the male DNA being a match to her ex-boyfriend James Reyes.
Reyes claimed to police that Sherri had not been missing but had been with him the whole time, alleging that she self-inflicted her wounds to match her story. Additionally, documents obtained by the Sacramento Bee in March 2017 stated that Sherri’s mom, Loretta Graeff, previously accused her of harming herself and blamed the injuries on her. (Sherri and Keith’s family slammed the report at the time.)
Sherri was ultimately arrested in 2022 for orchestrating her abduction. She pleaded guilty to lying to a federal judge later that year. After signing a plea deal, she was sentenced to 18 months in jail. She was released from prison in August 2023. (Reyes was not charged in the scandal.)
Where Is Sherri Papini Now?
Keith filed for divorce from Sherri in April 2022 and was granted sole custody of their two children. Keith revealed in a June 2024 interview with Good Morning America that Sherri had moved on with a new boyfriend, though his identity was not shared. He also told the ABC morning show that Sherri informed her kids that she has two books in the works.