Found Alive CA - Sherri Papini, 34, Redding, 2 November 2016 - #24

[The 13th]

Papini has, to date, not tried to make any money out of this, which eliminates a major motive for faking this. She has kept a low profile, so attention is not a motive. She appeared to be confused when released. No ransom demand and the family was not wealthy.

The vibe, for me, does not appear that she is faking. That is obviously an opinion to the vibe.

I'm wondering if either she crossed someone or if this was mistaken identity.

Didn't they get $50K + from raising money online? and maybe money for exclusive photos? The photos I'm not sure I remember correctly, but they did make bank to the tune of at least 50 grand.

 

[ZoriahNZ]

They hired a Hollywood PR and marketing publicist for a while, too. Her name was Nicole Wool. Although she didn't stay with them for that long.

JMO, of course, but I believe that they were negotiating possible book/movie deals (behind the scenes) to tell her story, but it likely fell through once major doubts surfaced over aspects of that story and her troubled past.

UPDATE: Keith Papini issues statement on latest details of wife's case

 

[evilwise]

This forum is literally full of cases with victims who have criminal histories an inch thick and this case is the one that people victim blame on. I'll never understand it.

 

[rosesfromangels]

This forum is literally full of cases with victims who have criminal histories an inch thick and this case is the one that people victim blame on. I'll never understand it.

You and me both. I simply don't understand it.

 

[evilwise]

It's how ransom works.

 

[MassGuy]

It's how ransom works.

Kidnapping for ransom is exceedingly rare, especially with her victimology. That sort of thing does happen, but it’s typically done to people who won’t go to law enforcement (other criminals).

Also, criminals who kidnap people for ransom, you know, actually make a ransom demand.

 

[evilwise]

You're right, that's not how kidnapping for ransom works but it is how human trafficking works. The husband doesn't usually have connections to do that but I think this time maybe he did. It would go a long way toward explaining everyone's behavior. They even had a less harsh euphemism there for a while. Remember "reverse ransom"?

 

[MassGuy]

You're right, that's not how kidnapping for ransom works but it is how human trafficking works. The husband doesn't usually have connections to do that but I think this time maybe he did. It would go a long way toward explaining everyone's behavior. They even had a less harsh euphemism there for a while. Remember "reverse ransom"?

Low risk victims are rarely, if ever, kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking.

Viral Facebook posts aside, it’s far more insidious. It’s a grooming process, and generally takes quite a bit of time. The victims are also high risk (prostitutes, drug addicts, etc).

They are made promises, and those promises aren’t kept.

 

[ShHolmz]

Maybe it will be easier to identify the kidnappers with the Covid restrictions in place. Are masks required in California at this time?

UPDATE: Keith Papini issues statement on latest details of wife's case
Also from the article...

While detectives have checked up on cases involving abductions and human-trafficking that some news outlets have likened to Sherri Papini's disappearance, Jackson said, "There have been no cases discovered that are similar in nature to this investigation concerning the pattern of operations by the suspect(s), treatment of the captured victim and release of the captured victim."

 

[Sillybilly]

This thread is closed for review.

While it is being reviewed, please bear in mind Tricia's comments from the opening post of this thread:

First and foremost Websleuths is a true crime discussion forum. A very close second is we are a victim friendly forum. Rarely do these two descriptions collide. In the Papini case, discussion forum and victim friendly forum smash head-on into each other.

First and foremost we are a discussion forum.

Because there are many mainstream media articles about the discrepancies in Sherri's story, we must allow a discussion to contain opinions that Sherri is not truthful, and the next logical leap is we must allow the theory that Sherri is not telling the truth about her kidnapping.

This is very difficult. We have the police saying they believe Sherri is telling the truth yet there are discrepancies.

Not that this played any part in my decision on what to allow in the Papini discussion I can tell you I can't find anyone who believes her other than a handful of posters on Websleuths.

Let me just throw this out there;what if everyone is wrong? Can you imagine the pain?

Before I tell you the rules for discussion Sherri's case, I want to envision you are sitting with Sherri, her husband, and her CHILDREN, while you are telling them your theory. Keep that vision in your mind while you type your post.

Whatever you choose to say (within TOS of course) you can do so in a kind and mature manner. With that in mind here is what is now open for discussion.

*You can discuss the discrepancies in Sherri's statements, her husband's, or anyone else who has given a statement to the police.

*You can discuss the discrepancies reported by the mainstream media. Example: Fox News Story Sherri Papini case: DNA evidence triggers new questions over 'super mom' kidnapping claim

*You can discuss, like a mature person who is expressing their opinion in front of the whole Papini family, why you believe Sherri Papini is not telling the truth. A side note if you want I would love to read your theories on why the police are so adamant she is telling the truth

*You cannot use rumor and innuendo to explain your theory as to why Papini made up the kidnapping story. Must be fact-based. Meaning mainstream media and police sources.

If everyone uses common sense and does not reduce this discussion to name calling and all kinds of other immature acts, we shouldn't have a problem.

Basing your opinion/posts on the facts in this case and doing so in a mature manner will mean the Papini thread will stay open. We shouldn't have any problems.

 

[CocoChanel]

This thread is now reopened for discussion, keeping in mind Tricia’s guidelines posted above. That means the questioning of the statements/claims made by this victim and her family members MUST be done maturely, kindly, and in a way that is not offensive if these people were sitting in front of you. Using words like “liar” and “laughable” do not fit that criterion.

THANK YOU for your ongoing efforts to post as respectful and responsible members of Websleuths, following the Terms of Service that you agreed to when joining this forum.

CocoChanel
Moderator

 

[Deleted member 39678]

This case reminds me of the kidnapping of Denise Huskins who the police firmly believed was a hoax.

Vallejo police believed the story to be so fantastical that they called the reported abduction a complete fabrication for which the couple should apologize. Huskins and Quinn subsequently filed a defamation of character lawsuit against the police department. Police later apologized to the couple who, in 2018, reached a $2.5 million settlement with the City of Vallejo and its police department.

Legal proceedings advance for kidnapper of Vallejo couple in 2015 – Times-Herald

 

[Deleted member 39678]

Sherri Papini Investigation Still Open More Than 3 Years After Calif. Mom's Alleged Abduction

“The Sherri Papini kidnapping case remains an open and active investigation with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office,” Captain Pat Kropholler tells PEOPLE. “The FBI continues to assist the Sheriff’s Office in the investigation as it is both agencies’ goal to determine who is responsible for Sherri’s abduction.”

There is still a $10,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the suspects, Kropholler says.

Sherri Papini Kidnapping Investigation Remains Open More Than 3 Years After Alleged Abduction

 

[lisette]

I see no reason to doubt that Sherri went through some sort of ordeal. I believe that a ransom was paid for her release....Maybe she was coerced into falsifying details in order for the release to take place, and now she is so traumatized that she will not go back on them...scared for her safety and that of her family. I believe something happened to her. JMO

 

[evilwise]

I see no reason to doubt that Sherri went through some sort of ordeal. I believe that a ransom was paid for her release....Maybe she was coerced into falsifying details in order for the release to take place, and now she is so traumatized that she will not go back on them...scared for her safety and that of her family. I believe something happened to her. JMO

This thread, every time it gets dredged back up, invariably feels like bizarro world to me as I my default perspective is usually very close to being overly victim critical. In this one, though I seem to regularly be picked at for not fully stating my painful theory, but I guess I will yet again.

I think that post from Stormfront or wherever probably was made by her and that it came from some interaction that she's had with latin gangs and that yeah as the record shows she's aggressive and mouthy and she's been exceptionally outspoken about her feelings on them, to the point of being targeted for retribution and because she's so attractive, instead of just simply murdering her as they would usually do she was abducted and was in the process of being "trained".

This is something that happens, but usually to runaways/addicts/etc that are much less missed. I think that some of the shady players that came in when the media circus was happening had connections in organized crime and brokered her to be bought back for a "reverse ransom"

I believe this explains everything that seems suspicious about this case. When she was spotted beaten up in that truck but not attempting to escape, she was already resigned to her fate. Her husband knew that she would be back for Thanksgiving because he had been told so once the money had been paid. They don't discuss it not just because it would encourage copycat crime but also because the process of training someone to be trafficked is humiliating and would obviously explain the male DNA on the clothes she was found in, not that it directly contradicts her story anyway that the clothes she was dressed in might have been worn by someone else before her.

So yeah, she's obviously not telling the whole story and what she has said may not be entirely consistent with the physical evidence but that's true about half the cases on websleuths - in particular ones involving sexual abuse or fear of gang retribution or both, which I believe is the case here.

I literally cannot fathom what magical chemistry this case has to so enrage the general public. Do they feel that after there was such media attention that if they don't get blood then they deserve graphic, even lurid details of every horrible thing this beautiful woman was put through? Well we don't and it's troubling that the court of public opinion seems to think we do and that if we don't get it, we should tear her credibility and what's left of her dignity to shreds.

If you need to read about innocent, beautiful women being kidnapped and horribly tortured there are dozens of other cases where you can. Leave Sherri alone, that's clearly all she wants.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I see no reason to doubt that Sherri went through some sort of ordeal. I believe that a ransom was paid for her release....Maybe she was coerced into falsifying details in order for the release to take place, and now she is so traumatized that she will not go back on them...scared for her safety and that of her family. I believe something happened to her. JMO

I believe she did this to herself.
Anyone that can create such an elaborate story, and go to the lengths required to present one's self the way she did when she miraculously returned, is someone that needs a LOT of professional help.
So in that sense, I do believe she was a victim, of sorts.

jmo

 

[snowleopard]

The obvious answer is that once the ransom had been paid the husband was informed that she would be released by Thanksgiving. It probably took some time for her to be brought back from wherever she was, possibly across the border. Wishful thinking is also not outside the realm of possibility.

<modsnip: rude and personalizing>

Do kidnappers typically get paid first, and then, after delay, release captives?

 

[Deleted member 39678]

I believe she did this to herself.
Anyone that can create such an elaborate story, and go to the lengths required to present one's self the way she did when she miraculously returned, is someone that needs a LOT of professional help.
So in that sense, I do believe she was a victim, of sorts.

jmo

You're not the only one who feels SP created an elaborate story. However, what I feel is important is the police have stated that they have no reason to disbelieve her.

The strange turn of events baffled police and transfixed armchair crime-watchers who accused Papini of fabricating the abduction. But police have said they have no reason to doubt her account.

Sherri Papini Kidnapping Investigation Remains Open More Than 3 Years After Alleged Abduction

 

[rosesfromangels]

I know I am in the minority here as I absolutely believe SP, and here's why.
She looks *very* young, and would be highly "marketable" given her youthful, innocent look, and attractiveness. She'd be a "high ticket" commodity for trafficking.

Second, she had signs of torture, and the beatings she sustained left bruises that were in various stages of healing. Her nose had been broken, and she had been branded. She was found shackled and with pain compliance restraints on her ankles.

As someone upthread mentioned, I agree that a ransom was quietly paid, and the family has been threatened in to silence.

Abduction and abuse of women, in general, is a national disgrace. As a woman, I send prayers to SP and her family, and pray that she is resilient and can overcome this horrific incident, and resulting trauma.

So many female victims aren't taken seriously. Fortunately LE has stated they have no reason not to believe SP, and the reason is....because the horrible truth (IMO), is that what was reported; is exactly what happened. I also think we only heard *some* of what happened to her. IMO, she has been scared in to silence. Perhaps she has dissociated from those memories; her mind protecting her.

Please join me in supporting female victims of violence, and supporting Sherri in her recovery. This case, and the response to it, speaks to the disregard for the value of women in general.

Amateur opinion and speculation

 

[Coffiecat]

Police have no PROOF she's being deceptive. They have overwhelming cause to BELIEVE she is. From my POV, there's exponentially more to suggest a fabrication.

The thought that an old blog post that may not have been hers, so triggered a response of kidnapping, beatings, alleged indistinguishable branding, strikes me as unlikely.