Television May 23, 2025
Sherri Papini Is Making Shocking New Claims About Her Kidnapping Hoax in New Doc

Sherri Papini made headlines in 2016 as a real life Gone Girl. Her story gripped the nation after the California wife and mom went missing for three weeks only to be found alive.
Sherri returned with disturbing claims of violence at the hands of two Hispanic female kidnappers, but it was all a lie!
Her ex-boyfriend James passed a polygraph admitting she was with him at his house the whole time. He says she even asked him to brand her, and his DNA was everywhere. People reports that during the investigation he told FBI agents that Sherri planned everything and insisted, “I didn’t kidnap her. She was just a friend in need asking for help. She was trying to get away from her husband.”
Papini was convicted of making false statements to the police and served 18 months in prison.
Now, in the new Investigation Discovery docuseries “Sherri Papini: Caught in a Lie,” the convicted felon is making shocking new headlines about James, claiming he was the mastermind!
People reports he had declined to comment on her new allegations.
Docuseries director Nicole Rittenmeyer told “Extra,” “Her new claims did surprise me. I did not expect her to say, ‘I lied about who kidnapped me.’”
Nicole’s doc team hooks Sherri up to a polygraph and has Sherri re-enact the moment she was kidnapped.
Rittenmeyer explained, “Viewers needed to see we were really trying to hold her accountable. The polygraph had a totally surprising result that I did not anticipate and the reenactments.”
Nicole also insisted, “I do think that she can be both a liar and a victim… because if any aspect of what she says is true... oh, my. We got it real, real wrong!”
“Sherri Papini: Caught in a Lie” is streaming May 26 on Investigation Discovery and HBO Max.