Since Sherri Papini’s kidnapping hoax first surfaced, a few documentaries and movies have chronicled the shocking case. Recently, Hulu’s Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini had her now ex-husband, Keith Papini, speak out for the first time. Other works include Lifetime’s Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini, starring Jaime King in the lead role, and Oxygen’s Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies, and More Lies.
In other news, Sherri Papini, who is now writing children’s books after prison release, plans to tell her side of the story. Popularly known as the woman who faked her kidnapping, Sherri will appear in an upcoming ID docuseries, which has a 2025 release date. Besides the documentaries and movies, an ABC 20/20 episode also looked into Sherri Papini’s kidnapping hoax. The episode aired after the premiere of Perfect Wife on Hulu.
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini, which premiered on June 20, is now one of Hulu’s biggest documentaries. The three-part series revisits the notorious 2016 kidnapping hoax as Sherri Papini’s former husband, Keith Papini, opens up for the first time. Keith recalls the web of lies that began on November 2 when Sherri mysteriously vanished from a jogging trail. Her disappearance prompted a widespread search, which concluded when she reappeared 22 days later along Interstate 5.
According to Hulu, the official logline reads, “Keith and Sherri Papini’s seemingly idyllic family life is shattered when Sherri vanishes from their northern California neighborhood, triggering a frenzied search that becomes news around the world.” Perfect Wife comprises accounts from Sherri’s close ones, and investigators solved the case after six years.
One of the most acclaimed recent documentaries, Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini is now streaming on Hulu.
Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini
Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini is among a few other documentaries and movies about the kidnapping hoax. The Lifetime original film stars Jaime King in the lead role as Sherri and chronicles the events that likely happened after she vanished for three weeks in 2016.
Director Marta Borowski offers a critical look at the case that made national headlines in 2022 after detectives found evidence proving it was a hoax. They believed Sherri had been staying with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, during the disappearance. Additionally, she inflicted injuries on her body to make the kidnapping appear genuine.
While Sherri Papini never admitted to faking her kidnapping, she pleaded guilty to federal charges in April 2022. These charges included mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer, receiving an 18-month prison sentence. She served less than a year in federal prison before her release in August 2023.
Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies, and More Lies
Besides the documentaries and movies, several true-crime episodes and specials have also chronicled Sherri Papini’s kidnapping hoax. Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies, and More Lies, which premiered on Oxygen, consists of investigative footage and never-before-seen interviews with Sherri. It also includes archival footage from the years after the kidnapping and before the discovery of the DNA that led detectives to conclude that Sherri faked her kidnapping.
Reportedly, Sherri had initially claimed that two armed Hispanic women had kidnapped and tortured her in 2016. However, years later, authorities found male DNA evidence on her clothes, which led them to her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, and the hoax began to unravel. The special Sherri Papini: Lies, Lies, and More Lies is streaming on Peacock.
ABC 20/20 also aired an episode, To Have and To Hoax, comprising an interview with Keith Papini. Reports mention that Keith, now a single father of two daughters, filed for divorce in April 2022, shortly after Sherri Papini pleaded guilty. In the interview, he recalls the harrowing experiences and Sherri’s lies, which went on for years.
ID’s upcoming series will be the latest addition to the hit documentaries and movies about Sherri Papini, the woman who faked her kidnapping.
