The husband ofSherri Papini, the California mom whofalsely claimed she’d been kidnappedwhile out jogging in 2016, filed for divorce on Wednesday, online court records show.
The filing came two days afterPapini, 39, entered guilty pleasvia Zoom to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud. Her sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
The filing states that Papini “has not been acting in a rational manner” of late, referencing her guilty plea.
After Sherri Papini returned from her hoax kidnapping, Keith publicly supported her claims.
Sherri and Keith Papini.Courtesy Keith Papini
In 2016, describing her false account of escaping from captivity, Keith told ABC’s20/20, “She screamed so much, she said she was coughing up blood from the screaming, trying to get someone to stop. Again, just another sign of how my wife is, she’s so wonderful. She says maybe people aren’t stopping because I have a chain, it looks like I broke out of prison, so she tried to tuck in her chain under the clothes,” he said.
Sherri and Keith Papini.
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“I am kind of relieved that she finally decided to come clean,” Missy McArthur, the former mayor of Papini’s hometown of Redding, Calif., tells PEOPLE. “It is a good thing for people to own up when they mess up and take personal responsibility so hopefully, she will learn a lesson and never do that again.”
She was found wandering in a parking lot 22 days later — on Thanksgiving Day. Her family, including her children then ages 2 and 4, welcomed her back and the community of Redding, which had spent days searching for her, largely rallied around her.
But after investigating her purported kidnapping, the authorities found that Papini had fabricated the incident and had been hiding out with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California.
source: people.com
