Sherri Papini goes to wild extremes in the teaser trailer for Lifetime’s Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini.
The new original movie follows the shocking true story of Sherri Papini, a Redding, California woman who faked her own kidnapping to spend time with an ex-boyfriend.
The movie is part of Lifetime’s “Ripped From the Headlines” franchise and stars Jaime King (Happy Campers, Hart of Dixie) as the wife and mother-of-two who disappeared while jogging near her home.
In the trailer, Papini’s husband Keith (played Matt Hamilton) sits down for a TV interview to plead for the missing woman’s safe return. Hoping she might see the interview, he says: “I’m coming honey. I love you.”
Sherri watches the interview and brushes it off as she cozies up to her boyfriend.
Seconds later, her boyfriend reluctantly brands her with a hot metal rod. “Do it! I deserve it,” she says before crying out in pain.
[Watch the trailer below]
In real life, Sherri Papini vanished in 2016 prompting a desperate search by law enforcement and concerned residents. She reappeared three weeks later wearing restraints, with a brand on her right shoulder, and claimed she had been abducted by two Hispanic women who abused her.
Investigators never stopped searching for the kidnappers and eventually discovered the truth. Papini was arrested and charged with dozens of counts in April 2022. She pleaded guilty to a single count of mail fraud and one count of making false statements.
In a press release dated Sept. 19, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California said Papini was sentenced to 18 months in prison for lying to federal agents about being kidnapped and defrauding the California Victim Compensation Board. She was ordered to pay $309,902 in restitution.
The movie about her life is written by Katie Boland and directed by Marta Borowski. Tim Johnson, Stacy Mandelberg and Jocelyn Freid are executive producers.
Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini premieres Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8/7c on Lifetime and streams the next day.
