>>> I'M LESTER HOLT.
TONIGHT ON "DATELINE" -- NEW DETAILS IN THE INFAMOUS CASE
OF CALIFORNIA MOM SHERRI PAPINI. WAS SHE THE VICTIM OF A
HARROWING KIDNAPPING OR THE MASTERMIND OF AN ELABORATE HOAX?
>> VERY VERY STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES.
HER HANDS SHACKLED AND HER HAIR HAD BEEN CHOPPED OFF
>> IT APPEARED THAT SHE HAD BEEN TORTURED, BRANDED.
>> I'VE NEVER SEEN A VICTIM ACT LIKE SHE ACTED THAT DAY.
>> TONIGHT, INSIDE THIS BAFFLING CASE
>> Reporter: CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT WHAT STATE SHE WAS
IN >> SHE WAS CRYING.
SHE WAS SCREAMING. >> A LOT OF INJURIES, BRUISES ON
TOP OF BRUISES >> INVESTIGATORS SPEAK OUT IN
DEPTH FOR THE FIRST TIME >> Reporter: DID SHE TELL YOU
HOW SHE GOT THE BRAND? >> SHE DID
>> TWO FEMALE CAPTORS CAME INTO THE ROOM, HELD HER DOWN AGAINST
A TABLE. >> SHE DESCRIBED THE PAIN, THE
BURNING, THE CRACKLING, THE SMELLS
>> YOU DON'T THINK PEOPLE ARE CAPABLE OF STUFF LIKE THIS
YOU SEE THIS AND YOU GO, "NO, THIS COULD NOT BE TRUE."
>> THE SHERRI PAPINI CASE IS TAKING US ON A VERY TWISTY,
WINDY, BUMPY ROAD. >> HERE'S KEITH MORRISON WITH
"THE CURIOUS CASE OF SHERRI PAPINI.
>> Reporter: HOW IN THE WORLD DID SHE GET HERE
>> SHERRI. HEY, SHERRI.
>> Reporter: HER NAME IS SHERRI PAPINI.
AND TONIGHT YOU'LL HEAR IT ALL, BOTH THE STORY SHE TOLD AND THE
TRUTH. >> THIS WHOLE CASE HAS BEEN
ABOUT CALCULATED DECEPTION, LIES, AND MISDIRECTION
>> Reporter: A MIND-BENDING MYSTERY THAT WOULD TAKE YEARS TO
SOLVE. AND THEY DID
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD SUCH A THING IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE?
>> NO, NOT EVEN KIND OF. >> Reporter: WITH DETAILS
THEY'RE REVEALING FOR THE FIRST TIME
>> THERE WAS A CHAIN AROUND HER WAIST, AND SHE WAS ZIP-TIED TO
THE CHAIN. HE WOULD SHOOT HOCKEY PUCKS OFF
OF HER LEGS AND SHINS. HE WAS WILLIN' TO DO ANYTHING
FOR HER. >> Reporter: SHERRI PAPINI WAS
THE VICTIM, SO WE HEARD, OF A TERRIBLE CRIME
>> I'M, LIKE, TOTALLY FREAKING OUT THINKING, LIKE, SOMEBODY,
LIKE, GRABBED HER. >> WHAT'S HER --
>> Reporter: SNATCHED FROM HER HOME
HER FAMILY >> WE DIDN'T KNOW IF THERE WAS A
PREDATOR IN THE AREA IT WAS A REALLY SCARY TIME
>> Reporter: A WHOLE CITY ON EDGE AS DETECTIVES HUNTED FOR A
CRIMINAL >> EVERYONE WAS A SUSPECT.
>> Reporter: THEN, THREE WEEKS LATER, VOILA
BATTERED AND BRUISED, BUT BACK >> WE ARE VERY ECSTATIC TO
REPORT THAT SHERRI PAPINI HAS BEEN LOCATED
>> Reporter: LUCKY TO BE ALIVE OR SO IT SEEMED.
>> THEY STARTED THE -- TO LET US GET A TRICKLE OF -- OF HER SIDE
OF THE STORY AND HOW THEY CHOPPED OFF HER HAIR
AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE
>> Reporter: BIG NEWS IN TOWN. >> ANY STORY WITH THE WORD
"SHERRI PAPINI" IN THE HEADLINE WAS THE TOP STORY FOR WEEKS.
>> Reporter: SHE OFFERED CLUES AND THE INVESTIGATION GOT
BIGGER >> SHE KNEW WHAT SHE WAS DOIN'
HERE >> Reporter: ALL LEADING TO THIS
REMARKABLE MOMENT OUTSIDE A FEDERAL COURTHOUSE
>> SHERRI. HEY, SHERRI.
>> Reporter: IT WAS ALMOST 5 1/2 YEARS AGO WHEN THE WORLD
FIRST HEARD THE NAME SHERRI PAPINI.
HER SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE HER MIRACULOUS REAPPEARANCE.
HOW TERRIBLE, THE SUFFERING SHE ENDURED.
AND HOW WORTHY OF THE FLOOD OF SYMPATHY THAT FOLLOWED
IT WAS QUITE A STORY BUT THE REAL STORY
THAT WAS AS TWISTED AS THEY COME
NOVEMBER 2nd, 2016, WAS A CLEAR, COOL DAY IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
CITY OF REDDING. NOT A CLOUD TO BLOCK THE VIEW OF
MOUNT SHASTA OFF IN THE DISTANCE
A PERFECT DAY TO GET OUTSIDE, TAKE A WALK, MAYBE A RUN
THEN, AT 5:51 P.M. WHAT IS YOUR EMERGENCY
>> Reporter: THE CALLER WAS KEITH PAPINI, FATHER OF TWO AND
SHERRI PAPINI'S HUSBAND OF SEVEN YEARS.
>> I JUST GOT HOME FROM WORK AND, UH, MY WIFE WASN'T THERE,
WHICH IS UNUSUAL AND MY KIDS SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE
BY NOW FROM, LIKE, DAY CARE. SO I WAS LIKE, "OH, MAYBE SHE
WENT ON A WALK." >> Reporter: SERGEANT
KYLE WALLACE AND CAPTAIN BRIAN JACKSON ARE SHASTA COUNTY
SHERIFF'S DETECTIVES WHAT WERE THE DETAILS OF THE --
OF IT AS YOU FIRST HEARD THEM THAT EVENING BACK IN 2016?
>> KEITH PAPINI ARRIVED HOME SHERRI'S CAR WAS IN THE
DRIVEWAY HE WALKED IN THE HOUSE JUST
ASSUMING THE KIDS AND SHERRI WERE IN THE HOUSE.
HE COULDN'T FIND 'EM HE STARTED LOOKIN' AROUND,
CALLIN' THEIR NAMES THROUGHOUT THE PROPERTY
HE WASN'T OVERLY CONCERNED AT FIRST.
HE WAS GOING TO JUST WAIT FOR THEM TO COME HOME IF THEY WERE
ON A WALK. AFTER THAT TIME HAD PASSED, HE
GOT A LITTLE MORE WORRIED. >> SO I CALLED THE DAY CARE TO
SEE WHAT TIME SHE PICKED UP THE KIDS
THE KIDS WERE NEVER PICKED UP. SO I GOT FREAKED OUT, SO I HIT,
LIKE, THE FIND MY IPHONE APP THING.
AND IT SAID THAT HER -- IT SHOWED HER PHONE AT, LIKE, THE
END OF OUR DRIVEWAY. >> Reporter: THE END OF THE
PAPINI'S DRIVEWAY IS THE INTERSECTION OF SUNRISE DRIVE
AND OLD OREGON TRAIL KEITH DROVE DOWN, LOOKING FOR
SHERRI'S PHONE >> GOT OUT OF THE CAR, FOUND THE
PHONE IN THE BUSHES. THAT DREW SOME CONCERN
>> I JUST DROVE DOWN THERE, AND I SAW HER PHONE WITH HER
HEADPHONES, BECAUSE SHE STARTED RUNNING AGAIN.
>> Reporter: THE PHONE WAS PLAYING A SONG ON REPEAT,
"EVERYTHING" BY MICHAEL BUBLE. IT HAD BEEN THE PAPINI'S WEDDING
SONG AND SOMETHING WAS TANGLED UP IN
HER EARBUDS. >> IT'S GOT, LIKE, HAIR RIPPED
OUT OF IT, LIKE, IN THE HEADPHONES
>> Reporter: IT LOOKED LIKE SHERRI'S EARBUDS WERE RIPPED
FROM HER, HER BLONDE HAIR ALONG WITH THEM.
KELLI SAAM OF NBC AFFILIATE ACTION NEWS NOW IN CHICO,
CALIFORNIA, REPORTED ON SHERRI PAPINI'S DISAPPEARANCE
FROM THE BEGINNING >> WE HAD A FEW CLUES.
YOU KNOW WE HAD THE PHONE ON THE SIDE OF
THE ROAD AND THOSE FEW STRANDS OF HAIR.
USUALLY, WHEN YOU DEAL WITH THESE MISSING PERSON REPORTS,
YOU DON'T HAVE A CLUE LIKE THAT. >> Reporter: SURE.
>> SO IT WAS UNIQUE IN THAT SENSE.
AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT MADE IT SO INTRIGUING.
>> Reporter: IT WAS EXACTLY THE KIND OF A CLUE THAT TERRIFIES A
HUSBAND. >> SO I'M, LIKE, TOTALLY
FREAKING OUT THINKING, LIKE, SOMEBODY, LIKE, GRABBED HER.
>> Reporter: AND THAT'S WHEN HE CALLED YOU GUYS?
OR CALLED THE POLICE, ANYWAY >> YEP
YEP. >> YES
>> Reporter: KEITH'S MOM WENT TO PICK UP THE KIDS FROM DAY CARE
AS DETECTIVES MADE THEIR WAY TO THE SCENE.
THE CASE, JUST THEN, WAS WIDE OPEN
WELL, THIS COULD BE ANYTHING RIGHT?
I MEAN, IT'S ALSO HOW A LOT OF MURDER CASES GET STARTED
YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SUPPOSEDLY IS MISSING.
THEY FIND A CELL PHONE THE HUSBAND CALLS IN ALL FREAKED
OUT. AND THEN SOMETHING ELSE TURNS
OUT TO BE THE CAUSE OF IT ALL. DID YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT OTHER
POSSIBILITIES LIKE THAT? >> SO WHEN WE GOT CALLED OUT AND
WE JUST TRIED TO FIGURE OUT AND LOOK AT IT
YOU STARTED BROAD UNTIL YOU CAN START GETTING SOME ANSWERS TO
SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS. >> Reporter: BUT, OF COURSE,
THEY HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS COMING
DID THEY >>> WHEN WE COME BACK, THE
ALL-OUT SEARCH FOR SHERRI. >> SHE IS CONSIDERED MISSING AND
AT RISK. >> EVERY POSSIBILITY WAS ALWAYS
ON THE TABLE >> THEY SAID SHE WAS A WONDERFUL
WIFE THIS WAS SOMEONE WHO WOULD NOT
LEAVE WILLINGLY. >> Reporter: WHAT WAS THE STATE
OF THEIR MARRIAGE? >> EVERYBODY HAD AN OPINION ON
WHAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS.
"SUPER MOM." SHERRI PAPINI.
DEVOTED WIFE DOTING MOTHER.
>> EVERY STORY, THAT WE HEARD, "SHE'S A GREAT MOM," SHE'S
PHYSICALLY FIT SHE LIKES TO JOG."
>> Reporter: SHE'D LIVED PRACTICALLY HER WHOLE LIFE IN
REDDING -- FROM BIRTH THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL TO THE DAY SHE
DISAPPEARED. SHERRI KNEW KEITH PAPINI SINCE
CHILDHOOD. THEY EVEN KISSED IN JUNIOR HIGH.
IN A BLOG LEADING UP TO THEIR WEDDING, SHERRI GUSHED ABOUT HER
FIANCE -- "KEITH" SHE WROTE, "CONTINUES TO
SURPRISE ME. HE CONTINUES TO DO LITTLE THINGS
THAT LIGHT ME UP AND MAKE ME GROW MORE AND MORE IN LOVE WITH
HIM. THEY MARRIED IN 2009
PHOTO AFTER ROMANTIC PHOTO >> THERE WERE THOSE BEAUTIFUL
FAMILY PHOTOS. SHERRI PAPINI, I THINK, LOOKED
TO A LOT OF FOLKS LIKE THE GIRL NEXT DOOR.
SHE WAS VERY RELATABLE PEOPLE THOUGHT, "THAT COULD BE
MY SISTER. >> Reporter: SO WHEN SHERRI
VANISHED, HER FAMILY REACHED OUT TO LOCAL NEWSROOMS, AND SENT
THOSE ENCHANTING PHOTOS. >> FAMILY OR FRIENDS THAT
EMAILED OUR NEWSROOM WITH A PICTURE -- COUPLE PICTURES,
SAYING, "SHERRI PAPINI, AGE, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, WENT MISSING ON
AN AFTERNOON JOG, AND THIS IS NOT LIKE HER
>> YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOUR FAMILY.
>> Reporter: SHERRI'S SISTER, SHEILA, MADE A PUBLIC PLEA FOR
HELP >> I HOPE TO BRING HER HOME.
I WOULD JUST LOVE FOR HER TO COME HOME TO HER FAMILY.
>> Reporter: AND OVERNIGHT, CARRIED BY THOSE LOVELY PHOTOS,
IT ALL WENT VIRAL. ELIZABETH PARKER HAS LIVED IN
THE AREA ON & OFF FOR 25 YEARS AND SHE SAID TALK OF SHERRI'S
DISAPPEARANCE WAS EVERYWHERE >> I HEARD ABOUT IT FROM SOCIAL
MEDIA, THAT SHERRI PAPINI WAS MISSING AND THEN THE LOCAL NEWS
STATIONS, AND THEN SHORTLY THEREAFTER IT WAS NATIONAL NEWS.
>> IT WAS ALL EVERYBODY COULD TALK ABOUT
>> Reporter: FAR, FAR BEYOND REDDING.
>> THE DESPERATE SEARCH FOR A MISSING SHASTA COUNTY MOTHER
CONTINUES TONIGHT. >> Reporter: SHERRI'S GIRL NEXT
DOOR IMAGE HELPED GENERATE INTENSE INTEREST IN HER
DISAPPEARANCE. A GO FUND ME PAGE WAS SETUP TO
HELP KEITH IT WAS FLOODED WITH MONEY,
$49,000 , ALL TOLD NEIGHBORS AND STRANGERS CAME OUT
TO SEARCH, INCLUDING TRUDY NICKENS OF THE NOR-CAL
ALLIANCE FOR THE MISSING >> I HAVE FIVE DAUGHTERS THAT
LIVE IN THIS COUNTY. AND TO HEAR SOMEBODY WAS TAKEN
OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, YOU KNOW, JUST IT'S CONCERNING
>> WE JUST SET UP A TABLE, AND PULLED OUT SOME MAPS, AND
STARTED ASSIGNING PEOPLE DIFFERENT AREAS TO SEARCH IN
>> Reporter: MEANWHILE, DETECTIVES SIFTED THROUGH THE
SCANT EVIDENCE THEY HAD. >> EVERY POSSIBILITY WAS ALWAYS
ON THE TABLE WE CHECKED OUT EVERY AVENUE WE
COULD. >> Reporter: FOR EXAMPLE, THEY
WENT THROUGH THE CONTACTS ON SHERRI'S PHONE, AND FOUND OUT
THAT TWO OF THEM, LISTED UNDER WOMEN'S NAMES, WERE REALLY MEN
EX-BOYFRIENDS. THERE WAS ALSO AN EX-HUSBAND
ALL THE MEN IN SHERRI'S LIFE HAD TO BE CHECKED OUT.
INCLUDING THE HUSBAND, I'M ASSUMING
>> ABSOLUTELY. WE TALKED TO KEITH AT LENGTH FOR
SEVERAL DAYS, FOLLOWING NOVEMBER 2nd
>> Reporter: WHAT WAS THE STATE OF THEIR MARRIAGE?
WERE YOU ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT? >> EVERYBODY HAD AN OPINION ON
WHAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS THERE WAS NEVER REALLY ANY
EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT IT WAS A BAD MARRIAGE
>> Reporter: TRUDY NICKENS TALKED TO KEITH WHEN SHE FIRST
ARRIVED. >> HE JUST SEEMED KIND OF IN
SHOCK, JUST, LIKE -- LIKE, YOU KNOW, NOT A LOT OF EMOTION,
JUST, LIKE, COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WAS HAPPENING.
AND TRYING TO DEAL WITH IT THE BEST HE COULD.
>> Reporter: DID HE TAKE A POLYGRAPH?
>> HE DID. >> Reporter: WILLINGLY
HE SORT OF SAID, "YEAH, I'LL TAKE A POLYGRAPH
NO PROBLEM?" >> HE WAS COOPERATIVE ,
EVERYBODY WAS COMING OUT TO HIM, SAYIN', YOU KNOW, "THE HUSBAND'S
RESPONSIBLE. WE DIDN'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO HIM
THE CIRCUMSTANCES. HE -- IT ALLOWED HIM TO REALLY
JUST, "I WANNA GET MY NAME CLEARED.
>> Reporter: KEITH PAPINI PASSED THAT POLYGRAPH, AND HE HAD AN
ALIBI. THE EX HUSBAND HAD AN ALIBI TOO.
AND INVESTIGATORS TRACKED DOWN EX-BOYFRIENDS, WENT ALL THE WAY
TO MICHIGAN TO SPEAK TO ONE OF THEM BECAUSE HE'D JUST VISITED
CALIFORNIA BUT NEITHER HE NOR THE OTHERS
WERE ANYWHERE NEAR REDDING WHEN SHERRI VANISHED ON NOVEMBER 2nd.
THERE WAS ANOTHER THEORY, MAYBE SHERRI JUST WALKED AWAY FROM HER
LIFE BUT THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE QUASHED
THAT THEORY THEN AND THERE >> SHE IS CONSIDERED MISSING AND
AT RISK. >> THEY SAID SHE WAS A WONDERFUL
WIFE THAT SHE AND HER HUSBAND GOT
ALONG WELL, AND THAT WAS PRETTY CONSISTENT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT
THEY WERE SAYING FROM THEIR CONVERSATIONS WITH FAMILY AND
FRIENDS, THIS WAS SOMEONE WHO WOULD NOT LEAVE WILLINGLY.
>> KEITH PAPINI WAS IN CRISIS. >> Reporter: CODY SALFEN IS A
PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR KEITH HIRED TO HELP SORT THROUGH INCOMING
TIPS, AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THEM
DID YOU TRY TO TRACK 'EM ALL DOWN
OR WAS IT PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT A LOT OF THEM WERE JUST GONNA GO
NOWHERE? >> A LOT OF THEM WERE -- WERE
BOGUS. A LOT OF PEOPLE COME OUT OF THE
WOODWORK THERE WERE PSYCHICS.
THERE WERE PEOPLE THAT -- THAT SAID THEY HAD DREAMS ABOUT
SHERRI PAPINI. >> Reporter: THE MYSTERY OF
SHERRI PAPINI'S DISAPPEARANCE SEEMED TO GROW WITH EACH PASSING
DAY. AS DID LOCAL, UNEASE
EVEN FEAR. THINGS WERE DIFFERENT NOW, IN
REDDING. >> EVERYBODY WAS ON EDGE
YOU DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS SOMEONE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY
IF IT WAS AN OUTSIDER. WE DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS OUR
NEIGHBOR IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE
SCARIEST THINGS FOR A LOT OF NOT ONLY WOMEN, BUT EVERYONE
BECAUSE IT COULD BE YOUR SISTER, IT COULD BE YOUR DAUGHTER.
WE WERE ALL JUST TERRIFIED >> Reporter: AND AS THE THEORIES
MULTIPLIED, ONE CHILLING COINCIDENCE CAME TO THE SURFACE.
>> THE LAST TIME ANYBODY SAW TERA SMITH IT WAS RIGHT HERE ON
THIS REMOTE GRAVEL ROAD. >> Reporter: YEARS BEFORE,
ANOTHER WOMAN HAD VANISHED FROM REDDING.
A WOMAN WHO'D GONE TO THE SAME HIGH SCHOOL AS SHERRI.
AND SHE WAS NOT FOUND. NOT EVER. WHAT DID THAT PORTEND?
>>> COMING UP: >> Reporter: DID YOU CONSIDER
ANY POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN THIS CASE AND THE TERA SMITH CASE
>> YEAH. IT WAS SOMETHIN' THAT WE LOOKED
AT >> OUTWARDLY, IT SEEMS LIKE
THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES. PERSONALLY, I THOUGHT SHE WAS
PROBABLY GONE FOR GOOD >> Reporter: AS THE CITIZENS OF
REDDING SEARCHED FOR SHERRI PAPINI, TERRY AND
MARILYN SMITH SAW THE NEWS AND THEIR HEARTS WERE TORN OPEN ONCE
AGAIN ABOUT THEIR TERA >> TERA WAS OUR OLDEST
SHE WAS OUR FIRSTBORN. [ LAUGHTER ]
>> SHE JUST LOVED LIFE SHE HAD A LOT OF PASSIONS AND
INTERESTS. HER FRESHMAN YEAR OF HIGH
SCHOOL, SHE WAS HOMECOMING QUEEN AND ARM- WRESTLING CHAMP
[ LAUGHTER ] >> Reporter: THAT'S A
COMBINATION -- >> Reporter: -- YOU DON'T OFTEN
HEAR ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG AGE OF 16
>> Reporter: AMAZING YOU KNOW, SHE -- SHE WAS ALSO A
PROLIFIC WRITER. WE HAVE VOLUMES AND VOLUMES OF
HER JOURNALS, AND SHE WAS A INTERESTING SOUL
>> Reporter: SHE LOVED HORSES AND BASKETBALL
EVEN TOOK UP TAEKWONDO TERA WAS A STUDENT AT CENTRAL
VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL BACK THEN -- THE SAME SCHOOL SHERRI PAPINI
ATTENDED -- AROUND THE SAME TIME
>> THEY WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOL, BUT THEY WERE NOT FRIENDS OR
ASSOCIATED >> Reporter: AND YET, TWO
ATTRACTIVE WOMEN FROM THE SAME SCHOOL -- WERE THESE RELATED
DISAPPEARANCES OR NOT
IT HAPPENED TO TERA ON AN AUGUST EVENING IN 1998, WHEN SHE WAS
JUST 16. >> TERA WAS GROUNDED THAT DAY.
>> Reporter: DO YOU REMEMBER WHY?
WHY SHE WAS GROUNDED >> I THINK SHE HAD SNUCK OUT
SHE WASN'T ALWAYS -- [ LAUGHTER ]
-- SHE WASN'T THE PERFECT CHILD BY ANY MEANS
SHE WAS KIND OF IMPULSIVE SOMETIMES, DIDN'T ALWAYS THINK
THINGS THROUGH >> Reporter: TERA WAS SUPPOSED
TO HEAD TO WORK AT THE SMITH'S MINI-GOLF BUSINESS
BUT SHE DIDN'T SHOW UP >> SO I CALLED HOME AND HER
LITTLE SISTER SIERRA WAS HERE AND SAID THAT SHE'D GONE JOGGING
>> Reporter: JOGGING MARILYN DROVE AROUND LOOKING FOR
TERA SHE AND TERRY CALLED TERA'S
FRIENDS. NOBODY HAD SEEN HER.
BUT LATER THAT NIGHT - >> A FRIEND CALLED BACK AND
SAID, "I THINK SHE WAS HAVING AN INAPPROPRIATE RELATIONSHIP WITH
TROY ZINK. >> Reporter: TROY ZINK, TERA'S
29-YEAR-OLD TAEKWONDO INSTRUCTOR
TERA HAD TALKED TO HER DAD ABOUT TROY BEFORE.
>> SHE STARTED TELLING ME ALL THESE WONDERFUL THINGS THAT HER
MASTER ZINK HAD SHARED WITH HER. AND I REMEMBER FEELING ALMOST A
TINGE OF JEALOUSY. LIKE, "WAIT. THERE'S -- THERE'S
ANOTHER ADULT MAN IN MY YOUNG DAUGHTER'S LIFE.
AND I ALSO REMEMBER FEELING LIKE IT -- "MAYBE THERE'S NOT -- THIS
ISN'T RIGHT. >> Reporter: AFTER TERA
DISAPPEARED, TROY ZINK WAS QUESTIONED EXTENSIVELY
HE TOLD THE POLICE TERA CALLED HIM AT WORK, ASKING TO SEE HIM
HE SAID WHEN HE SHOWED UP SHE ASKED HIM FOR $2000.
HE SAID HE TOLD TERA HE MIGHT LEND HER THE MONEY IF HE KNEW
WHAT IT WAS FOR, AND SHE GOT ANGRY.
HE SAID HE ENDED UP DROPPING HER OFF ON OLD OREGON TRAIL -- THE
SAME ROAD WHERE SHERRI PAPINI'S PHONE WAS FOUND -- AND SHE WENT
JOGGING. >> HE GAVE US THE SAME STORY
THAT HE DROPPED HER OFF ABOUT A MILE AND A HALF FROM OUR HOUSE,
TWO MILE -- THREE MILES FROM OUR HOUSE, AND THEN HAD GONE UP TO A
HILL NEARBY CALLED HANG GLIDER HILL
HE SAYS HE WENT UP TO HANG GLIDER HILL, AND WAS PRAYING FOR
THE LAST FIVE HOURS, AND HAD JUST GOTTEN HOME
>> Reporter: PRAYING >> PRAYING, WHICH --
>> Reporter: FOR FIVE HOURS? >> RIGHT
>> Reporter: THEN, A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER TERA DISAPPEARED --
>> WE WERE GOING THROUGH HER THINGS UP IN HER -- IN HER
BEDROOM AND -- AND FOUND THE LETTER
>> Reporter: A LETTER TERA HAD WRITTEN TO TROY TELLING HIM SHE
WANTED TO END THEIR RELATIONSHIP
AND YOU BELIEVE THAT HE -- SHE WAS GOING TO DELIVER A VERSION
OF THAT LETTER TO HIM? >> I THINK ORIGINALLY SHE HAD
WRITTEN IT ALL OUT THINKING SHE WOULD, YEAH, EITHER MAIL IT OR
GIVE IT TO HIM IN PERSON, AND THEN DECIDED SHE WOULD JUST TELL
HIM IN PERSON. >> Reporter: THE SMITHS THOUGHT
ZINK MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH TERA'S DISAPPEARANCE.
AND THEY ONLY BECAME MORE CERTAIN OF IT WHEN THEY LEARNED
THAT HE HAD A CRIMINAL RECORD -- HE HAD SERVED TIME FOR RAPE.
POLICE SEARCHED ZINK'S MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO AND FOUND WEAPONS --
A VIOLATION OF HIS PAROLE. HE WAS SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS
IN PRISON FOR THAT BUT POLICE NEVER FOUND EVIDENCE
TO PROVE ZINK HARMED TERA, AND HE WAS NEVER CHARGED
HE DENIES ANY INVOLVEMENT. *
>> Reporter: REDDING RALLIED AROUND THE SMITHS AFTER TERA
WENT MISSING VIGILS AND SEARCHES WENT ON FOR
MONTHS A $20,000 REWARD
MEDIA APPEARANCES. ALL OF IT LED NOWHERE.
>> IT WAS A VERY GRADUAL-- PROCESS REALIZING SHE WAS GONE
FROM THE TIME -- WE LOST TERA 'TIL ABOUT FOUR YEARS, I DON'T
HAVE SPECIFIC MEMORIES IT'S ALMOST LIKE IT WAS JUST
SUCH AN OVERWHELMING PART OF OUR CONSCIOUSNESS ALL THE TIME THAT
I DIDN'T HAVE ROOM FOR ANY OTHER MEMORIES
I FEEL LIKE I LOST THOSE YEARS IN SOME WAYS WITH OUR OTHER
KIDS >> Reporter: AND THEN, 18 YEARS
AFTER TERA VANISHED -- >> KEITH PAPINI REPORTED HIS
WIFE, SHERRI, AS A MISSING PERSON WITH SUSPICIOUS
CIRCUMSTANCES. >> IT WAS MAJOR NEWS IN OUR --
IN OUR SMALL COMMUNITY WE WATCHED IT LIKE EVERYBODY
ELSE >> Reporter: WHAT WERE THE ODDS?
DID YOU CONSIDER ANY POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN THIS CASE AND THE
TERA SMITH CASE? >> YEAH IT WAS SOMETHIN' THAT WE
LOOKED AT. THE DETECTIVES CHECKED TO SEE IF
TROY ZINK HAD AN ALIBI WE WERE IN CONTACT WITH
TROY ZINK, AND HE PROVIDED US INFORMATION WHERE HE WAS, WHICH
WAS CORROBORATED AND WE MOVED ON FROM THAT.
>> Reporter: WHAT DID YOU THINK ABOUT THE -- THE FACT THAT THE
COMPARISONS WERE MADE? >> OUTWARDLY, IT SEEMS LIKE
THERE'S SOME SIMILARITIES. OUTWARDLY.
BUT WE DIDN'T EVER -- WE NEVER MADE CORRELATION THAT MAYBE THE
SAME THING THAT HAPPENED TO SHERRI HAD HAPPENED TO TERA.
>> Reporter: BUT IF ANYONE COULD UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PAPINI
FAMILY WAS GOING THROUGH, IT WAS CERTAINLY THE SMITHS
KEITH PAPINI WENT TO TERA'S DAD, IN FACT, LOOKING FOR SUPPORT
AND THE SMITHS WERE KEEN TO HELP, BUT THEY WEREN'T
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SHERRI. >> PERSONALLY, I THOUGHT SHE WAS
PROBABLY GONE FOR GOOD THAT HAD BEEN OUR EXPERIENCE,
YOU KNOW >> Reporter: SO YOU CAN IMAGINE
THEIR SURPRISE -- EVERYONE'S SURPRISE -
AT WHAT HAPPENED NEXT. >>> COMING UP --
>> WE SAW THIS WOMAN FRANTICALLY AND DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET
SOMEONE'S ATTENTION. >> A WOMAN ALONG THE HIGHWAY,
AND AN URGENT CALL TO 911 -- COULD THIS BE SHERRI PAPINI?
>> Reporter: IT WAS EARLY MORNING, THANKSGIVING MORNING.
DARK HOURS BEFORE DAWN.
ALISON SUTTON WAS DRIVING WITH HER DAUGHTER ALONG A RURAL
STRETCH OF INTERSTATE 5, 150 MILES SOUTH OF REDDING
SUDDENLY, IN HER HEADLIGHTS -- WELL, LET HER TELL IT.
>> WE SAW THIS WOMAN WHO WAS ALMOST OUT IN 70-MILE-AN-HOUR
TRAFFIC. SHE WAS SO FRANTICALLY AND
DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION.
>> Reporter: A WOMAN ON FOOT, DARTING IN AND OUT OF FREEWAY
TRAFFIC. >> IF I'D SWERVED JUST A LITTLE
BIT, I WOULD'VE HIT -- I WOULD'VE HIT HER WITH MY CAR
I FELT LIKE WE, LIKE, LOCKED EYES
IT'S LIKE I CAUGHT HER GAZE WITH THIS -- AND THIS JUST, LIKE,
SHEER TERROR IN HER EYES THOSE EYES JUST, LIKE, HAUNTED
ME FOR A VERY LONG TIME. >> Reporter: ALISON PULLED OVER,
CALLED 911 >> I JUST SAID, YOU KNOW,
"THERE'S THIS WOMAN ON THE SIDE OF INTERSTATE 5, AND SHE
OBVIOUSLY NEEDS HELP." >> Reporter: ALISON DIDN'T KNOW
IT THEN, BUT THE TERRIFIED WOMAN ON THE HIGHWAY WAS THE SAME ONE
WHO HAD BEEN MAKING NATIONAL HEADLINES.
SHERRI PAPINI. IN THIS SECURITY CAM VIDEO FROM
A CHURCH PARKING LOT, YOU CAN SEE SHERRI JUST MOMENTS BEFORE
SHE WAS SPOTTED BY ALISON RUNNING ACROSS THE BLACKTOP ALL
ALONE. BACK IN REDDING, SHASTA COUNTY
SHERIFF'S INVESTIGATORS HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR SHERRI FOR 22 DAYS
STRAIGHT THIS WAS THEIR FIRST DAY OFF
KYLE WALLACE WAS ASLEEP WHEN HIS PHONE RANG
IT WAS SHERRI'S HUSBAND, KEITH PAPINI
>> KEITH CALLED ME ABOUT 4:00 IN THE MORNING.
HE WAS FRANTIC, WAS YELLING, SAYING THAT SHERRI HAD BEEN
FOUND. VERY, VERY EXCITED
AND AT THAT POINT, I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS -- HE WAS BEING
TRICKED. >> Reporter: A REASONABLE
SUSPICION. THE MASSIVE SEARCH FOR SHERRI
HAD COME UP EMPTY. WHAT WERE THE ODDS SHE WOULD
JUST TURN UP >> CHP IS ON SCENE
LOCATION IS JUST SOUTH OF YOLO ON NORTHBOUND I-5.
>> Reporter: BUT BY THEN HIGHWAY PATROL WAS ON THE SCENE, AND IT
APPEARED THIS WAS NO TRICK >> ADVISING THEY'RE GOING TO
NEED CSI SHE IS HEAVILY BATTERED
>> Reporter: WHEN DETECTIVES JACKSON AND WALLACE ARRIVED,
THEY FINALLY LAID EYES ON SHERRI PAPINI.
>> SHE WAS VERY EMOTIONAL, UPSET, CRYING.
>> Reporter: GONE WAS THE WOMAN FROM THOSE BEAUTIFUL PHOTOS.
SHERRI'S LONG, BLONDE HAIR WAS CHOPPED SHORT.
SHE LOOKED FRAIL, BRUISED AND BATTERED, AND MORE
>> WHEN SHE WAS INITIALLY FOUND ON THE SIDE OF I-5, SHE HAD BEEN
CHAINED. THERE WAS A CHAIN AROUND HER
WAIST AND SHE WAS ZIP-TIED TO THE CHAIN.
>> Reporter: HOW BADLY WAS SHE BRUISED?
>> EXTREME >> THE BRUISES WERE, YOU KNOW,
DIFFERENT STAGES OF HEALING. YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENT COLORS
THAT OCCUR DURING A BRUISE >> Reporter: AS IF THIS HAS
HAPPENED OVER THE WHOLE PERIOD OF TIME?
>> LEGS, ARMS, BACK. SO IT WAS -- IT WAS PRETTY
SIGNIFICANT. >> Reporter: AND THAT WASN'T
>> SHE HAD A BRAND >> Reporter: A BRAND BURNED INTO
THE SKIN OF HER RIGHT SHOULDER >> Reporter: IN -- IN WHAT
SHAPE? >> IT WAS STILL IN THE PROCESS
OF HEALING SO IT WAS STILL A SCAB, AND IT
WAS STILL HEALING. >> Reporter: IT WAS OBVIOUS
SHERRI HAD SUFFERED HORRIBLY BUT SHE WAS ALIVE.
>> WE ALL WOKE UP ON THANKSGIVING MORNING TO THE NEWS
THAT SHERRI'S BEEN FOUND AND SHE'S ALIVE.
AND A LITTLE WORSE FOR THE WEAR, BUT SHE WAS SAFE AND RETURNING
HOME TO SHASTA COUNTY. >> Reporter: THE CITIZENS OF
REDDING, THE HUNDREDS WHO HAD CONTRIBUTED, SEARCHED, AND
PRAYED FOR SHERRI PAPINI'S SAFE RETURN, WERE ECSTATIC.
>> I GOT ONTO THE PHONE WITH MY TEAM
AND WE WERE JUST LIKE, "YEAH," YOU KNOW, "PRAISE GOD.
ALL RIGHT. SHE'S BEEN FOUND
AND SHE'S ALIVE. AND THIS IS GREAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY CELEBRATED FOR THANKSGIVING.
IT WAS JUST, WOW, SUCH A BLESSED DAY.
>> Reporter: A THANKSGIVING DAY MIRACLE.
BITTERSWEET FOR TERA SMITH'S PARENTS.
>> IT WAS EXTREME HAPPINESS ONE SECOND AND THEN EXTREME JUST,
LIKE, CRASHING 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T -- IT SOUNDS SO
SELFISH, BUT WE DIDN'T GET OUR HAPPY ENDING
IT JUST SEEMED LIKE, OH, SOME -- SOME PEOPLE GET THAT -- GET THAT
HAPPY ENDING AND WE DIDN'T.
>> Reporter: SHERRI'S SISTER, SHEILA, SPOKE TO THE PRESS AFTER
SHERRI'S RETURN. >> KEITH AND SHERRI ONLY HAVE
ONE STATEMENT AT THIS TIME "WE ARE OVERWHELMED WITH JOY OF
HOW SUPPORTIVE EVERYONE HAS BEEN TO HELP BRING US TOGETHER AS A
FAMILY AGAIN." >> Reporter: SHERIFF BOSENKO
VOWED THAT HIS INVESTIGATORS WOULD FIND THE PEOPLE
RESPONSIBLE. >> THEY ARE STILL DEVOTED TO THE
CASE AND WILL NOT REST UNTIL HER CAPTOR OR CAPTORS IS IDENTIFIED
AND BROUGHT TO JUSTICE >> Reporter: OF COURSE THE
INVESTIGATORS WANTED ANSWERS AND URGENTLY
BUT AS THEY SOON FOUND OUT, ANSWERS WOULD NOT BE SO EASY TO
FIND >>> COMING UP --
BEATINGS AND BRANDING. >> SHE DESCRIBED THE PAIN, THE
BURNING, THE CRACKLING, THE SMELLS
>> HEART-WRENCHING NEW DETAILS BUT A HESITATION TO REVEAL THEM.
>> SHE SAID THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS INVOLVED IN HER ABDUCTION.
>> Reporter: HOW DID THAT STRIKE YOU?
>> IT STRUCK US AS ODD >> Reporter: WHEN SHERRI PAPINI
TURNED UP ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS SUDDENLY AS SHE HAD
DISAPPEARED THREE WEEKS EARLIER, DETECTIVES KNEW TIME WAS OF THE
ESSENCE. IT SEEMED CLEAR SHE HAD BEEN
ASSAULTED, WHICH MEANT THEY WERE LOOKING FOR VIOLENT CRIMINALS.
THEY NEEDED SHERRI TO TELL THEM WHO HURT HER
BUT SHERRI DID NOT WANT TO TALK TO THE POLICE.
>> SHE WAS HESITANT AT FIRST, LIKE A MISTRUST OF LAW
ENFORCEMENT. >> Reporter: AT FIRST IT WASN'T
CLEAR WHY. >> WE COULDN'T GET ANYTHING OUT
OF HER AT THAT POINT WE NEEDED TO CALM DOWN THE
SITUATION THE BEST WE COULD. SO KEITH CAME INTO THE ROOM,
'CAUSE AT THAT POINT, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO INTERVIEW HER BASED ON
HER EMOTIONAL STATE. >> Reporter: WITH INVESTIGATORS
PRESENT, KEITH PAPINI INTERVIEWED HIS WIFE ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED THE DAY SHE WENT OUT AND DIDN'T COME BACK
SHERRI TOLD A HARROWING STORY. >> SHE SAID THAT SHE WAS ON A
RUN IN HER NEIGHBORHOOD INITIALLY WHEN A UNKNOWN TYPE
SUV DROVE IN FRONT OF HER, TURNED AROUND, CAME BACK, AND
SHE WAS CONFRONTED BY TWO HISPANIC FEMALES, ONE OF WHICH
HAD A HANDGUN. ORDERED HER INTO THE VEHICLE
SHERRI SAID SHE COMPLIED GOT INTO THE CAR AND SHE -- THEY
DROVE HER TO AN UNKNOWN DESTINATION.
>> Reporter: TERRIFIED THE WHOLE TIME, I'M ASSUMING
RIGHT? >> CORRECT
>> Reporter: IN SUBSEQUENT INTERVIEWS, SHERRI OPENED UP
MORE MUCH MORE.
THIS DOCUMENT FILED IN FEDERAL COURT SUMMARIZES HER ACCOUNT,
WHICH DETECTIVES WALLACE AND JACKSON ARE TALKING ABOUT IN
DETAIL FOR THE FIRST TIME. SOME PARTS OF SHERRI'S STORY
WERE CRYSTAL CLEAR FOR EXAMPLE, ABOUT THAT
EYE-CATCHING CLUE. SHERRI'S HAIR WRAPPED UP WITH
HER EARBUDS. >> SHE LATER TOLD US SHE WAS
TOLD BY THE CAPTORS TO THROW HER PHONE.
SO SHE INTENTIONALLY GRABBED THE HAIR AND PLUCKED THE HAIRS OUT
AS SHE TOOK THE EARBUDS OUT. BECAUSE SHE SAID THAT WOULD
LEAVE A MESSAGE TO KEITH THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO HER.
>> Reporter: BUT SHERRI SAID SHE COULDN'T TELL THEM MUCH ABOUT
THE CAR RIDE WITH HER KIDNAPPERS
>> SHERRI SAID THAT A MASK WAS PUT OVER HER HEAD, OR A BAG OF
SOME SORT PUT OVER THE BACK OF HER HEAD
AND THEN SHE WAS PLACED IN THE BACK SEAT OF THE VEHICLE
YOU KNOW, IT WAS SUNNY DAY YOU KNOW, SHE RECALLED SEEIN'
WHAT SHE BELIEVED WAS, YOU KNOW, THE PASSING OF TREES BECAUSE OF
THE CHANGES OF THE COLOR AND LIGHT.
BUT AS FAR AS PROVIDIN' US A REAL GOOD DEPICTION OF THE
VEHICLE, SHE DID A POOR JOB AT THAT
>> Reporter: WHAT COULD SHE TELL YOU ABOUT WHERE SHE WAS TAKEN?
>> SO SHE DESCRIBED THE LOCATION OF A RURAL LOCATION AND COLD
SHE ALMOST DESCRIBED IT AS MOUNTAINOUS.
SHE SAID THEY CAME OFF OF A PAVED ROAD ONTO A DIRT DRIVEWAY
BEHIND A GATE. SHE DESCRIBED HAVING TO WALK UP
STAIRS TO GET INTO THE MAIN RESIDENCE AND THEN BEIN' PLACED
IN A ROOM THAT SHE DESCRIBED AS A RAISED FOUNDATIONAL HOUSE,
ALMOST LIKE A MODULAR HOME TYPE. >> Reporter: THE DETAILS SHE
OFFERED PAINTED A PICTURE OF A ROOM THAT LOOKED SOMETHING LIKE
THIS SHERRI SAID HER KIDNAPPERS PUT
HER IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES BUT KEPT HER IN HER OWN UNDERWEAR, A
POINT THAT WOULD MATTER A LOT LATER.
THEN THESE WOMEN, ONE OF THEM PARTICULARLY CRUEL, SHE SAID,
CUT OFF MOST OF HER LONG, BLONDE HAIR AND TOLD SHERRI SHE WAS
GOING TO SEND IT TO HER MOTHER THEY LET HER SHOWER, BUT ONLY
FED HER ONCE A DAY, SHE SAID RICE OR TORTILLAS, SOMETIMES
APPLES >> SHE LOOKED EMACIATED, YES
LOT OF HER BONES WERE STICKIN' OUT ON HER
LIKE, COLLARBONE STICKIN' OUT. SHOULDERS REALLY DEFINED
>> Reporter: LOOKED LIKE SHE WAS STARVING
>> YES YES.
>> Reporter: SHERRI SAID SHE TRIED TO ESCAPE BY RIPPING A
BOARD OFF A WINDOW AND FOR THAT, SHE SAID HER
ABDUCTORS PUNISHED HER BY KEEPING HER IN A CLOSET, CHAINED
BY HER WAIST TO A METAL POLE, A BUCKET FILLED WITH KITTY LITTER
FOR A TOILET SHE SAID THOSE WOMEN HIT HER IN
THE BACK AND TIED HER TO A TABLE AND BRANDED HER.
>> SHE DESCRIBED THE PAIN, THE BURNING, THE CRACKLING, THE
SMELLS >> Reporter: AND THE REASON SHE
WAS AFRAID TO REVEAL ALL THIS TO THE COPS
>> SHE SAID THAT LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS INVOLVED IN HER ABDUCTION.
>> Reporter: SHERRI SAID THE KIDNAPPERS TOLD HER, "YOU'RE
BUYER IS A COP." THE IDEA THAT SHE DIDN'T WANNA
TALK TO YOU BECAUSE SOME COPS WERE BEHIND HER ABDUCTION, OR
WANTED TO BUY HER SOME -- I MEAN, HOW DID THAT STRIKE YOU?
>> IT STRUCK US AS ODD >> Reporter: ANYTHING IS
POSSIBLE IN THIS WORLD, UNFORTUNATELY.
SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU HAVE TO INVESTIGATE, LOOK INTO TO SEE
IF THERE'S ANY VALIDITY TO IT. >> Reporter: AND THEN ONE DAY,
SHERRI SAID SHE HEARD THE WOMEN ARGUING IN SPANISH
SHE HEARD A GUN SHOT, AND AFTER A LONG TIME, ONE OF HER
KIDNAPPERS CAME TO GET HER, THREW A PILLOWCASE OVER HER
HEAD, PUT HER BACK IN THE SUV, AND DUMPED HER ON THE SIDE OF
INTERSTATE 5 BRANDED, BRUISED, BATTERED, BUT
NOT SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, SAID SHERRI
>> SHE'S ALWAYS CLAIMED THAT THERE WAS NO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
SHE WAS NEVER A VICTIM OF ANY SEXUAL ASSAULT OR SEXUAL
ACTIVITY DURING HER TIME AWAY. >> Reporter: THEY SENT SHERRI'S
CLOTHES TO THE CRIME LAB TO TEST FOR DNA.
AND LATER SHERRI SPOKE WITH A FORENSIC INTERVIEWER FROM THE
FBI. AND WHENEVER SOMETHING SPURRED A
MEMORY - >> SHE WOULD REACH OUT TO MYSELF
OR THE FBI AND BRING UP INFORMATION THAT IF SHE RECALLED
SOMETHING SPECIFIC >> Reporter: LIKE THAT TABLE SHE
SAID SHE WAS BRANDED ON. >> SO SHE DESCRIBED THE TABLE
AS, LIKE, A COFFEE TABLE SO SHORT LEGS, ONE OR TWO FEET
HIGH OFF THE GROUND. SHE SAID THE TILE WAS A FAKE,
WHICH PROVIDED, LIKE, A SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE TABLE THAT
SHE SAID THAT SHE WAS PLACED ON. >> Reporter: MANY MONTHS LATER,
KEITH PAPINI FOUND A PICTURE OF A TABLE THAT SHERRI SAID WAS
SIMILAR TO THE ONE SHE WAS BRANDED ON AND SENT IT TO
INVESTIGATORS. >> I THINK KEITH WAS TRYIN' TO
BE AS HELPFUL AS HE COULD. >> Reporter: BUT NONE OF THOSE
LEADS WENT ANYWHERE. AS THE WEEKS AND MONTHS SLIPPED
BY, LOCAL AND FEDERAL INVESTIGATORS SEEMED NO CLOSER
TO FINDING SHERRI'S KIDNAPPERS HOW DID SHE SEEM TO BE ADJUSTING
POST RETURN? >> I THINK IT WAS PRETTY SLOW.
SHE WASN'T GOING OUT IN THE PUBLIC MUCH.
SHE WAS STAYING INSIDE THE HOUSE.
>> Reporter: NOT LONG AFTER SHERRI TURNED UP, THE SMITHS
INVITED THE PAPINIS OVER FOR DINNER
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THEY'RE TELLING THE STORY PUBLICLY
>> IT SEEMED VERY OBVIOUS THAT SHE HAD BEEN THROUGH SOME
TRAUMATIC STUFF. >> SHE WAS VERY EMOTIONAL.
KEITH WAS VERY EMOTIONAL SHE WAS ALMOST, LIKE, SHAKY.
A LITTLE UNSTEADY TALKING ABOUT IT
OR JUST VERY UNCOMFORTABLE EVEN BEING -- JUST EVEN EXISTING.
>> SHE NEEDED TO USE THE RESTROOM AT ONE POINT.
AND SHE, FROM CLAUSTROPHOBIA THAT WAS LINKED TO HER BEING
HELD AGAINST HER WILL IN A ROOM, APPARENTLY, SHE HAD HER HUSBAND
ACCOMPANY HER INTO THE RESTROOM AND KINDA, YOU KNOW, JUST
STANDING GUARD >> Reporter: AND WHILE SHERRI
WAS RECOUNTING THE HORRIFIC DETAILS OF HER KIDNAPPING --
>> A RING CAME OFF OF HER FINGER AND FELL ON THE FLOOR.
SHE RECOVERED THE RING AND ESSENTIALLY SAID THAT SHE HAD
LOST SO MUCH WEIGHT THAT HER -- HER RINGS WON'T STAY ON HER HAND
>> Reporter: AFTER SHERRI PAPINI'S MIRACULOUS
RETURN HOME TO REDDING, THE COMMUNITY BREATHED A SIGH OF
RELIEF, FOLLOWED, ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, BY QUESTIONS FROM
PEOPLE LIKE LOCAL RESIDENT ELIZABETH PARKER
>> PERSONALLY, I WAS SKEPTICAL OF THE STORY
JUST TO HAPPEN TO APPEAR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, OUT OF
NOWHERE, ON THANKSGIVING OF ALL DAYS, IT JUST SEEMED LIKE IT WAS
WRITTEN FOR TELEVISION, HONESTLY
>> Reporter: AND TV REPORTER KELLI SAAM
>> IT WAS VERY, VERY STRANGE CIRCUMSTANCES OF WHY WOULD
SOMEONE LEAVE HER ALONG THE INTERSTATE
IF YOU'D KEPT HER FOR THREE WEEKS, WHY THAT MORNING?
AND WHY IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD YOU SUDDENLY DECIDE TO
RELEASE HER? SO THERE WERE MORE QUESTIONS
THAN -- THAN REALLY ANSWERS AT THAT POINT
BECAUSE NOW WE WANT TO HEAR FROM SHERRI HERSELF WHAT HAPPENED
>> Reporter: AND DID SHE SPEAK >> NO, SHE DID NOT
>> Reporter: OF COURSE, SHERRI HAD EVERY REASON TO LOCK HERSELF
IN HER HOME, GIVEN WHAT SHE HAD BEEN THROUGH
THE POLICE WEREN'T TALKING EITHER
BUT FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE INVESTIGATION, DETECTIVES
HAD -- WELL, THEY'D HEARD THINGS
>> EVERY PERSON HAD A DIFFERENT OPINION OF SHERRI THAT WE TALKED
TO ALL OF HER CLOSE FRIENDS, ALL OF
HER ACQUAINTANCES, EVERY PERSON HAD A DIFFERENT VIEW OF SHERRI,
OR SHERRI PORTRAYED HERSELF DIFFERENT TO EACH ONE OF THOSE
FRIENDS. >> Reporter: DID ANYONE SAY THAT
SHE HAD BEEN HABITUALLY A LIAR >> I WOULDN'T SAY THAT, LIKE,
HABITUAL I THINK THERE WERE SOME STORIES
THAT CAME OUT OF, LIKE, TALL TALES.
SOME MISREPRESENTATIONS OF TRUTHS
>> Reporter: SMALL TOWN GOSSIP MAYBE.
BUT THERE WERE ALSO THE INCIDENT REPORTS SHERRI'S FAMILY FILED
WITH THE SHASTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE IN THE EARLY 2000s.
THE REPORTS ARE VERY BRIEF NO CHARGES WERE FILED.
BUT FAMILY MEMBERS TOLD POLICE SHERRI VANDALIZED PROPERTY,
BROKE INTO HER SISTER'S HOME, TOOK MONEY FROM HER FATHER'S
CHECKING ACCOUNT WITHOUT HIS PERMISSION
AND THERE WAS THIS - AN INCIDENT REPORT FROM 2003,
FILED BY SHERRI'S MOTHER, SAID A THEN 21- YEAR-OLD SHERRI HAD
BEEN HARMING HERSELF AND BLAMING IT ON HER MOTHER
>> IT DOES CAUSE YOU TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF
DOUBT. YOU ALWAYS MAKE THOSE LITTLE
MENTAL NOTES ABOUT, "WELL, THAT WAS -- THAT INFORMATION WAS A
LITTLE WEIRD." >> Reporter: LIZ THOMSON IS A
FORMER HOMICIDE UNIT SUPERVISOR IN ALBUQUERQUE
SHE DIDN'T WORK ON THE PAPINI CASE, BUT GOT HOOKED ON IT
ANYWAY BECAUSE OF HER LIFELONG OBSESSION WITH HUMAN PSYCHOLOGY.
WHEN THOMSON REVIEWED THE COURT DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE CASE,
HER 20 YEARS AS AN INVESTIGATOR TOLD HER THAT SOME PARTS OF
SHERRI'S STORY JUST DIDN'T MAKE SENSE.
LIKE THAT CLUE SHERRI SAID SHE LEFT BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
>> YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE -- [ LAUGHTER ]
STEPS OF PULLING OUT YOUR OWN HAIR, PLACING IT ON THE EARBUDS,
AND THEN PLACING THE PHONE DOWN. IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT TO BE GOING
ON WHILE YOU'RE BEING HELD AT GUNPOINT
>> Reporter: AND WHILE SHE WAS IN THE BACK OF THE CAR, SHERRI
TOLD INVESTIGATORS HER HANDS WERE ZIP-TIED BEHIND HER BACK.
>> BUT THEN, SHE TALKED ABOUT CHEWING THROUGH THE ZIP TIES
>> Reporter: WITH THEM BEHIND HER BACK
HMM. >> SHE COULD NOT EXPLAIN HOW SHE
GOT HER HANDS TO THE FRONT TO THEN CHEW THROUGH ZIP TIES
>> Reporter: DIDN'T ADD UP NEITHER DID THIS -- SHERRI SAID
THE KIDNAPPERS ALLOWED HER TO TAKE SHOWERS, BUT MADE HER USE
KITTY LITTER FOR A TOILET. >> SO THEY COULDN'T TAKE HER TO
THE BATHROOM, BUT THEY COULD TAKE HER TO SHOWER
>> Reporter: AND THEN THERE WAS THE BRANDING
AT ONE POINT SHERRI SAID IT WAS PUNISHMENT FOR TRYING TO ESCAPE.
AT ANOTHER, THAT IT WAS PUNISHMENT FOR MAKING TOO MUCH
NOISE. AND SHE GAVE A THIRD REASON.
>> THE BUYER, THE PERSON WHO WAS PURCHASING HER, LIKED THAT AND
WANTED THAT. SAID SHE COULDN'T SEE WHAT THEY
USED TO BRAND HER, SHE ALSO SAID SHE THOUGHT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A
CRAFTING TOOL. >> IT WASN'T A DRASTIC CHANGE OF
STORY. IT WAS MAYBE A NEW DETAIL HERE
OR THERE BUT THERE WAS NEVER ANYTHING
THAT MADE US JUMP UP AND DOWN AND SAY IT IS OR IT WASN'T TRUE.
>> Reporter: LATER IN AN INTERVIEW WITH WITH THE F.B.I.,
SHERRI ASKED WHAT INVESTIGATORS THOUGHT THE BRAND SAID, EVEN
THOUGH SHE ALREADY SEEMED TO KNOW
IT WAS A WORD -- "EXODUS." >> SHE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS FROM
THE BIBLE, BUT IT WAS CONFUSING. AND I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT
EXODUS IS ABOUT THE RESCUE OR THE LIBERATION OF THE ISRAELITES
FROM SLAVERY >> Reporter: ONE THING SHERRI
WAS CONFIDENT ABOUT -- HER DESCRIPTION OF HER CAPTORS --
TWO HISPANIC WOMEN BUT THAT -- THAT TWEAKED
SOMEONE'S MEMORY AND FROM THERE CAME A HUGE FLOOD
OF CONTROVERSY >>> COMING UP --
NEW SKETCHES OF THE ALLEGED CAPTORS.
>> WE RECEIVED QUITE A FEW TIPS THAT PEOPLE WOULD REPORT THAT
THEY SAW TWO FEMALES THAT LOOKED SIMILAR TO THE SKETCHES.
>> AND, A SURPRISE FROM THE DNA LAB.
THE RESULTS? NOT AT ALL WHAT INVESTIGATORS
EXPECTED >> Reporter: THROUGHOUT THEIR
INVESTIGATION, DETECTIVES JACKSON AND WALLACE STRUGGLED TO
GET INFORMATION OUT OF SHERRI PAPINI.
SHE SEEMED FRIGHTENED, TRAUMATIZED, DETAILS WERE HAZY
BUT SHE WAS ALWAYS CLEAR ABOUT THE DESCRIPTION OF HER
KIDNAPPERS >> HISPANIC FEMALES -- ONE
YOUNGER, ONE OLDER SHE STATED THE YOUNGER HISPANIC
FEMALE CAME OUT WITH A HANDGUN, AND PUT HER AT GUNPOINT AND
FORCED HER INTO THE VEHICLE. >> Reporter: HISPANIC FEMALES.
THE DESCRIPTION WENT FAR AND WIDE
AND, JUST DAYS AFTER SHERRI RE-APPEARED, IT ALSO BECAME A
FLASHPOINT WHEN SOMEONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA DISCOVERED THIS -
DID YOU READ THIS BLOG POST CALLED "KEEP WALKING"?
>> YES, WE DID >> Reporter: IT WAS REPORTEDLY
WRITTEN IN 2003, SIGNED BY A SHERRI GRAEFF.
GRAEFF WAS SHERRI'S MAIDEN NAME. IT TOLD THE STORY OF A WHITE
WOMAN BULLIED BY HISPANIC WOMEN BECAUSE OF HER RACE.
"THE CHIEF PROBLEM WAS THAT I WAS DRUG-FREE, WHITE, AND PROUD
OF MY BLOOD AND HERITAGE THIS REALLY IRKED A GROUP OF
LATINO GIRLS, WHICH WOULD CONSTANTLY RAG AND ATTACK ME."
SHE CONCLUDED WRITING, "BEING WHITE IS MORE THAN JUST BEING
AWARE OF MY SKIN, BUT OF STANDING BEHIND SKINHEADS AND
HAVING PRIDE FOR MY COUNTRY. >> IT WAS NEVER ANYTHING WE
COULD SAY THAT SHE ACTUALLY WROTE.
WHEN WE TALKED TO HER, WE COULDN'T CONFIRM THAT THAT'S THE
SHERRI GRAEFF OR THAT'S THE ONE IN THE SAME PERSON
>> SHE DENIED THOSE THINGS AND SAID SOMEONE HAD POSTED UNDER
HER NAME, AND THAT SHE HAD HIRED AN ATTORNEY TO GET THOSE POSTS
TAKEN DOWN OFF SOCIAL MEDIA. >> Reporter: NEVERTHELESS, WHEN
THE BLOG POST HIT THE NEWS IT RAISED UNCOMFORTABLE QUESTIONS
>> WHEN A COUNTRY IS SO DIVIDED RACIALLY IT'S A PROBLEM.
>> Reporter: NEAMA RAHMANI IS A FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR.
AND HE SAID THE STORY TOLD IN THE BLOG POST IS UNCOMFORTABLY
SIMILAR TO THE ONE SHERRI TOLD ABOUT HER ABDUCTION.
>> THIS YOUNG, ATTRACTIVE, WHITE WOMAN THAT REALLY CAPTURED THE
COUNTRY'S ATTENTION, SHE IS BLAMING MEMBERS OF A MINORITY
GROUP FOR KIDNAPPING AND TORTURING HER.
>> Reporter: WHICH ONLY ADDED MORE PRESSURE TO SOLVE THE CASE.
WHAT THE DETECTIVES NEEDED DESPERATELY WAS SOME HARD
EVIDENCE AND THEN, SUDDENLY, IN
EARLY 2017, THERE IT WAS >> WORKING ON THAT CASE FOR SO
LONG AND JUST HITTING ROADBLOCKS, AND THEN WE GET THE
DNA. IT WAS HUGE FOR US
>> Reporter: THE CRIME LAB HAD FOUND FOREIGN DNA ON SHERRI'S
BODY AND HER CLOTHING. THERE WASN'T MUCH OF IT, AND
THEY WEREN'T SURE HOW IT GOT THERE.
>> IT WAS A TRANSFER TYPE OF DNA.
IT WASN'T JUST SOMETHIN' THAT YOU COULD SWAB -- THAT'S ANOTHER
ODDITY OF THIS CASE, NOTHIN' WAS EASY
>> Reporter: THE DNA WAS FROM TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE NOT
SHERRI PAPINI. ONE SAMPLE WAS SERIOUSLY
DEGRADED >> THAT DNA WAS A PARTIAL
PROFILE. AND SO WE WERE ONLY LIMITED
TO -- TO RUN THAT LOCALLY IN THE STATE DATABASE
AND THERE WAS NO CONNECTION. >> Reporter: BUT THE OTHER DNA
SAMPLE WAS STRONG. THEY HAD -- CRIMINALISTS HAD TO
COMPILE IT AND PUT IT TOGETHER TO SHOW THAT COMPLETE DNA
STRUCTURE. COMPLETE ENOUGH TO GIVE THESE
DETECTIVES SOME HOPE >> IT WAS A PIECE OF INFORMATION
THAT WAS TANGIBLE. YOU KNOW, WE COULD PUT IT IN THE
"COMBINED DNA INDEX SYSTEM," OR CODIS, AND, HOPEFULLY GET THE
PERSON IDENTIFIED, WHICH WOULD THEN PUSH US TO THE NEXT STAGE
>> Reporter: CODIS IS A HUGE DATABASE OF DNA PROFILES
MAINTAINED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. IF SHERRI'S KIDNAPPERS HAD BEEN
CONVICTED, OR EVEN ARRESTED BEFORE, THEY COULD WELL BE IN
IT >> IT WAS AN EXCITING TIME FOR
US I REMEMBER TALKING WITH KYLE AND
WAITING FOR US TO GET A HIT ON THAT DNA
>> Reporter: IT TOOK A FEW DAYS TO GET THE RESULTS BACK -- NO
MATCH. THAT'S FRUSTRATING
>> IT WAS A IMMEDIATE HIGH IN THE BEGINNING.
AND THEN ABOUT A WEEK OR SO LATER, WE HAVE A LOW
>> Reporter: CODIS IS CONSTANTLY UPDATED, SO THEIR SEARCH WOULD
BE RE-RUN ONCE A WEEK. BUT FOR NOW THE DNA WAS A DEAD
END -- AT LEAST WHEN IT CAME TO IDENTIFYING A SUSPECT.
BUT THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE VERY SIGNIFICANT ABOUT THE DNA
THAT DEGRADED SAMPLE -- THE ONE THEY COULDN'T MATCH -- CAME FROM
A WOMAN. THE OTHER SAMPLE, FOUND ON HER
UNDERWEAR, CAME FROM A MAN AND IT DID NOT MATCH HER
HUSBAND. MALE DNA IN SOMEBODY'S UNDERWEAR
DOES TEND TO BE SOMEWHAT SUGGESTIVE.
BUT -- >> IT -- IT COULD DEFINITELY
CAUSE A PERSON TO -- TO HAVE PAUSE ABOUT IT -- ABOUT IT
I -- I WILL AGREE WITH YOU ON THAT
>> Reporter: ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE WAS ABDUCTED, SHE SAID, BY TWO
WOMEN. >> WELCOME TO OUR INVESTIGATION.
>> Reporter: REMEMBER, SHERRI TOLD INVESTIGATORS THAT TWO
WOMEN TOOK HER. NO MAN WAS INVOLVED AT ANY
POINT. AND SHE WAS NOT SEXUALLY
ASSAULTED. SO HOW TO EXPLAIN THAT MALE DNA?
DETECTIVES WALLACE AND JACKSON HAD TO NAVIGATE THE
INVESTIGATION CAREFULLY. >> THE LAST THING WE WANNA DO IS
TO -- IS TO SHUT HER DOWN AND CONFRONT HER IF WE DON'T HAVE
EVERYTHING IN ORDER. BECAUSE THEN SHE'S NEVER GONNA
TALK WITH US AGAIN, THERE WAS A LOTTA THINGS THAT WEREN'T RIGHT.
WE JUST DIDN'T QUITE KNOW WHAT IT WAS AT THE TIME
AND WE WERE GONNA GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT -
>> Reporter: THERE WAS ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO TREAD LIGHTLY
IN 2015, A FEW HOURS SOUTH OF REDDING IN VALLEJO, CALIFORNIA,
A WOMAN NAMED DENISE HUSKINS TOLD POLICE SHE WAS KIDNAPPED
AND LATER RETURNED. AND INVESTIGATORS DECLARED THAT
A HOAX ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. >> POLICE SAY SHE LIED ABOUT HER
OWN KIDNAPPING >> Reporter: THEY WERE WRONG
DENISE HUSKINS' ABDUCTION HAD BEEN ALL TOO REAL.
IT WAS A CASE THAT MADE FOR WORLD HEADLINES, AND WIDESPREAD
CONDEMNATION OF THE VALLEJO POLICE DEPARTMENT.
>> Reporter: THAT WAS A BLACK EYE.
>> YEAH, A BLACK EYE FOR EVERYBODY.
>> Reporter: HERE'S THE CURRENT SHERIFF OF SHASTA COUNTY -
MICHAEL JOHNSON. >> EVERY CASE LIKE THAT
CONTRIBUTES TO WHY WE'RE SO THOROUGH AND CAREFUL, AND MAKE
SURE THAT WE DO IT RIGHT 'CAUSE, YOU KNOW, ONE, THAT'S
NOT FAIR TO A TRUE VICTIM. AND TWO, PART OF PROFESSIONALISM
IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTEGRITY RESTS UPON THE FACT THAT WE
SHOULD BE VETTING OUT ALL THOSE THINGS
>> Reporter: IN OCTOBER, 2017, NEARLY A YEAR AFTER SHERRI
DISAPPEARED, THE SHASTA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE FINALLY PUT OUT
A PRESS RELEASE ABOUT THE DNA RESULTS, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME
SAYING THEY HAD NO REASON TO DOUBT SHERRI'S STORY
THEY ALSO RELEASED THESE SKETCHES MADE BY THE F.B.I.,
BASED ON SHERRI'S DESCRIPTION OF HER CAPTORS -- THE NOTORIOUS
HISPANIC FEMALES THE SKETCHES THAT SHERRI
PROVIDED -- WHAT CAME OF THOSE THINGS
WERE THERE TIPS OUTTA THEM >> WE RECEIVED QUITE A FEW TIPS
THAT -- PEOPLE WOULD REPORT THAT THEY SAW TWO FEMALES THAT LOOKED
SIMILAR TO THE SKETCHES AT A WALMART IN WHATEVER CITY
THEY SEEMED, QUOTE-UNQUOTE AND THEN THERE WAS NOTHIN' EVER
REALLY CONCRETE. >> Reporter: AFTER THAT,
NOTHING. NO PRESS RELEASES, NO
STATEMENTS SILENCE.
>> WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT PUBLIC HAPPENS, AND THEN YOU
JUST KINDA SHUT THE STORY DOWN WITH NO CONCLUSION, OF COURSE,
EVERYBODY'S GONNA START GOING, "WELL, WHAT HAPPENED
WHY AREN'T WE GETTING ANSWERS? >> Reporter: AFTER ORGANIZING
THE SEARCH WHEN SHERRI WAS MISSING, TRUDY NICKENS WAS
STARTING TO HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT SHERRI'S STORY
>> PERSONALLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN JUST SITTING DOWN AND DISCUSSING
THE STORY WITH PEOPLE -- A COUPLE OF COLLEAGUES -- FELT
ALMOST SHUNNED, LIKE, HOW DARE I QUESTION THE STORY
HOW DARE I THINK THAT THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN A DIFFERENT
SCENARIO HAPPENING? THE MAJORITY OF THE PUBLIC, I
BELIEVE, BELIEVED THAT SHE WAS TAKEN OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD
>> Reporter: SHASTA COUNTY DETECTIVES AND THE F.B.I. HAD
NOTHING TO SAY PUBLICLY ABOUT THE SHERRI PAPINI CASE
BUT BEHIND CLOSED DOORS WAS A VERY DIFFERENT STORY
>>> COMING UP -- A SOLID LEAD, AT LAST, FROM THAT
MALE DNA SHERRI PAPINI'S MYSTERY MAN IS
ABOUT TO GET A KNOCK ON THE DOOR
>> HE WASN'T READY FOR US WOULD BE THE EASIEST WAY TO PUT IT
HE WAS SCARED AND SHOCKED THAT >> Reporter: VETERAN DETECTIVES
BRIAN JACKSON AND KYLE WALLACE WERE DETERMINED TO CRACK THE
SHERRI PAPINI CASE >> WE HAD A GOAL, AND THE GOAL
WAS TO FIND THE ABDUCTORS AND TO GET THIS CASE SOLVED
>> Reporter: THEY HAD THE KIND OF EVIDENCE THAT OFTEN SOLVES
CASES -- THE MALE DNA FOUND ON SHERRI'S UNDERWEAR
BUT WITHOUT A HIT IN CODIS, THERE WASN'T MUCH THEY COULD DO
WITH IT. THAT IS, UNTIL APRIL 24, 2018.
>> THE MYSTERY SURROUNDING AN INFAMOUS KILLING SPREE THAT
SHOOK CALIFORNIA AND CONFOUNDED INVESTIGATORS FOR DECADES MAY
HAVE JUST ENDED. >> Reporter: THE NOTORIOUS
GOLDEN STATE SERIAL KILLER WAS ONE OF THE FIRST MAJOR CASES TO
BE CRACKED USING "FORENSIC GENEALOGY" -- SO-CALLED
"FAMILIAL DNA" -- THAT TAPS DNA PROFILES STORED IN MASSIVE,
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASES HOW DID THE GOLDEN STATE KILLER
CASE AFFECT LAW ENFORCEMENT AROUND THE COUNTRY
>> SO DRAMATICALLY JUST A GAME-CHANGER.
>> Reporter: DETECTIVES WALLACE AND JACKSON FIGURED MAYBE WE
SHOULD TRY THIS FAMILIAL DNA THING.
I KNOW THAT SOME PEOPLE WERE SAYING, "WELL, WHY DIDN'T YOU DO
THAT SOONER? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE'S
BENCHMARKS IN AN INVESTIGATION YOU HAVE TO REACH.
>> Reporter: EVENTUALLY, THEY GOT THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE TO APPROVE A FAMILIAL DNA SEARCH
IT WAS A SLOW PROCESS. BUT THEN, ON MARCH 19, 2020,
THREE YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS AFTER SHERRI PAPINI WEIRDLY
APPEARED ALONG INTERSTATE 5 -- THERE WAS A HIT ON A FAMILY
MEMBER OF THE MAN WHOSE DNA THEY RECOVERED FROM SHERRI'S
UNDERWEAR. >> WHICH LED US TO SEVERAL
POSSIBILITIES OF PEOPLE IT MAY OR MAY NOT BE.
>> Reporter: ONE OF THOSE POSSIBILITIES WAS AN AMATEUR
HOCKEY GOALIE WHO LIVED IN COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, AND MANAGED
THE SKATE STORE AT AN ICE RINK HIS NAME WAS JAMES REYES
TELL ME ABOUT THIS GUY >> I THINK THE EASIEST WAY TO
DESCRIBE HIM IS JUST -- LIKE A BURNOUT, ESSENTIALLY
HE PLAYED HOCKEY, EVERY DAY OR MAJORITY OF HIS DAYS OFF
SINGLE GUY JUST LIVIN' THAT GLORY DAYS LIFE
I THINK'S THE EASIEST WAY TO DESCRIBE IT.
>> Reporter: FRIENDS DESCRIBED REYES AS THE NICEST GUY IN THE
WORLD. COULD HE REALLY BE INVOLVED IN
SHERRI PAPINI'S DISAPPEARANCE? THE DETECTIVES HAD TO BE SURE.
SO THEY TRAVELED TO COSTA MESA AND THEY STAKED OUT -- OF ALL
THINGS -- HIS TRASH CAN.
>> SO DETECTIVES WILL FOLLOW PEOPLE
THEY'LL SEE THAT THEY'VE DISCARDED SOME TRASH
>> Reporter: IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED
>> YEAH. THEY WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY A
GREEN TEA BOTTLE THAT HE HAD DRANK FROM
SO THEY WERE ABLE TO GET HIS DNA FROM THE BOTTLE.
>> Reporter: AND WHADDYA KNOW? THE DNA ON THE BOTTLE WAS A
PERFECT MATCH TO THE DNA ON SHERRI'S UNDERWEAR
SOMEHOW, JAMES REYES WAS INVOLVED AFTER ALL
AS THE DETECTIVES DUG DEEPER INTO REYES'S LIFE, THEY WOULD
DISCOVER HE WAS CONNECTED TO SHERRI BY MORE THAN DNA.
THE TWO HAD HISTORY. >> THEY HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER
SINCE THEY WERE IN THEIR EARLY TEENS.
THEY HAD BEEN BOYFRIEND AND GIRLFRIEND
HE SAID THAT THEY HAD ACTUALLY BEEN ENGAGED TO EACH OTHER
>> Reporter: THEY CALLED IT QUITS IN 2006.
SO WHY HAD REYES SUDDENLY APPEARED IN SHERRI'S LIFE NINE
YEARS AFTER THEY'D SPLIT UP? >> I WAS GETTIN' A LITTLE MORE
EXCITED TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW HE WAS INVOLVED NOW THAT I KNEW
THAT THEY HAD A PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIP
>> Reporter: WALLACE AND AN FBI AGENT WENT TO REYES' DUPLEX TO
FIND OUT MYSELF, THE L.A. FIELD
OFFICE OF FBI AND THEN A LOCAL AGENT JUST CONTACTED HIM AT HIS
RESIDENCE ON A COLD KNOCK. >> Reporter: WHAT DID THE
BOYFRIEND LOOK LIKE WHEN A COUPLE OF COPS ARRIVED AT THE
DOOR >> HE WAS SHOCKED.
HE WASN'T READY FOR US, WOULD BE THE EASIEST WAY TO PUT IT.
HE WAS SCARED AND SHOCKED THAT WE WERE THERE.
>> Reporter: AT FIRST HE WASN'T EXACTLY CHATTY
>> HE WANTED TO LIMIT WHAT HE WAS SAYIN', WHICH IS COMMON FOR
THESE TYPES OF INVESTIGATIONS. SO, INITIALLY, IT WAS A LOT OF
JUST THE -- TRY TO BREAK HIM >> Reporter: BUT EVENTUALLY,
JAMES REYES BEGAN TO TALK. IT STARTED IN DECEMBER, 2015,
SAID JAMES, WHEN HE WAS CLEANING HIS HOME AND STUMBLED ON SOME OF
SHERRI'S THINGS. HE PACKED THEM UP AND SENT THEM
OFF. HE MAILED SOME STUFF TO HER
PARENTS' PLACE OR SOMETHING AND THEN SHE CONTACTED HIM
>> YES, WHICH STARTED THE CONVERSATIONS, TEXT MESSAGES,
PHONE CALLS. >> Reporter: SHERRI CALLED
FIRST, SAID JAMES. HE WAS AT WORK AT THE SKATE
STORE. HE TOLD DETECTIVES SHERRI SAID
SHE WAS IN TROUBLE WHAT WAS HIS EXPLANATION FOR WHY
HE HELPED HER IN THE FIRST PLACE?
>> AS A FRIEND >> YEAH, HE WAS A FRIEND
SHE CALLED HIM IN NEED >> Reporter: IT WAS HER
MARRIAGE >> SHE DESCRIBED THAT SHE WAS IN
AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH KEITH, THAT SHE NEEDED TO GET
AWAY SHE NEEDED HIS HELP.
>> Reporter: IF HE WAS GOING TO HELP HER, HE SAID SHE TOLD HIM
THEY'D NEED TO TALK IN SECRET. >> SHERRI WAS THE PERSON WHO
TOLD HIM TO GO GET A MINUTE-BY-MINUTE PHONE
>> Reporter: A BURNER PHONE. SHERRI GOT ONE TOO, HE SAID.
>> SHERRI EVENTUALLY USED THE MAIL TO SEND HIM THE PLAN.
SO, HE GOT A CARE PACKAGE WITH INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW SHE WANTED
HIM TO GET THERE >> Reporter: THE PLAN WAS FOR
JAMES TO DRIVE 600 MILES FROM HIS HOME IN COSTA MESA TO
REDDING TO RESCUE SHERRI >> JAMES HAD TO FIND A FRIEND TO
RENT HIM A CAR FOR HIM SO, THE RENTAL CAR WASN'T IN HIS
NAME >> Reporter: AFTER DRIVING ALL
THE WAY TO REDDING, JAMES GOT BREAKFAST AT A TRADER JOE'S AND
THEN WAITED OUTSIDE A STARBUCKS FOR A TEXT MESSAGE FROM SHERRI
ON HIS PREPAID PHONE IT WAS NOVEMBER 2, 2016.
WHEN JAMES TOLD THE STORY TO DETECTIVES HE COULDN'T QUITE
REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE ROAD WHERE SHERRI TOLD HIM TO PICK
HER UP "OLD SOMETHING," HE SAID
OLD OREGON TRAIL THEN, DRIVING DOWN THE DUSTY
ROAD, HE SPOTTED A SWEATY SHERRI IN RUNNING CLOTHES
AND THEN HE PICKED HER UP BESIDE THE ROAD
THEY LEFT THE CELL PHONE BY THE ROAD
AND THAT'S HOW THE WHOLE THING BEGAN?
>> THAT'S HOW IT KICKED OFF. >> Reporter: AFTER SHERRI
DITCHED HER CELL PHONE AND EARBUDS, SHE LAY FLAT ON THE
BACK SEAT, BARELY SAYING A WORD, AS REYES DROVE ALL THE WAY BACK
TO COSTA MESA AND SETTLED HER AT HIS APARTMENT.
WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO HIS PLACE, DID HE SAY WHAT HE THOUGHT WOULD
HAPPEN OR WHAT -- WHAT -- WHAT DID HAPPEN
>> HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN ON THE RELATIONSHIP
AND HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN THE NEXT DAY.
HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS GONNA HAPPEN THE NEXT HOUR
>> Reporter: BUT WHAT DID HAPPEN
REMEMBER WHEN WE SAID "TWISTED"? >>> COMING UP --
THAT BIZARRE BRANDING -- DID IT COME AT SHERRI'S REQUEST
>> SHE WANTED HIM TO GO SPECIFICALLY TO, LIKE, A HOBBY
LOBBY AND TO GET LIKE, A WOOD-BURNING KIT OR A
WOOD-CARVIN' KIT HE SAID SHE JUST LAID THERE,
TIGHTENED HER BACK AND HE CONDUCTED THE BRAND.
>> Reporter: TO HEAR JAMES REYES TELL IT, HE WAS RESCUING
SHERRI PAPINI. HIS STORY WAS THAT AFTER A
CLANDESTINE MEETING ARRANGED ON BURNER PHONES, HE DROVE NEARLY
TEN HOURS TO BRING HER TO HIS HOME IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
>> EVERYTHING WAS NORMAL WHEN THEY FIRST GOT THERE
SHE ASKED TO BE IN A SPECIFIC ROOM
SO HE HAD TO MOVE ALL OF THE FURNITURE OUT OF THE ROOM THAT
SHE WANTED >> Reporter: HE SAID WHILE
SHERRI HID OUT IN HER CHOSEN ROOM, HE TRIED TO GO ABOUT
BUSINESS AS USUAL. >> HE CONTINUED TO GO TO WORK,
WENT TO ALL OF HIS HOCKEY GAMES. >> Reporter: HE CAME HOME TO
DISCOVER SHERRI HAD TRANSFORMED HIS APARTMENT.
HE SAID WITH THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS, SHE DID A DEEP CLEAN OF
HIS APARTMENT. >> WENT FROM A BACHELOR
LIFESTYLE HOUSE TO A HOUSE THAT WAS VERY CLEAN
WOW. >> Reporter: DID HE TELL YOU
THAT HE -- HE -- HE WAS WAITIN' FOR THE ROMANCE TO BEGIN
>> IF THE RELATIONSHIP TOOK BACK OFF, I THINK HE WAS ABSOLUTELY
WILLING TO CONTINUE THAT ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP.
>> Reporter: BUT ACCORDING TO JAMES, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
HE SAID SHE SLEPT IN HIS BED HE SLEPT ON THE COUCH.
>> WE WERE ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT THERE WAS NO SEXUAL ACTIVITY
>> Reporter: IF HIS DNA WAS ON SHERRI'S CLOTHING, IT MUST HAVE
GOTTEN THERE SOME OTHER WAY. SHE COULD'VE HANDED HIM A PILE
OF CLOTHES, AND HE'D TAKE THEM OFF TO THE WASHING MACHINE AND
THEN HAND THEM BACK TO HER AFTER, AND HE LEFT HIS DNA ON
HER UNDERWEAR. IS THAT POSSIBLY HOW IT GOT
THERE? >> THAT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE
HIGHER PROBABILITIES OF WHAT THAT DNA HAD BEEN ORIGINATED
FROM >> SHE WAS ABLE TO GET THE
TRANSFER FROM BEIN' IN HIS HOUSE, SLEEPIN' IN HIS BED
>> ACTION NEWS NOW REPORTER AVISHA SCARBOROUGH VISITED THOSE
VOLUNTEERS TODAY AND ALSO SPOKE WITH THE MISSING WOMAN'S FAMILY.
>> Reporter: AS THE STORM OF NEWS ABOUT SHERRI'S
DISAPPEARANCE RAGED ACROSS THE COUNTRY, JAMES SAID HE TOLD
FAMILY AND FRIENDS TO KEEP THEIR DISTANCE WHILE SHERRI FOLLOWED
NEWS ABOUT THEIR FRANTIC SEARCH FOR HER ON HER OWN BURNER PHONE.
>> SHE STAYED INSIDE THE APARTMENT THE ENTIRE TIME.
SHE WOULD ASK HIM TO GO GET CERTAIN STUFF THROUGHOUT HER
STAY THERE >> Reporter: INSIDE JAMES'S
HOME, THINGS WERE GETTING STRANGER
>> HE WAS DAY TO DAY WITH SHERRI, WAITIN' FOR WHAT WAS
GONNA HAPPEN NEXT. >> Reporter: WITHIN A WEEK, HE
TOLD POLICE, SHERRI HAD CUT OFF HER OWN HAIR
AND WHILE HE PROVIDED PLENTY OF GOOD FOOD, HE SAID SHE PUT
HERSELF ON PRISON-TYPE RATIONS, LOSING WEIGHT TO THE POINT SHE
LOOKED EMACIATED HE CLAIMED SHE BANGED HER HEAD
ON THE BATHTUB AND BATHROOM FLOOR.
SEVERE BRUISES FROM THAT AND HERE'S THE FIRST TIME THE
DETECTIVES ARE SHARING THE DETAILS OF WHAT JAMES SAID
SHERRI TOLD HIM TO DO NEXT SHE DEMANDED HE BEAT HER
WHAT WAS THAT LIKE FOR HIM >> HE REFUSED TO PUT HIS OWN
HANDS ON HER TO HURT HER SO HE WOULD SHOOT HOCKEY PUCKS
OFF OF HER LEGS AND SHINS. >> Reporter: AND THAT WASN'T
ALL. >> ON ONE OCCASION, SHERRI
WANTED HIM TO HIT HER IN THE FACE WITH THE HOCKEY STICK
HE DESCRIBED SHERRI THEN RUNNIN' INTO THE HOCKEY STICK WHILE HE
JUST HELD IT OUT AND THAT'S HOW SHE CAUSED THE
INJURY TO HER NOSE >> Reporter: HAVE YOU EVER HEARD
SUCH A THING IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE
>> NO, I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF ANYTHING LIKE THIS
NOT EVEN KIND OF >> Reporter: IF THAT SOUNDED
IMPROBABLE, CONSIDER HIS STORY ABOUT THE BRANDING
JAMES CLAIMED SHERRI GAVE HIM INSTRUCTIONS
>> WANTED HIM TO GO SPECIFICALLY TO, LIKE, A HOBBY LOBBY AND TO
GET, LIKE, A WOOD BURNING KIT OR A WOOD CARVIN' KIT
HE SAID SHE JUST LAID THERE, TIGHTENED HER BACK
HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE BRANDED IN HER
HE WAS JUST HANDED THE LETTERS AND HE -- HE CONDUCTED THE
BRAND. >> Reporter: SO YOU PUT THE
LETTER ON THE END OF THE -- ON THE END OF THE CRAFTING TOOL,
AND YOU JUST STAMP IT ON HER BACK, BASICALLY?
>> YUP, ONCE IT HEATS UP >> Reporter: AND THEN YOU PUT
ANOTHER ONE ON AND STAMP THE NEXT LETTER ON
>> YUP IT SOUNDS LIKE IT TOOK AT LEAST
AN HOUR OR TWO >> Reporter: AFTER THREE WEEKS,
SAID JAMES, SHERRI TOLD HIM SHE MISSED HER KIDS AND WANTED TO GO
HOME >> IT WAS JUST ANOTHER DAY
HE DOESN'T KNOW IF IT WAS BECAUSE IT WAS THANKSGIVING OR
IF THERE WAS ANY OF THAT IDEA BEHIND IT.
HE HAD NO IDEA >> Reporter: THEY SET OUT ON THE
EVE OF THANKSGIVING, SAID JAMES, DROVE BACK UP HIGHWAY 5 TO
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. ON THE WAY BACK, DID SHE GET RID
OF ANYTHING? >> YES
SHE THREW AWAY DIFFERENT ITEMS CELL PHONE
SHE DISCARDED LOTS OF THE DIFFERENT ITEMS THAT WOULD HAVE
TIED HER TO WHERE HER LOCATION WAS.
>> Reporter: CHUCKED 'EM OUT THE WINDOW ON THE WAY UP THE
HIGHWAY. >> YEAH.
>> Reporter: ACCORDING TO JAMES, HER FINAL PIECE OF STAGECRAFT
WAS TO BIND HER OWN WRISTS AND ANKLES USING A CHAIN, ZIP TIES,
AND HOSE CLAMPS HE HAD BOUGHT FOR HER.
>> SHE STARTED SECURIN' HERSELF IN THE CHAINS WHILE SHE WAS IN
THE BACK SEAT OF THE CAR WHEN SHE WAS DONE, SHE TOLD HIM
TO PULL OVER HE DID
FOLLOWED HER DIRECTIONS ON WHERE TO GO.
SHE JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR. >> Reporter: THEN ALISON SUTTON
SAW HER AND THE WORLD SOON LEARNED OF SHERRI'S "MIRACULOUS"
RETURN NOT HAVING A CLUE ABOUT JAMES REYES, WHOSE STORY ENDED
AS IMPROBABLY AS IT BEGAN. >> AND HE DROVE BACK HOME AND
WENT TO THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH HIS FAMILY
THERE WAS NO COMMUNICATION AFTER THAT
>> Reporter: JAMES REYES CONTRADICTED JUST ABOUT EVERY
LAST STRANGE DETAIL OF SHERRI PAPINI'S STORY.
THERE HAD BEEN NO KIDNAPPING BY LATINA WOMEN, NO GUN, NO
TORTURE, NO KITTY LITTER, AND NO PLOT TO SELL HER TO A COP.
ACCORDING TO JAMES REYES, IT WAS JUST SHERRI AND HIMSELF.
NOW THE QUESTION WAS, WHICH ONE OF THEM WAS REALLY IN CHARGE
>>> COMING UP -- SHERRI PAPINI BACK IN THE
INTERVIEW ROOM >> WHEN SHE WAS CONFRONTED, SHE
JUST WENT INTO A SHUTDOWN MODE WHERE, YOU KNOW, LOOKING DOWN,
NONRESPONSIVE. >> WOULD SHE CHANGE HER STORY
NOW?
INVESTIGATORS A LONG AND DETAILED AND DEEPLY STRANGE
STORY ABOUT HOW HE CAME TO BE INVOLVED IN WHAT HE NOW KNEW WAS
SHERRI PAPINI'S FAKE KIDNAPPING. THE QUESTION WAS, COULD THEY
BELIEVE HIM? HOW DID YOU CORROBORATE THE
BOYFRIEND'S STORY? >> ONCE WE LEARNED OF HIS
INFORMATION, THAT WAS ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER LITTLE
INVESTIGATION INSIDE THE MAIN INVESTIGATION.
>> Reporter: YEP >> YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO VERIFY.
>> Reporter: AND VERIFY THEY DID.
OR TRIED TO. PIECING TOGETHER TANGIBLE
EVIDENCE OF THE ODYSSEY REYES DESCRIBED.
>> CAR RENTAL RECEIPTS UH, PHONE RECORDS.
FOLLOWING UP AT BUSINESSES >> Reporter: THEY TALKED TO
JAMES' COUSIN. HE LIVED RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET
FROM JAMES' APARTMENT. WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM HIM?
>> ESSENTIALLY HE CONFIRMED THAT SHERRI WAS DOWN THERE AT THE
TIME OF THE DISAPPEARANCE. HE SAW HER DURING THAT TIME.
>> Reporter: BUT THERE WAS OTHER EVIDENCE, TOO, TO BACK UP WHAT
JAMES REYES HAD TOLD THEM. LIKE THE EXTENT OF SHERRI'S
INJURIES >> THERE WAS A LOT OF INJURIES,
BRUISES ON TOP OF BRUISES. THE INJURIES ARE ALL DIFFERENT
STAGES OF HEALING. >> Reporter: THE FULL EXTENT AND
LOCATIONS OF SHERRI'S BRUISES AND CUTS AND BURNS HAD NEVER
BEEN MADE PUBLIC BUT JAMES SEEMED TO HAVE NO
TROUBLE REMEMBERING EACH ONE WHAT'S MORE, SOME OF THE
STRONGEST CORROBORATION FOR HIS STORY CAME FROM SHERRI'S OWN
ACCOUNT. >> SHE DESCRIBED THAT THERE WAS
A POLE, YOU KNOW, THAT RAN UP AND DOWN
THAT'S WHAT SHE WAS TIED TO OR CHAINED TO
AND SHE MADE DIAGRAMS AND DRAWINGS, AND THAT WAS TURNED
OVER TO THE FBI. >> Reporter: WHEN INVESTIGATORS
SEARCHED JAMES'S APARTMENT, THEY FOUND THE POLE, LIKE THIS ONE,
ALONG WITH OTHER ITEMS THAT MATCHED SHERRI'S DESCRIPTION OF
>> WHEN THE FBI AGENT CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE, HE JUST LOOKED AT
ME UP AND DOWN SHOOK HIS HEAD AND SAID, "THIS IS THE HOUSE."
>> Reporter: ADD IT ALL UP AND INVESTIGATORS WERE CONVINCED
THAT SHERRI PAPINI HAD INDEED BEEN IN JAMES REYES' APARTMENT
WHAT THEY STILL DIDN'T KNOW WAS WHETHER SHE WENT THERE
VOLUNTARILY. MAYBE JAMES KNEW SO MUCH BECAUSE
HE WAS THE KIDNAPPER >> BASED ON THE INJURIES AND THE
INFORMATION, SHE COULD'VE JUST EASILY BEEN KIDNAPPED BY HIM
>> Reporter: IN AUGUST 2020, ALMOST FOUR YEARS AFTER SHERRI'S
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE, INVESTIGATORS BROUGHT HER IN TO
TALK ONCE AGAIN. >> SO REALLY, GOIN' IN THE
INTERVIEW, WE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WE HAD
AND SHE HAD ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO BLAME IT ON HIM IF SHE WANTED
TO CHANGE HER STORY COMPLETELY IT COULD'VE BEEN A DIFFERENT
OUTCOME. >> Reporter: BUT SHERRI DID NOT
SAY JAMES REYES WAS HER KIDNAPPER.
>> SHE STUCK WITH IT BEIN' FEMALE
>> Reporter: SHERRI CONTINUED TO INSIST SHE'D BEEN ABDUCTED BY
TWO WOMEN. SHE SAID HER EX-BOYFRIEND HAD
NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. EVEN WHEN INVESTIGATORS
CONFRONTED HER WITH PICTURES OF THE COSTA MESA APARTMENT, SHE
DIDN'T BUDGE THE PRECISE THINGS THAT SHE HAD
BEEN TALKING ABOUT EARLIER WERE RIGHT THERE IN THE PICTURES.
>> SHE WAS DISMISSIVE OF THE INFORMATION.
AND WHEN WE SHOWED ANOTHER PICTURE OF THE -- THE CLOSET
THAT WAS VERY UNIQUE, SHE WANTED TO DISMISS IT BECAUSE IT WASN'T
THE SAME IT SEEMED DIFFERENT TO A HOLE IN
THE WALL THAT SHE DESCRIBED SPECIFICALLY
SHE WANTED TO DISMISS AND SAY IT WASN'T THE SAME.
>> Reporter: AS SHERRI BRUSHED OFF THIS EVIDENCE, THE RULES OF
ENGAGEMENT CHANGED INVESTIGATORS TOLD HER LYING TO
A FEDERAL AGENT IS A CRIME IF SHE WAS GOING TO COME CLEAN
ABOUT WHAT DID OR DID NOT HAPPEN TO HER, NOW WAS THE TIME
>> WHEN SHE WAS CONFRONTED BY DETECTIVE WALLACE AND THE F.B.I.
AGENT, SHE JUST WENT INTO A SHUT-DOWN MODE WHERE, YOU KNOW,
LOOKING DOWN, NONRESPONSIVE, EVEN AFTER THEY CONTINUED TO
TRY. SHE DIDN'T PROVIDE ANYTHING ONE
WAY OR THE OTHER, OTHER THAN BASICALLY SAYIN', "IT'S NOT
TRUE." >> Reporter: BUT ACCORDING TO
COURT DOCUMENTS, WHEN HER HUSBAND LEFT THE ROOM, SHERRI
ADMITTED THAT SHE AND HER EX-BOYFRIEND JAMES REYES DID
TALK A LITTLE BIT BEFORE AND SHE ALSO SAID, "I MADE A
MISTAKE, AND I TALKED TO OTHER MEN, AND I SHOULDN'T HAVE.
I AM HORRIBLE. >> Reporter: WHERE DID SHE CROSS
THE LINE, OR WHEN, OR HOW, INTO CRIMINALITY?
>> WELL, IT'S REALLY THAT "20/20" INTERVIEW.
>> AGENTS MADE SURE TO TELL HER, "SHERRI, IF YOU LIE TO US,
THAT'S A CRIME WE'RE JUST ASKING YOU TO BE
HONEST." >> Reporter: THAT GAVE YOU THE
OPPORTUNITY TO CHARGE HER WITH A CRIME?
>> YES IT OPENS THE AVENUE.
>> Reporter: AND THAT'S HOW IT CAME TO PASS THAT 5 1/2 YEARS
AFTER SHERRI PAPINI FIRST MADE HEADLINES, SHE WOUND UP MAKING
THEM ALL OVER AGAIN. >>> COMING UP --
>> I CONTACTED MY NEWSROOM AND SAID, "YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A NEW
LEAD STORY, RIGHT? >> SHERRI PAPINI AT THE CENTER
OF A WHOLE NEW STORM >> PEOPLE FELT USED AND TAKEN
ADVANTAGE OF THEY GOT BAMBOOZLED.
>> WHEN "DATELINE" CONTINUES
MARCH 3rd, 2022 -- 5 YEARS 4 MONTHS, AND 1 DAY AFTER HER
HUSBAND CALLED 911 TO REPORT HER MISSING -- SHERRI PAPINI DROVE
HER KIDS TO THE MUSIC SCHOOL WHERE THEY TOOK PIANO LESSONS.
AS SHERRI WAITED FOR THE KIDS, A WOMAN CAME IN AND TOLD HER
THERE'D BEEN AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING HER CAR.
THAT WAS WHAT LAW ENFORCEMENT CALLS, A "RUSE."
THE WOMAN WAS AN F.B.I. AGENT. AND WHEN SHERRI WENT OUTSIDE, AN
EYEWITNESS TOLD US THEY "TACKLED" HER, AND PLACED HER
UNDER ARREST >> I WAS AT THE GYM IN THE
AFTERNOON, PUT MY PHONE DOWN FOR JUST AN HOUR.
CAME OUT OF THE GYM, SHERRI PAPINI'S BEEN ARRESTED
I CONTACTED MY NEWSROOM AND SAID, "YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A NEW
LEAD STORY, RIGHT? >> TONIGHT, A NORTHERN
CALIFORNIA MOTHER IS UNDER ARREST, ACCUSED OF FAKING HER
OWN ABDUCTION. >> I WAS SHOCKED
>> Reporter: THE CHARGES LYING TO A FEDERAL OFFICER ABOUT
HER NON-EXISTENT KIDNAPPING, AND 34 COUNTS OF MAIL FRAUD.
>> AND THAT'S DEFRAUDING THE CALIFORNIA VICTIM COMPENSATION
FUND OF MORE THAN $30,000. AND BECAUSE SHE USED THE MAIL TO
DO SO, IT BECOMES A FEDERAL OFFENSE.
>> Reporter: SO NOW, A NEW SENTIMENT SPREAD AT THE SPEED OF
TWITTER. >> IT MAKES MY STOMACH HURT.
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT ALL THE DONORS WHO DONATED ALL THOSE
FUNDS MUST FEEL LIKE -- EVEN HER FRIENDS, EVEN HER FAMILY
THE BETRAYAL >> THAT MAKES ME ANGRY
THERE'S THE $30,000 FROM CALIFORNIA'S VICTIM WITNESS
FUND, THAT IF THIS IS ALL A HOAX AND A LIE, THERE ARE REAL
VICTIMS WHO WON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THOSE FUNDS BECAUSE THEY WERE
GIVEN TO HER >> THE COMMUNITY REALLY INVESTED
THEIR HEARTS AND THEIR TIME INTO FINDING THIS WOMAN
PEOPLE FELT USED AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF
AND THEY GOT BAMBOOZLED. >> Reporter: THE PAPINI FAMILY
ISSUED A STATEMENT, WHICH READ IN PART, "WE LOVE SHERRI AND ARE
APPALLED BY THE WAY IN WHICH LAW ENFORCEMENT AMBUSHED HER IN A
DRAMATIC AND UNNECESSARY MANNER IN FRONT OF HER CHILDREN."
LONGTIME PUBLIC DEFENDER MARY ELLEN ATTRIDGE HAS DEFENDED
MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE OVER ABOUT 30 YEARS -- SOME HIGH
PROFILE TRIALS SHE'S BEEN FOLLOWING THIS CASE
AND SHE THINKS SHERRI PAPINI'S ARREST MIGHT HAVE BEEN HANDLED
DIFFERENTLY. >> IT'S UNFORTUNATE THEY DIDN'T
ALLOW HER TO SURRENDER, BECAUSE SHE HAD GONE IN FOR INTERVIEWS
VOLUNTARILY, SO SHE IS SOMEBODY THAT IS NOT A FLIGHT RISK AND
WOULD HAVE SURRENDERED >> Reporter: SO WHAT'S THE POINT
THEN, OF COMING TO HER SCHOOL AND, YOU KNOW, PULLING HER OUT
AND DOING IT THERE IN FRONT OF PEOPLE
>> IT'S WHAT'S CALLED THE PERP WALK
IT'S PUBLIC SHAMING. IT'S LIKE THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS
HIT THE DIGITAL AGE. >> SHERRI, HEY, SHERRI
>> Reporter: FIVE DAYS AFTER SHERRI PAPINI'S ARREST, A
FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERED HER RELEASED ON $120,000 BAIL,
PROVIDED SHE AGREED TO UNDERGO PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT AND
SURRENDER HER PASSPORT THE CHARGES AGAINST HER RAISED
OTHER QUESTIONS TOO. FOR EXAMPLE, ABOUT THE ROLE OF
SHERRI'S EX-BOYFRIEND, JAMES REYES.
WHAT'S A SIMPLE WAY OF -- OF EXPLAINING TO PEOPLE WHY HE
WASN'T CHARGED >> I THINK THE EASIEST WAY TO
DESCRIBE IT, IS HE WAS DOIN' WHAT A FRIEND ASKED.
SHE ASKED TO BE HIT, SHE ASKED TO BE BURNED, AND HE JUST WENT
ALONG WITH WHAT SHE SAID -- IT'S TWO CONSENTING ADULTS.
>> AND AS FAR AS HIM NOT COMIN' FORWARD, YA KNOW, THERE'S NO LAW
THAT MAKES SOMEBODY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO REPORT WHAT THEY
KNOW SO, THAT'S WHY THERE'S NO
CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AGAINST HIM.
>> Reporter: JAMES REYES IS STAYING WITH FAMILY IN ARIZONA
WE WENT TO TALK WITH HIM THERE, BUT HE DECLINED OUR REQUEST FOR
AN INTERVIEW >> HE IS
>> HE IS HERE? >> HE'S JUST -- HE'S NOT
TALKING. >> OKAY.
>> Reporter: AND WHAT ABOUT SHERRI'S HUSBAND
ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, AFTER SHERRI
RE-APPEARED, KEITH PAPINI TOOK MORE THAN $31,000 FROM THE
GOFUNDME ACCOUNT AND PUT IT IN HIS PERSONAL CHECKING ACCOUNT.
THE COMPLAINT SAYS THE COUPLE USED GOFUNDME MONEY TO PAY
CREDIT CARD DEBT AND OTHER PERSONAL EXPENSES.
>> FUNDS THAT WERE USED FOR SHERRI AND KEITH'S PERSONAL
BENEFIT, TO PAY OFF CREDIT CARDS AND THE LIKE
THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DID HE KNOW
AND WHAT WAS THE EXTENT OF HIS PARTICIPATION IN ALL THIS?
>> Reporter: DETECTIVES REVEALED WHAT THEY THINK IS THE ANSWER TO
THAT QUESTION. THEY TOLD US ABOUT THAT FATEFUL
INTERVIEW IN 2020 -- THE ONE WHERE THEY SHOWED SHERRI
PICTURES OF JAMES REYES' APARTMENT.
KEITH, THEY SAID, WAS IN THE ROOM WITH SHERRI, AND WHEN HE
SAW THE PICTURES - >> JUMPING UP AND DOWN, DOING
JUMPING JACKS, TRYING TO CONTAIN HIS EXCITEMENT
>> Reporter: DID HE THINK THAT HERE WAS FINALLY PROOF THAT HER
STORY WAS TRUE THAT SHE WAS, INDEED, KIDNAPPED,
AND HERE'S THE EVIDENCE FOR IT >> HE THOUGHT WE FOUND THE
HOUSE, HE THOUGHT WE -- WE DID IT ALL, UNTIL WE STARTED DOIN'
THE CONFRONTATION PART AND ONCE THE CONFRONTATION
STARTED, OBVIOUSLY HE BECAME UPSET AND LEFT THE ROOM.
>> Reporter: WAS THAT THE MOMENT WHEN HE REALIZED HE'D BEEN LIED
TO HIMSELF ALL THIS TIME >> I THINK IT WAS THE FIRST TIME
THAT HE ACTUALLY REALIZED THAT WHAT WAS REPORTED WASN'T WHAT
OCCURRED, AND NOT ONLY HAS SHE LIED TO A LOTTA PEOPLE, BUT SHE
LIED TO HIM, HER HUSBAND >> Reporter: THROUGH A
SPOKESMAN, SHERRI AND KEITH PAPINI ALSO DECLINED TO BE
INTERVIEWED. BUT WE SHOULD NOTE DETECTIVES
TOLD US THERE IS NO EVIDENCE KEITH EVER HARMED SHERRI
THAT, APPARENTLY, WAS ANOTHER LIE SHE TOLD
IN THE CASE OF THE BIG LIE, ABOUT THE KIDNAPPING, THE
CHARGES AGAINST SHERRI PAPINI CARRIED A MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF
25 YEARS AND IT WAS TIME TO FACE THE
JUDGE. >> WHY DID YOU DO THIS
>>> COMING UP -- >> SHE HAD A BRAND
SHE HAD BURNS. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A
SYMPTOM OF A MENTAL DISORDER >> AN ILLNESS, OR A CRIME?
A NEW STORY AT LAST, FROM SHERRI PAPINI.
>> IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO DO THE >> Reporter: TO POLICE AND FBI
AGENTS WHO SPENT YEARS INVESTIGATING SHERRI PAPINI'S
DISAPPEARANCE, THE CASE WAS AS CLEAR CUT AS IT WAS INFURIATING.
>> THE COMMUNITY STOOD UP FOR HER AND OFFERED HER NOT ONLY
MONETARY FUNDS BUT EMOTIONAL, MORAL SUPPORT.
AND IT'S JUST A COMPLETE FARCE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND FOR THE
NATION >> Reporter: VETERAN DEFENSE
ATTORNEY MARY ELLEN ATTRIDGE, WHO IS NOT INVOLVED IN THE
PAPINI CASE, HAS A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
>> IN MY VIEW, IT'S ABOUT WHAT WAS DRIVING THAT ONE PERSON, NOT
THE FACT THAT WE NEED REVENGE, BUT WHAT MADE HER SO UNFORTUNATE
TO GET INVOLVED IN THIS SERIES OF EVENTS.
>> Reporter: ATTRIDGE REVIEWED THE LENGTHY CRIMINAL COMPLAINT,
AND WE ASKED HER HOW SHE MIGHT DEFEND SHERRI PAPINI
SHE OFFERED HER OWN THEORY -- THAT THE CASE IS NOT SO MUCH
ABOUT A CRIME AS ABOUT AN ILLNESS.
>> IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THIS IS A SYMPTOM OF A MENTAL DISORDER,
SPECIFICALLY SOMETHING CALLED FACTITIOUS DISORDER, WHERE YOU
EMBRACE THIS FALSE NARRATIVE AND ACT ON IT, AND YOU CONVINCE
YOURSELF THAT IT IS TRUE >> Reporter: ATTRIDGE IS NOT A
DOCTOR, AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST SHERRI HAS BEEN
DIAGNOSED WITH THIS DISORDER BUT IF SHE WERE, ATTRIDGE
BELIEVES IT COULD EXPLAIN THE DRASTIC LENGTHS SHERRI WENT TO
>> SHE HAD SELF-INJURED IN EXTREME WAYS
SHE HAD A BRAND. SHE WAS HIT WITH A HOCKEY PUCK
SHE HAD BURNS THAT SHE SELF-INFLICTED
IT MAKES ME SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT SHE DID IN ORDER TO SHOW
THESE INJURIES AND SO I DON'T THINK THAT IT'S
NORMAL BEHAVIOR. >> Reporter: BUT AS SHASTA
COUNTY SHERIFF MICHAEL JOHNSON POINTS OUT, SHERRI'S CONVINCING
ABDUCTION CLAIMS HAD A VERY PRICEY CHAIN REACTION.
>> FROM THE TIME THEY ACTUALLY ASSIGNED THAT PROJECT CODE TO
THE END, WE'RE IN EXCESS OF $150,000 INTO THIS
INVESTIGATION. >> Reporter: MY, MY.
>> FOR A LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY'S BUDGET, THAT'S A HUGE
DENT >> Reporter: THE DEFENSE
ATTORNEY COUNTERED THAT SHERRI DID NOTHING ILLEGAL WHEN SHE
DISAPPEARED. >> AS LONG AS YOU'RE NOT DOING
IT FOR NEFARIOUS REASONS, PEOPLE DISAPPEAR EVERY DAY.
>> YEAH. IF THE POLICE WANTED TO USE
RESOURCES TO GO LOOK FOR THEM, WELL, THAT'S - - THAT'S ON THEM.
YEAH AND I THINK THAT BRINGS ALSO UP
ANOTHER THING IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN AMERICA THAT IS
PROBLEMATIC, AND THAT IS THAT WHEN A WHITE FEMALE DISAPPEARS
AND SHE HAPPENS TO BE YOUNG AND BLONDE, THEN IT'S A PANIC.
SO I THINK THAT'S MORE A SYSTEMIC ISSUE BECAUSE THERE ARE
BLACK FEMALES. THERE ARE HISPANIC FEMALES
THERE ARE INDIGENOUS FEMALES WHO DISAPPEAR EVERY DAY.
>> Reporter: ALL THE TIME. >> I CAN DEFINITELY SEE PEOPLE'S
OPINIONS ABOUT WHAT CASE GETS MORE ATTENTION
BUT THAT'S -- I DON'T THINK THAT'S AN ACCURATE DEPICTION OF
HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT IN GENERAL CONDUCTS CASES
>> Reporter: CAPTAIN JACKSON TOLD US HIS DEPARTMENT WORKS
EVERY CASE WITH THE SAME INTENSITY.
>> IT DOESN'T MATTER ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PERSON
WE'RE GONNA INVESTIGATE THE -- THE MISSING PERSON CASE, OR
WHATEVER THE CASE IS, UNTIL WE CAN COME TO A RESOLUTION
>> Reporter: AND AS FOR THE SUGGESTION THAT THE SHERIFF'S
DEPARTMENT DIDN'T HAVE TO SPEND ALL THAT TIME AND MONEY
INVESTIGATING SHERRI PAPINI. >> THAT'S ANOTHER TACTIC, A
DIVERSION TACTIC, TO GET US AWAY FROM THE REAL ISSUE.
AND THE REAL ISSUE IS HERE THAT WE HAVE SOMEBODY WHO TRIED TO
DECEIVE EVERYBODY AND COST EVERYBODY A LOT OF EMOTIONAL,
TIME, AND RESOURCE EFFORTS >> Reporter: ATTRIDGE NOTED THAT
AFTER SHERRI RETURNED, SHE SPOKE WITH A THERAPIST FOR SEVERAL
YEARS. >> NOT ONLY IS IT, YOU KNOW,
EMOTIONALLY DISTURBING TO GO TO THERAPY, BUT IT'S TIME
CONSUMING. THAT'S A LOT OF THERAPY.
SO I FIND THAT TO BE A FACT IN FAVOR OF HER BEING MENTALLY ILL.
>> Reporter: ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, THE
THERAPIST WHO SPENT HOURS AND HOURS WITH SHERRI DIAGNOSED HER
WITH PTSD. TO THE SHERIFF, THOSE THERAPY
SESSIONS WERE JUST ANOTHER WAY SHERRI BILKED THE SYSTEM
AND SHE PAID FOR THAT OUT OF MONEY THAT SHE GOT FROM THE
STATE. >> THAT'S CORRECT.
YES. >> Reporter: WELL --
>> WHICH ALL COMES BACK DOWN TO YOU AND I.
RIGHT? WE ALL PAY INTO THAT THOSE TYPE
OF -- OF MONIES ARE SET ASIDE FOR REAL VICTIMS, REAL
WITNESSES. AND WE WERE DEFRAUDED THAT WAY
AS WELL. >> Reporter: OF COURSE, FRAUD
IMPLIES THAT THE SUSPECT KNEW SHE WAS LYING.
DEFENSE ATTORNEY ATTRIDGE ASKED, "WHAT IF SHE DIDN'T?
BUT SURELY SHE WOULD'VE KNOWN AS SHE WAS DOING THESE THINGS THAT
SHE WAS GOING TO PUT AN AWFUL LOT OF PEOPLE OUT, TERRIFY HER
FAMILY, CAUSE ALL KINDS OF DISRUPTION AND HARM.
>> WELL, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT SHE WAS THINKING
I MEAN, MAYBE SHE WASN'T THINKING ABOUT THAT AT ALL
MAYBE SHE WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT HER OWN NEEDS, HER NEED
FOR ATTENTION. >> Reporter: SHE GOT PLENTY OF
THAT >> HEY, SHERRI
>> Reporter: WAS SHERRI PAPINI A SICK WOMAN OR A CRIMINAL
AND HOW COULD SHE PAY FOR WHAT SHE HAD DONE
FIVE WEEKS AFTER SHE WAS ARRESTED, SHERRI PAPINI MADE A
PLEA AGREEMENT WITH FEDERAL PROSECUTORS.
>> IT'S NICE THAT SHE DID FINALLY DO THE RIGHT THING
>> Reporter: WE WERE WITH SHERIFF'S DETECTIVES WHEN THE
NEWS CAME DOWN >> AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE
KNOW WE DID A GOOD JOB AND WE'RE GLAD FOR THE OUTCOME
>> Reporter: SHERRI PAPINI ISSUED A FORMAL STATEMENT
APOLOGIZING FOR WHAT SHE'D DONE. "I AM DEEPLY ASHAMED OF MYSELF
FOR MY BEHAVIOR AND SO VERY SORRY FOR THE PAIN I'VE CAUSED
MY FAMILY, MY FRIENDS, ALL THE GOOD PEOPLE WHO NEEDLESSLY
SUFFERED BECAUSE OF MY STORY." >> Reporter: AT PAPINI'S FIRST
COURT APPEARANCE AFTER THE PLEA AGREEMENT WAS ANNOUNCED, SHE AND
HER ATTORNEY WADED THROUGH A CROWD OF REPORTERS AND THE
ATTORNEY SAID HOW SORRY HIS CLIENT WAS
>> IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
AND, OF COURSE, WE THANK EVERYONE FOR ALL THE WORK THEY
DID. BUT WE'RE SORRY AND WE'RE GONNA
TRY TO FIX THIS THING. >> Reporter: AND THOUGH THE
APOLOGY HELPED, SAID ELIZABETH PARKER, IT ALL STILL STINGS A
BIT AROUND REDDING >> IT'S MIXED FEELINGS
YOU WANT HER TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, ABSOLUTELY.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, FOR HER CHILDREN, HER HUSBAND -- THERE
WAS A LOT OF UNNEEDED VICTIMS THROUGH ALL OF THIS.
AND HOPEFULLY WITH A PLEA AGREEMENT, IT WILL KIND OF HELP
HEAL SOME WOUNDS >> Reporter: ON MONDAY, JUST A
FEW DAYS AGO, PAPINI PLEADED GUILTY TO REDUCED CHARGES.
ONE COUNT OF MAIL FRAUD AND ONE COUNT OF LYING TO A FEDERAL
AGENT. SHE AGREED TO PAY AT LEAST
$300,000 IN RESTITUTION. SHE ALSO FACES FINES THAT COULD
RUN INTO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS, AS WELL AS PRISON
TIME HER SENTENCING IS SCHEDULED FOR
JULY WHEN THE JUDGE ASKED SHERRI HOW
SHE FELT, SHE RESPONDED, "VERY SAD.
YOU DON'T SEE THIS AS SOMEBODY WHO'S GENUINELY SORRY FOR WHAT
SHE DID? >> ABSOLUTELY NOT.
I DON'T THINK THAT IF THAT WAS TRUE, THIS WOULD'VE
COME A LOT EARLIER >> Reporter: TWO DAYS AFTER
SHERRI PAPINI PLEADED GUILTY, KEITH PAPINI FILED FOR DIVORCE
THE NEXT DAY, CITING A NEED TO "PREVENT IRREPARABLE HARM," A
JUDGE ISSUED A TEMPORARY EMERGENCY ORDER GIVING KEITH
CUSTODY OF THE CHILDREN AND SAID VISITATION BY SHERRI WAS TO BE,
"WITHIN FATHER'S DISCRETION. KEITH SENT US A STATEMENT THAT
READS IN PART, "I AM ASKING THAT THE COURT HELP ME PROTECT MY
CHILDREN FROM THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF THEIR MOTHER'S
NOTORIETY. WITH ALL THE ATTENTION
SHERRI PAPINI GOT, THE PARENTS OF TERA SMITH COULDN'T HELP BUT
WONDER ABOUT THE STONE COLD CASE OF THEIR DAUGHTER.
>> THERE MUST HAVE BEEN SOME SERIOUS INVESTIGATION GOING ON
FOR SIX YEARS TO PROVE THAT SHE TOLD A LIE
OUR CASE GOT MAYBE A YEAR AND A HALF OF SCRUTINY
THAT -- THAT DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT. >> Reporter: AS SHERRI PAPINI
PAYS THE PRICE FOR THIS CHAOS SHE CONJURED, WE FINALLY KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BUT WHY IT HAPPENED?
MAYBE SOMEDAY WE'LL FIND OUT AND THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT.
>>> THAT'S ALL FOR THIS EDITION OF "DATELINE."
WE'LL SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT FRIDAY AT 9:00, 8:00 CENTRAL.
AND, OF COURSE, I'LL SEE YOU EACH WEEK NIGHT FOR "NBC NIGHTLY
NEWS." I'M LESTER HOLT.