Keith Papini is finally speaking out.
Seven years after his ex-wife Sherri Papini‘s kidnapping was revealed to be a hoax, the father of two shared his perspective on why his former partner faked her abduction, saying that he believes it was born out of a desire for him to be her “knight in shining armor.”
“I think she wanted to plan a fake kidnapping,” Keith explained during a June 17 appearance on Good Morning America, “but in her version, I was supposed to find her.”
Sherri—who shares son Tyler, 14, and daughter Violet, 12, with Keith—vanished during a jog near her home in Redding, Calif., in 2016 before reappearing in Yolo County 22 days later. The then-34-year-old was found with various injuries on her body and told law enforcement officials at the time that she had been abducted by two Hispanic women who held her captive and abused her. Four years later, investigators said in a court filing that they matched DNA on her clothing from an unknown male to an ex-boyfriend, who eventually co-operated with officials and admitted to helping Sherri “run away.”
