The husband of shamed California “super mom” Sherri Papini has filed for divorce just days after she pleaded guilty to charges related to her sensational kidnapping hoax, reports said Friday.
Keith Papini of Redding, Calif., filed for divorce from Sherri on Wednesday in Shasta County court, a local ABC affiliate reported, citing court documents.
Sherri pleaded guilty Monday to lying to federal investigators and mail fraud as part of her scheme to fake her own kidnapping in 2016.
In November 2016, Papini, a 39-year-old mother of two, was found about 150 miles from her home after being missing for three weeks.
When found, Papini had a chain around her wrist, her blond hair had been cut, and a “brand” had been seared into one of her shoulders.
Papini, who once described herself as a “super mom,” claimed to investigators that she was kidnapped by two Hispanic women while jogging near her home.
Word of her disappearance sparked a massive manhunt by law enforcement and drew national media attention.
Sherri Papini walks to the federal courthouse with her attorney, William Portanova, in Sacramento, California on April 13, 2022.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli 
Sherri Papini’s husband, Keith, filed for divorce days after she pleaded guilty to fraud charges on April 18, 2022.Facebook 
Sherri Papini’s kidnapping hoax drew a massive manhunt in 2016.Andrew Seng/The Sacramento Bee via AP, File
Throughout the time she was missing, Keith Papini repeatedly spoke to reporters, urging the public to help locate his wife. In the years since the hoax kidnapping, he’s also publicly supported her and claimed he believed she was actually kidnapped.
But prosecutors said Papini was with her ex-boyfriend, James Reyes, at his apartment in Costa Mesa, Calif., during the weeks she purported to be kidnapped.
On Monday, US District Judge William B. Shubb asked Papini how she felt before she entered her guilty plea for making false statements and mail fraud related to the money she received from the California Victim Compensation Board.
Keith Papini previously emphasized he believed in Sherri’s kidnapping story.Facebook
Sherri Papini claimed she was kidnapped by two Hispanic women.FBI via AP
Sherri Papini said she was taken while jogging near her home.FBI via AP
Sherri Papini faces a maximum of 25 years behind bars for faking the kidnapping.Shasta County Sheriff’s Office
“I’m sorry, your Honor, I’m sad,” she said.
She faces a maximum of 25 years behind bars for the hoax.