Naman Shrestha
In Investigation Discovery’s ‘Sherri Papini: Caught In The Lie,’ the primary focus is on Sherri Papini and the plot she weaved in her fake abduction in November 2016. When she showed up covered in bruises and other injuries on Thanksgiving Day, the police had more than just a few questions. As the investigation progressed, her former boyfriend, James Reyes, also became a person of interest. However, he shocked the investigators when he revealed his version of what happened with Sherri Papini during her days of captivity.
James Reyes Alleged That Sherri Instructed Him to Abduct Her
Before Sherri and Keith Papini got together and tied the knot, the former was in a romantic relationship with James Reyes. When Sherri disappeared for 22 days in November 2016 from her neighborhood in Redding, California, she blamed a couple of Hispanic women for her captivity. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the investigators began getting to the bottom of the case. Upon testing the clothing Sherri had been wearing during her abduction, the detectives found DNA evidence that matched with James’, thanks to genetic genealogy. When confronted with the same during the interview, he initially claimed that he had not been in touch with Sherri for several years, only to later tell the investigators that she had asked for his help.
As per his accounts, Sherri had told him that Keith was mentally and physically abusing her, which was why he claimed to have helped her get away from her husband. He alleged that it was his former girlfriend who came up with the idea to pick her up from Redding and take her away to his house in Costa Mesa, where the two stayed for more than three weeks. According to him, she was responsible for inflicting most of the bruises, cuts, and burns on her body, but the branding on her back was done by him, upon her request.
James told the detectives that on Thanksgiving Day, she asked him to drop her off near her home because she missed her kids. In order to make the authorities believe that he was being truthful, he even took a polygraph test, which he passed. Armed with James Reyes’ statements, the detectives questioned Sherri Papini once again, who continued to claim that she was abducted by two Hispanic women. She told them, “I don’t understand; there’s no way this is James. He loves me.” Eventually, on March 3, 2022, she was arrested for lying to the FBI and fabricating a false narrative about her abduction. Meanwhile, James was not charged with any crime related to her kidnapping hoax.
James Reyes Prefers to Keep His Personal Life Away From the Spotlight
On the show, Sherri Papini claimed that she began having an emotional affair with James Reyes as her marriage to Keith deteriorated. When she could not find emotional support with Keith, she turned to her former boyfriend, who managed to provide her with the “emotional intimacy” she was searching for. Talking about their affair, she said, “It was not sexual. James was someone who was listening to me and hearing me. That’s what I needed.” On the other hand, she also alleged that it was James who planned the kidnapping scheme, without her consent and knowledge.
She claimed, “I told law enforcement I was abducted by two Hispanic women, which wasn’t true. I was abducted by my ex-boyfriend who held me captive for 22 days. There was no consent and he still did it. The injuries that occurred, the bites on my inner and outer thigh, the footprint on my back, the branding, the melting of my skin … I can’t do that to myself. I am telling you, there was no consent.” Sherri also alleged that she had plenty of reasons to lie about James’ identity. Not only was she scared of what he would do if she revealed the truth to the investigators, but she could not let her husband find out about their affair.
“I was scared of James, and keeping his identity concealed was keeping me safe. He mentioned he was going to be watching the coverage over and over and over again. So he was watching, waiting to see if I would come out and tell him,” she said. According to reports, James Reyes is currently leading a private life away from the spotlight in Nogales, Arizona, with his 95-year-old grandfather and a furry little friend. To this day, he denies having anything to do with the kidnapping hoax of Sherri Papini and intends to lawyer up if he finds himself in the middle of the investigation.
Read More: Where is Keith Papini Now? Update on Sherri Papini’s Ex-Husband
