The so-called Northern California supermom charged with faking her own kidnapping more than five years ago has signed a plea deal and will confess in court to fabricating the entire plot, her lawyer confirmed to The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday. Sherri Papini, 39, said in a statement that she was “deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so sorry for the pain I’ve caused.” She added: “I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done.” Papini attracted international attention in November 2016 when she vanished without a trace, reappearing after three weeks and telling authorities that two masked “Hispanic women” had kidnapped her. The pair had allegedly tied her up in a closet, playing “that really annoying Mexican music,” court documents claimed. Federal authorities later determined that she had been staying with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California of her own volition. After orchestrating her own disappearance, Papini received over $30,000 in victim assistance funds, according to court documents. She was arrested by FBI agents on March 3. The plea agreement Papini signed Tuesday morning stipulates that she will plead guilty to one count of lying to a federal officer and 34 counts of mail fraud.
