The Shari Pappni Case

The Shari Pappni Case In this Bloodlines & Betrayal episode, hosts David Schuman and Steve Cully dissect the shocking and twisted case of Sherri Papini — the California mother who vanished in 2016, only to reappear weeks later with a story that captured the nation’s sympathy… and later unraveled into one of the most elaborate hoaxes in recent memory.

Schuman and Cully recount how Papini’s apparent kidnapping triggered a massive multi-state search. Found bruised, branded, and claiming to have been abducted by two Hispanic women, she became a symbol of survival — until investigators uncovered a darker truth. Using DNA evidence and digital records, they revealed that Papini had staged her own disappearance, hiding out with an ex-boyfriend while her husband and community lived in terror.

The hosts explore what drove her — narcissism, manipulation, or a desperate need for attention — and how her lies wasted resources, shattered public trust, and devastated those closest to her. They also highlight how the justice system pursued accountability, ending in Papini’s 2022 guilty plea for making false statements and mail fraud.

Ultimately, Bloodlines & Betrayal frames the Sherri Papini case as a modern parable of deception and self-destruction, where the line between victim and villain blurred — and the most dangerous betrayal came from within.