Woman arrested in California over faked abduction

{O/C} A woman was arrested in Northern California on charges she faked her own kidnapping.

Yet, her family has expressed outrage over the way she was arrested.

{RVO}

39-year-old Sherri Papini was found alongside a highway around 140 miles from her place. She had a fake brand on her right shoulder along with bruises and burns.

Her alleged abduction by two Hispanic women made international headlines and triggered an intensive search for the abductors.

As it turns out, it was all a lie. She was actually with her former boyfriend in Southern California. And she beat herself up, so her abduction was clearly made out of whole cloth.

Papini and her husband have cooperated with the police at the investigators' behest.

Her charges notwithstanding, her family said they were appalled by the way her case was handled, accusing the authorities of their crass behaviour when Papini was caught off-guard before her children.

Charged with making false statements to a federal agent in 2020 when the authorities confronted her with evidence suggesting she lied, Papini is due to appear in court on Tuesday as the hearing continues. Tuesday will be the day when the court decides whether it's appropriate to release her from custody.

Both the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento have declined to comment.