New Docuseries Goes Inside Sherri Papini's Kidnapping Hoax: 'Minds Absolutely Blown'

When Sherri Papini vanished from Redding, Calif., in 2016, investigators and her loved ones banded together to bring the 34-year-old mother-of-two home safely. When she was found alive on a Sacremento highway 22 days later, the nation rejoiced — but many questions soon followed her mysterious disappearance.

Sherri, now 41, was married to Keith Papini at the time of her alleged abduction. When she was found, she initially blamed her disappearance on two unknown Hispanic women, who she said kidnapped her while she was jogging near her home.

Sherri's bizarre case is the focus of Hulu's upcoming three-episode docuseries, Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini, which premieres on June 20. (Watch the exclusive trailer below.)

"This is a real-life psychological thriller with one jaw-dropping revelation after another," Perfect Wife Director Michael Beach Nichols tells PEOPLE. "People who think they know the story of Sherri Papini’s disappearance are going to realize all reporting up to this point has barely scratched the surface. And those who know nothing of the story are going to have their minds absolutely blown."

In March 2022, more than five years after her disappearance, Sherri was charged in connection with her own disappearance. After a thorough police investigation, it was discovered that during the time she was missing, she was at an ex-boyfriend's home in Costa Mesa, Calif., where she asked him to help inflict numerous wounds on her body in order to appear as though she was tortured while in captivity. The ex-boyfriend has never been charged in connection with Sherri's case.

After returning home, Sherri stayed married and living with her husband and their children up until she was arrested, when Keith discovered the truth behind her disappearance.

"It felt like an extraordinary opportunity to explore a seemingly 'perfect' relationship that was in reality propped up by fantasy and manipulation," Nichols says. "These types of relationship dynamics are as old as time, but it’s rare for this type of behavior to be so comprehensively documented. We hope audiences walk away from the series with a sense of empathy for all involved, as well as an appreciation for how performative one’s identity can be in their own relationships."

In April 2022, Sherri pleaded guilty to lying to a federal officer and mail fraud, PEOPLE previously reported. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution, $148,866 to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office and $2,558 to the FBI. She ended up serving less than a year in prison.

Keith filed for divorce from Sherri shortly after her guilty plea. He also requested sole custody of their children at the time, according to the filing shared by The Sacremento Bee.

According to a March 2024 story from the Record Searchlight, Sherri now sees her children during one-hour supervised visits.

Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini premieres Thursday, June 20 on Hulu.