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4 days ago
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Sherri Papini tries to take her Shasta County eviction case behind closed doors
For the second time in a week, Sherri Papini, the Shasta County woman convicted of fraud and lying to the FBI in connection to her 2016 faked kidnapping, has attempted to have her case discussed in private with a court official. Papini's lawyer did meet Wednesday privately in chambers with Shasta County Superior Court Commissioner John Berglund in connection to a temporary restraining order Papini filed against a woman who claims Papini stole her boyfriend. But on Friday, Berglund denied Papini's separate request to meet privately in a case in which Papini is being evicted from a Shingletown home owned by a former boyfriend. Papini is representing herself in the eviction case. Papini gained worldwide fame when she went missing in November 2016 while she was out for a jog near her home north of Redding. She turned up 22 days later on a rural road in Yolo County, bruised, branded and with her long, blonde hair cut short. At the time, she told law enforcement she had been kidnapped by two Hispanic women who physically abused her. Her story unraveled in March 2022 when the FBI arrested Papini, who admitted to faking her kidnapping and inflicting the injuries to herself. She later admitted to voluntarily staying in Costa Mesa, California, with an ex-boyfriend the entire time. She pleaded guilty to mail fraud and lying to the FBI later that year and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and was ordered to repay some $309,000 to state, federal and local government for expenses related to her case. In a new docuseries, Papini continues to claim she was abducted in 2016, but now she says she was held against her will by the former boyfriend. She says in the documentary, the narrative that she was kidnapped Nov. 2, 2016 by two Hispanic women is a lie manufactured by the media. Papini's lawyer, and a lawyer representing the woman who Papini alleged stalked her, met with Berglund in chambers on Wednesday. After the private meeting, the commissioner and two lawyers emerged, and Berglund announced the case had been settled and was dismissed. Papini, who did not have a lawyer with her in court Friday, again attempted to meet privately with the commissioner. She gave Berglund a note that said "due to the sensitivity of the case," she wanted to meet privately with the judge rather than in open court. The commissioner denied that request and told her that Friday's hearing was only a status conference and said neither of the parties would discuss the merits of the case. David Loy, legal director for the First Amendment Coalition, said it is not unusual for settlement conferences, such as the one discussed Wednesday in the temporary restraining order case, to be discussed in private. But in-chambers meetings with a judge or court commissioner are allowed only under limited circumstances, he said. Private meetings are typically not allowed just because the issues surrounding a case are sensitive. "That alone is not enough. In other words, just because it's embarrassing or sensitive, that's not enough. And lots of court cases are embarrassing or sensitive. Most of them are (sensitive) kind of by definition. People don't go to court unless there's something bad going on," Loy said. Read more: Prior to Sherri Papini's arrest, these were the major events in her 'kidnapping' case Elizabeth Elizondo, the attorney who represented the property owner trying to evict Papini, said meeting with a judge privately is unusual and that during her career she has never met with a judge in chambers. "It is not normal. They never do it for this type of hearing," Elizondo said in an email. The Shingletown house where Papini lives is owned by Shawn Hibdon of Orland. Papini claims she had an agreement with Hibdon, a former boyfriend, to eventually purchase the house. But the two broke off their relationship and Hibdon sent Papini a notice in January that she was being evicted. Hibdon is using the eviction as an opportunity to publicly shame her, Papini said in a statement filed with the eviction case. "The plaintiff (Hibdon) has made threats both implied and explicit ― that unless I purchase the home under specific, unfavorable terms, I will be evicted, publicly humiliated or face further harm to my personal financial well-being," she wrote in the declaration. Elizondo, who represents Hibdon, said Papini's claims were not true. Elizondo and Hibdon tried to resolve the dispute before going to court and attempted to avoid going public with the disagreement. "Additionally, we had to break our silence and issue a statement because defendant's side threatened to involve the media if settlement negotiations were not pursued under her terms. There were also threats to release potentially embarrassing messages involving the plaintiff," Elizondo said in a statement. "These actions appear to be aimed at publicly humiliating the plaintiff (Hibdon) — the very thing she has accused us of doing to her. We feel it is important to acknowledge these threats so that if any information is released it can be viewed in the proper context," Elizondo said. Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Sherri Papini tries to take eviction case behind closed doors
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5 days ago
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'Your actions affect others': Kidnap hoaxer Sherri Papini's restraining order dismissed
Sherri Papini on Wednesday agreed to withdraw a temporary restraining order against a woman who claimed the convicted kidnapping hoaxer stole her longtime boyfriend from her and left her and her 11-year-old daughter homeless. Papini, who lives in Shingletown, said in her restraining order request that she was being stalked and harassed by another Shingletown woman, Katherine Parrick, who allegedly made defamatory statements about her online. During Wednesday's Shasta County Superior Court hearing, Papini, Parrick and their attorneys appeared before Commissioner John Berglund. After meeting with the attorneys in the judge's chambers, Berglund came into the courtroom and announced the restraining order was being dismissed. Berglund also admonished Papini and Parrick to get along. "Both of you live in a small town and it is important for both of you to remember how your actions affect others," he said. Papini has been in the news nationwide since she disappeared after she went for a jog near her north Redding home in early November 2016. She reappeared 22 days later on a remote road in Yolo County, claiming she was kidnapped, held against her will and physically abused by two Hispanic women. The news of her abduction and return home went viral worldwide, but in 2022 she was accused by the FBI and the Shasta County Sheriff's Office of making up the entire story. That same year she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and lying to the FBI. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to repay some $309,000 to federal, state and local governments. She admitted to authorities that during the time was missing she was voluntarily staying at a former boyfriend's house in Costa Mesa. But she has recently appeared in a documentary in which she claims she really was abducted. But in the documentary she says it was the ex-boyfriend in Costa Mesa who held her against her will and physically abused her. Dig deeper: Prior to Sherri Papini's arrest, these were the major events in her 'kidnapping' case In addition to recently recasting her past troubles, Papini has also become involved in at least two court issues. In the request for a temporary restraining order, Papini says that Parrick has driven by her home and taken photos outside a gate to the house. She also claimed Parrick posted online defamatory statements about her. "From December 2024 to current, Ms Parrick has stalked my home. Attached (to the restraining order) is her confirmation of behavior on a recent post made on 4/26/25. Ms Parrick has now posted several hate, slander and defamatory statements via Gofundme and other social media sites," Papini wrote in court documents filed on April 29. "As a result, my current partner (Anthony Bickel) was assaulted on 4/27/2025, on 4/28/25 I began receiving threats left on my answering machine, and I am afraid of my safety," Papini said. The restraining order request, which was initially granted, did not indicate who made the threats against Papini or who assaulted Bickel. Parrick's attorney, Jacob Levin of Redding, said his client did not stalk or harass Papini. He also said Parrick stands by her statements made on a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for her and her daughter. Parrick said she was left homeless and destitute after Bickel left her for Papini in October. "I wasn't threatening her. I wasn't even harassing her, by the loosest definition of the word, and I certainly wasn't defaming her. I've been very careful when I wrote online to only write what I knew was true, and I waited six months before I started sharing my story with anyone. I tried to handle this gracefully for a long time," Parrick said outside court Wednesday. "I was simply telling my story, and I think she wanted me to shut the heck up, because she's trying to portray a new image to the world, and by me telling the truth, it shows that her image is false," Parrick said. Parrick said she was happy the restraining order was dismissed, but said she is still struggling to make ends meet since her 16-year relationship with Bickel ended. Levin said his client was concerned that Bickel was possibly taking the couple's daughter to Papini's house because Papini has limited access to both of her own children. Papini's attorney, Chase Kinney of Redding, said her client filed the restraining order "because she wanted the harassment and exploitation of her name — and that of a minor child — to stop. With the agreement that Ms. Parrick will remove all related social media and fundraising posts and refrain from any further harassment or commentary, Ms. Papini has now achieved that purpose. "By dismissing the restraining order, Ms. Papini avoids further feeding into unnecessary drama and preserves her energy for what truly matters: her children and her future," Kinney said. Levin, however, said that Parrick is not required to remove any online statements she has made about Papini. The temporary restraining order is not the only legal issue Papini has become involved in recently. She is due in court again Friday, as her former boyfriend Shawn Hibdon has filed an eviction proceeding to have her removed from a home he owns in Shingletown. In a declaration filed in the eviction case, Papini says she had made arrangements to purchase the home from Hibdon, who lives in Orland. But after their relationship ended he sent her an eviction notice in January ordering her to leave the residence. Hibdon is using the eviction as an opportunity to publicly shame her, Papini said in her declaration. "The plaintiff (Hibdon) has made threats both implied and explicit ― that unless I purchase the home under specific, unfavorable terms, I will be evicted, publicly humiliated or face further harm to my personal financial well-being," she wrote in the declaration. Hibdon's attorney, Elizabeth Elizondo of Redding, said Papini's claims were not true. She and Hibdon tried to resolve the dispute before going to court and attempted to avoid going public with the disagreement. "Additionally, we had to break our silence and issue a statement because defendant's side threatened to involve the media if settlement negotiations were not pursued under her terms. There were also threats to release potentially embarrassing messages involving the plaintiff," Elizondo said in a statement. "These actions appear to be aimed at publicly humiliating the plaintiff (Hibdon) — the very thing she has accused us of doing to her. We feel it is important to acknowledge these threats so that, if any information is released, it can be viewed in the proper context," Elizondo said. Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today! This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Sherri Papini's restraining order against woman dismissed from court
