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Sherri Papini’s Husband Reveals ‘Gruesome’ Details of Her Abduction: She Was ‘Emaciated, Covered in Bruises’

Sherri Papini’s husband, Keith Papini, spoke out about his wife’s disappearance and safe return in a new statement on Tuesday, November 29. In addition to thanking the public for their support, he slammed hoax rumors and revealed chilling new details about her condition when she was found.

“Thank you to the many incredible humans that have never known Sherri that facilitated in sharing our heartbreak across the globe,” Keith said in a statement to Good Morning America on Tuesday, November 29. “Sherri has always captured my heart and it is no surprise that she has captured the hearts not only through the country, but throughout the world.”

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As previously reported, Keith first reported Sherri was missing from their Northern California home when she didn’t come back following a jog on November 2. She was supposed to pick up their children, ages 2 and 4, from daycare at the time.

Sherri Papini
Sherri Papini Shasta County Sheriff's Office

Twenty-two days later, Sherri was found beaten and chained on the side of a road in Yolo County, California, around 4:30 a.m on Thanksgiving. Authorities are searching for two armed Hispanic women as the investigation continues.

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“Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see upon my arrival at the hospital, nor the details of the true hell I was about to hear,” Keith continued in his statement. “My first sight was my wife in a hospital bed, her face covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings, the bridge of her nose broken.”

According to Keith, Sherri was “emaciated” and currently weighs 87 pounds. Her blonde hair was chopped off and she had severe burns, red rashes, chain markings and branding all over her body.

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“She was thrown from a vehicle with a chain around her waist, attached to her wrists and a bag over her head. The same bag she used to flag someone down once she was able to free one of her hands. Sherri was taken from us for 22 days, and suffered incredibly through both intense physical agony and severe mental torture. My reaction was one of extreme happiness and overwhelming nausea as my eyes and hands scanned her body,” he told GMA. “I was filled with so much relief and revulsion at once. My Sherri suffered tremendously and all the visions swirling in your heads of her appearance, I assure you, are not as graphic and gruesome as the reality.”

One day after Sherri’s return, authorities told ABC News that there was “no reason to disbelieve” her story, despite some people speculating that the abduction was staged. Keith touched on the hoax rumors in his statement, calling them “exhausting and disgusting.”

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“We are not going to allow those people to take away our spirit, love, or rejoice in our girl found alive and home where she belongs. I understand people want the story, pictures, proof that this was not some sort of hoax, plan to gain money, or some fabricated race war. I do not see a purpose in addressing each preposterous lie,” Keith said. “We are a very private family whom do not use social media outlets prior to this grotesque tragedy. My love for my wife took precedence and it was clear we had to be exposed in ways we never would have been comfortable with.”

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