The husband of Sherri Papini, the Northern California woman who went missing for three weeks, has passed a voluntary polygraph (lie-detector) test, a sheriff told the New York Post.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told the newspaper that Keith Papini “has been cooperative and even volunteered for a polygraph, which he passed.”
Bosenko, however, didn’t rule Keith out as a suspect in his wife’s Nov. 2 abduction as she was out jogging near her home in Redding, California.
“We are keeping an open mind and looking at all avenues,” Bosenko was quoted as saying.
Reports have indicated that police are looking for suspects involved in her abduction. They are described as two Hispanic women who spoke Spanish most of the time they were around Sherri. Officials, citing her account, said that she was dumped on the side of an interstate on Thanksgiving Day in Yolo County, located about 150 miles south of Redding.
When Sherri was missing, there were rumors spread about Keith that he was somehow involved in the abduction. A relative of her went on Facebook on Nov. 8, defending Keith and saying he was being defamed by a baseless speculation.
“We recognize that in 80 percent of the disappearance cases the spouse is responsible,” Rod Rodriguez III, Sherri’s father-in-law, wrote at the time. “But conversely, that means in 20 percent of the cases the spouse is not involved. This case falls into the latter category.”
“He never once ‘lawyered up’ and has cooperated fully without hesitation,” he added, while noting that Keith allowed police to search the family’s cars and home. He also turned over laptops, iPads, phones, and other items, he said.
On the day of her disappearance, Keith was working at his Best Buy job. His work vehicle has GPS tracking, verifying his location the entire day. Meanwhile, police used cellphone tracking data to confirm his whereabouts, the Sacramento Bee reported.
“Unfortunately, there are random, ignorant people on the internet that are casting aspersions on both Sherri and Keith,” Rodriguez added.
During her abduction, she was beaten, starved, and branded, according to police, and her hair was cut off.
In an interview with ABC’s “20/20,” Keith said his wife “literally lived through hell” during her captivity. “She didn’t get into a vehicle on her own,” Keith said, noting there were guns involved.
