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September 21, 2022 7 mins

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
That's the sound of Sherry Peppini on Thanksgiving Day, seen
found by a trucker who called nine one Peppini shackled,
appearing beaten and bruised on the side of interstate five
in northern California. Listen to me, I need you to
take a deep breath, calm down and listen to what
I'm saying. I have an officer and route Peppini does

(00:21):
not offer many details to the nine one one dispatcher.
Now we know the whole thing was a hoax. Peppini
admit she made up the story after weeks in hiding
with an ex boyfriend. Yeah, she's a whack job, but
made the whole thing up. But I was trying to
remember at the time when that story broke now where
I'm broadcasting from right now in my bedroom. It was

(00:43):
just up the road from here. So it was a
big local story that turned into a national story. Oh,
everybody in North Cal we all had our eyes out
for her. And but what did we suspect? It was
whacky right off the bat, like oftentimes happens, or was
everybody just horrified that this poor woman was abducted? My
recollection is it seemed legit but there have been some

(01:08):
wacky cases and cases that seemed wacky that we're legit
as well, and so everybody was around here, everybody was
being a little cautious. Yeah, well, it's the the the
the finality of it. Happened happened this week with the
sentencing and some new video that came out. That is
really something. Yeah, indeed. And Uh, in our case audio,
for instance, I'm not sure I'd heard the boyfriends say anything,

(01:31):
but here he is describing her nefarious plot. She had
a plan, she had planned this. How do you know that? Yeah,
she had to have a plan. She called me. I
don't have a plan, I don't like it made. You
need a plan. Go somewhere else. Uh. Here's the sheriff

(01:53):
confronting the Good Lady With the information about her boyfriend
that they've figured out. I know all of those things
and I know there was no sets. I know all
of that because he passed the polygraph test. That said
it's not an abduction. She asked me to come to
get her, so I rented a car and picked her up.

(02:18):
He passed the polygraph test here. That's not what happened.
When I didn't happen turn he didn't know. There's no way.
It's the way. He doesn't laugh. His DNA DA was
I mean, there's no way. Okay. So what was most

(02:40):
interesting to me. Do we have more of that, because
they're one of the wrinkles on this whole story. Is
Her poor freaking husband, who believed her story or wanted
to believe her story, was sitting next to her in
the video as she gets confronted with the fact and
finally breaks and admits it, and then his life obviously

(03:04):
changed dramatically in that instant and that of their children.
And Yeah, yeah, yeah, oof, but yeah, you know, I'm
reminded of my old buddies who was in law enforcement
saying proof that you're not smart enough to carry off
a life in crime is that you're considering a life
in crime. Proof that you're too dumb to pull off

(03:26):
this nefarious plot is that you've even considered it. And
you've heard there and they said look, no, the boyfriends talked. Well,
you've given him a polygraph, the D Na. We know
there wasn't any sex, and she's like no, no, no way,
no work, because she has no answer to any of that.
Oh and the poor freaking husband. Yeah, yeah, let's see

(03:48):
what give me a next clip there, Michael. This is
a Melodi Winow of K C R a t V.
James Ray is a former boyfriend of peppini's, enlisted by
peppini herself, invest gators say, to help her carry out
the alleged kidnapping plot. The DNA alone says it's him
and when we talked to him confront with the DNA,

(04:11):
told us what happened and give it details that nobody
else would not details. Reyes is heard in audio recordings
explaining to detectives. So during that twenty two days she
has some significant injuries. Yeah, so there's a brand on her,
there's significant bruising, there's like how did how did all
that stuff? I mean, I thought she was here. I

(04:34):
mean she just hit herself with something creative rs or something,
and I hope I mean I didn't punch or anything.
I didn't even put hands on or anything. So He's
a guy who got mixed up with a hotty willing
to have sex with him, I guess, although I thought
from that one clip that they didn't this time around. Right, right,
they didn't this time around. I don't know. I'd like

(04:56):
to know more about that. I don't know if he thought,
wait a second, you're too crazy. I knew you were crazy,
but I was willing to put up with the crazy
to have sex with you. But you're even you're you're
past the point of it's a good idea to have
sex with you crazy. That's what happened. And she breaks
down in uh in the in the one of the videos,

(05:17):
there in the interrogation room with her husband sitting right
next to her, and she says, all I did was
talk to these guys. I shouldn't have talked to these guys.
And you could see her husband say it's like, Oh crap,
you're talking to a bunch of guys and just so,
this is all it's so, all the stories are real.
You are a crazy nutjob cheating on me. Fantastic. So
then they get him alone and he's telling them. Well,
obviously I've got some decisions to make. Oh yeah, well,

(05:43):
back to the boyfriend. So you're crazy ex girlfriend shows
up with a fake kidnapping plot and it doesn't occur
to this person. Well, you just put me in the Jackpot, baby.
I think I'M gonna call the COPS now. The minute
you go to sleep or go out the house, I'm
calling the cops. Well, part of his brain was thinking that.
The Art of part of his brain was thinking, how

(06:04):
about one more one more time, for old time's sake.
For Old Time's sake, this will be our parting way. Yeah, Fellas,
so I don't quite understand the whole I helped her
wound herself, but didn't put hands on her. I'm not
exactly sure what was going on there. But well, he
was willing to help her with her ingenious nefarious plot.

(06:28):
Can you find something heavy for me to hit myself with? Yeah,
give me a second, I'll go to the garage. What
the Hell? And they showed people, they showed her bruises
and brands. I mean, they're for real. You're really a
nut job you do that. I mean like full on
by her poor husband. What what I wondered was like,
did he suspect she was pretty crazy and he had
been suppressing that, or was he fully invested in she

(06:50):
was a good person and I believe her. I wonder, well,
where's the line between Quirky and crazy? Many a lover
and spouse has tried to find that line. She's so excited,
tricken Barn, strong and Getty
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