Kidnapping fraudster Sherri Papini is back in court two years after she was jailed for her Gone Girl-style staged disappearance.

In 2022, despite her previous image of innocence, her demeanor took on a fierce look as she pleaded for leniency following her admission of a complex scheme.

Gone were the days of neatly tied hair, demure behavior, and a remorseful expression. Instead, she faced her destiny with her head lowered and an arm providing support.

Now 42 years old, Papini sported a pink top underneath a black jacket, paired with snug black leggings and coordinated shoes. She strode into the courthouse hand in hand with a mysterious woman, displaying a completely altered appearance.

Papini vanished from her home in Redding, California, on November 2, 2016, sparking a frantic search until she turned up three weeks later.

The mother-of-two claimed she was kidnapped in the dead of night by two women and held captive until she freed herself and fled.

But it was all a lie as she was with her lover James Reyes the whole time, and was jailed for 18 months in September 2022 when the fraud was discovered.

Her husband Keith Papini filed for divorce and custody of their children almost immediately after her deception was exposed.

Kidnapping fraudster Sherri Papini is back in court two years after she was jailed for her Gone Girl-style staged disappearance

Papini wore a pink top under a black blazer with tight black leggings and matching shoes as she marched into the courthouse, gripping the hand of another woman

Papini arrived at Shasta County Superior Court on Friday morning as part of a long-running custody battle with Keith, seeking increased visitation rights.

Keith was awarded full custody of Tyler, 12, and Violet, 10, and their mother only granted monthly supervised visits.

The kidnaping faker is also trying to force her ex-husband to to prevent their kids watching an unflattering documentary about her.

Hulu docuseries Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini rehashed the case in detail and included shocking new allegations.

Papini accused Keith in her court filing of ‘revisiting the past and reopening old wounds rather than focusing on moving forward – at the expense of our children’. 

‘For eight years our family has been followed, stalked, harassed and bullied by the media,’ she wrote.

‘I have done my best to stay private to focus on my children and healing from the events that transpired. 

Papini’s look was was in stark contrast to the picture of innocence she put on in 2022 as she begged for leniency after confessing her elaborate hoax

Gone were the neatly tied back hair, demure mannerisms, and apologetic expression as she was helped to her fate with her head bowed and an arm on her shoulder in 2022

Papini, 42, vanished from her home in Redding, California , on November 2, 2016, sparking a frantic search until she turned up three weeks later 

‘For many years after my arrest, I was the primary caregiver of our children before serving my time in prison. My children have always been my primary focus.’ 

Papini’s scheme captivated much of the US – partially due her being painted as a picture-perfect stay-at-home mother, with two young kids.

After she turned up on Thanksgiving, she claimed to have been cut loose from her restraints by two female captors at 4.30 that morning.

She claimed she was left on the side of County Road 17 near Interstate 5 – and made the 150 mile journey back home herself.

In reality, she was wrapped up with an affair with Reyes, all while her husband was in the dark.

Her story unraveled when officers found Reyes’ DNA on her clothes in 2020 and discovered she was holed up with him the whole time she was pretending to be missing.

She was released early in August 2023, after a judge ruled she was no threat to her community.

Keith said the idea was to make the children sicker ‘so that she could take them to the doctor’

A day earlier, Shasta County Sheriff Michael Johnson recalled how he and others handling the investigation grew suspicious of her almost immediately, upon interviewing her after her reappearance. 

‘It is a case of calculated deception, driven I think by her narcissistic behavior,’ he said as he painted the Northern California mom as confident and unrepentant.

‘It really had an impact on this community.’

Her family reportedly footed her $120,000 bond, after which her husband filed for divorce the next month.

Papini was last seen living with her auto dealer boyfriend Shawn Hibdon, 50, in a lush, four-bedroom property in Shingletown, 30 miles from her former family home.

She began dating the widowed businessman before her 10-month stint in prison even started, and was seen sharing a kiss outside their home last year.

Papini was spotted sharing a passionate smooch with her new boyfriend Shawn Hibdon outside a local Starbucks in Orland, California, last year

Papini is said to have begun dating the recently widowed businessman before her 10-month stint in prison in Victorville, California which ended in August 2023

In his petition for divorce, a devastated Keith recalled this stage of his life, and how he and his kids were ‘victimized’ by his ex-wife – whom he said as a liar and a thief.

‘On April 11 2022, I learned that I and my children had been victimized,’ he wrote before being awarded full custody,’ we wrote.

‘[And] that my wife was a skilled liar, an accomplished thief, a manipulator of others without empathy for their pain and loss.’

Keith was subsequently awarded the couple’s home and the lion’s share of the couple’s possessions.

Papini is battling for more access to Tyler and Violet while Keith wants her to undertake a psychological evaluation and be barred from seeing them unsupervised.

She is also demanding he hand over an array of items from the marital home in Redding, among them ‘Grandpa’s truck, an inflatable water slide, a leaf blower and a smart TV’.