WATCH: Video shows moment Sherri Papini breaking down during kidnapping hoax interrogation

Sherri Papini, a 39-year-old woman from California, was sentenced to 18 months in prison on Monday, September 19. Papini, who faked her kidnapping in 2016, pleaded guilty to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud back in April 2022.

A video released by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office shows Sherri Papini breaking down while being questioned by the two officers who laid out evidence to prove she orchestrated a kidnapping hoax.

The video shows Sherri Papini bending down with her hands on her head and, listening to the police slowly break down the evidence with her husband sitting by her side.

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"I'm horrible" - Sherri Papini breaks down during interrogation

In the video, Sherri Papini is seated next to her husband while two officers interrogate her in a closed room. When the police presented a barrage of evidence that negated her abduction claims, she began unraveling with the mounting accusations.

At one point, the husband left and the police continued to break down the evidence, pointing towards her guilt. She then started to sob and said:

“I’m horrible.”

The police tried to comfort her by saying that things just turned a bit awry.

Papini was arrested and charged with lying to federal agents and defrauding $30,000 through the California Victim Compensation Board (CalVCB) on March 3, 2022. She was then released on a $120,000 bail. A month later, she pleaded guilty to the charges.

Papini’s attorney wanted to secure an eight-month sentence, where the mother-of-two would spend a month in custody and seven months in home detention. But Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb believed that Papini’s sentence should serve as an example to the community and deter others from going down the same road.

The judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison. She was ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution fees for wasting the resources in investigating her hoax abduction.

According to KCRA, prosecutor Veronica Alegria made the following statement after Judge’s ruling.

“It's very important that we send a message to anyone who is thinking about lying to the FBI or other law enforcement officers or who thinks that they can defraud the government and cause harm to victims.”

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Sherri Papini's husband files for divorce after she pleads guilty to the hoax abduction charges

Papini, a mother of two from Redding, California, reportedly grew weary of her life with her husband and chose not to return from a morning jog on November 2, 2016. Her husband Keith Papini filed a missing person report after he came home that evening and found his wife missing while the children were still at daycare.

Following the report, police conducted a three-week extensive search for the missing mother-of-two, who was found 22 days later by a driver on November 24, 2022.

She was reportedly bound in restraints, walking down the road near Sacramento about 150 miles from the alleged abduction. Papini told police that she was allegedly kidnapped by two Hispanic women and was abused in captivity.

What ensued next was a years-long investigation that revealed Papini's deceit. In August 2020, authorities traced DNA found in Papini’s clothing to her ex-boyfriend, who later admitted that Papini was staying with him in Costa Mesa and faked the kidnapping to escape an abusive marriage. But she soon began to miss her kids and decided to return home.

Papini's former boyfriend told the authorities that she burned and hit herself to lend legitimacy to the story, People reported.

Papini's husband filed for divorce two days after she pled guilty to the charges in April 2022.