A US television programme appears to have confirmed the theory behind the disappearance and subsequent discovery of Shelley Papini whilst out jogging late last year.
The California mother was found bloody and with broken bones, branded skin and other bruises about 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Redding, where she was last seen, three weeks after she disappeared on Nov. 2.
The brand has been at the center of several theories about her disappearance, suggesting that human traffickers may have snatched her off the street.
The television program Crime Watch Daily cited anonymous sources who it said supported the sex trafficking theory.
Shelley Papini and her husband Keith. Photo: Yahoo US
“It was sex trafficking. We believe they found who appeared to be young girls and took them for that purpose,” the source said.
Skin branding is often associated with sex trafficking.
This is not the first time that human trafficking has been suggested as a possibility, but in the months since Papini’s case other theories have emerged, including that of a cult, a serial killer or a rapist.
In December, private investigator Bill Garcia said the motive for Shelley’s abduction was sex trafficking.
The Papini family hired Garcia to search for her, and although his efforts have been controversial, some believe he was instrumental in her rescue.
“I was absolutely horrified. I know who did it, I know who did it,” Garcia told People magazine in December after seeing photos of the branding irons on Shelley’s skin.
“It indicates that a person belongs to a particular group.”
The Papini family: Shelley, Keith, Tyler and Violet. Photo: Yahoo US
Garcia said he was surprised his kidnappers did not kill Papini, given the abuse and suffering he had endured after being starved and beaten.
“It’s amazing she wasn’t killed. If they were so intent on harming her, I can only imagine they had no heart,” he told People magazine.
When he was found on Thanksgiving Day, Papini had a broken face and was starving.
Shelley Papini and her husband Keith. Photo: Yahoo US.
Sources say she was held captive in a dark room, but family members say she was taken by at least two Hispanic women and then dumped on the side of the road.
Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko adamantly refused to comment on the human trafficking allegations.