Sherri Papini’s husband speaks about moment he told their son she was coming home (interview)

The husband of kidnapping victim Sherri Papini described the remarkable moment he got to tell their son that his mother was safe and coming home in an interview with 20/20.

Keith Papini initially said he was not telling his children their mother was missing, but in the story released this afternoon, he says he eventually told the couple’s oldest child, Tyler, 4.

“I told him I had something important to tell him and he jumped on the couch and he knew something was up and said, ‘Dad, you can tell me anything,'” Keith recalled. “For a little 4-year-old to say that — I wasn’t prepared for that.”

Keith Papini said he told Tyler that “Mommy went running and she didn’t come home, and we’re all looking for her right now.”

He found Tyler crying and touching a picture of his mother one day, Keith Papini told the show.

“He was just standing there and he had his left hand on her face,” Keith Papini said. “He was just staring at her … and he just, you know, tears in his eyes with his hands on her face.”

Now that Sherri Papini has been found, Keith Papini also told the show she’s showing signs of psychological trauma.

“When the lights are off, when doors shut, when she hears certain sounds, I mean, it’s something that I don’t know how to deal with, and we’ll need somebody who can help her through that from a professional standpoint,” Keith Papini said. “I’m sure I’m going to have to rach out for something for my feelings as well. It’s not just a long road. It’s something we’re never going to forget.”

Agencies/Canadajournal