Netflix’s true crime series American nightmare spotlighted the March 2015 abduction of Denise Huskins, then 29, from her home in Vallejo, California.
But why did Matthew Muller actually kidnap his victim?
Everything you need to know about the kidnapping of Denise Huskins
Denise Huskins was drugged, bound and kidnapped from her home after a masked intruder, later identified as Matthew Muller, broke into the home she shared with her boyfriend Aaron Quinn and took her overnight.
A popular theory at the time labeled Huskins as “the real Gone Girl” and accused her and Quinn of reporting the abduction in the same manner as Gone Girl – a popular Book that was adapted into a movie starring Ben Affleck.
Quinn was the prime suspect in the case after she offered authorities a bizarre account of how a kidnapper in a wet suit forced the couple to drink a drink laced with sedatives after they broke up with his partner Denise.
Denise, who was abducted on March 23, 2015, was held by her captor for 48 hours at her apartment in South Lake Tahoe, California. During this time, she was sexually assaulted twice on camera before being given another sedative and returned to her family home in Huntington Beach, California.
The kidnapper emailed Quinn while he was holding Huskins to demand a $17,000 ransom, but he was eventually released without such payment.
The reason Matthew Muller kidnapped Denise Huskins
After Huskins’ release, many continued to draw parallels Gone Girl and accusing him of wasting police investigative time before the kidnappers emerged and claimed responsibility “prove that they do not lie:”
“We are responsible for the suffering of the victims, and the least we can do is come and prove that they are not lying.”
This happened after a statement from the Vallejo Police Department “no evidence” of the abduction and said it appeared to be “scheduled event:”
“There is no evidence to support claims that this was an alien abduction or an abduction at all. Given the facts presented thus far, this event appears to be an organized event and not an abduction.”
The truth behind Denise Huskins’ abduction was not revealed until months later after another case with key similarities took place in Dublin, California.
In this Dublin case, the victims managed to fight back, causing the kidnapper to flee and drop his phone, where police were able to trace ex-Marine and disbarred lawyer Matthew Muller as the owner and perpetrator.
The phone, which contained evidence linking Muller to Huskins’ kidnapping, also tied the kidnapper to other similar incidents.
But why did Matthew Muller kidnap Denise Huskins?
Well, as it turns out, Denise Huskins was never the intended target, as Matthew Muller told her during the ordeal how she was. “part of this black market company that kidnaps people for money.”
The real target was the ex-girlfriend of her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, although Muller never explained why he was after her. Huskins’ sexual violence did not appear to be the primary motivator in the original kidnapping, at least.
Where is the kidnapper Matthew Muller now?
Matthew Muller was arrested on June 8, 2015 as part of this separate home invasion case before evidence linked him to other crimes.
In 2017, U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley sentenced Muller, now 46, to 40 years in prison for kidnapping Huskins. In the verdict, the judge told how Muller was “used his considerable intelligence” run “physical abuse and mental torture” of his victims:
“Today’s sentence reflects the egregiousness of Muller’s behavior in this case. Muller had advantages in life that most people only dream of, yet he used his remarkable intelligence to plan and carry out the physical abuse and mental torture of two innocent strangers.”
During the hearing, Muller’s defense attorney, Thomas Johnson, tried to get a 30-year sentence because his client was diagnosed as manic and depressed.
Years later in 2022, Muller was sentenced to 31 years in prison for two counts of rape and three other charges in Solano County Superior Court. That state sentence is currently being served concurrently with his federal sentence.
He is currently serving that sentence at the Federal Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona. The release schedule begins on July 8, 2049, when Muller will then be over 70 years old.
In a 2018 NBC Bay Area jailhouse interview, Muller maintained his innocence and pleaded guilty only to reassure the couple. “got justice for that false accusation” Done by the Vallejo Police Department:
“I don’t think there is any excuse for the behavior of the Vallejo Police Department. That’s why I thought it was worth diving in and making sure they got justice for that false accusation.”
All three episodes American nightmare now streaming on Netflix.
