The strange story that inspired ‘American Nightmare’
After being kidnapped and assaulted, Denise Huskins turned to police for help. But instead of offering it, they accused her of crafting an elaborate hoax.
“American Nightmare,” which premieres on Netflix on Jan. 17, details the infamous Vallejo, California, “Gone Girl” case, in which Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, were accused of faking an attack by an intruder who then kidnapped Huskins and held her hostage. The man who actually committed the crime was later arrested and sent to prison.
What is the story of ‘American Nightmare’ on Netflix?
On March 23, 2015, Aaron Quinn called 911 to tell police he and his girlfriend, Denise Huskins, had been attacked in his home the previous day and that Huskins had been abducted. According to ABC7, Quinn told police an intruder had broken in around 3 a.m., tied them up, drugged them and then taken Huskins with him for ransom.
Investigators didn’t believe Quinn’s story. They accused him of killing Huskins, and Quinn was the focus of the police investigation for several days, per ABC7. The situation finally changed when Huskins appeared near her parent’s home in Huntington Beach on March 25, two days after her abduction.
Police arrived and interviewed Huskins. Although her account of the initial abduction corroborated Quinn’s story, investigators accused her of fabricating everything and questioned whether she had ever been in danger. ABC7 reported that her reappearance incited a wave of media attention, comparing the case to “Gone Girl,” a book about a woman who frames her husband for her own murder.
Was Denise Huskins really kidnapped?
After Huskins and Quinn were drugged, the attacker drove Huskins to Lake Tahoe and kept her captive for two days, repeatedly assaulting her, per CBS Bay Area. The kidnapper used an anonymous email to send messages to Quinn and to the police demanding ransom, then drove Huskins to Huntington Beach, California, and dropped her off.
But Vallejo police announced they believed the kidnapping was a hoax and asked Huskins and Quinn to recant their statements and apologize to the public, per ABC7. The real perpetrator, Matthew Muller, wasn’t arrested until June 5, 2015, after he attempted a similar invasion in a Dublin, California, home, about an hour south of Vallejo.
Dublin detective Misty Carausu saw the similarities between the Dublin incident and the Vallejo crime and contacted Vallejo police and the FBI, per ABC7. Huskins and Quinn later sued the city of Vallejo and settled for $2.5 million.
More than six years later, the Vallejo Police Department issued a formal apology to Huskins and Quinn, who are now married.
“The Huskins Quinn case was not publicly handled with the type of sensitivity a case of this nature should have been handled with, and for that, the City extends an apology to Ms. Huskins and Mr. Quinn,” the statement reads. “What happened to Ms. Huskins and Mr. Quinn is horrific and evil.”
Where is Matthew Muller now?
Muller was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for kidnapping and 31 years in state prison for kidnapping, rape, robbery, burglary and false imprisonment, per CBS Bay Area. The sentences will be served concurrently, and he remains in prison.
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