Watch the full story on "20/20" FRIDAY at 9 p.m. I peeled the tape off my eyes and I was by myself in this alleyway, she said. Jailhouse interview with Matthew Muller who sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for kidnapping Denise Huskins - an incident Vallejo police once said she . Huntington Beach police officers arrived at the neighbors apartment where Huskins was waiting and began questioning her, who recounted everything that had happened two nights earlier, including the events that unfolded after she was taken from Aaron Quinns home. EXCLUSIVE: 'Gone Girl' kidnapping, rape victim shares statement as Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins were married in 2018. Huskins and her future husband endured harrowing crimes; she was kidnapped, raped and left on a roadside. Muller pleaded guilty to federal kidnapping charges and was sentenced in 2017 to 40 years in prison. She said that she had been raped twice by her kidnapper, which he videotaped. When they responded, she says they told her to call the FBI. Police soon called a news conference and declared the couples report of an abduction a hoax, saying there was no evidence to support that anything had happened. I am thoroughly exhausted, every inch of my body is tired from the fit of terror it was battling., All I did was survive, Huskins wrote, and I was criminalized for it.. Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter. He woke up to new emails and texts from the intruder. Huskins said the man then told her to walk to the bedroom closet. "I still have. The kidnapper, later identified as Muller, then drove Huskins to his South Lake Tahoe home, where he held her for two days and sexually assaulted her, before ultimately driving her to Huntington Beach and letting her go near her parents home. I didnt realize how cold it is because were all wearing wetsuits.. Married 'Teacher of the Year' Had Photo in Wallet of Student, 13, Who She's Accused of Sexually Abusing: D.A. Carausu said they also discovered Muller was driving a stolen car. Crime and Public Safety | While the state filed charges in March 2018, the trial was delayed due to the fact that Muller had been admitted to Napa State Hospital where he was ordered to take antipsychotic medication until he was deemed mentally competent to stand trial. Matthew Muller pleaded no contest to two counts of forcible rape, robbery, burglary and false imprisonment in connection with the Vallejo kidnapping of Denise Huskins, according to Law & Crime. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! At an emotional sentencing hearing in March 2017, Denise Huskins talked about her 48-hour ordeal, and described her sexual assault by Matthew Muller, as he looked on. He is 44 today and his full name is Matthew Daniel Muller, his prison records show. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Quinn later claimed in a federal lawsuit that he was initially held for an 18-hour interrogation after reporting Huskins missing, during which police accused him of killing her. All Rights Reserved. She and Aaron were both gaslit by the Vallejo police, each being treated like a criminal. Detective Miguel Campos, of the Dublin Police Department in California, discusses finding the suspect in the so-called "Gone Girl" kidnapping case. Matthew Muller. He was also told he would have to withdraw money from his bank and that hed have a camera monitoring his moves. She reappeared just hours before the ransom was due and seemed to be unharmed. He starts asking if Id been partying. In September, Muller pleaded guilty to Huskins kidnapping. The city of Vallejo and the Vallejo Police Department have not yet responded to the claims alleged in Whitney's lawsuit. So, if anything, it is Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins that owe this community an apology, Park said during the press conference. Upon searching the cabin, police found "several laptops, cellphones, a few stun guns, a lot of ski masks, and an empty bed with no blankets but a sheet that appeared to have been slept on." Misty Carausu had a nagging feeling that Muller had attempted this kind of crime before. The FBI, which also got involved in the case, gave Aaron Quinn a polygraph exam -- something he was eager to take to prove his innocence -- which they say he failed. Ex-Marine Matthew Muller to Plead Not Guilty to Denise Huskins Kidnap Before the intruder left Quinns Vallejo home with Huskins in tow, he had forced Quinn, who would later marry Huskins after the ordeal, to stay on a couch, telling him that a camera on the wall would be watching him and instructing him not to go beyond a taped perimeter marked on the floor. Vallejo police called the reported abduction a complete fabrication for which the couple should apologize. Muller was arrested in that case after dropping his cellphone in a scuffle with the homeowners. What would follow was a series of terrifying events that felt like the stuff of movies. They kept asking, Has he ever gotten angry? Sherri Papini sentenced to 18 months in prison for faking her own kidnapping in 2016 - The Guardian. The additional related criminal offenses of sexual assault and the robbery against Aaron were not placed on him as the federal court has no jurisdiction over them. . Matthew Muller Allegedly Admitted to Acting Alone in 'Gone - People Attorney Anthony Douglas Rappaport stands with clients, Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn, right, in San Francisco at a 2016 news conference. It just would have been impossible to have been done by one guy, Huskins said. VALLEJO, Calif. (KGO) -- A kidnapping victim who is also an alleged rape victim came face to face with her abductor again today during a preliminary hearing in Solano County. Huskins borrowed a cellphone from a stranger and called her father, who did not answer. This struck police as odd since neither of the victims in Dublin had blonde hair. He told the detectives about the goggles placed over their eyes, the specific directions they were given and the recordings that played on the headphones. Denise Huskins, however, did. Among the evidence that Dublin, California, police found in Matthew Muller's Lake Tahoe cabin was this toy gun with a laser pointer taped on. According to court filings, when Rappaport pushed for Vallejo police to conduct a rape exam, they delayed. Huskins says that in the end, the couples experience of trauma and survival is ultimately a love story with a happy ending. Muller was charged in federal court in Sacramento, California, with kidnapping for ransom. Of course, significant damage had already been done to Denise, on top of the horrendous trauma that came from being kidnapped, held hostage, and raped twice. What he wasnt charged with were the sexual assaults, the robbery, the burglary against Aaron, Rappaport said. Matthew Muller Was The One Who Kidnapped Denise Huskins. Huskins gave birth to a daughter, Olivia, in 2020, five years to the day that she was released by Muller. Suspect in bizarre 2015 kidnapping of Bay Area couple admitted to jail Rappaport said this new evidence still didnt deter police from their theory that Aaron Quinn and Huskins story was too unbelievable to be true. Matthew Muller in fact was the one behind the kidnapping and raping of Denise Huskins. A Harvard-educated former Marine was sentenced Friday for raping a California woman in a kidnapping plot so bizarre police once suspected it was a hoax. Denise would be taken from her boyfriend's home for over 48 horrifying hours, while authorities insisted the kidnapping was a hoax. I heard him drive off. Link your TV provider to stream full episodes and live TV. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Huskins turned up alive in Huntington Beach, California, 400 miles away from Vallejo, on March 25, 2015, two days after shed gone missing, as the kidnapper had promised Huskins previously. Six years ago, Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn survived a terrifying, prolonged attack in Quinn's Vallejo home. But on June 5, 2015, there was a major break in the case when police in Dublin, California, a city about an hour south of Vallejo, responded to a report of a home robbery. Vallejo police responded by calling them liars. In a previous deposition related to Huskins and Aaron Quinn's civil litigation, but prior to Whitneys December 2020 lawsuit, Bidou was asked if he recalled anyone using this phrase with respect to Huskins, and he replied that he had "never heard anybody say that.". Denise Huskins survived 48 hours with her captor before she was released. ABCs 20/20: Gone Girl examines the 2015 home invasion and kidnapping case involving Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins, who went from victims to suspects within mere days. Matthew Muller gets 31 years for kidnapping and rape victim - 24ssports Couple Vacationing in Haiti Is Kidnapped, Being Held for Ransom, Says Family: 'Worst-Case Scenario'. During questioning, Quinn recounted what had happened the night before. But Healy has scheduled Muller to return at 1:30 p.m. April 22 for further proceedings and an order to show cause, a judges demand for either the prosecutor or defense attorney to justify, explain or prove why the court should or should not grant a motion. Muller, a former Marine who had once studied at Harvard Law School, was sentenced to 40 years for federal kidnapping charges in 2017. It was later discovered that the kidnapper had called the phone three times. Huskins was held captive for just over 48 hours before being released, but the couple continued to fear for their lives with a kidnapper on the loose and the police dismissing their account of the incident as too incredible to be believed. Matthew Muller was a Harvard-educated lawyer, which just goes to show ya, don't bother judging this book by its cover. Quinn woke up the next morning with only enough energy due to the sedatives to call out sick for Huskins and himself, and then he fell asleep again until 11:30 a.m. My jaw and back are sore from the deep powerful shaking and reflexive tension that my whole body goes into. When they turned airplane mode off, the phone flooded with messages. Matthew Muller abducted Denise Huskins from her boyfriend's Vallejo home, holding her captive and sexually assaulting her over a two-day ordeal. 'Gone Girl' Kidnapper Matthew Muller Sentenced 40 Years - People The suspect tries to get away. As a result, he was handed down 31 years in prison, with the sentence to run concurrently with the 40-year term. Initially Denise and Aaron were issued an apology privately by Vallejo police, who eventually issued a public statement of apology. Huskins turned up two days after Quinn said she was abducted, in her hometown of Huntington Beach, California, hundreds of miles from Vallejo. In court, woman confronts man who kidnapped, raped and threatened to Case 245: Sherri Papini - Casefile: True Crime Podcast He has pleaded not guilty. The intruder placed blacked out goggles over their eyes and forced them to drink a sleep-inducing liquid, federal authorities said in 2016. She said that after their conversation, as they went to bed around midnight, it felt like a fresh start.. And when they did call her back, they told her to contact the FBI. Muller pleaded guilty to the federal kidnapping charge and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The 20/20 special will share their story with more detail, in the hopes of helping other victims who were not believed by authorities. Eventually, the intruder picked up Huskins and put her in the trunk of Quinn's car before driving away with her. The Psychiatric Times notes that instances of violence amongst people with bipolar disorder are often linked to previous trauma. Instead, then-Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou wrote a private letter of apology to them, saying in part that it was now clear what happened was not a hoax or orchestrated event and that [Vallejo Police Department[ conclusions were incorrect.. Muller pleaded not guilty to the charges. Get Morning Report and other email newsletters. AP Photo/Sudhin Thanawala, My heart goes out to them and the healing process takes a very long time, she said of Huskins and Quinn, according to. Quinns struggle eventually came to a head when, in February 2015, Huskins found out that Quinn had been messaging his ex-fiance about getting back together. Although Huskins mother and father were both in Vallejo assisting police, they contacted family back in Huntington Beach to go be with her. Her boyfriend had reported to police that shed been abducted from his California home at gunpoint and the kidnappers demanded an $8,500 ransom. Yet, in 2015, following filing for bankruptcy and being accused of neglecting to refund roughly $1,250 to a client when a court ordered it for failure to provide competent representation, he was disbarred for good. Among the attendees at their wedding were the attorneys who helped defend them, and Misty Carausu, a detective from Dublin, California, who helped link Muller to their case. Carausu also tracked down the owner of the stolen car, who told her that it had been stolen around the time of a kidnapping in Mare Island, where Aaron Quinn lived. While she waited, her father said he heard the voicemail and got word to the Huntington Beach Police Department. We fancied ourselves a sort of Oceans Eleven, gentleman criminals who only took stuff that was insured from people who could afford it.. Newer state charges stem from 2015 kidnapping Denise Huskins, . Crime and Public Safety | They were going to give us a sedative and if we didnt take it, they would inject it intravenously., Quinn said his pre-recorded message referred to him by name. Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn had a daughter, Olivia, who was born five years to the day that Huskins was released by her kidnapper, she said. What do I do next? she told ABC News Amy Robach. During the preliminary hearing, Muller a former Marine, Gulf War veteran and Harvard-trained lawyer listened to the female victim in the case, Denise Huskins. Her daughter, she says, filled that hole. But he had just gotten out of a relationship with a fiance who he said cheated on him. My eyes are sore and red from uncontrollable tears. Court records did not indicate the doctors determination but, typically, if a defendant is sent from Solano County Jail to a mental health services agency, they are likely deemed incompetent. The case became erroneously known as the Gone Girl kidnapping, in reference to the popular book and movie about a deceitful disappearance. Vallejo Police had initially believed Huskins had faked her own kidnapping, publicly hinting that it had been a hoax due to the bizarre and sensational details of the case. But the voice kept talking and I just remember my eyes shot open and I could see the walls illuminated with a white light that was flashing and I could see a couple of red laser dots crossing the wall, and I could hear, Wake up, this is a robbery. TIMELINE: Denise Huskins, Matthew Muller Vallejo kidnapping case Denise Huskins was the victim in the kidnapping by Matthew Muller that police thought of as a hoax. It was fairly easy to get Muller after that. I slowly counted to 10. "Bipolar disorder has many different stages and levels. One of them had just your typical pen-style laser pointer that was duct-taped to it., There were several swim goggles that were duct-taped black, Carausu added. Matthew Daniel Muller who was sentenced in 2017 in a Sacramento federal courtroom to 40 years in prison for kidnapping a couple and raping the female victim before releasing her near her. Juliette Goodrich, the interviewer, was not allowed to have a camera, pen, or paper during the conversation. And so, he said, We got the wrong intel.. Related Articles Disbarred Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Kidnap Once Called Hoax - NBC News She told them about Muller, and two FBI agents and a representative from Vallejo police came pretty quickly after that..
