Regulation enforcement officers mentioned that Matthew Muller — the person on the heart of the Vallejo kidnapping case that was outlined within the Netflix documentary “American Nightmare” — could have dedicated sexual assault and kidnapping as early as 1993 when he was 16 years outdated.
A number of investigators spoke within the Monterey County metropolis of Seaside on Tuesday relating to Muller and up to date revelations about his criminality, together with new prices out of Contra Costa County and on the Peninsula.
Muller, 47, is in jail after being convicted for the 2015 Vallejo kidnapping of Denise Huskins-Quinn, a case that gained notoriety when Vallejo police known as her story a hoax and in contrast it to the movie “Gone Girl.”
Authorities now disavow the “Gone Girl” designation, saying naming the case after the film is disrespectful.
“That is a derogatory term that never should have been given to this case,” mentioned El Dorado County District Legal professional Vern Pierson at Tuesday’s press convention. “It’s premised on people lying about a crime. That never happened in this case.”
The “Gone Girl” designation grew to become extra of a condemnation of Vallejo Police, not the precise case, after it got here to mild that the division wasted worthwhile time chasing an concept that Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskin-Quinn had invented their tales.
Huskins-Quinn lived on Mare Island and, alongside together with her then-boyfriend Aaron Quinn, was drugged and tied up by Muller throughout a house invasion.
On Tuesday, Huskins-Quinn, who typically spoke via tears, identified that Muller is now accused of finishing up a really comparable crime in an unincorporated space of San Ramon simply weeks after their ordeal.
“Now to find out, two weeks after our kidnapping, he attacked again, and that was two days (of me being) in captivity of him telling me he was remorseful, that I didn’t deserve this … He said, ‘seeing what this did to you has changed me. I’m done. I’m never doing this again.’”
Exposing Muller’s previous
Muller, a Harvard College-trained lawyer and former U.S. Marine, held Huskins-Quinn for ransom and sexually assaulted her in South Lake Tahoe earlier than dropping her off at her household’s house in Huntington Seaside.
Contra Costa County prosecutors introduced Monday that Muller has been charged with three felonies associated to an alleged kidnapping involving three victims in unincorporated San Ramon in 2015. In that case, he’s accused of invading a house and holding three individuals hostage till they withdrew cash. Not one of the victims ever reported the alleged kidnapping.
Muller was additionally charged in December with one other sexual assault and two extra house invasions in Mountain View and Palo Alto in 2009 that allegedly concerned tying up the victims, drugging them and assaulted them.
Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges additionally appeared at Tuesday’s press convention and mentioned that in March 2024, he started speaking with Muller on the federal jail in Tucson, Arizona, the place he’s serving a 40-year jail time period.
Matthew Muller is serving a 40-year jail sentence in Arizona for the 2015 kidnapping and rape of a Vallejo girl in a case also known as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping. (Alameda County Sheriff’s Workplace/Wikipedia)
Muller allegedly admitted to different crimes in these discussions and in discussions with Pierson, the El Dorado County district legal professional who mentioned he carried out a 10-month investigation.
The main points of any new allegations or crimes weren’t specified, apart from saying not less than one might contain kidnapping and assault.
The previous Dublin detective who solved the bungled Vallejo case by catching Muller, Misty Carausu, is now a lieutenant with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Workplace. On Tuesday, she mentioned she hopes policing will proceed to enhance within the wake of the “American Nightmare” case.
“I was trying not to get emotional today,” Carausu mentioned. “Victim awareness is real, I implore everybody to be kinder, to make sure that the information that we are putting out there is correct, that mistakes don’t get made again like this.”
A name for accountability
The press convention was a chance to debate updates within the Muller case but in addition to make a plea for higher investigations.
Pierson mentioned that the “American Nightmare” case has really had an influence on how regulation enforcement handles circumstances now.
“All too often when something like this happens … what are so obviously mistakes that took place in the initial days of the investigation after the home invasion and the abduction, is to focus on the negative,” he mentioned. “But the truth is, this is much more about positive changes in the way law enforcement training is now done here in the state of California.”
Pierson added that how detectives conduct interviews and collaborate with different companies has been improved because of the Vallejo case.
Aaron Quinn expressed confidence in Pierson’s strategy.
Quinn additionally mentioned he was “confident” that every other circumstances after theirs might have been prevented if they’d used Pierson’s strategy.
Huskins-Quinn mentioned that Vallejo police have nonetheless not personally apologized to them.
Vallejo police now not touch upon the Muller case.
