SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Years earlier than Denise Huskins was kidnapped from her Vallejo dwelling, held captive, and accused by police of finishing up a “Gone Girl” impressed hoax, Matthew Muller had different targets, investigators mentioned. On Monday, prosecutors filed fees in opposition to Muller in connection to crimes he allegedly carried out in 2009 in opposition to two ladies within the South Bay.
Muller, who was featured within the Netflix documentary “American Nightmare,” was beforehand convicted of kidnapping and raping Huskins. He was sentenced to serve many years in jail.
Ladies who had been tied up throughout two 2009 South Bay dwelling invasions informed accounts that had been eerily just like Huskins’ traumatic expertise. Santa Clara County investigators, nevertheless, had been unable to dig up sufficient proof connecting Muller to the chilly circumstances till this December, prosecutors mentioned.
The Ivy-League educated Marine is now being held in a jail cell in San Jose as he faces new fees. Muller, 47, briefly appeared in court docket on Monday and didn’t enter a plea.
Matthew Muller is seen in mugshots from 2015 and 2018. (Pictures through Solano County District Lawyer’s Workplace)
District Lawyer Jeff Rosen mentioned, “The details of this person’s violent crime spree seem scripted for Hollywood, but they are tragically real. Our goal is to make sure this defendant is held accountable and will never hurt or terrorize anyone ever again. Our hope is that this nightmare is over.”
‘Gone Lady’ Case Timeline
2006 – 2009: After graduating from Harvard College, Muller labored as a trainer at Harvard Regulation Faculty in Cambridge, Massachusetts, based on an FBI affidavit.
Sept. 29, 2009: “Muller broke into a woman’s Mountain View home, attacked her, tied her up, made her drink a concoction of medications, and said he was going to rape her. After the victim, in her 30’s, persuaded him against it, he suggested the victim get a dog, then fled,” the Santa Clara County District Lawyer’s Workplace wrote.
Oct. 18, 2009: “Muller broke into a Palo Alto home, bound and gagged a woman in her 30’s and made her drink Nyquil. He then began to assault her, before being persuaded to stop. Muller gave the victim crime prevention advice, then fled,” SCCDAO wrote.
2011: Muller grew to become a lawyer and was admitted to the California Bar, an FBI affidavit states.
Aaron Quinn, left, and Denise Huskins, proper, seem at a regulation enforcement coaching occasion in March 2024. (KRON4 / Amy Larson)
March 23, 2015: Muller broke right into a Vallejo dwelling on Mare Island the place Huskins lived along with her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn. He tied the couple up, drugged them with a sleep-inducing liquid, and drove Huskins to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe. “Muller played a prerecorded message to the victims that threatened that any noncompliance would be punished by face cutting or electric shock,” the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace wrote.
Quinn referred to as police to report that his girlfriend was violently kidnapped from their dwelling in the course of the night time.
Whereas 29-year-old Huskins was being held captive within the cabin, Vallejo Police Division detectives suspected that her boyfriend murdered her, the documentary revealed. One detective interrogated Quinn for hours, peppering him with questions on a love triangle between Huskins, Quinn, and Quinn’s ex-girlfriend.
“He was asking me question after question about my relationship with Denise. The detective says your story is very elaborate and far-fetched … he says I need to come clean,” Quinn mentioned. An FBI agent gave Quinn a polygraph lie detect check and informed him that he failed.
“I’m staring at the same four walls wondering if I had a psychotic break,” Quinn mentioned.
March 24, 2015: Muller held Huskins in captivity for 48 hours in South Lake Tahoe, raped her, and threatened to kill her if she ever spoke to police. He despatched Quinn two emails demanding a $17,000 ransom.
March 25, 2015: Muller drove Huskins to Southern California and dropped her off close to her mum or dad’s dwelling in Huntington Seaside. For a second, earlier than police and information reporters arrived, Huskins mentioned she thought her “nightmare” was over. However it wasn’t. “I go from one nightmare to the next. There’s a media storm building,” Huskins mentioned.
Aaron Quinn, left, and Denise Huskins, proper, seem at a regulation enforcement coaching occasion in Seaside, California in March 2024. (KRON4 / Amy Larson)
Later that day, the Vallejo Police Division held a information convention and informed reporters that police discovered no proof of a kidnapping. Then-VPD spokesman Kenny Park mentioned, “It was such an incredible story, we initially had a hard time believing it, and upon further investigation, we couldn’t substantiate any of the things he was saying.” Police believed that all the incident was a hoax.
Huskins came upon concerning the information convention from her protection legal professional. “He tells me, the Vallejo Police Department just held a press conference and they threw you under the bus,” she mentioned. Huskins mentioned she believes VPD was pushed by anger towards her, saying, “The chief of police told (Park), ‘Burn that b**ch.'”
The case made nationwide media headlines because the “Gone Girl kidnapping,” in reference to a film a couple of girl who faked her personal abduction.
March 26 and 28, 2015: The San Francisco Chronicle obtained emails from an nameless individual claiming to be Huskins’ kidnapper, together with one e-mail demanding that police apologize to Huskins for calling it a hoax. “During and after the kidnapping, Muller sent emails to a reporter in San Francisco that falsely claimed, among other things, that the kidnapping had been carried out by a group of elite criminals who were perfecting their kidnapping-for-ransom tactics,” the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace said.
The emails’ creator mentioned he felt badly for what occurred.
April and Could 2015: With their assailant nonetheless at-large, Quinn mentioned he and Huskins battled despair, anxiousness, and obtained a whole bunch of detrimental messages by means of social media.
Denise Huskins, left, and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn hear as their attorneys converse at a information convention on July 13, 2015 in Vallejo, Calif. (Mike Jory/Vallejo Instances-Herald through AP)
June 5, 2015: Muller burglarized a Dublin household’s dwelling and left a cellphone behind.
June 8, 2015: When Dublin Police Detective Misty Carausu and Alameda County Sheriff’s deputies discovered Muller in his South Lake Tahoe cabin, they found proof connecting him to the Vallejo kidnaping.
Investigators discovered blacked-out swim goggles that also had lengthy blonde hair caught to them, zip ties, Quinn’s pc, and duct tape. GPS from a stolen white Mustang parked exterior the cabin contained the placement when Huskins was dropped off in Huntington Seaside. The proof matched the story that Quinn and Huskins informed Vallejo police.
Carausu mentioned Vallejo police had little interest in speaking to her about their case. She continued calling VPD “like a crazy ex-girlfriend,” Carausu mentioned.
Quinn mentioned, “Misty had compassion and curiosity for finding facts. Misty was relentless.”
An FBI evaluation of Muller’s computer systems uncovered a sound recording that simulated individuals whispering to one another, and a video recording of Muller along with Huskins within the cabin. “She was blindfolded and fully under Muller’s control,” federal prosecutors wrote.
October 1, 2015: Muller was indicted on federal fees for kidnapping Huskins.
September 29, 2016: The Marine pleaded responsible in federal court docket.
March 16, 2017: U.S. District Choose Troy Nunley sentenced Muller to serve 40 years in federal jail for kidnapping. U.S. Lawyer Phillip Talbert mentioned, “This serious violent crime was solved because Alameda County authorities responded so effectively to the Dublin burglary and then provided the evidence necessary. Muller had advantages in life that most people only dream of, yet he used his considerable intelligence to plan and execute the physical assault and psychological torture of two innocent strangers.”
He was despatched to Federal Correctional Establishment in Tucson, Arizona.
September 2018: He was charged by the Solano County District Lawyer’s Workplace with raping Huskins. Muller, a former legal professional, pleaded not responsible and requested to behave as his personal protection legal professional.
Huskins and Quinn acquired married.
March 2022: Muller pleaded “no contest” to a number of counts of rape for the Huskins case. A Solano County Superior Courtroom decide sentenced him to serve 31 years in state jail.
March 2024: Huskins and Quinn are dad and mom of two daughters. They appeared at a regulation enforcement coaching occasion held in Seaside, Calif., to explain what Vallejo police did incorrect, and the way officers can deal with sexual assault investigations higher.
Huskins mentioned, “We have two beautiful daughters, our little ones give us so much joy. We refuse to live our lives in fear and hiding. We want to make change for our daughters … and others who may be lost in the (criminal justice) system. Our story is an example of the worst in people and the best in people.”
Rosen mentioned a dialog between Huskins and the Seaside Police Chief set the ball in movement for brand spanking new fees.
Santa Clara County District Lawyer Jeff Rosen (KRON4 Photograph)
November 2024: The Santa Clara County District Lawyer’s Workplace coordinated with the Palo Alto and Mountain View police departments to ship proof from the South Bay 2009 chilly circumstances again to a lab for additional DNA testing. Rosen mentioned advances in DNA know-how discovered Muller’s DNA on straps he used to bind one of many victims.
December 30, 2024: Santa Clara County prosecutors charged Muller with first-degree housebreaking with intent to commit rape for the 2009 circumstances. A decide ordered the inmate to be held in custody with out bail.
“I think it’s fair to say that there were mistakes made in this investigation. What we’re proud to say now is that we’re able to bring this perpetrator to justice,” Rosen mentioned.
January 17, 2025: Muller is scheduled to be arraigned within the Corridor of Justice in San Jose to enter a plea.