Nearly 10 years ago, a young couple from Vallejo, California, had no idea how their lives were about to change forever.The kidnapping and rape case of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn was recently showcased in a popular Netflix documentary, “American Nightmare.”Based on their book, “Victim F,” the three-part series brought to light how Vallejo police zeroed in on the couple, not the perpetrator, accusing them of a hoax in March 2015. Read more about the case here. Nearly a decade later, they’ve teamed up with law enforcement to help educate police on how to work with kidnapping and sexual assault victims and change the way they conduct interviews. At their home, the couple cherishes mundane everyday chores, such as picking up their daughters’ toys. They are now parents of two young girls.”Our daughter Olivia was born five years to the day of when I was released from the kidnapping, and, I mean, that is just a really special gift,” said Huskins.It was a bright spot after an unimaginable journey.They’re survivors of horrific crimes, having been drugged and kidnapped while sleeping in their Mare Island home. Quinn was left at home to meet the ransom demands of the kidnapper, later identified as Matthew Muller. Huskins was forced into the trunk of Quinn’s car, then moved to the trunk of another car and taken to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe. She was forced to wear blacked-out swim goggles during her 48 hours in captivity. The kidnapper sexually assaulted her twice. While Huskins was being held by Muller, Vallejo police interrogated Quinn, accusing him of making up the story and killing Huskins.The couple was victimized again at the hands of the police and the FBI.”The one FBI agent said that he was nine — told my attorney he was 99% sure I was lying and that my attorney should watch the movie, ‘Gone Girl,’ yet he was 100% wrong,” said Huskins.Despite the public humiliation, the couple never wavered from the truth, holding out hope until Muller was eventually arrested and convicted for the crimes.”The fantasy that plays in your mind is that people are going to break down the door and come rescue you,” said Huskins. “So then, to find out months later that they could have saved — that I could have had that moment, it’s sad, and then it is also infuriating because they could have had that moment, they could have been the heroes.” But Huskins and Quinn found their law enforcement heroes in then-Dublin police detective Misty Carausu and Seaside police Chief Nick Borges. “There’s so many lessons to be learned where the police really screwed up,” said Borges.Borges reached out to the couple with an Instagram message apologizing for how law enforcement treated them. He invited them to share their story with California law enforcement officers at a conference in early 2024. “Standing up there for the first time and, and just having people in real time, in real life, connect and cry and, like, receive us so warmly, it was really — I, I didn’t expect it,” Huskins said.Another unexpected turn: The Quinns are even helping investigators with unsolved crimes linked to their attacker.Muller confessed through letters with Borges and interviews at the federal prison in Arizona, where he is serving a 40-year sentence for the kidnappings and rape. Muller pleaded guilty in January to two new felony charges from previously unsolved cases in Palo Alto and Mountain View in 2009. Muller was a suspect at the time but never arrested. His sentencing date is at the end of March. He faces life in prison.Muller has also been charged with a 2015 kidnapping for ransom case in San Ramon, taking place weeks after the Huskins-Quinn attack. Contra Costa prosecutors said the victims were too fearful to come forward and never reported the crime. “That’s a horrible tragedy that other people had to suffer because of their unwillingness to admit a mistake and make corrective changes,” said Quinn. “That’s unacceptable at any profession.”By working with certain law enforcement and prosecutors, the couple is now helping fix what they consider a broken law enforcement system while also helping victims who still reach out with thanks from around the world. “Even people who, like, maybe weren’t sure how to move forward with their life, you know, they were inspired to keep fighting,” said Huskins.
Nearly 10 years ago, a young couple from Vallejo, California, had no idea how their lives were about to change forever.
The kidnapping and rape case of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn was recently showcased in a popular Netflix documentary, “American Nightmare.”
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Based on their book, “Victim F,” the three-part series brought to light how Vallejo police zeroed in on the couple, not the perpetrator, accusing them of a hoax in March 2015.
Read more about the case here.
Nearly a decade later, they’ve teamed up with law enforcement to help educate police on how to work with kidnapping and sexual assault victims and change the way they conduct interviews.
At their home, the couple cherishes mundane everyday chores, such as picking up their daughters’ toys. They are now parents of two young girls.
“Our daughter Olivia was born five years to the day of when I was released from the kidnapping, and, I mean, that is just a really special gift,” said Huskins.
It was a bright spot after an unimaginable journey.
They’re survivors of horrific crimes, having been drugged and kidnapped while sleeping in their Mare Island home. Quinn was left at home to meet the ransom demands of the kidnapper, later identified as Matthew Muller. Huskins was forced into the trunk of Quinn’s car, then moved to the trunk of another car and taken to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe. She was forced to wear blacked-out swim goggles during her 48 hours in captivity. The kidnapper sexually assaulted her twice.
While Huskins was being held by Muller, Vallejo police interrogated Quinn, accusing him of making up the story and killing Huskins.
The couple was victimized again at the hands of the police and the FBI.
“The one FBI agent said that he was nine — told my attorney he was 99% sure I was lying and that my attorney should watch the movie, ‘Gone Girl,’ yet he was 100% wrong,” said Huskins.
Despite the public humiliation, the couple never wavered from the truth, holding out hope until Muller was eventually arrested and convicted for the crimes.
“The fantasy that plays in your mind is that people are going to break down the door and come rescue you,” said Huskins. “So then, to find out months later that they could have saved — that I could have had that moment, it’s sad, and then it is also infuriating because they could have had that moment, they could have been the heroes.”
But Huskins and Quinn found their law enforcement heroes in then-Dublin police detective Misty Carausu and Seaside police Chief Nick Borges.
“There’s so many lessons to be learned where the police really screwed up,” said Borges.
Borges reached out to the couple with an Instagram message apologizing for how law enforcement treated them. He invited them to share their story with California law enforcement officers at a conference in early 2024.
“Standing up there for the first time and, and just having people in real time, in real life, connect and cry and, like, receive us so warmly, it was really — I, I didn’t expect it,” Huskins said.
Another unexpected turn: The Quinns are even helping investigators with unsolved crimes linked to their attacker.
Muller confessed through letters with Borges and interviews at the federal prison in Arizona, where he is serving a 40-year sentence for the kidnappings and rape. Muller pleaded guilty in January to two new felony charges from previously unsolved cases in Palo Alto and Mountain View in 2009. Muller was a suspect at the time but never arrested. His sentencing date is at the end of March. He faces life in prison.
Muller has also been charged with a 2015 kidnapping for ransom case in San Ramon, taking place weeks after the Huskins-Quinn attack. Contra Costa prosecutors said the victims were too fearful to come forward and never reported the crime.
“That’s a horrible tragedy that other people had to suffer because of their unwillingness to admit a mistake and make corrective changes,” said Quinn. “That’s unacceptable at any profession.”
By working with certain law enforcement and prosecutors, the couple is now helping fix what they consider a broken law enforcement system while also helping victims who still reach out with thanks from around the world.
“Even people who, like, maybe weren’t sure how to move forward with their life, you know, they were inspired to keep fighting,” said Huskins.
