Kidnapping survivor, once dismissed as a liar, now retrains police to help victims

Fox News

5 hours ago

Denise Huskins, who was accused of lying after surviving a home invasion and kidnapping, has now found herself teaming up with law enforcement.
The California woman, whose ordeal was chronicled in the Netflix true-crime docuseries "American Nightmare," is now being invited to speak with officers who are looking to change the way they are trained to interrogate suspects.
The 40-year-old recently spoke out in a true crime podcast by PAVE Studios, "Clues," which is hosted by Morgan Absher and Kaelyn Moore. The weekly series aims to analyze some of "the world's most infamous crimes where a single clue can crack a case wide open."
"This past year, as we've connected with more people in law enforcement, we've felt a new sense of hope," Huskins told Fox News Digital. "There's still resistance. There are still people within law enforcement and out there who see us in a certain way, but now we get to see the other side of it."
"What's been even more encouraging is having some of those people… say, 'I'm so sorry.'"
Huskins' nightmare occurred on March 23, 2015. Matthew Muller broke into Huskins' Vallejo home, where he drugged and tied her up and her then-boyfriend, Aaron Quinn. He kidnapped Huskins, brought her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, and sexually assaulted her. Two days later, Muller drove Huskins to Southern California and released her.
The Vallejo Police initially believed the invasion and kidnapping were a hoax orchestrated by Quinn. The case was referred to by the press as the real-life "Gone Girl," referring to the hit Ben Affleck thriller and novel in which a small-town wife stages her own murder to get back at her cheating husband. According to the docuseries, Quinn endured 18 hours of questioning.
After months of public scrutiny, the couple sued the Vallejo Police Department. They reached a $2.5 million settlement in 2018. Fox News Digital reached out to the Vallejo Police Department for comment.
"Initially, advocacy started with self-advocacy," Huskins explained. "We needed to fight for the truth in our case. We needed to correct the narrative and have the real truth out there."
Huskins noted that after the premiere of "American Nightmare," members of law enforcement began reaching out. Huskins admitted to feeling surprised, but felt it would also be the perfect time to turn personal pain into purpose. She said among those who connected with her was the chief of police in Seaside, California, who asked her to host a talk.
"I have been closely following the case of Denise and Aaron from the very start," Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges told Fox News Digital.
"Although I was not involved in the investigation, I always had faith in their truth. When Lt. Misty Carausu from the Alameda County Sheriff's Office finally brought the case to light in 2015, it became clear how many errors had occurred. I felt a strong desire for my department to learn from these missteps to improve our future investigations and interactions."
"After watching the Netflix docuseries, I reached out to Denise and Aaron, surprised that they were willing to engage with law enforcement after everything they had faced," he shared. "They agreed to share their story at a Seaside event, and hearing it firsthand was an incredibly moving experience."
"I have learned many lessons from them since working with them since 2024," Borges continued. "The most significant lesson I took away from them is that collaborating with victims can greatly enhance our ability to solve crimes. We must listen.
"Thanks to their courage, their perpetrator has received four new life sentences, providing answers to victims who might have otherwise remained in the dark. Denise and Aaron have not only improved my understanding but have also made my department and many others in law enforcement more effective."
"In the end, they are the true heroes," he added.
Huskins described her experience of meeting officers who wanted to improve their tactics "a blessing."
"Before, no one in law enforcement invited us to speak," she said. "Now they are. And we've met a lot of amazing people in law enforcement who've been doing tireless work for decades, trying to make changes. It's nice to finally feel we're a part of that. And we, for the last decade, wanted to work with law enforcement. We didn't see them as opposing sides. We all just needed to work together to make these changes happen."
"It's been incredibly validating to feel seen, heard and respected in a way that we have never experienced before with law enforcement," Huskins shared. "It has helped us regain some hope."
During her talks, Huskins has been teaching investigators about "science-based interviewing," which relies on evidence during interviews with victims and suspects.
"A lot of what science-based interviewing is doing is telling [investigators] to treat people with respect and decency, whether it's a suspect or a victim," said Huskins. "It allows someone to open up. It allows you to connect with them, understand their background, all while having a conversation with the suspect. But also, it's about having someone else observe that conversation and try to back it up with facts and evidence, not having the primary goal be a confession."
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"A lot of times, I think the draw is to get that confession, because people know that confessions get convictions," she noted. "But also, people falsely confess. It's a serious problem, because not only are you ruining that person's life, but you are emboldening the perpetrator to attack again."
On June 5, 2015, another couple woke in the middle of the night to a near-identical home invasion. After reaching out to police departments in the Bay Area, Misty Carausu, then a rookie detective, learned that Muller had been a suspect in a 2009 Palo Alto home invasion. Also at the scene were a pair of swimming goggles blacked out with duct tape that had blonde hair attached.
While the wife hid in a bathroom and called police, her husband managed to fight off the attacker. But he left crucial evidence behind: zip-ties, duct tape, a glove and a cellphone.
Carausu traced the phone to Muller's stepfather. She learned that Muller was a Harvard-educated immigration attorney and Marine veteran.
Carausu contacted the FBI, and Muller was arrested.
Evidence in his home, including Quinn's laptop, linked him to Huskins' kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to one count of federal kidnapping in September 2016 and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Muller also faced state charges for burglary, robbery, kidnapping and two counts of rape.
According to the documentary, Muller was deemed incompetent to stand trial for those charges in 2020. He allegedly suffered from "Gulf War illness" after his military service, and his attorney claimed he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Muller was then sentenced in 2022 to 31 years in state prison after pleading no contest to two counts of forcible rape of Huskins.
Huskins admitted it took time for her and Quinn, now her husband, to begin trusting police again after being accused of orchestrating a hoax. For years, the sound of a police siren left her feeling "terrified."
"I think our whole worldview was just shattered," she reflected. "It was more victimizing, more traumatic, to be received and treated that way than the crime itself… We all know that there are bad people out there… But you grow up with the belief that if you call 911, if you go to police, they'll be helpful. And in our case, they made things worse. And what do you do if something happens? Who do you turn to for help?"
"It's really a hopeless place," she added.
Today, Quinn and Huskins hope to continue making a difference for victims.
"When people message me, it's fuel," she said. "This is something we need to keep fighting for… A big piece of all of this, I think, for a lot of sexual assault survivors, but probably most victims and survivors of a violent crime, is that you lose your sense of self and identity. And then to be publicly shamed and have the world call you [names], you can get lost in self-blame and self-doubt."
"Who I really am – the core of my being, my values, my worth – I wasn't going to let anyone dictate that," she added.