In the pre-dawn hours of March 23, 2015, Aaron Quinn and his girlfriend Denise Huskins were asleep in his Vallejo, California, home when they were awakened by a stranger wearing a wet suit. The man, whom they would later call "The Voice," ordered Denise to tie Aaron up with zip ties and instructed them to drink a sedative. He took Denise, placing her in the trunk of their car, and drove her to a secluded location where she would be held for 48 hours.
Background
Denise Huskins Quinn described the terrifying moments after waking to find a man in her bedroom. "My eyes shot open and I saw flashing white light on the walls, and red laser dots scanning the walls," she recalled in an interview with "48 Hours." The intruder instructed her to tie Aaron up with zip ties left on the edge of the bed. He then made Denise enter the same closet where he bound her as well.
Aaron Quinn described hearing people downstairs going through kitchen cabinets and a drill running. He was forced to hop to the closet while still bound. Denise was given blacked-out swim goggles placed over her eyes and told she would be held for 48 hours until Aaron completed tasks for her release.
Those tasks included going to a bank for ransom money. "The Voice" took Aaron downstairs where a security camera had been mounted to monitor him, warning that if he called police, Denise would be killed. Aaron heard Denise placed in the trunk of his car and heard her say "OK" — a sound he feared might be the last thing he'd hear from her.
The Investigation
After Aaron managed to wiggle free from the zip ties, he called 911. The Vallejo Police Department responded, but investigators quickly began questioning his story. During an interview, Detective Mathew Mustard told Aaron his account was "far-fetched" and he didn't believe him.
Det. Mustard told Aaron: "I don't think she was kidnapped from your home… I think something bad happened in your house." The detective appeared to accuse Aaron of killing Denise, telling him: "Denise is going to be found… And when I say she's found, she's dead."
When Denise was found alive in Huntington Beach two days later, she told officers the same story Aaron had told police. But she too sensed she wasn't being believed. Vallejo Police held a press conference calling the case a hoax, with Lieutenant Kenny Park telling reporters: "Mr. Quinn and Ms. Huskins has plundered valuable resources away from our community."
Media outlets dubbed the case "Gone Girl," relating it to the blockbuster movie about a woman who fakes her kidnapping. The label stuck, and both Denise and Aaron feared they might be charged with lying to police.
Key Takeaways
- Matthew Muller, a Harvard-educated lawyer and former Marine, was identified as "The Voice" who kidnapped Denise Huskins in March 2015
- Police accused Aaron Quinn of killing his girlfriend and called the case a hoax, delaying evidence collection
- In June 2015, Muller was arrested after another home invasion in Dublin, California; investigators found Aaron's laptop, GPS data matching the drop-off location, and goggles with Denise's hair
- Muller pleaded guilty and received a 40-year sentence for the attacks
- The City of Vallejo settled a civil lawsuit with Denise and Aaron for $2.5 million in 2024
- Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges began corresponding with Muller, who confessed to additional crimes in Santa Clara County from 2009
- Investigators verified Muller's confession about a Contra Costa County home invasion in 2015 by finding the ladder he described
What's Next
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, who was not involved in the original investigation, worked with an FBI interviewer using a "science-based interviewing" technique to elicit more confessions from Muller. In November 2024, they traveled to the Arizona prison where Muller is serving his sentence.
Muller confessed to a home invasion on the border of Contra Costa County just two weeks after attacking Denise and Aaron. He also confessed to his first attack as a 16-year-old in 1993 at campsites near Folsom, where he tied up a couple and sexually assaulted the woman. Pierson's team verified these confessions through State Parks records from 1993 and by locating the ladder Muller described.
Denise and Aaron, who married and started a family, participated in the Netflix series "American Nightmare," which aired in 2024 and was watched by millions. They wrote a book to share their story on their own terms.
"We can take back control of our trauma and maybe use it for good," Denise said. While they have some closure, questions remain about whether Muller acted alone and whether other victims are still out there.
The Vallejo Police Department did not respond to requests for comment but issued a statement after the settlement acknowledging the case "was not publicly handled with the type of sensitivity a case of this nature should have been handled with."