Matthew Muller broke into the home of Denise Huskins and her boyfriend, tied them up, and took Denise. Where is Matthew Muller now?
"Wake up. This a robbery."
Those are the words Denise Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, heard in the early morning of March 23, 2015. What would practice used to be a chain of terrifying events that felt like the stuff of flicks. Actually, it was once one film in explicit: Gone Girl. Denise would be taken from her boyfriend's house for over 48 scary hours, while government insisted the abduction used to be a hoax.
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Unfortunately, it used to be all too real and was orchestrated via a man named Matthew Muller. Eventually he can be stuck nevertheless it was once by no means as a result of the diligent detective work of the Vallejo, Calif. police. A 20/20 special talks to Denise and Aaron about their ordeal and what they did to heal from that trauma. This also begs the question: Where is Matthew Muller now? Here's what we all know.
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Where is Matthew Muller now?
Matthew Muller was a Harvard-educated lawyer, which just goes to turn ya, do not bother judging this e-book by means of its cover. According to the Associated Press, in March 2022, Muller used to be sentenced to 31 years in a state jail. He will serve this concurrently with the 40-year sentence he gained in a federal case in opposition to him in September 2016.
During the state's contemporary trial in Solano County Superior Court, Muller plead, "no contest to two counts of forcible rape of Denise Huskins," per AP. He additionally plead responsible to "robbery of an inhabited dwelling, residential burglary, and false imprisonment."
While the state filed fees in March 2018, the trial used to be behind schedule due to the fact that Muller have been admitted to Napa State Hospital where he was once ordered to take antipsychotic medication till he was deemed mentally competent to stand trial.
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What is the status of Muller's psychological health?
Muller gave an interview to KPIX in July 2015 from Dublin, Calif. where he was imprisoned on the time. Juliette Goodrich, the interviewer, used to be not allowed to have a camera, pen, or paper all through the conversation. She needed to abruptly write down what was stated after they were carried out. Perhaps that is why Juliette felt confusingly pressured to describe Muller as "intelligent."
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When talking about his mental health, Muller elaborated about how he believed being bipolar contributed to his actions. "Bipolar disorder has many different stages and levels. I don’t want anyone to fear someone who has depression or mental illness. Mine is extreme," Muller defined.
He additionally described a few of his symptoms, which come with being "hyper-focused, a high achiever, and extremely productive to suicidal tendencies, paranoia, and psychosis." Muller went on to say that he his excessive paranoia and psychosis "can blur the lines between reality and fantasy in [his] mind."
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The Psychiatric Times notes that instances of violence amongst other folks with bipolar disorder are frequently linked to previous trauma. We have no idea anything else about Muller's childhood, but we do know he was once a former marine. It's totally possible that he suffered from PTSD with the combo of bipolar disorder, which might result in violent tendencies. Again, we have no idea. What we do know is that Muller was married as of August 2018, we think to a lady who is nice with wedding ceremony a violent rapist.
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Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn are living with their own trauma.
Muller wasn't caught till police in Dublin, Calif. had a identical case. ABC News shared that a an identical break-in had came about but was thwarted by the sufferers. During the incident, Muller dropped his mobile phone which led authorities to a cabin where he was staying in the South Lake Tahoe space.
Upon looking out the cabin, police discovered "several laptops, cellphones, a few stun guns, a lot of ski masks, and an empty bed with no blankets but a sheet that appeared to have been slept on." They additionally found out goggles with duct tape on them, very similar to what was used on Denise and Aaron, in addition to a strand of blonde hair hooked up to one pair of goggles. This struck police as odd since neither of the sufferers in Dublin had blonde hair. Denise Huskins, on the other hand, did.
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Soon-to-be-detective Misty Carausu remembered the case in Vallejo, and likewise found Muller were a person of hobby in a number of alarming instances. Of route, when she reached out to Vallejo police, Misty did not right away get a response. And after they did call her back, they advised her to touch the FBI. So that is what she did, and the FBI confirmed up lovely briefly. It was reasonably easy to get Muller after that.
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Of route, vital injury had already been accomplished to Denise, on most sensible of the horrendous trauma that got here from being kidnapped, held hostage, and raped twice. She and Aaron had been both gaslit via the Vallejo police, every being handled like a criminal. Initially Denise and Aaron have been issued an apology privately by way of Vallejo police, who ultimately issued a public commentary of apology. Denise and Aaron filed a civil lawsuit towards the City of Vallejo and its police department, rightfully winning $2.Five million.
Denise and Aaron advised their story in a ebook they wrote referred to as Victim F: From Crime Victims, to Suspects, to Survivors. They later married and now have a daughter. The 20/20 particular will percentage their tale with extra detail, in the hopes of serving to different victims who weren't believed by way of authorities.
You can watch Denise and Aaron's tale on 20/20, airing on Friday, April 15 at 9 p.m. EST on ABC.
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