196. Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn: The "Gone Girl Hoax" That Wasn't

In March of 2015, Denise Huskins was kidnapped, drugged, sexually assaulted, and held for 48 hours. When she was released, police called it a hoax and demanded that she apologize for wasting resources. The media dubbed it the "Gone Girl" case and death threats started flooding in. Except it wasn't a hoax at all. It was a Harvard-educated serial rapist named Matthew Muller who'd been terrorizing California for years. In this episode, we'll go through the kidnapping, the police misconduct that revictimized the survivors, Detective Misty Carausu's brilliant investigative work that finally caught Muller, and how Denise and Aaron turned trauma into national advocacy. From victims to suspects to survivors...their story changed how law enforcement handles sexual assault cases across America.For Survivors of Sexual Violence:- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673)- RAINN Online Chat:https://hotline.rainn.org/online- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741- National Sexual Violence Resource Center:https://www.nsvrc.org/For Victims of Police Misconduct:- ACLU:https://www.aclu.org/- National Police Accountability Project:https://www.nlg-npap.org/- Innocence Project:https://innocenceproject.org/Mental Health Support:- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988- SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357- Psychology Today Therapist Finder:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapistsSources:San Francisco Chronicle (Henry K. Lee's Reporting):- https://www.sfchronicle.com/ (Search "Denise Huskins" for extensive archive)Major National News Outlets:- https://abcnews.go.com/ - https://www.nbcnews.com/ - https://www.cnn.com/ - https://www.nytimes.com/ - https://www.latimes.com/ - https://www.usatoday.com/ Bay Area Local News:- https://www.ktvu.com/ - https://www.kron4.com/ - https://www.mercurynews.com/ - https://www.sfgate.com/ - https://www.timesheraldonline.com/ People Magazine & Entertainment:- https://people.com/ (Search "Denise Huskins" for features)American Nightmare (2024):- https://www.netflix.com/title/81456520 "Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors" (2021):- https://www.amazon.com/Victim-Crime-Victims-Suspects-Survivors/dp/1538720558Federal Court Case:- https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca - Case: USA v. Matthew Daniel Muller, Case No. 2:15-cr-00242-TLN- https://www.pacer.gov/ State Court Cases:- https://www.solano.courts.ca.gov/ - https://www.santaclaracourt.org/ - https://www.cc-courts.org/ Defamation Lawsuit:- Huskins v. City of Vallejo - Settled March 2018 for $2.5 millionDenise Huskins' Attorneys:- Doug Rappaport- https://www.rappaportlaw.com/ Aaron Quinn's Attorneys:- Daniel Russo- https://russoandrusso.com/ Law Enforcement Training:- The case is now taught at police academies nationwide- Featured in FBI training materials on sexual assault investigations- https://www.fbi.gov/services/training-academy Criminal History & Background:- https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ (Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator)- Search: Matthew Daniel Muller, Register Number: 04664-111California State Bar:- https://www.calbar.ca.gov/ - Search for Matthew Muller's disciplinary records and disbarmentYouTube:- https://www.youtube.com/@ABCNews - https://www.youtube.com/@DatelineNBC - https://www.youtube.com/@netflix 2015 News Archives:- https://www.newspapers.com/ - https://news.google.com/newspapers Articles Analyzing the Case:- https://www.vulture.com/ (Vulture - entertainment analysis)- https://www.rollingstone.com/ (Rolling Stone features)- https://www.vanityfair.com/ (Vanity Fair long-form)"Gone Girl" Film (2014):- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2267998/ Denise & Aaron's Advocacy Work:- They've trained law enforcement agencies nationwide- Spoken at conferences on sexual assault investigation best practices- Worked with prosecutors on Muller's cold casesCalifornia Prosecutors' Recognition:- 2025: Named "Witnesses of the Year" by California prosecutors- https://www.cdaa.org/California District Attorneys Association:- https://www.cdaa.org/ (2025 Witnesses of the Year announcement)Snopes:- https://www.snopes.com/ (Search "Denise Huskins" for fact-checking)FBI Press Releases:- https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases (Search "Matthew Muller")U.S. Attorney's Office:- https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr (Press releases on Muller's prosecution)Vallejo Police 2021 Apology:- Issued by Chief Shawny Williams on August 25, 2021- Archived in news articles and official city records$2.5 Million Settlement (March 2018):- City of Vallejo settled defamation lawsuit- No admission of wrongdoing required by settlement terms- Covered extensively in news mediaDenise & Aaron's Media Appearances:- ABC News 20/20- Dateline NBC- Various podcast interviews- Law enforcement training events- Public policy panelsBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reverie-true-crime--4442888/support.Keep In Touch:Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/reveriecrimepodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/reverietruecrimeTumblr: https://reverietruecrimepodcast.tumblr.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/reverietruecrimeContact: [email protected] Intro & Outro by Jahred Gomes: https://www.instagram.com/jahredgomes_official