SAN JOSE, Calif. —
Convicted kidnapper and rapist Matthew Muller was sentenced on additional assault charges after the Vallejo woman he raped in 2015 helped investigators discover other crimes that took place in 2009.
Muller’s kidnapping of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn drew national attention and became the subject of the Netflix documentary “American Nightmare.” The Vallejo Police Department initially dismissed the couple’s report as a hoax and publicly humiliated them.
But it turned out the crimes were true, and Muller has since been convicted.
After “American Nightmare” was released, Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges and then-Dublin police detective Misty Carasau reached out to the couple to apologize to them for how law enforcement treated them. While they had no part during the initial investigation, they invited the couple to share their story with law enforcement at a 2024 conference.
The couple is also learning to trust law enforcement again, years after being called liars. The Quinns befriended Borges and Carasau, talking about their experiences of being held captive. That led Borges to write letters to Muller while he was in prison.
In those letters, Muller, who is from Orangevale, confessed to previous crimes in 2009 that Denise learned about while being held prisoner by Muller.
El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson, in response, went to meet Muller in Arizona, where he was serving 40 years for the crimes against the Quinns. He admitted to assault with intent to commit specified sex crimes while burglarizing two homes in Palo Alto and Mountain View. Police considered him a suspect at the time, but he was never arrested.
Today, a judge sentenced Muller to two life sentences, served consecutively in connection with the Santa Clara crimes. One survivor appeared and read a statement, while the district attorney in San Jose read a statement from another survivor. Muller pleaded guilty to the 2009 crimes in January.
Convicted kidnapper and rapist Matthew Muller was sentenced on additional assault charges after the Vallejo woman he raped in 2015 helped investigators discover other crimes that took place in 2009.