Kidnapping of Denise Huskins

On March 23, 2015, Matthew Muller broke into the Vallejo, California home of Aaron Quinn using a water pistol disguised as a firearm. Quinn was living with his girlfriend, Denise Huskins. Muller drugged both victims and had Huskins bind Quinn with zip ties before demanding ransom payments. During the incident, Muller played a recorded message threatening the couple with electric shock and suggesting the intrusion was carried out by professionals collecting a debt, leading Quinn to delay contacting authorities. Muller placed Huskins in the trunk of Quinn's car, later transferring her to a stolen Ford Mustang, and took her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, where he raped her twice.

Quinn eventually contacted his brother, an FBI agent, and reported the kidnapping to police around 2:00 p.m. on March 23, 2015. Vallejo police did not believe Quinn's account and instead questioned him as a suspect in what they treated as a possible homicide. While Huskins was still being held, Muller sent anonymous emails to the San Francisco Chronicle demanding ransom and including a recorded "proof of life" message purporting to be Huskins's voice; Vallejo police declined to confirm the recording's authenticity.

On March 25, 2015, Muller drove Huskins approximately 400 miles to Huntington Beach, California, and released her near her family's home. She and her father reported the matter to Huntington Beach police. That same evening, Vallejo police publicly stated the incident had been a hoax perpetrated by Huskins, and media outlets characterized the case as a real-life "Gone Girl," referencing the film of the same name. Muller subsequently sent a lengthy email to the San Francisco Chronicle asserting that the kidnapping had occurred as described, that his intended target had actually been an acquaintance of his, and expressing remorse over the impact on Huskins; Vallejo police did not corroborate the claims in the email.

Muller was arrested on June 9, 2015, in connection with a separate home invasion in Dublin, California, after leaving his cell phone at that scene. Evidence recovered from his South Lake Tahoe cabin and a nearby stolen Mustang — including a hair belonging to Huskins and Quinn's laptop — was later connected to the Vallejo kidnapping. The FBI announced kidnapping charges against Muller on July 13, 2015. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 1, 2015, pleaded guilty to kidnapping on September 29, 2016, and was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison on March 16, 2017. Additional state charges related to rape and other offenses in the Huskins case were resolved with a no-contest plea in March 2022, resulting in a concurrent 31-year state sentence.

In 2018, reporting indicated Vallejo police had possessed evidence, including security-camera footage of Muller purchasing a phone later used to contact Quinn, that could have identified Muller earlier in the investigation. Huskins and Quinn filed a defamation lawsuit against the Vallejo police department and were awarded $2.5 million.