Who is Matthew Muller? Everything to know about the kidnapper from the American Nightmare case 

Matthew Mulle­r's criminal actions in American Nightmare, released on January 17, 2024, on Netflix, is a kidnapping case that gained him widespread and notorious recognition. Muller had a background as a former Marine and Harvard-trained lawyer. Muller meticulously planned the 2015 abduction of Denise Huskins from her Vallejo home, unveiling a troubling side of manipulation and violence.

His crime of drugging and kidnapping Huskins transformed him from a once-respecte­d individual into a symbol that evoked terror and scrutiny across the nation. Muller was sentenced to 31 years imprisonment for wrongful confinement and r*pe. He was also given a sentence of 40 years for the kidnapping charge.

The Netflix documentary, American Nightmare, and widespread media portrayal clarified Muller’s crime. It shines a light on the sinister plot of his actions, the suffering he put through his victims, and how a once-proud figure became the heart of true-crime lore.

Disclaimer: This article talks about sensitive topics like assault and abduction. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Matthew Muller, featured in Netflix's documentary American Nightmare, orchestrated the 2015 Vallejo kidnapping

American Nightmare's Matthew Muller, a former U.S. Marine (1995–1999) and Harvard University graduate (2006), was once an immigration attorney in San Francisco. His life moved towards a darker side, resulting in his association with an appalling kidnapping case.

In the year 2015, Denise Huskins was taken against her will from her residence in Vallejo, California. This incident occurred while her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, was present at her home. This event triggered a chain of events later referred to as the 'American Nightmare.'

In the early morning hours of March 23, 2015, Muller entered the house of Huskins and Quinn on Mare Island in Vallejo. With the assistance of a stun gun and a replica gun fitted with lasers, he managed to immobilize this pair and then proceeded to blindfold them by covering their eyes with blackened goggles used for swimming.

He compelled them to drink a sedative while a recorded message played, in which his subjects were told about the threatened physical penalty and electric shocks for disobedience.

Afterward, Muller kidnapped Huskins and placed her in the trunk of his car, which he drove to his house at South Lake Tahoe. While she was under captivity, Huskins was r*ped twice, operations that Muller recorded on tape. On the other hand, Muller called up Quinn, demanding $17,000 for a ransom, but he never paid anything. Huskins was released in Huntington Beach on March 25, 2015.

At first, the Vallejo Police Department had doubts about the kidnapping claim, suggesting it could have been a planned act. However, the situation changed when Muller was captured on June 8, 2015, by the Dublin Police Services of the Alameda County Sheriff's Department for an incident involving a home invasion. This arrest led to the discovery of a phone associated with Muller and subsequent searches of his properties.

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Incriminating evidence against Matthew Muller surfaces

The FBI uncovered incriminating evidence, including recordings that matched the instructions given to Quinn and Huskins and video footage showing Muller assaulting Huskins. In accordance with this, Muller had to bear the consequences in court. As depicted in American Nightmare in the case of Huskins and Quinn, he pleaded guilty in September 2015 to one count charge of kidnapping.

As such, later in 2022, he entered a no-contest plea to two counts of forcible r*pe in Huskin’s case and guilty pleas to other charges, including robbery of an inhabited dwelling, residential burglary, and false imprisonment. Judge Troy L. Nunle­y of the U.S. District Court sentence­d Muller to 40 years in prison for the kidnapping of Ms. Huskins in 2017, stre­ssing Mulle­r's actions.

Muller's de­fense focused on his me­ntal health problems, like manic de­pression and bipolar disorder diagnoses, proposing the­ potential for rehabilitation with appropriate care­. Nonetheless, the­ court's penalty demonstrated the­ severity of his offense­s. The most recent details show that Matthew Muller is imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona.

His estimated discharge date is July 8, 2049. While Muller was in prison, he was granted an interview with a media house from the jail in 2018 and insisted that he was innocent while also pointing out that some levels of guilt on his part were due to sympathy for the couple and mismanagement of their case by Vallejo Police Department. He further pleaded that he suffered from severe depression while in jail.

The case of Matthew Muller in American Nightmare provides a grim reminder of the complexities and the long-term effects of crime on individual lives and entire communities.

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American Nightmare is currently streaming on Netflix.