Sometimes life imitates art to such an extent that it is nearly hard to write it off as a coincidence.
American Nightmare: Introduction
It’s easy to see why, after Denise Huskins vanished from sight in 2015, people immediately began to compare her story to that of Gone Girl, which had only hit theatres six months before.
For those who don’t know, Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck play married pair Amy and Nick in the film Gone Girl. Nick is having an affair, and after Amy vanishes due to a break-in at their house, Nick is made the main suspect.
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American Nightmare: Spoiler alert
After a while, Amy returns home bearing a story of a violent abduction and rape. From then, the doubts and suspicions only intensify.
Recently, a new Netflix documentary called American Nightmare is set to delve deeper into the life of Huskins, including how her life was almost destroyed by claims that she was the victim of a hoax and what happens when police act biased and fail to treat victims with respect.
American Nightmare: What was the real fate of Denise Huskins?
Huskins, who resided with her partner Aaron Quinn in California, disappeared from their house on March 23, 2015. The following day, Quinn contacted the police to report her missing, stating that she had been drugged, forced to tie Huskins up, and had been abducted by a man wearing a wetsuit who had broken into their home without permission.
Quinn informed the authorities that the assailants claimed to be members of a proficient, well-coordinated gang who were demanding US$8,500 in ransom from Quinn in exchange for Huskins’ release.
Authorities were informed by him that the abductors had promised to give him 48 hours to finish several chores via phone and email, including reporting sick to work for both of them. He claimed he was told not to contact the police and to pay the ransom. The attackers informed him that they had placed cameras throughout the house to make sure he didn’t attempt to call the police.
media flocked to cover the story, and Quinn quickly emerged as the primary suspect. 48 hours later, Huskins’ situation took an odd and confusing turn when she was left outside her mother’s house in Huntington Beach, California, seven hours away by car. She reported to authorities that she had twice been sexually assaulted and abducted.
Police instantly shifted their attention and began to suspect Huskins rather than believe her. When Quinn’s abduction was reported, Vallejo police Lt. Kenny Park remarked, “It was such an incredible story, we initially had a hard time believing it.” “Further research revealed that none of his claims could be verified.”
More than forty detectives had worked on the investigation, so police expressed their dissatisfaction at the resources the two wasted and the dread they created in the community over what was allegedly random violence.
Park declared, “It’s a tremendous loss, dedicating all of our resources, 24 hours a day, in a wild goose chase.” It’s depressing and disappointing. It’s disturbing that we squandered all of these resources in vain. Quinn and Huskins insisted on their innocence, but the police and media accused them of fabricating a story, for which they had no explanation.
American Nightmare: A Significant Turn
As the world began to believe the two had orchestrated the plot, a kidnapper went to the San Francisco Chronicle and claimed to be upset that the crime was being written off as a hoax. He sent pictures of the location where Huskins had been detained and a voice recording of her to bolster his allegations that she was still alive. He further asserted that Huskins was kidnapped by a group of skilled crooks honing their craft.
Three months later, when disbarred Harvard University-trained lawyer Matthew Muller was linked to the abduction and accused of another crime, police concluded that the couple was speaking the truth. After Muller attempted to rob a house around 65 miles away from Quinn and Huskins’ residence, he was taken into custody.
Authorities claimed to have discovered a mobile that they linked to Muller. They also alleged that evidence from a search of Muller’s house and car, including a computer that he had taken from Quinn, connected him to the kidnapping.
According to authorities, Muller utilized a drone to spy on the couple before breaking into their house with a fictitious pistol, tying them up, and forcing them to swallow a concoction that rendered them sleepy. Muller played a taped message that gave the impression that there was more than one kidnapper while they were blindfolded.
After placing Huskins in his car’s trunk, he took her to his South Lake Tahoe house and kept her there for two days. According to investigators, they have footage showing Muller setting up cameras in a bedroom, recording himself twice while he sexually assaults Huskins. Muller ultimately entered a guilty plea to the kidnapping and is currently incarcerated for 40 years.
American Nightmare: The following
The real-life horror scenario Huskins and Quinn experienced is best described as an American Nightmare. Huskins, a physical therapist, told People that she wasn’t sure if she would have had the confidence to go back to work if Muller hadn’t been discovered because she knew that people would still believe she was a hoaxer or scammer.
“Putting our hands on people to aid in their healing is a significant portion of our work. Trust plays a major role in all of this; how can you put your trust in someone who has lied about something as important as a kidnapping? Where would we be, I don’t know. In their joint interview, Quinn stated, “Those months in between were unsustainable and we weren’t able to go back to work.”
a combination of our trauma and their refusal to let us. Who would hire a con artist? That makes it a significant task in the digital age. It is not something you can escape by moving towns. You can be searched by anyone, after which they can determine whether or not to recruit or collaborate with you.
American Nightmare: Happier news
the couple went on to have two kids after starting a family. They prevailed in their defamation lawsuit against the City of Vallejo in 2018 and were awarded a settlement of US$2.5 million.
when being questioned by police for eighteen hours, Quinn told People, “I hope people come away after they watch (American Nightmare), that this isn’t a bizarre kidnapping.” The total lack of any kind of inquiry is what’s strange. Within the first twenty-four hours, there was enough evidence to apprehend Muller and the other criminals, but the police chose to ignore it, claiming there was no sky.
Confirmation bias and tunnel vision will simply cause them to do nothing, which is the frightening part. No Sherlock Holmes was needed for this case. This called for routine police work.” In-depth interviews with Huskins and Quinn are included in American Nightmare, where they discuss the unjust vilification they experienced from the public and the police.
Later in the series, a former detective who assisted in Muller’s arrest talks about the parallels she saw between Quinn and Huskins’ case and the ones that were discovered at Muller’s other home invasion. Audio and video recordings describe the intense questioning they each endured at the hands of the local police and FBI.
