Newly released interrogations of Matthew Muller, the man who kidnapped Denise Huskins in 2015, reveal confessions to decades of home invasions and sexual assaults — revelations that likely would not have emerged without the persistence of Huskins and her husband, Aaron Quinn. The California District Attorneys Association honored the couple as “Witnesses of the Year” for their role in prompting investigations that uncovered additional victims and led to new convictions.
In March 2015 Muller broke into the Vallejo home of Huskins and Quinn, blindfolded and drugged them, then abducted Huskins, holding her for ransom at a cabin in South Lake Tahoe. Huskins was missing for two days; investigators briefly questioned Quinn as a suspect and at times treated the couple as if they had staged the crime. Two months later, a similar assault in nearby Dublin led officers to Muller’s Tahoe cabin, where Alameda County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Misty Carausu discovered critical evidence that corroborated the couple’s account. Muller was later sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for that attack.
Despite that conviction, Huskins warned investigators in 2015 that Muller had boasted of other victims. Those leads lay dormant until last November, when in-custody interviews in Arizona — initiated after renewed pressure from Huskins, Quinn, and cooperating officers — produced startling admissions. Muller confessed to a string of crimes spanning more than three decades, including offenses he committed as a teenager.
The reopened inquiries began after Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges, having watched a Netflix docuseries on the case, contacted the couple and organized a law enforcement event featuring Lt. Carausu. When Huskins and Quinn told Borges they suspected Muller had more victims, he took the unusual step of writing to Muller in prison; Muller responded in writing with admissions that helped spur further probes. Borges, Carausu and prosecutors across counties pushed to retest old evidence and revisit cold files.
As a result, prosecutors tied Muller to two 2009 Santa Clara home invasions and attempted rapes. The cases, previously investigated but not charged for lack of usable evidence, were reopened, DNA was retested, and Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen secured two life terms. Investigators also uncovered a previously unreported Contra Costa County home invasion from two weeks after Huskins’ release in 2015; Muller had told officers he had silenced that family with threats to their children and drew a map showing where he discarded a ladder used to enter the home. El Dorado County District Attorney Vern Pierson and FBI agents followed leads that ultimately located the ladder in a ravine, identified the house and found victims who had never reported the crime; Contra Costa District Attorney Dina Becton secured another life sentence for Muller.
Prosecutors later connected Muller to a 1993 ambush of a camping couple in Sacramento County that he says he committed as a teenager. At the time, investigators doubted the victims and the case went unresolved. Through Huskins and Quinn’s advocacy, detectives located long-suppressed victims, and Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho won a life sentence for Muller for that attack.
Altogether, the renewed investigations have linked Muller to at least six crimes affecting more than a dozen victims over 32 years. Many of those cases could have been resolved sooner: for example, Huskins’ rape kit was not tested until this year. The couple’s persistence prompted multiple agencies to retest evidence, reopen cold cases and secure additional convictions.
Huskins and Quinn have moved from survivors to advocates: they speak at law enforcement conferences, participate in panels on science-based interviewing, and help train officers on working with victims. Huskins has spoken about the harms of disbelief and the importance of treating survivors seriously. The couple is also working with officials on proposed legislation to address systemic failures in how cases and evidence are handled.
Law enforcement officers and prosecutors praised the couple’s work and credited collaborative efforts by Lt. Misty Carausu, Chief Nick Borges, and prosecutors Jeff Rosen, Vern Pierson, Dina Becton and Thien Ho for turning new admissions into reopened investigations and convictions. The California District Attorneys Association’s award recognizes not only what Huskins and Quinn endured but the broader impact of their refusal to give up — reopening cold cases, identifying previously unknown victims, and helping change how investigations and victim care are conducted.