Suvechha Sarkar
In March 2015, the quiet city of Vallejo, California, was shaken to its core when 29-year-old Denise Huskins was kidnapped from her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn’s home on March 23, 2015. The ordeal quickly drew widespread attention, with questions swirling around how such an unusual crime could unfold in the middle of the night. The episode titled ‘Denise and Aaron Quinn Get the Last Word’ of CBS’ ’48 Hours’ offers an in-depth look at the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and the evidence that led detectives to the kidnapper, Matthew D. Muller. The episode also features interviews with Aaron, Denise, and the officials who worked on the case.
Matthew Muller Was a Former Marine and a Harvard-Educated Lawyer
Matthew Muller was born on March 27, 1977, to Joyce and Monty, and reportedly had a tumultuous childhood. He was a bright student who graduated from Bella Vista High School in 1995. He then enlisted in the US Marine Corps, taking part in Operation Pacific Haven, and served in the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. During Matthew’s time in the military, he was stationed in Okinawa and Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates. Simultaneously, he worked full-time for a bilingual newspaper and was honorably discharged in 1999. Following that, Matthew studied at a community college before being transferred to Pomona College. He graduated in 2003 with a double major in Public Policy Analysis and Economics. Matthew then attended Harvard Law School before graduating in 2006.
After working at Harvard in different roles, Matthew became a member of the State Bar of California in May 2011. While working in different law firms, he often got into trouble, leading him to change organizations after a short period. Although he made the headlines while representing a woman from El Salvador in 2012, his license was suspended in 2013. It led to the initiation of disciplinary action, which resulted in his disbarment, according to court records. Matthew initially came into the radar of law enforcement in 2009 when he became a suspect in a home invasion and robbery in Palo Alto, California. However, the officials were unable to link him directly to the crime due to a lack of evidence. Matthew once again came under the spotlight in June 2015, when evidence from a home invasion led authorities to him.
Matthew Muller Was Arrested After His Cellphone Was Traced Back to Him
On the night of June 5, 2015, Matthew reportedly broke into a couple’s home. Reports suggest that while the husband got into a struggle with him, the wife immediately called 911. Although Matthew fled the scene, he left behind items such as gloves, zip ties, and a cellphone. During the investigation, forensic experts reportedly found that the phone was registered in the name of Matthew’s stepfather. According to records, the mobile was further traced to a cabin in California, where Matthew was living. As detectives dug deeper, they learned that he had previously been a suspect in a 2009 home invasion.
At the cabin, the authorities also uncovered a pair of blacked-out swimming goggles with blonde hair stuck to them. It led them to connect him to another kidnapping and home invasion case that happened on March 23, 2015. On that fateful day, Matthew reportedly broke into the home of Aaron Quinn and kidnapped his partner, Denise Huskins. When Aaron reported the kidnapping, officials initially considered that he was behind the crime. However, when the kidnapper returned Denise safely on March 25, 2015, the authorities alleged that she and Aaron had orchestrated the fake kidnapping.
According to police records, during their interrogation, Aaron and Denise explained how the kidnapper had put blacked-out goggles on them and used an electronic recording to threaten them. Hence, once they discovered a similar pair of goggles from Matthew’s cabin, it connected Denise’s kidnapping to him. Matthew was arrested on June 8, 2015, in connection with the home invasion that happened in June 2015. Following that, the FBI uncovered Aaron’s laptop from Matthew’s home, which finally linked him to the kidnapping of Denise. On October 1, 2015, Matthew was indicted on the charge of federal kidnapping. In January 2018, he was additionally charged with two counts of rape by force, robbery, false imprisonment, kidnapping, and burglary.
Matthew Muller is Incarcerated at a Federal Correctional Facility Today
Following his arrest and multiple indictments, Matthew Muller avoided a jury trial by entering into a guilty plea to one count of federal kidnapping in September 2016. As a part of the plea deal, he further confessed to how he carried out Denise’s kidnapping using several tools, blacked-out goggles, and liquid sedatives. On March 16, 2017, he received a 40-year federal prison term. While facing his charges from January 2018, he initially chose to represent himself before his mental health became central to the upcoming trial. In November 2020, he was formally diagnosed with schizophrenia. In that same month, a judge ruled that Matthew was mentally incompetent to stand trial. However, after undergoing treatment, he was deemed competent again in March 2022.
Matthew once again avoided a trial by pleading no contest to all his charges and was sentenced to 31 years in prison, concurrently with his existing 40-year federal sentence. On December 30, 2024, authorities charged him in two cases from September and October 2009 that happened in Palo Alto and Mountain View. Matthew was indicted on two felony counts of assault with the intent to commit rape during a burglary. In early January 2025, he was charged with three counts of kidnapping for ransom related to three kidnappings that happened in 2015 in Contra Costa. That same month, Matthew pleaded guilty to his charge related to the 2009 home invasion.
On March 28, 2025, he was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole, to be served consecutively to his federal sentence. Matthew was also charged with kidnapping and sexual assault in relation to a cold case that happened in Folsom in 1993. On June 18, 2025, he pleaded guilty to all those charges. He was sentenced to 11 years to life in prison, which he must serve consecutively to his other terms. On July 10, 2025, Matthew pleaded no contest to the three counts regarding the Contra Costa cases and was sentenced to 7 years to life in prison, to be served consecutively. As of writing, Matthew is serving his federal sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona. The 49-year-old is set to be released from federal prison on July 8, 2049.
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