Netflix’s American Nightmare examines Denise Huskins’s story, which is eerily similar to the famous “Gone Girl” book. The three-part docuseries will premiere on January 17, 2024, on the streaming service.
According to People Magazine, in March 2015, armed intruders wearing scuba suits allegedly broke into Denise Huskins’ boyfriend Aaron Quinn’s Vallejo, California, home. There, the intruders allegedly terrorized the couple before kidnapping Huskins and taking her captive to a remote location. The abductor allegedly drugged and raped her.
Two days later, on March 25, they released Huskins. Following her release, police questioned the couple’s account, casting doubt on them. Soon, the press dubbed their case as the “Gone Girl” kidnapping.
A press release said, the series “is a damning indictment of the confirmation bias too often at play in our criminal justice system.” American Nightmare is co-directed by Bernadette Higgins and Felicity Morris.
American Nightmare on Netflix: What is Denise Huskins’ story?
People Magazine reported that in March 2015, Denise Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, were asleep at the latter’s house when armed intruders broke into the home. The intruders were allegedly wearing scuba suits. They bound the couple with zip ties and forced them into a closet. After this, the intruders drugged and blindfolded them with blacked-out goggles. They claimed to be a part of an organized group that collected financial debt.
The intruders planned to kidnap Huskins and return her after her boyfriend, a physical therapist, paid a ransom. They kept her captive in a remote location, where the abductor drugged and raped her twice. They released Huskins two days later, on March 25, near her mother’s Huntington Beach home.
New York Post stated that in the meantime, Aaron Quinn reported Huskins’ abduction to the police. Quinn claimed he received an e-mail from the kidnappers demanding a ransom of $17,000. But, instead of believing his account, detectives suspected his involvement in what they thought was Huskins’ murder. They insisted that his story was too far-fetched, stripped him naked for police photographs, and interrogated him for 18 hours. They also gave him a lie detector test.
Quinn told The Post in 2021, “I always thought police officers were there to protect the general public. But I found out how quickly the justice system can turn on you. The amount of pressure these professionals are trained to put on you is terrifying. They have sheer tunnel vision and absolute certainty that you’re lying.”
Following Denise Huskins’ release, the press dubbed the case the “Gone Girl” kidnapping, after Gillian Flynn’s famous book. In 2021, Huskins, then 38, also spoke to the outlet and said, “When my attorney told me they were calling me ‘Gone Girl’ in the headlines, I asked: ‘Is that a good thing?'” She claimed to have never seen the movie and added, “Then I realized what they meant, and it was just so insulting.”
People‘s report stated that Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn finally found justice three months after the alleged incident. In June 2015, police investigating a masked intruder case 40 miles away in Alameda County found evidence connected to the couple’s claims. They found the evidence in possession of Matthew Muller, a former Marine and disbarred Harvard-educated attorney.
In 2016, Muller pleaded guilty to one count of federal kidnapping, receiving a 40-year prison term. Additionally, he faced state charges such as kidnapping, two counts of rape by force, robbery, and burglary. However, in November 2020, he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
The outlet further stated that the couple, both physical therapists, sued the City of Vallejo for defamation and won a $2.5 million settlement in 2018.
American Nightmare on Netflix will debut on Netflix on January 17.
