American Nightmare, Netflix's latest true crime phenomenon, already has viewers hooked with its 'Gone Girl-esque' narrative.
The harrowing three-part docuseries follows the real-life story of Denise Huskins, who was kidnapped from her boyfriend's home by masked men in 2015.
Local authorities were quick to jump to conclusions about the case, seemingly suspecting Huskins' partner, Aaron Quinn, as he recounted the bizarre overnight incident.
Quinn claimed that the kidnappers in wetsuits made the couple take a drink laced with sedatives and even attached a camera to his wall, claiming they were watching as they sped away with his partner.
Much to everyone's surprise, Huskins reappeared days later — prompting police to suspect a 'Gone Girl' plot had been orchestrated by the victim herself.
SPOILER ALERT: Police would later discover that Huskins was indeed kidnapped after another incident that happened months later that showed some eerie similarities.
What happened to Denise Huskins after her kidnapping?
Denise, then 29, was kidnapped on March 23, 2015, and was held for 48 hours by her kidnappers.
During her ordeal, the kidnapper told Denise that he was “part of this black market company that kidnaps people for money” and that they were actually meant to target Quinn's ex-girlfriend.
Held at a property in South Lake Tahoe, Denise was sexually assaulted twice on camera during her horrific ordeal.
She was then given a sedative and driven 500 miles back to her family's home in Huntington Beach, where she was released.
However, it didn't end there. Denise was then subjected to grilling after her release, with some drawing connections between her case and the 2012 crime thriller Gone Girl.
"Mr Quinn and Ms Huskins have plundered valuable resources away from our community and taken the focus away from the true victims of our community while instilling fear among our community members," law enforcement said about the case.
Interestingly, the kidnappers later sent several statements to the press claiming responsibility.
"We are responsible for the victims’ suffering, and the least we can do is come forward to prove they are not lying," one message read.
Suspicion about Huskins' involvement would continue for months before the truth emerged.
Who kidnapped Denise Huskins?
Months later, another kidnapping case in Dublin, California, bore a striking resemblance to Huskins' abduction.
In the latter incident, the couple was able to fight back, and the kidnapper fled, dropping his phone.
Investigators traced the phone back to Matthew Muller, a former Marine and disbarred lawyer, who was arrested after officers searched his cabin and found evidence that connected him to Denise.
It turned out that Muller had committed similar assaults in the area, and he later pleaded guilty to kidnapping for ransom in Sacramento federal court.
Muller — who reportedly never disclosed why Aaron Quinn's ex was actually the target — was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Another sentence of 31 years was handed down in 2022 after state charges were brought against Muller for the rape of Denise.
He's currently serving both sentences concurrently at a federal correctional institution in Arizona, as per Business Insider.
Since the ordeal, Vallejo police publicly apologised to Denise, and she married Aaron in 2018. The couple have welcomed two daughters.
