Top 10 Unanswered Questions We Have About American Nightmare

After being held captive and tormented by Matthew Muller for almost 48 hours, Denise Huskins was released. Huskins surfaced around 400 miles away from Vallejo at Huntington Beach. With her father living in the area, Huskins made her way to his house. “American Nightmare” uncovers footage of Huskins arriving in the neighborhood following the kidnapping. Huskins is seen carrying a green duffle bag. It’s a minor detail, but the documentary never gets into where the bag came from or what was inside. In the book “Victim F,” which Huskins co-wrote, it’s mentioned that she was told to pack a bag while being kidnapped from Aaron Quinn’s house. Huskins’ captor also gave her the sunglasses that she’s seen wearing in the footage.

Being forced to wear duct tape-covered goggles throughout the kidnapping, Huskins didn’t get a good look at Muller. Once Muller was caught, though, Huskins had little trouble identifying him as her kidnapper, recognizing his voice. “American Nightmare” touches upon a moment when Huskins sees Muller in court, but the documentary doesn’t delve deep into the trials. Huskins would testify against Muller on multiple occasions. In 2017, Huskins recounted her horrific experience, saying that Muller treated her “like an object, a toy, an animal.” Huskins testified again in 2019, recounting the kidnapping and assaults that Muller subjected her to. Cameras weren’t allowed in the courtroom, explaining the testimony’s absence from “American Nightmare.” Those in attendance, however, described Huskins’ testimony as “chilling.”

On March 16, 2017, Judge Troy Nunley sentenced Muller to 40 years for kidnapping. In 2022, Solano County Superior Court sentenced Muller to concurrently serve 31 years for assaulting Huskins. Muller pleaded guilty in the kidnapping trial and no contest on the two counts of assault. In a 2018 jailhouse interview, though, Muller claimed that he was innocent and only pleaded guilty because he felt bad for the couple. Muller also revealed that he was married. Court files indicate that Muller’s wife, Huei Jiun Dai, filed for divorce in 2022. As of 2024, Muller is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution in Tucson, Arizona where he’ll remain until July 8, 2049. Muller will be in his 70s by the time he’s eligible for parole.

The VPD initially attempted to paint Aaron Quinn as a murderer. When it became apparent that Huskins wasn’t murdered, the authorities made her look like a “Real-Life Gone Girl.” It wasn’t until another department got involved that the VPD and FBI realized their horrible mistake. Even then, it took six years for the city and VPD to issue an apology. By then, the VPD had changed leadership to Chief Shawny Williams, who has since resigned. The public statement acknowledged that the case was mishandled, adding, “What happened to Ms. Huskins and Mr. Quinn is horrific and evil.” The couple felt the apology was too little too late with Quinn saying, “They only apologized after major news outlets reached out and our book is being released.”

The Dublin Police Department came through for Quinn and Huskins when virtually everyone else deemed them frauds. Detective Misty Carausu deserves most of the credit for noticing the parallels between Huskins’ kidnapping and another home invasion with Muller at the center. When we last see Carausu in “American Nightmare,” it’s revealed that she finally met Quinn and Huskins, who regard her as a hero. Carausu continues to work for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. She’d become a sergeant in 2018 and shortly after “American Nightmare” hit Netflix, Carausu was promoted to lieutenant. As of writing, she lives in Livermore, California with her husband and two daughters. It’s unclear if Carausu keeps in regular contact with Quinn and Huskins, but the couple remains grateful to her.

Carausu isn’t the only authority figure who got promoted, although Mat Mustard’s ascension has proven far more controversial. Not only was Mustard named Officer of the Year, but he’d take control of the VPD’s Investigations Division and the Evidence and Property Unit as a sergeant. The mishandling of Quinn and Huskins’ case is just one scandal that Mustard has faced. In 2012, Mustard allegedly pressed forensic pathologists to change an autopsy report in a murder case. He was accused of withholding evidence again in 2020. The following year, Mustard was investigated due to accusations of racism. With “American Nightmare” raising his profile, there have been multiple social media campaigns to have Mustard dismissed from his position, although they’re unlikely to have a significant impact.

Beyond what he did to Huskins and Quinn, a separate home invasion led to Muller’s arrest. The “American Nightmare” crew also interviewed a woman named Tracey, whose Palo Alto home was broken into in 2009. It’s uncertain if Tracey’s intruder was Muller, although her story shares several similarities with Huskins’ ordeal. The main difference is that Tracey convinced her intruder to not assault her. It’s hard to say how many other crimes Muller was responsible for, but what we saw in “American Nightmare” may only be a fraction. Not long before Huskins’ abduction, multiple Mare Island students accused someone of taking pictures through their windows. The perpetrator was never identified, but the students found that he was a lawyer with a military background like Muller.

In one of the documentary’s most shocking twists, we learn that Quinn’s ex-fiance, Andrea Roberts, used to date David Sesma, the lead FBI agent who failed to take Huskins seriously. What’s more, Roberts was supposedly Muller’s intended target. Sesma and Roberts’ relationship was reportedly sexual. Although they broke up before Roberts started seeing Quinn in 2010, Sesma tried getting back together with her in 2011 only to be rejected. “American Nightmare” co-director Bernadette Higgins said in an interview, “there’s no reason to believe that David or Andrea had anything to do with anything that happened,” although Huskins’ lawyer found it “outrageous” that Sesma was handed the case given his personal connection. Roberts is currently living a private life while Sesma still works for the FBI.

Although Muller was brought to justice, Huskins and Quinn aren’t convinced that he acted alone. Huskins recalls seeing another set of legs when Muller broke into Quinn’s house. While Muller was the one who assaulted and interacted with her, Huskins also remembers hearing other voices at the cabin where she was held. In the emails that he sent to the San Francisco Chronicle, Muller claimed to represent a group of kidnappers. Muller would later backtrack on this, saying that he acted alone. The evidence seems to support this with no further arrests being made. Nevertheless, the couple remains suspicious with Huskins saying, “It just would have been impossible to have been done by one guy. There are other people out there.”

Bernadette Higgins believes that Roberts wasn’t an accomplice in the kidnapping of Huskins, calling her connection “an unfortunate set of coincidences.” That said, Roberts does play a part in this puzzle that still isn’t quite complete. According to Huskins, Muller told her that she wasn’t the one he intended to kidnap. Roberts was his true target. We can see how Muller might’ve confused Huskins for Roberts, who used to live with Quinn. Both women have physical similarities as well. Alas, Muller never explained why he targeted Roberts or if he knew her prior. This is one question that may never have a clear-cut answer, but we can safely assume that this wasn’t a random break-in with Huskins in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Do you have any theories on “American Nightmare?” Let us know in the comments.