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2mo ago

'American Nightmare' Kidnapper Sentenced to 11-to-Life for 1993 Folsom Lake Assault

The case hinged on his prison correspondence fused with DNA evidence that linked him to serial sex crimes dating back to 1993.

Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins in a scene from the Netflix documentary series “American Nightmare,” about a kidnapping case in Vallejo in 2015.
Matthew Muller, as shown in the Netflix docuseries “American Nightmare,” was convicted of kidnapping and raping Denise Huskins. Now he's confessed to terrorizing campers at a California lake.
Matthew Muller was 16 years old when he used a gun to order two young campers out of their tent near a California lake.
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Overview

  • Muller first attacked campers at Folsom Lake in 1993 when he was 16, abducting and sexually assaulting a teenage girl after forcing her and a male companion from their tent at gunpoint.
  • A judge imposed an additional 11 years to life for the Folsom Lake assault to run consecutively with his existing life terms and the 40-year sentence for the 2015 Denise Huskins kidnapping.
  • His prison letters to Seaside Police Chief Nick Borges in 2024, combined with DNA matches, prompted prosecutors to reopen and file charges in the decades-old case.
  • Prosecutors have now secured convictions for six separate kidnappings and rapes across five Northern California counties since 1993.
  • The Vallejo Police Department’s initial accusation that Huskins faked her own abduction gave way to a formal apology and a $2.5 million settlement after Muller’s crimes were confirmed.