'Gone Girl' kidnapper charged in home invasions from years earlier

The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Northern California woman in a case that became known nationwide as the "Gone Girl" kidnapping has now been charged with other break-ins and assaults from years earlier, prosecutors announced Monday.

Matthew Muller -- who pleaded guilty in the 2015 kidnapping and sexual assault of Denise Huskins -- was charged in connection with two other home invasions from 2009, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office said.

In the first attack, on Sept. 29, 2009, Muller allegedly broke into a woman’s home in Mountain View, tied her up, forced her drink a mix of medications and told her he was going to rape her, prosecutors said. The woman "persuaded him against it," and Muller then allegedly suggested she get a dog and fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Weeks later, on Oct. 18, 2009, Muller allegedly broke into a home in Palo Alto, bound and gagged a woman and forced her to drink NyQuil, prosecutors said. "He then began to assault her, before being persuaded to stop," prosecutors said. "Muller gave the victim crime prevention advice, then fled."

While "following a new lead," investigators sent all the evidence from both scenes for further testing, and thanks to "advances in forensic DNA testing," Muller’s DNA was recovered from straps used to bind one of the victims, prosecutors said Monday.

Muller -- who had been serving a 40-year sentence at a federal prison in Arizona relating to charges from 2015 -- appeared in court for his arraignment in San Jose, California, on Monday.

He was arraigned on two counts of first-degree burglary with intention to commit rape, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a subsequent press briefing. Both counts carry the potential for life terms of Muller is convicted, he added.

"If, God forbid, a serious and terrible crime is committed, like these two cases -- to a man breaking into a woman's home, tying them up to try to rape them -- we want to solve that crime as quickly as we can. We were not able to do that in this case," Rosen said, commenting on the 15 years that it took law enforcement to identify Muller as a suspect in the 2009 crimes. "Were these two investigations handled perfectly? No, they weren't handled perfectly. However, we have been able to solve those cases and to get justice in this case."

Rosen also announced that Muller's plea hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 17.

"If the defendant does plead guilty to these crimes. I'm grateful for that," the district attorney said. "I'm grateful that the victims don't have to go through more even more pain and trauma."

On March 23, 2015, Muller broke into a home in Vallejo, where he drugged and tied up Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, prosecutors said.

He kidnapped Huskins and took her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.

Quinn went to the police, who started to consider him a suspect.

After two days held captive, Muller drove Huskins to Southern California and released her.

Once Huskins was freed, the couple was then accused of a hoax, and the case set off a media firestorm fueled by suggestions that the case mirrored the book and movie "Gone Girl."

Muller was arrested for Huskins' kidnapping in June 2015 when he was identified as a suspect in a home invasion in Dublin, California.

Muller pleaded guilty in 2016 to Huskins' kidnapping and in 2022 to her sexual assaults, prosecutors said.

The case became the subject of the Netflix documentary "American Nightmare" released earlier this year.