'Gone Girl' Case Victim, Boyfriend 'Vindicated' by Suspect's Arrest, Family Says
Boyfriend Aaron Quinn's family applauded the arrest of a suspect.
— -- The family of the boyfriend involved in mysterious "Gone Girl" case in Vallejo, California, has spoken out, saying he feels vindicated now that authorities have made an arrest in the case.
Aaron Quinn's brother, Matt, told local station KTXL that he knew Quinn and his girlfriend, Denise Huskins, were victims of a real kidnapping and not perpetrators of a hoax.
"I'm so glad. I'm so glad that they got vindicated on this," he said.
Matthew Muller, 38, is in police custody and has been charged with kidnapping Huskins in March. Initial claims made by Huskins and her boyfriend were dismissed by the Vallejo police department as a hoax but the FBI made the connection to Muller last month. The FBI announced Muller's arrest on Monday.
"It's been difficult for both of them. Just seeing both of them struggle as they have, being the victims of an awful crime, and then being the victims again by the police department," Matt's wife, Vanessa Quinn, told KTXL.
In June, when Muller was arrested in connection with a home invasion robbery in Dublin, California, authorities found similarities to the "Gone Girl" kidnapping in March, the FBI said. The case got that nickname due to its similarity to the 2014 movie "Gone Girl."
Muller, of Orangevale, California, is currently being held at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, California, according to Dublin Police.
His lawyer, Thomas Johnson, denied the kidnapping claim and said he and Muller are looking forward to defending themselves. He also said that he and his client were not made aware that the FBI was investigating.
Johnson said that Muller is bi-polar and has a history of mental illness.
On March 23, a man called police to report that his girlfriend, Huskins, had been abducted from his Vallejo home, police said.
Two days later, Huskins was found safe in Huntington Beach, police said. The boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, told investigators Huskins' abductors made a $8,500 ransom demand, police said.
On March 25, police in Vallejo said that they found "no evidence to support the claims" that she was abducted.
Attorneys for the couple said Monday that they were "re-victimized" by police who initially said the couple perpetrated a hoax.