San Francisco, CA: Police arrested 38-year-old Matthew Muller at his South Lake Tahoe home. He was charged last month after he was arrested in a home-invasion robbery that is said to have similarities to a kidnapping case, which the police had deemed as a hoax.
The kidnapping case began when Denise Huskins’ boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, reported to the police that kidnappers had broken into the couple’s Vallejo home on March 23, abducted the woman and demanded $8,500 in ransom.
In a press release by the FBI, they say that, “The male victim was awakened by a bright light shining in his eyes, a noise that was similar to a ‘stun gun’, and the voice of a man who demanded that both victims lie face down on the bed.”
According to Quinn, the kidnappers order Huskins to bind him with zip ties and forced both of them to enter their bedroom closet. The kidnapper then covered Quinn’s eyes with swim goggles, that had tape-covered lenses to restrict vision, and placed headphones over his ears. The headphones were used to play a prerecorded message that gave Quinn instructions and the kidnapper threatened to hurt them with electric shocks or face-cutting if either of them did not comply.
The kidnapper obtained Quinn’s financial account numbers and passwords, along with information about the Wi-Fi’s router, Quinn’s laptop and certain internet accounts.
Quinn was then placed on the couch and was told he was being watched by a camera, in case he tried to free himself. He fell asleep for a period of time, and upon waking up, found that Huskins, his laptop and his car were messing. He located his cell phone, which contained a voicemail message demanding a ransom and providing instructions to tell anyone who inquired about the money that it was for the purchase of a ski boat. The suspect then fled with Huskins in Quinn’s car.
Huskins turned up two days later, unharmed, in her hometown in Huntington Beach, just hours before the ransom was due. This led the police to come to the conclusion that the kidnapping was staged, especially since there was no evidence to support the couple’s claims.
After investigating Muller’s home, the police found a laptop that resembled Quinn’s, as well as a water pistol with a flashlight and a laser pointer on it.
Huskins’ lawyer, Douglas Rappaport, said that his client will avoid commenting on the case to preserve the integrity of the prosecution. Quinn’s lawyer, Daniel Russo, and Rappaport, blasted investigators and asked that authorities set the record straight and apologise to the couple.
Russo said, “What I want is for the Vallejo PD to do their job. Go out, find out if there are other guys out there and make sure that next time this happens they think before they talk.”
Muller’s attorney, Thomas Johnson, said in a brief statement that his client will plead not guilty to the kidnapping charges. He said his client has already pleaded not guilty to the June home-invasion robbery in the city of Dublin.
Muller was admitted to practice law in California in May 2011. In June of this year, Muller was disbarred. Wilson Purves, a partner with Kerosky, Purves & Bogue in San Francisco, said Muller worked as an associate at the immigration law firm for a year before it terminated his employment in 2012.
Purves said, “Nothing extraordinary would make me feel that he could be accused of something like this. I don’t know what happened between then and now.”
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