Whatever Happened To Denise Huskins And Aaron Quinn From The 'Gone Girl' Case?
In 2015, Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn's relationship was on the rocks (per ABC News). The couple, who were both physical therapists, were attempting to repair trust after Huskins discovered that Quinn had been texting his ex-fiancé. He had split from her just before getting together with Huskins. They had been together for just seven months, but if their lives felt up in the air at that point, it was nothing compared to the life-changing ordeal they were about to face.
On March 23 of that year, Quinn called the police to report that Huskins had been kidnapped. In a police interview, he described how men dressed in wetsuits woke them and informed them they were being robbed. The two were bound and later drugged, with Quinn being forced to give the intruders details that would allow them to empty his bank accounts. Then they took Huskins with them. Huskins emerged two days later after being released some 400 miles south from Vallejo, California, where she had been abducted. She claimed she had been raped multiple times by her captor.
Doubt concerning the veracity of the couple's claims was compounded by the fact that it appeared to have been ripped from the world of fiction. As many commentators pointed out, their story was uncannily reminiscent of the plot of "Gone Girl," the 2012 crime novel by Gillian Flynn that was turned into a blockbuster movie by David Fincher in 2014, the year before Huskins' kidnapping. Thankfully, the truth of their story would eventually come to light.
They were eventually vindicated
For many months both law enforcement agencies and the media shared the narrative that the kidnapping of Denise Huskins was most likely a hoax, and that she and Aaron Quinn had collaborated in an attempt to dupe the authorities. Initially, police investigators interviewing Quinn assumed that he had murdered his partner, but once she emerged, the pair were suspected of staging the kidnapping (per ABC News). But things changed dramatically for Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn when news broke that the FBI had arrested a man named Matthew Muller (per The Guardian).
Muller was arrested in Dublin, California after his cell phone was discovered at the scene of a similar break-in (via CBS News). Authorities found a stolen computer of Quinn's in Muller's car, along with other evidence. Muller was determined to be the sole kidnapper — he had made it appear that multiple kidnappers had broken into the home where Huskins and Quinn were sleeping by playing secondary voices from a tape recorder. In 2017, he was sentenced to 40 years for kidnapping, and in 2022 he was sentenced to 31 years in state prison for the kidnap and sexual assault of Huskins (he is serving both concurrently). Vallejo police, who had so fervently doubted the couple's story, have apologized, and the victims have received $2.5 million in damages.
They married and had a daughter
The trials that Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn endured during their "Gone Girl" saga were undoubtedly life-changing, and traumatic enough to potentially ruin their relationship. However, the couple — who were having relationship troubles even before they faced their horrendous ordeal and were closely scrutinized in the public eye — seem to be closer than ever. They married in 2018 and had a daughter, Olivia. Speaking to ABC7 News, Huskins said their daughter was born exactly five years after Matthew Muller released her on the street in Huntingdon.
"You can go through any kind of trauma to where it leaves you devastated and in a place where you just think, 'This is impossible to move forward from. What do I do next?," she told the outlet. Ultimately, Huskins believes that hers and Quinn's story, as disturbing as it is, is a love story that has a happy ending. "I think ours is an example of that," she said. "There is hope. It might take time and it might be a lot of hard work, but there is hope."
They published a book in 2021
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn's names featured in countless news outlets after their home invasion ordeal, during which time both the police and media commentators vilified them as hoaxers. Since the arrest of Matthew Muller, they have had the chance to speak in the media and tell their side of the story. But the biggest insight into their experiences came in 2021 when the couple published a book titled "Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors," which chronicles their journey through trauma and pain to seeing justice served and moving on with their lives. The book received widespread critical acclaim, including from Richard A. Leo, author of "Police Interrogation and American Justice." He praised the work as an "exposé" of how the American criminal justice system risks compounding the victimization of the people it is tasked with helping and protecting.
After their wedding, the couple moved to California's central coast. Despite their book's success, they have returned to physical therapy and sports training.