the details are so crazy, i couldn't make sense of it. >> a successful young couple ambushed, they said, in the dead of night. attacked, abducted. >> we're like, wow, where is she? >> i didn't have a clue what happened. >> but the real question, was their story even true. >> we were not able to substantiate any of the things he was saying. >> they branded the couple as liars. >> normal people don't do things like this. >> this whole story could take another crazy turn. >> he said, i know that i need to pay for what i did. >> hello and welcome to

dateline. she and her boyfriend went to sleep one night blissfully unaware that they would wake up to a living nightmare. an armed stranger in the bedroom and he didn't appear to be alone. what happened next was so odd, it would leave detectives and the public scratching their heads. was this real life or fiction? an unexpected break in the case would steer authorities to an unlikely suspect and the truth. >> i was asleep in bed and it was about 5:00 in the morning. >> frightening doesn't begin to describe what she went through. >> there was someone laying on top of me. >> she was instantly the player in someone's game of power and control. >> their hand was over my mouth. >> if you're wondering, there was no way to fight back.

>> i must have been screaming. >> this woman doesn't want us to use her real name. we're calling her samantha, and she is sharing with us things she told to few people. >> this was a man? >> bigger than you. >> felt very big and strong. i couldn't move. >> september 29th, 2009. the sun wasn't up yet and in samantha's bedroom, a masked intruder was holding her down. she had no idea who the man was or what he was planning. he said, well, this is going to take a coup of hours. i was, i think, just in shock. the details of what happened to samantha are not only frightening but also strange. she has come forward because she believes her long night of terror may shed light on a different case in a different town with victims she has never met. it's a bizarre mystery that r

riveted the bay area and rippled around the country and around the world. march 24th, 2015, a young woman was missing. >> 5'7", 150 pounds, blonde hair and blue eyes. >> her abductors wanted money in exchange for her return. >> we request the public's help in locating her. >> it was 30 miles north in the city of vallejo. >> i immediately was struck by the fact that you don't see these kind of cases too often and this crime victim didn't strike me as someone that would usually be targeted. >> the kidnap victim had been staying with her boyfriend aaron quinn at his house in vallejo. both were physical therapists at a near i was hospital. aaron reported denise missing. >> we're doing everything we can

and then some. >> police dogs and dive teams were part of a huge search. across the country, her good friend ashley saw the news. >> there was an article online. someone sent it to me and said oh my god this is denise. i started texting everybody. >> including denise. i tried to text her. i figured better than not doing anything. >> there was no reply. she texted another friend. >> i couldn't even believe what i was reading. it didn't even seem real. >> that was pretty much the reaction of vallejo cops with the story denise's boyfriend was telling them. >> we have a lot of information to sift through. we don't have all the facts in yet. >> the story aaron told the cops that night especially spelled out in an fbi affidavit would seem preposterous. invented by someone with too much imagination and too much

free time. aaron said he and denise were asleep in his house when at about 3:00 a.m. he was awakened by a bright light and an electrical noise that sounded like a stun gun. then a man's voice telling them to lie face down on the bed. aaron said the man told denise to mind aaron's hands and feet. then he said his eyes were covered with swim goggles were had been blacked out so he couldn't see. >> he's been blind folded, zip tied. he said the sbrusintruder deman his private information and put head phones on him along with instructions to use denise's phone to text her work and say she would be out for a coup of days and to let his work know the same. he also claimed he was given a mixture of nyquil and valium to knock him out and told to stay

in one spot in his living room that was outlined in red duct tape and monitored by a webcam. then he said the intruders left with denise. his story sounded so implausible, the police wondered if he made it up to hide something even more sinister. >> at first blush, when a woman is missing and her husband or boyfriend says oh, well, she was abducted -- well, certainly the first thing i think is the guy. >> in these situations always look at is he a suspect? is he making it up? what's the real story. >> police treated him less like a victim and more like a murder suspect. they confiscated his cell phone and read him his rights. they were suspicious about why he waited 11 hours before calling 911. >> it took him hours. it wasn't until that afternoon

they were able to talk to him. >> police polygraphed him five times. he was put in jail clothing. given little food or water and held in a small interrogation room for hours. across the country, denise's friends didn't know any of this, but they know enough to be worried. >> i mean, someone being kidnapped, to be honest, a lot of those stories don't end well. you don't want to think about those things, but you think, maybe they're not going to be alive. >> then about 33 hours after denise disappeared reporter henry lee was standing outside of aaron's home when his phone buzzed. an e-mail. >> what was killing is this e-mail came attached with an audio file and there was with a woman's voice. >> a soft spoken woman on the recording said she was denise. this very strange tale was about

to get much stranger. >> what had happened to denise? was she still alive? or was this all an elaborate hoax? >> coming up. >> we still don't know where denise huskins is. >> that cryptic recording, what message was it? >> she sounded calm. not terrified. not distressed at all. >> not like someone in fear for their life. >> then we get a tip that police are holding a news conference. that's when the bombshell came down. >> when dateline continues. you keep doing you. we'll take care of medicare part d. by helping you save up to five dollars on each prescription, and with free one-on-one pharmacy support, we've filled over 2 billion prescriptions and counting. stop by walgreens and save today. walgreens. trusted since 1901.

where are mom and dad? 'saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico! goin' up the country. love mom and dad' i'm takin' a nap. dude, you just woke up! ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. what sore muscles? what with advpounding head? .. advil is... relief that's fast. strength that lasts. you'll ask... what pain? with advil.

but choosing to douggo that extra mileve. can be tough on his body. that's why he wears dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles. they provide all day comfort so he has the energy to keep moving. delivering joy every step of the day. dr. scholl's. born to move. the little freak matt's a super fresh lettuce freak slicing it daily to three thirty-seconds of an inch the tastiest width for lettuce freaky fresh. freaky fast. jimmy john's. now try your favorite on our new nine-grain wheat sub. wheat yeah. freak yeah.

denise huskins' boyfriend said she had been kidnapped, but his story seemed hard to believe. police wondered if he murdered her and was trying to cover it up. but after she disappeared he received an e-mail with an audio file attached. >> she talked about the day's biggest news. a german airliner had gone down. >> earlier today there was a plane crash in the alps. 150 people died. >> she shared obscure

biographical details. my first concert with bethany and her mom, to blink 182 and bad religion. >> trying to prove that a she is denise and b, yes, she is a kidnap victim. >> and she's aware of events that happened that day. >> and she was aware of events that happened to prove she was alife. >> so this wasn't a murder case but it was a kidnapping? we found it odd that denise didn't find at all frightened. >> she sounded absolutely calm. not terrified or distressed at all. >> not for someone in fear for their lives. >> as if she was with friends having coffee. >> the reporting soon hit the web where her friend ashley heard it. >> it was sort of reassuring that she was making an audio really dated that day, but also still scary because you still

have no idea if the person is safe, how they're being treated, what people are putting her through. >> and if denise didn't sound panicked, her friends say that made perfect sense. after all, the three of them had already lived through what should have been the most traumatic event of their lives. they went to watch the boston marathon in 2013. they say it was denise that remained calm that day. >> we were all scared and rocked by it, but of all of us, she was the best equipped to keep it cool. >> she was my rock. she would grab my hand and she'd say let's go. >> but where was denise now? >> this is a bizarre case with a lot of twists. >> very bizarre. >> cheryl hurd covered the story

for kntv. >> day 2, we still don't know where denise is. we're really not sure what her boyfriend, aaron, is telling police. all we know is they can find her. >> then the story took another quick turn. about 45 hours after denise was reported missing, police made a dramatic announcement. >> at 10:30 this morning denise huskins was located safely. >> it seemed over. >> denise's cousin told knbc how thrilled everyone was. >> you hear the stories all the time and you watch tv about them and you never know and we were just happy that she's alive and safe and home. >> but to police and reporters, all professional skeptics, this story hadn't smelled right from the start and denise's sudden reappearance did nothing to change that. >> she's alive. she's well. they found her.

that's great, but there was still something funny going on. >> one thing, denise turned up in huntington beach which was 400 miles south of vallejo and her hometown. >> she wasn't released out of state. she was not released in the desert or the middle of california. where does she show up? right near her parents house. >> another thing, the ransom the kidnapper supposedly demanded had never been paid. denise told police in her hometown the same story her boyfriend had told up north about the swim goggles, the nyquil, the threat of electric shot but then when vallejo police wanted to question her. >> she disappeared and wouldn't cooperate and wouldn't fly up in a plane offered by the fbi after she was released. >> suspicion was building. neither denise nor aaron made

any public statement, but they did hire separate attorneys. >> everyone is thinking, why are they doing that? >> lots of questions and not many answers, but then less than three hours after denise disappeared. >> we get a tip police are holding a news conference. so i jump in the call, the photographer and i and we go back to vallejo to be apart of the news conference and that's when the bombshell came down. >> we were not able to substantiate any of the things that she was saying. >> was this all some kind of prank. >> was there some chance they were going to be prosecuted? >> it was a very strong possibility. >> e-mails, photos and strange new gluclues are about to emerg from the shadows when dateline continues. ades and adapts. and how we attack it.

that's why at cancer treatment centers of america, we use diagnostic tools that help us better understand what drives each person's cancer. this is what we mean by outsmarting cancer. and for some, it may uncover more effective treatment options. like christine bray. after battling ovarian cancer for several years, her test results revealed a potential treatment not considered previously a drug therapy that targeted her tumor. today, christine's metastatic cancer is in remission. this is precision cancer treatment. because at cancer treatment centers of america. we're not just fighting cancer. we're outsmarting it. visit cancercenter.com and schedule an appointment with our cancer care specialists today.

unstopand it's strengthenedting place, the by xfi pods,gateway. which plug in to extend the wifi even farther, past anything that stands in its way. ...well almost anything. leave no room behind with xfi pods. simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today.

>> i didn't have a clue what happened. >> even denise's friends had to admit her sudden disappearance and then reappearance seemed almost unbeliefable. >> the he did -- the details of the story are so crazy i couldn't make sense of it. >> neither could the police department. he held a remarkable news

conference. first he spoke about the boyfriend, aaron quinn. >> the statement that mr. quinn provided was such an incredible story, we initially had a hard time believing it, and upon further investigation we were not able to substantiate any of the things that he was saying. then about denise herself. >> miss huskins indicated she would be happy to meet with our police detectives and provide us a full detailed statement of what occurred. as of right now we have not heard from miss huskins. >> finally this. >> mr. quinn and miss huskins have put fear among our community members, so if anything it's mr. quinn and m s miss huskins owe an apology.

>> all of this was one of those made for california dramas. police seemed to think denise and aaron were for some reason known only to them seeking publicity and telling an elaborate lie. left unanswered was why anyone would want to become famous for fooling the police. >> the stranger than fiction kidnapping story involving a young california couple. >> no ransom was ever paid. he said the kidnappers took his bank information but no one tried to access his accounts. someone did try to call his cell phone a coup le of times from a blocked number. police suspected aaron had somehow programmed another phone to call his own cell while he was with investigators. >> was there a chance denise and her boyfriend were going to be

proce prosecut prosecuted? >> denise's friends didn't know aaron but they had every confidence that denise is telling the truth. >> everyone that knows her personally and cares about her believed her. >> the day after police branded the kidnapping a hoax, police finally did show up at vallejo pd to tell the cops they were wrong. not only had she been kidnapped, but she had also been raped. he received a long message soon followed by more supporting denise's claim that this is no hoax from a person claiming to have been one of the kidnappers. >> they were very articulate. clearly written by someone extremely intelligent. >> miss huskins was absolutely kidnapped. we did it. we'll provide proof. the writer claimed to be part of a group. more than two and fewer than

eight in number. >> they go extreme length about a series of crimes between car thefts, break ins, home invasions, you name it. >> some of us are very good at overcoming electronic anti-theft measures, stealing late model cars. according to the e-mail the group decided to try kidnapping because we wanted something with a high pay out that we only had to do once or a few times. >> what is going on, why are you apparently confessing? >> the writer admitted the reality of the kid perinapping much more upsetting than expected. the horrifying reality of what we had become and what we were doing did not set in until being confronted directly with denise's suffering and humanity. >> at least one of the abductors seemed to sympathize with

denise. >> and now the e-mail said they were angry that denise was being accused of making the whole thing up. >> we will not stand by and see the life of a really good person ruined. attached to the e-mails were photos. one showed a water gun spray painted to look more threatening at least in the dark with a laser pointer and flashlight duct taped to it. another showed a room with cardboard partially covering a window where denise was supposedly held. was this visual proof of denise and aaron's story or an elaborate deception? >> legit or more hoax? >> i thought it was part of a prank. henry lee wondered if they might have been sent by an attorney. >> the reporters started referring to the case as the gone girl kidnapping after the

book and movie about a young blonde that fakes her own disappearance. that reference infuriated denise's friends. >> it makes you mad. it was like a fictional character created out of a good person. so then suddenly you stop being denise huskins and labeled as the gone girl. >> that wasn't denise at all but to the rest of the world they were portrayed as liars, schemers, maybe even criminals themselves. >> that is, until the next big twist. >> coming up. >> he said, we have your daughter. >> another story as strange and eerie as denise and aarons. >> terrifying. >> had the mysterious kidnapper struck again? when dateline continues. today... back pain can't win. now introducing aleve back and muscle pain.

only aleve targets tough pain for up to 12 hours with just one pill. aleve back & muscle. all day strong. all day long. ok i'll admit. i didn't keep my place as clean as i would like 'cuz i'm way too busy. who's got the time to chase around down dirt, dust and hair? so now, i use heavy duty swiffer sweeper and dusters. for hard-to-reach places, duster makes it easy to clean. it captures dust in one swipe. ha! gotcha! and (new) sweeper heavy duty cloths lock away a twice as much dirt and dust. it gets stuff deep in the grooves other tools can miss. you know what? my place is a lot cleaner now. stop cleaning. start swiffering. that everything sticks to stefon diggs's hands?ieve it.

no, i can't believe how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars on my car insurance with geico. cool, huh? yeah. he plays football, huh? yeah. believe it. geico could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. get stronger... get closer. start listening today to the world's largest selection of audiobooks on audible.

and now, get more. for just $14.95 a month, you'll get a credit a month good for any audiobook, plus two audible originals exclusive titles you can't find anywhere else. if you don't like a book, you can exchange it any time, no questions asked. automatically roll your credits over to the next month if you don't use them. with the free audible app, you can listen anytime, and anywhere. plus for the first time ever, you'll get access to exclusive fitness programs a $95 value free with membership. start a 30-day trial today and your first audiobook is free. cancel anytime and your books are yours to keep forever. audible. the most inspiring minds. the most compelling stories. text "listen5" to 500500 to start your free trial today. a

ask. >> president trump is speaking out about a caravan of central american migrants headed to the u.s. they're currently stalled on a bridge. >> the mega millions jackpot is up to $1.6 billion. no one claimed the jackpot in friday night's drawing but there were 15 partial matches. one worth at least $1 million. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to dateline. the police and the public seem to have it all figured out. they believe denise huskins and her boyfriend made up the traumatic home invasion and kidnapping story for publicity. the media even dubbed it the gone girl mystery based on the story of a woman that faked her

own disappearance but detectives were about to learn something that would shift the investigation. another attack suspiciously similar to the one denise and aaron had been describing. too similar to ignore. >> this began as a high-tech kidnapping that sounded like a tv movie. >> we were not able to substantiate any of the clouds. >> -- substantiate any of the claims. >> then police said it was a hoax. >> and that may have been the end of it until a little over two months later, this story took another unbelievable turn. >> june 5th, 2015, 3:34 a.m. >> they possibly have her daughter. >> police were called to a house in dublin, california. >> locked herself in a bedroom.

>> the husband possibly has a head injury. >> by the time police arrived, the man was gone leaving behind a shaken family with a frightening story. a woman told police that she and her husband woke up in the early morning hours to find a man standing at the foot of their bed with a flashlight shining in their faces. >> he told them that face down, get face down on your bed and don't look at me. >> terrifying. >> they were terrified. >> dublin police detectives lead the investigation. >> they said we have your daughter, and she's okay. >> the couple's 22-year-old daughter had been sleeping in the next room. >> he tells the parents that i'm going to tie you up. the father jumps on him and says i'm not going to let you tie me up, something is going on with my daughter. the struggle ensues. >> his wife grabbed the cell phone and locked herself in the

bedroom to call 911. >> her husband yells out go get the gun. go get the gun. this was smart on the father's part because they have no gun. but he had to scare this guy away. >> the father continued to flight until the intruder fled but in the struggle he left some things behind. zip ties for one and what turned out to be the key to the case. a cell phone, which lead the dublin detectives to a home near sacramento. the woman that answered said the phone belonged to her adult son. a man named matthew mueller. we said where is he? well, he's on the way to tahoe. >> they knew their next stop was south lake tahoe. they put in a call to the local sheriff to ask if there had ever been trouble at the cabin.

there hadn't but a stolen car was just found near it and in it was a driver's license for matthew mueller. >> okay. now we have information to go on. >> with a search warrant and an arrest warrant the cops went to find matthew mueller. >> the neighbors watched it happen. >> i'm just peeking out my window, trying to get an idea of what is happening. >> more cars are coming. my whole front area is filled with dark sedans, like something out of the movies. >> neighbors were surprised but maybe matthew mueller was not. >> when we broke down the front d door, it didn't open all the way because it was barricaded. >> upon entry, i could hear my detectives screaming get on the ground, get on the ground, and your heart rate kind of jumps up, okay, he's there. >> this is mueller, just after

he was arrested. he did not put up a fight. in the house, detectives found a room of cardboard on the windows, blocking out the light. they searched that stolen car and found a few more items of interest. >> one was a super soaper painted black with a flashlight duct taped to it. >> if you were in the dark and all you saw was the shape and bulkness of it, absolutely. >> there was also swim goggles with tape covering the lenses. a long blonde hair stuck to the tape and when they traced the stolen car. >> that vehicle comes back stolen out of vallejo. >> so the cops called vallejo pd and started comparing notes. >> they're showing us pictures sent to him. >> those would be the photos e-mailed to reporter henry lee

from that address. shots of spray painted water pistols and a room with cardboard on the windows. >> that's when the like clicked on and we all when uh-oh. here we go. >> coming up, ivy league, former marine, respected attorney -- >> i would much more have suspected matt to be sitting behind a desk in some elected capacity. >> who was this guy? when dateline continues. -computer, order pizza. -of course, daniel. -fridge, weather. -clear skies and 75. -trash can, turn on the tv. -my pleasure. -ice dispenser, find me a dog sitter. -okay. -and make ice. -pizza delivered. -what's happened to my son? -i think that's just what people are like now.

i mean, with progressive, you can quote your insurance on just about any device. even on social media. he'll be fine. -[ laughs ] -will he? -i don't know. copd makes it hard to breathe. so to breathe better, i go with anoro. ♪ go your own way copd tries to say, "go this way." i say, "i'll go my own way, with anoro." ♪ go your own way once-daily anoro contains two medicines called bronchodilators that work together to significantly improve lung function all day and all night. anoro is not for asthma. it contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. the risk is unknown in copd. anoro won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, glaucoma, prostate, bladder, or urinary problems. these may worsen with anoro. call your doctor if you have worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling,

problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain while taking anoro. ask your doctor about anoro. ♪ go your own way get your first prescription free at anoro.com. get your first prescription free okay, i never thought i'd say this, but i found bladder leak underwear that's actually pretty. surprised? it's called always discreet boutique. it looks and fits like my underwear. i know what you're thinking. how can something this pretty protect? hidden inside is a super absorbent core that quickly turns liquid to gel for incredible protection. so i feel protected and pretty. always discreet boutique. new color. new size. but choosing to douggo that extra mileve. can be tough on his body.

that's why he wears dr. scholl's massaging gel insoles. they provide all day comfort so he has the energy to keep moving. delivering joy every step of the day. dr. scholl's. born to move. ( ♪ ) stop dancing around the pain that's keeping you awake. advil pm gives tossing and turning a rest and silences aches and pains. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer with advil pm. so it's no wonder we announced our new 9-grain wheat subdients. fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer in the middle of a wheat field. when you've got news this big, it's not enough to just add it to the menu. where's the 'freak yeah!' in that? to celebrate a new sandwich with a taste so inspired, we introduced it in the place that inspired it. the new jimmy john's 9-grain wheat sub, now available at a jimmy john's much, much, much closer to you. wheat yeah freak yeah™

>> another bizarre twist in a kidnapping case we have been following out of california. >> they found it just as puzzling as everyone else did. >> for a lot of reasons, you sort of think that the vallejo story was a very strange story. >> it was. it does sound like it could be fabricated. >> but now they found themselves looking a home invasion that seemed to link the man they arrested, matthew mueller, to the alleged kidnapping of denise huskins. not just the photos of toy guns to look real, but the room in the suspect's home they saw during the arrest that matched the photos sent to henry lee.

there was more, significant clues pointing to a real kidnapping that vallejo cops overlooked from the start. window screens at aaron's house had been split and the window locks drilled and the missed calls made to his cell phone while he was interesting interrogated that first night. calls that the cops suspected aaron had faked. turns out they were placed from this intersection right near the cabin in tahoe where police found the car. when they hacked into the car's navigation history, they found this address in huntington beach. the place denise said she had been left by her kidnapper. as they continue to investigate detectives learned their suspect was just as unusual as the crimes he was implicated in. maybe more so.

>> this is the stuff you see in movies. >> a california native, he served in the u.s. marine corps where he was a trumpet player. >> i would much more have suspected matt to be sitting behind a desk in some elected capacity as opposed to sitting in a jail cell right now. >> mueller married in 2002 and graduated a year later. his next stop was another place you might have heard of. harvard law school. he graduated in 2006 and then stayed on as a teaching fellow. andrea was a student of muellers. >> matt as i remembered him at harvard was incredibly intelligent, hard working, and someone who was really dedicated to the work that we were doing. >> after harvard, mueller moved back to california and practiced immigration law in san

francisco. but soon, mueller's life seemed to go off the rails. in 2013, he lost his privileges to practice law and was even actually disbarred. he got divorced. stopped paying rent. in 2014 he filed for bankruptcy. it's not clear what went wrong. his defense lawyer says mueller suffers from bipolar disorder. he's unimposing. nearly forgettable. certainly not someone to fear. >> doesn't really fit the profile of your typical guy who is doing home invasions. >> if you're looking attempt cal home invasions, it doesn't. but when you're looking at the type of crimes he's committing it does more fit the profile. >> it's done for the thrill of the crime. the thrill of the game. >> glenn is a forensic psychologist. he's not met matthew mueller, but he has read the e-mails sent to reporter henry lee. e-mails that we suspected were

written by a lawyer. a lawyer police now believe was matthew mueller. >> what emerges from the e-mails is a complex picture of someone that needs attention, who needs to be perceived a certain way. >> for example t w, the way the writer was outraged when denise was accused of a hoax. >> so when he says how dare you not believe she was kidnapped, what he was really saying is how dare you not believe that i committed this crime and pulled it off. >> you can't see my handiwork because the police here are failing miserably and they need to recognize how flawed they are and how wonderful i am. >> he's a master criminal. >> he's a master criminal, and he's running circles around everyone else. >> maybe he was. from the beginning police couldn't believe the elaborate details of the kidnapping.

aaron told them he took so long to call 911 because he was drugged and confined to a square of red tape and monitored by a webcam, they didn't buy it. and when denise wouldn't get on the plane to talk to vallejo pd, they thought it was because she had something to hide. she said she was afraid the cops would treat her as they treated her boyfriend aaron, like a suspect. now everything was about to change. three months after vallejo police accused denise and aaron of concocting a hoax, the fbi announced that matthew mueller was the prime suspect in denise's very real kidnapping. >> i never doubted that there was someone who kidnapped her. >> neither did the woman we're calling samantha. to her, denise's story was very

real. >> coming up. my hands were handcuffed behind my back. my feet were zip tied. >> could matthew mueller be behind this crime too? >> we're about to ask him. >> opened his eyes really wide. he couldn't believe that i was bringing this up. >> when dateline continues. you keep doing you. we'll take care of medicare part d. by helping you save up to five dollars on each prescription, and with free one-on-one pharmacy support, we've filled over 2 billion prescriptions and counting. stop by walgreens and save today. walgreens. trusted since 1901. and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. then i found aleve pm. the only one to combine a safe sleep aid, plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. i'm back. aleve pm for a better am.

i was on the fence about changing from a manual to an electric toothbrush. but my hygienist said going electric could lead to way cleaner teeth. she said, get the one inspired by dentists, with a round brush head. go pro with oral-b. oral-b's gentle rounded brush head removes more plaque along the gum line. for cleaner teeth and healthier gums. and unlike sonicare, oral-b is the first electric toothbrush brand accepted by the ada for its effectiveness and safety. what an amazing clean! i'll only use an oral-b! oral-b. brush like a pro.

unstopand it's strengthenedting place, the by xfi pods,gateway. which plug in to extend the wifi even farther, past anything that stands in its way. ...well almost anything. leave no room behind with xfi pods. simple. easy. awesome. click or visit a retail store today. welcome back. matthew mueller. the harvard educated lawyer, was

the main suspect in the home invasion and kidnapping of denise hopkins. there had been similar crimes. was mueller behind those too. we went behind bartos speak with him. what he told us was surprise and disturbing. here with the conclusion of twisted tale is josh. >> mountain view california. the heart of silicon valley. the headquarters of google. >> i was asleep in bed. next thing i knew, there was someone laying on top of me. hand over my mouth. >> the woman we're calling samantha hadn't heard the names.

>> claimed head was part of a group and point of it all was money. >> you give him the information we're all taught not to give anyone. >> right. exactly. my social security number. mother's maiden name. >> account numbers. >> account numbers. my bank account number. my min. >> as with denise and aaron, the intruder made sure no help would be coming soon. he e-mailed my boss that i was sick. i couldn't come into work that day. you're thinking wow, this is get accident more hopeless. >> she says just as denise and erin did, she was sedated. in her case it was just nyquil. she became drowsy, but never passed out. she was completely helpless.

completely in his control when it got worse. the intruder told her. >> i have bad news for you. i'm going so have rape you. >> tied up. blindfolded, she pleaded with her captor not to do it. >> he got very quiet. >> then the man who terrorized her for hours suddenly seemed remorseful. >> he said, i'm sorry about this. you know, i've been through this too. >> he offered some helpful home security advice. he recommended i get a dog so i could have protection in the future. >> so he's advising you how to keep this from happening again. >> yes. it's incredible. >> it is. it's hard to believe. >> i agree.

>> did the police believe you. >> i don't think so. less than a month later, a similar case in a nearby area, broke into a house and restrained the woman with zip ties and swim goggles and threatened to rape her. was it the same man? was it mueller. >> police investigating salesei samantha's assault weren't sure, but the police believe the same person is responsible for both crime. >> we were able to identify one suspect in the case and he's our prime suspect, matthew mueller. >> mueller has never been charged in either case. we want to hear from mueller

himself. his attorney did not want him to do an interview, but he agreed to see a visitor. spent 30 minutes talking with mueller through jail on the phone. no camera, no recording, no note taking allowed. >> what's your initial impression of him. >> extremely talkative. it was like he was in his element. he was laughing, we were joking about the books he was raeeadin >> what's his answer to whether or not he's guilty of the crime he's accused of. >> he wouldn't say. he wouldn't deny anything, but wouldn't say he was guilty of anything. >> she kd hasked him about sama. >> we recently interview add woman and her case matches. >> he kind of opened his eyes really wide and couldn't believe i was bringing this up. >> denied knowing anything about samantha's case or the one in

palo alto. then kayla asked about denise. >> he looked at me intensely and said can you imagine being woken up in the middle of the night, taken from your home, sexually assaulted, and then you're brave and that's its used against you by the police. >> there's tears in his eyes, very emotional about it. >> putting on a show. >> he might have been putting on is a show s. he's very smart. very, very smart. >> very eager to talk about his own trouble. >> he wanted to be clear the last six years of his life have been spent in congressiondepres. he's had a few suicide attempts. he said he's in jail and he's happy because it's a safe place for him and a safe place in the community. >> he said in his professional life he always wanted to do good for others. >> he told me my hope for identify was to be the guy to help people.

>> what went wrong. >> i asked him, how do you feel now sitting here because you've now done the opposite, you've hurt people. and he kind of just staired at me for a minute and was silent. then he said i don't know where to begin with that.red at me for a minute and was silent. then he said i don't know where to begin with that. he put his head down and started to cry and said, i'm so sorry. >> what he's sorry for, he didn't say. mueller did say he thought he was exactly where he belonged. >> dewane: >> he said the facts are pretty clear. i think i'll spend a few decades in jail and i'm fine with that. >> about a year after he spoke with dateline, mueller pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping denise. he was sentenced 40 years in prison. he pleaded no contest in the home invasion. in 2015 he faced new state charges of kidnapping for ran some, rape, robbery, and falls imprisonment.

he now claims he's not guilty. there's plenty we still don't know. for example, denise and aaron are convinced there was more than one kidnapper. >> you have any reason to believe there were other people out. >> i don't. no. he used we, i believe to instill more fear in the victims. >> another unknown. how the victims were chosen. denise may not have been the target of the kidnapping. the e-mail sent to henry lee claimed the kidnappers were after erin's exfiance who had previously lived with him and grabbed denise instead. denise and erin will live forever with the emotional scars of their ordeal, home invasion, kidnapping and then public humiliation. their lawyer is jim. >> they were innocent of their alleged crimes, they were painted of the world of having been involved of a terrible hoax.

>> eager to talk in the first few days has since clammed up. the department did send them each a letter of apology. so far has made no public statement to correct the impression of these two as liars and publicity hounds. sued the city of vallejo and in march of 2018, settled the case for $2.5 million. still, no one from vallejo ph.d. has ever explained why the case went so wrong. the official department answer is only no comment. >> he said to you, right at the end, i'm really air is abosorry this. this is going to mess you up. >> yes. >> he was right about that, wasn't he. >> yes it definitely messed me up quite a while. >> sometimes the truest story is one that sounds like a lie. >> if i can contribute in any way to making sure this is taken seriously and this basically say, this is not a hoax. i lived firsthand through this

and i know for a fact it's true. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> this is dateline. you can lose a child without knowing it in a second. it wasn't an if. it was a when are they going to tell us she's not coming home. this is not what was supposed to happen. the note was under her blanket. >> i saw it sticking out and i grabbed it. >> their daughter was a run washingt away. >> i am frantic. >> they called police, they searched and a jogger found a red shoe and a pool of blood. >> here they are, three