eds up to 10 gigs to the most small businesses. so you can be ready for what's next. get started with internet and voice for $64.99 a month. and ask how to add securityedge™. or, ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. craig melvin i'm >> i'm craig craig, and i'm natalie melvin, morales. and this i'm natalie is dateline. >> morales. >> details are so and this is dateline. >> crazy i couldn't make it was crazy, i could sense of it! >> make sense of. it >> a successful young a successful young couple, ambush couple, they said, in the ambush, they, said in the dead dead of night. of. night attacked, attacked, abducted! abducted -- >> >> we're like, were like, where blau. where is is she? she? >> we didn't >> i didn't have have a clue what happened. a clue what happened. >> but the real >> but the real question? was their question, was their story even story even true? >> true? >> we were we were not able not able to to substantiate substantiate any of the things he was saying, they granted them as liars. >> anything they were saying. could there be some kind of hoax? who was really behind it all?

>> this whole story could take another crazy turn. >> they said, i know that i need to pay for when i did. >> >> hello and welcome to dateline. denise has skins and her boyfriend went to sleep when night, basically underwear that they would wake up to a fitting nightmare. a stranger in the bedroom, who 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 when authorities were steer towards an unlikely suspect, and the truth. here's josh with a twisted tale! >> i was asleep, in bed. it was about 5:00 in the morning. >> frightening does not begin to describe which he went through. >> and, the next thing i knew,

there was somebody laying on top of me. >> she was instantly the losing player in somebody else's game of power and control. >> their hand was over my mouth. >> and if you're wondering, there was no way to fight back. >> i must of been screaming. >> this woman does want us to give her the real name. we're calling her samantha. and she's sharing with us, the things that she's told very few people. >> who was? it >> a man. >> bigger than you? >> felt very big and strong. i could not move. >> september 29th, 2009. the sun was not up yet and samantha's bread room a mask intruder was holding her down. she had no idea who's the man was or what he was playing. >> i knew that it would take a couple hours. i think that was just in shock. >> the details of what happened

to samantha are not only frightening, but also deeply strange. she has come forward because she believes that the night of terror may shed light on a different case, in a different town. with the victims she has never met. it's a bizarre mystery that riveted california's bay area. across the country, and around the world. march 24th, 2015. a young woman was missing. >> miss husk instance at five foot seven. 150 pounds. she has blond hair and blue eyes. >> her abductors wanted money, in exchange for her return. >> we are treating this as a kidnapper ransom. and we are requesting public funds to locate her. >> it happened north of san francisco, in the city of vallejo. he was a reporter for the sense francisco chronicle. >> i would immediately was struck with the fact that we do not see these cases too often. and the victim did not strike me as someone who would usually

be targeted. >> the kidnapped victim had been staying with her boyfriend at his house in vallejo. at the time, both of them were physical therapist at a nearby hospital. he's the one who reported her missing. >> we are doing everything that we can, and then some, to ensure safe return. >> police dogs, and dive teams were soon part of a huge search for denise huskings. across the country, denise's good friend ashley, saw the news. >> there was an article posted online. someone sent it to me and said, oh my god! this is denise! i started texting everybody. >> including denise! >> i tried to text or. i figure better than, not doing anything. >> there was no reply. she texted another friend, danika. >> i couldn't even believe what i was reading. it did not seem real. >> that was pretty much the reaction the vallejo cops had. to the story denise's boyfriend was telling them. >> we have a lot of information

to sift through. we do not have all of the facts in yet. >> the story erin told the cops that night, eventually spelled out and fbi affidavit, would soon be frankly pro prosperous. someone invented by someone too much imagination, and too much free time. aaron said he and denise were asleep at his house, when at about 3 am, he was awakened by a bright light and in the electrical noise. it sounded like a sun gun. then a man's voice calling them to lie face down on the bed. aaron said the man told denise to bind aaron's hands and feet. then he said, his eyes were covered with swim goggles, which had been blacked out so he could not see. >> he's been blindfolded, zip tied. >> aaron said the intruder demanded that his private banking email information which, and then puts headphones on

that played coming music. along with instructions to use denise's phone to text her work and say should be out for a couple of days. and to let his work know the same. aaron also claimed he was given a mixture of nyquil and valium to knock him out and was told to stay in one spot in his living room that was outlined in duct tape and monitored by a web cam. then he said the intruders left within these. his story sounded so implausible 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 yeah, she was objected. well, certainly the first thing that i think maybe because of what i do for a living is, he may have had something to do with this. >> in this kind of situation, it is always easier to look at is he a suspect? is he making it up? what's the real story?

>> police treated it like a victim and less -- they confiscated his cell phone and read him his rights. they were suspicious about why he made it 11 hours before calling 9-1-1. >> he claimed he took him hours. >> it wasn't until the afternoon that he came forward. >> aaron told -- police folly graft him five times. he was put in jail clothing, given little food or water and given interrogations for a couple of hours. denise's friends did not do anything about this but they know a lot to be worried. >> someone being kate napped, a lot of the stories do not end well and you do not want to think those stories but you thank, you are not gonna be alive. >> then, about 33 hours after denise disappeared, -- reporter was standing outside aaron's home, when the phone

buzzed. >> it was chilling, this email came attached with an audio file, and this audio file, there was a woman's voice >> high, this is denise huskins. >> the soft spoken woman on the recording said that she was denise. this very strange tale was about to get much more strange. >> what had happened to denise? was she still alive, or was this all an elaborate hoax? >> coming up. >> we still do not know where denise huskins is >> that cryptic recording, exactly what kind of message was it? >> she sounded absolutely calm, not terrified, not distressed at all. >> not like someone who is worried for her life? >> as if she was talking to a friend, over coffee. >> then we get a tip that police are holding a news conference, that is when the bombshell came down. >> when dateline continues. under budget too! and i get seven days to love it or my money back... i love it! i thought online meant no one to help me, but susan from carvana had all the answers.

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said she had been kidnapped. his story seemed hard to believe. police wondered if he had murdered her, and was now trying to cover it up. then, a day and a half after denise disappeared, reporter henry lee received a mysterious email, with an audio file attached. >> hello, this is denise huskins. i'm kidnapped. otherwise, i am fine >> 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, bad religion. >> it was a proof of audio trying to prove that she was alive, and yes she was the kidnap victim. >> and she was aware of events that happened that day? >> and she was aware of events that happened, to prove that she was in fact, alive. >> so clearly, this was not a murder case. but, was it a kidnapping, as aaron claimed? we found it odd that denise did not sound at all frightened. >> she sounded absolutely calm, not terrified, not distressed at all. >> not like someone, feeling for their life? >> as if she was talking to a friend, over coffee. i shared it with my editors, colleagues working the story, the subject line was like wtf, what is this? >> it soon hit the web, where

denise's friend, ashley heard it. >> it was sort of reassuring, she was making an audio, with a clue from that day, but also still scary, you still have no idea if the person is safe, how they are being treated, you know, what people are putting her through. >> and if denise did not 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. ashley, danika and denise, went to the boston marathon in 2013. they say it was denise who remained calm that day. >> we were all scared, we were all rocked by it, but i think of all of us, she was probably the best equipped to keep her cool. >> she was the one who was kind of, my rock.

she grabbed my hand and said, 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 nbc station kntv. >> so day number two, we still don't know where it gets huskings's. we still don't really know what her boyfriend, quinn, is telling police. all we know is they cannot find her. >> but then, the story took another whiplash turn. about 45 hours after denise was reported missing, police made a dramatic announcement. >> at 10:30 this morning, miss denise huskins was located, safely. >> it seemed over. denise's cousin told knbc how thrilled everyone was. >> you hear the stories all the time, you watch tv, you never know, i was happy to hear she was alive, safe and at home. >> but to police and reporters,

all professional skeptics, this story had not smelled right from the start, and denise's sudden reappearance did nothing to change that. >> she is alive, she is well and they found her. that is great, but there was still something funny going on, because nobody had all of the answers. >> for one thing, denise turned up in huntington beach, which was 400 miles south of, vallejo, and was also her home town. she was dropped off right by her mom's house. >> she was not released out of state, she was not released in the desert. she was not released in the middle of california. where does she show up? right near her parents house, and that seemed to convenient. >> another thing. the ransom that the kidnappers supposedly demanded had never been paid. denise told police in her hometown the same story that her boyfriend had told up north, about the swim goggles, the nyquil, the threat of electric shock. but then, when vallejo police wanted to question her. >> she disappeared, she will not cooperate, she would not

fly up in a plane offered by the fbi to talk to the police. >> after she was released? >> after she was released. >> suspicion is building. neither denise nor aaron made any public statement, but they did hire separate attorneys >> everybody is thinking, why are they doing that? >> lots of questions, and not many answers. but then, less than 12 hours after denise reappeared >> then, we get a tip that police are holding a news conference. so i jump in the car, the photographer and i, and we haul back to vallejo to be part of this news conference. >> let me know when you guys are ready. >> that is when the bombshell came down. >> coming up. >> we were not able to substantiate any of the things that he was saying. >> why is this awesome kind of prank? >> is there some chance that denise and her boyfriend would be prosecuted? >> it was a strong possibility. >> emails, photos, some strange, new clues are about to emerge from the shadows when dateline

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happened. >> i did not have a clue what >> even denise huskins's friends had to admit, her sudden disappearance -- and reappearance -- seemed almost unbelievable >> the details of the story are so crazy, i really could not make sense of it. >> neither could the vallejo police department.

the day after denise came home, a spokesperson kenny park held a remarkable news conference. first, he spoke about denise's boyfriend, aaron quinn >> and the statement that mr. aaron 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 he was saying. >> and then about denise herself. >> miss denise huskins would be happy to indicate she would meet with police detectives, and provide a full, detailed statement on what would occur. as of right now, we have not heard from her >> and then finally, this. >> mr. quinn and miss denise huskins have plundered valuable resources away from our community, while instilling fear amongst our community members. so if anything, it is mr. aaron and miss denise huskins who owe

us enemy the apology. >> after a search and about 54 hours of investigation, vallejo p. d. concluded the whole kidnapping story was phony. all of this was one of those made for california dramas, not so much shakespearean as kardashian. police seem to think that denise and aaron, were 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. >> remember, no ransom was ever paid. aaron told police the kid never stuck his bank information, but no one tried to access his accounts. someone did try to call aaron's so for a couple of times while denise was missing, from a blocked number. according to aaron's mother, police suspected that aaron had somehow programed another phone to call his own cell phone, while he was with investigators.

>> was there some chance that denise and her boyfriend will be prosecuted? >> it was a strong possibility, based on those public pronouncements. >> denise's friends did not know aaron, but had every confidence that denise was telling the truth. >> everybody who personally knows and cares about her, believed her. >> the day after police branded the kidnapping a hoax, denise finally did show up at vallejo p. d., and told the cops that they were wrong. she said that not only had she been kidnapped, she had also been raped. that seemed, a reporter henry lee received another email, a long message, soon followed by more, supporting denise's claim that this was no hoax, from a person claiming to have been one of the kidnappers. >> they were very articulate, clearly written by someone who is extremely intelligent. >> miss huskins was absolutely kidnapped. she was kidnapped, we will

provide proof. the rhetoric claimed to be part of a group, more than two, and fewer than eight in number. >> we go into extreme lengths about, the series of crimes that they have pulled, from car thefts, break ins, home invasions, you name. at >> some of us have a tech background, and are very good at overcoming electronic anti theft measures, stealing late model cars. according to the email, the group decided to try kidnapping because, we wanted something with a high payout, that we only had to do once or a few times. >> what is going on? why are you apparently confessing? >> the writer admitted that the reality of the kidnapping was what much more upsetting than expected. >> we frenzied ourselves a sort of "oceans 11", gentlemen criminals. we only took stuff that was insured from people who could afford it. 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 >> now, the email 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 emails were photos. one showed a water gun, spray painted to look more threatening, at least in the dark, with a laser pointer and a flashlight duck tape to it. another showed a, room with cardboard partially covering the window where denise was supposedly held. was this visual proof of denise and aaron's story, or an elaborate deception? >> you thought, lead it or more of a hoax? >> i thought it was certainly part of it prank. >> in fact the emails were so well written, henry lee wondered if they might have been sent by an attorney, hired

by denise or aaron >> the so-called "the gone girl" case. >> they started to refer to the case as the "the gone girl" kidnapping, after the book and movie about a young -- who faced her own appearance. that reference infuriated denise's friends >> you know, when it is not accurate, it makes you mad. it was sort of like a fictional character, created out of a good person. so then suddenly, you stop being denise huskins, and you start being labeled as the "the gone girl" >> that was not denise at all, they said. but to the rest of the world, denise and aaron were portrayed as liars, schemer's, maybe even criminals themselves. that is, until the next big twist. >> coming up. >> he said, we have your daughter. >> another story as strange and erie as denise and aaron's >> terrifying? >> yes, they were terrified.

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t ouour juryry aorneneys hehelpou the first steelers quarterback dwayne has skins dies after being hit by a dump truck at fought lauderdale. they say he was on the highway for unknown reasons when he was hit. he was 24 years old. and a federal judge e -- kidnapped michigan government are gretchen, -- they said americans are living through the normalization of political violence. now back to dateline. >> welcome back to "dateline". the police and the public seemed to have it all figured out. they believe that denise huskins and her boyfriend, aaron quinn had made up their dramatic home invasion and

kidnapping story for publicity. the media even dubbed it the "the gone girl" mystery, based on the fictional story of a woman who faked her own disappearance. but detectives campos and alvarez were about to learn something that would shift the investigation. another attack, suspiciously similar to the one that denise had been describing. too similar to ignore. here is josh mankiewicz with "twisted tale". >> this began as a high tech kidnapping that sounded like a tv movie. >> we were not able to substantiate any -- >> then, police announced it was really on elaborate hoax. >> denise huskins and aaron quinn, branded as liars or attention addicts retreated from site. >> thank you. >> that might have been the end of it, until a little over two months later. this story then took another unbelievable turn >> june 5th,

2015. 3:34 am >> they can possibly have her daughter. >> police were called to a house in dublin, california. an intruder was inside. >> the husband possibly has a head injury, we're having trouble -- >> when the police arrived, the man was gone, leaving behind a shaken family with a frightening story. the 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, a flashlight shining in their faces >> he told them, get face down on your bed, do not look at me. >> terrifying? >> yes, they were terrified. >> dublin police detectives miguel campos and rafael alvarez led the investigation. >> they said, we have your daughter, she is okay. >> the couple's 22-year-old daughter had been sleeping in the next room. >> he tells the parents, 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's going on with my daughter, he struggles, he goes on the ground. >> his wife grabbed her cell phone and locked herself in the bathroom to call 9-1-1 >> because when i was out of her, honey, go get the gun! go get the gun! now, this was very smart on the fathers part, because they had no gun but he had to say anything to try to scare this guy away. >> the father continued to fight, until finally 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 led the dublin detectives to a home near sacramento. they called the phone there, and the woman who answered the phone belong to her adult son, a man named matthew muller. >> he said, he lost it this morning. we said, where is?

we said, where is he? >> she says, he's on her way to the lake tahoe cabin. >> the cops knew their next stop was south lake tahoe first, they put in a call to the local sheriff to ask if there had ever been trouble at the cabin. there had not, but a stolen car had just been found right near it. and in the car was a drivers license for 38 year old matthew muller. >> i said okay, you just kind of made my day now. now, we have more information to go on. >> with a search warrant and an arrest warrant, the dublin cops went to find matthew muller. the neighbors watched it happen. >> you know i am 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 said dance, like something out of a movie. >> the neighbors were surprised but maybe matthew muller was not. >> when we broke down the front door, it does not open all the way, because it was barricaded with chairs and various household items.

and upon entering, i could hear my detectives screaming get on the ground, get on the ground! and your heart rate kind of jumps up like, ok, he is there. >> this is matthew muller, just after he was arrested. he did not put up a fight. in the house, detectives found a room with cardboard on the windows, blocking out the light. they searched the stolen car, and found a few more items of interest. >> there was a bb gun, and a super soaker, painted black, and duct tape. >> if you were in the dark, and saw a shape and the boldness of it, absolutely it looked real. >> they were also swim goggles with paint covering the lenses, a long, blonde hair stuck to the tape. and, when they traced the stolen car? >> that vehicle, it comes back stolen. >> so the dublin cops called vallejo p. d. and started to

compare notes. >> we are showing pictures of everything we recovered, the search warrant, they are showing us pictures that have been sent to them. >> those would be the photos, emailed to reporter henry lee from that anonymous address. shots of spray-painted water pistols, and room with cardboard on the windows. >> but is when the light really clicked on, we all kind of went, oh no, here we go. >> coming up. ivy league, former marine, respected attorney. >> i would much more have suspected matthew muller to be sitting behind a desk in some elected capacity. >> who was this guy? when "dateline" continues. ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease,

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denise huskins and aaron quinn first made headlines, -- >> another bizarre kids twist in a kidnapping case we've been following out of california. >> police detectives found it just as puzzling as everyone else did. for a lot of reasons, you sort of think, that the vallejo story at first glance was a very strange story. >> it was. >> it does sound like it could be fabricated. >> but now they found themselves working a home invasion that seemed to link the manned man they had arrested, matthew muller, to

the alleged kidnapping of denise huskins. not just just the photos of toy guns painted 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 pointed to a real kidnapping. that vallejo cops seem to have over looked or ignored from the start. the window locks were drilled. and the missed calls made to aaron quinn's cellphones while he was being interrogated that first night. calls the vallejo cops suspected had aaron somehow faked. turns out they were placed from this intersection right near muller's cabin in lake tahoe, where dublin police later found that stolen car. when law enforcement hacked into the cars navigation history, they found this address in huntington beach. the exact spot were 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. >> having dealt with someone like him, it's just the kind of stuff that you typically see in movies. >> a california native, muller served in the u.s. marine corps where he was a trumpet player. he then attended pomona college. alex was a classmate. >> i would much more have suspected matt to be sitting behind the desk in some elected capacity, as opposed to being sitting in a jail cell right now. >> muller married in 2002 and graduated from pomona, summa cum laude, a year later,. his next stop is another place you might have heard of, harvard law school. he graduated in 2006 then stayed on as a teaching fellow. andrea was a student of muller 's at harvard's immigration and refugee clinic. >> 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, muller moved back to california and practiced immigration law in san francisco. but soon, muller's life seemed to go off the rails. in 2013, he lost his privileges to practice law and was eventually disbarred. he got divorced, stop paying rent. in 2014, he filed for bankruptcy. it's not clear what went wrong. his defense lawyer says muller suffers from bipolar disorder. he's unimposing, nearly forgettable. certainly, not someone to fear. he doesn't really fit the profile of your typical guy who is doing a home invasion. >> if you're looking at typical home invasions, it doesn't. but when you're looking at the type of crimes that he's committing, it does more fit the profile. >> it seems to be done for the thrill of the crime. the thrill of the game. >> glenn lipman is a forensic

psychologist. he has not met matthew muller. but he has read those emails that were sent to reporter, henry lee. emails that lee suspected at the time were written by a lawyer. a lawyer police now believe was matthew muller. what emerges from the emails is a complex picture of someone who needs attention. who needs to be perceived a certain way. >> for example, the way the writer of the emails was outraged when was denise accused of a hoax. so, when he sayd, how dare you not believe miss denise huskins huskings that she was kidnapped was then saying that how do you not believe that i pulled it off? >> you can't see my handiwork because yor lack talent. 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 is running circles around everyone else. >> maybe he was. remember, from the beginning, vallejo police apparently just couldn't believe the elaborate details of the kidnapping. when aaron told them he took so long to called 9-1-1 because he was drugged and confined to a square of red tape and monitored by a web cam, they didn't buy it. and when denise wouldn't get on that plane to talk to vallejo pd, they thought it was because she had something to hide. she says it was because she was afraid the cops would treat her as they had 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 muller was the prime suspect in denise 's very real kidnapping. >> i was glad to know. and 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 muller be behind this crime, too? we're about to ask him. >> when "dateline" continues. was a bit of a buzz kill, right? so she ordered sunglasses with prime, one day delivery. ♪♪ clever girl. people realized she's actually hilarious once you get to know her. eugh. as if. ♪♪ well, he was asking for it. prime changes everything. you might have heard of carvana and that we sell cars online. we believe buying a car should be something that gets you hyped up. and that your new car ought to come with newfound happiness and zero surprises.

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matthew muller, the harvard educated former lawyer was now the main suspect in the meticulous home invasion and kidnapping of denise huskins. there have been other similar declines, was he behind those as well? we went behind bars to speak with him, and what he told us was both surprising and disturbing. here with the conclusion of "twisted tale" is josh mankiewicz. >> mountain view, california. the heart of silicon valley, the headquarters of google. and in september, 2009, the scene of a strange and terrifying crime. >> i was asleep, in bed. and the next thing that i knew, there was someone, laying on top of me their hand was over my mouth. >> the woman we are calling, samantha, had not heard the names denise huskins or matthew

muller until we contacted her. as we will see, the details that happened to her seemed frighteningly familiar. >> my hands were handcuffed behind my back, my feet were zip tied, he then put swim goggles that were blacked out, i could not see. >> zip ties, blacked out swim goggles, and the attacker claimed he was part of a group, the point of all of it was money. >> you are given the information we are all taught not to give anyone? >> right, exactly. my social security number, mothers maiden name. account numbers, my bank account number my pen. >> as with denise and aaron, the intruder made sure no help would be coming anytime soon >> he figured out who my boss was from my emails, he emailed my boss that i was sick, and i could not come into work that

>> she says just as denise aaron did, but she was sedated. in her case, it was only nyquil. she became drowsy, but never passed out. she was completely helpless, completely in his control, when it got even worse the intruder told her. >> i have some bad news for you, i will now have to rape you. >> tied up, blindfolded, she pleaded with her captor not to do it >> his response? >> he got very quiet, and he kind of muttered... i can't do this. >> and then, the man who had terrorized her for hours suddenly seemed remorseful. >> he said, i am sorry about this. i have been through this as well. >> he even offered some helpful home security advice. >> he recommended i get a dog so i could have protection in the future. >> so he is advising you how to keep this from happening again? >> i know, it is incredible. >> the man soon left, without

letting samantha see his face. and when she called the police, the response she received might sound familiar to denise huskins. >> did the police believe you? >> i do not think so. what they told me was they thought maybe i just had a bad dream, and that i had called 9-1-1 after my bad dream. >> but less than a month later, a similar case, in nearby palo alto. a man broke into this house and restrained the woman living here with zip ties and swimming goggles, he then threatened to rape her. was it the same man? was it matthew muller? >> police investigating samantha's assault aren't sure, but lieutenant zach perron with the palo alto police believes the same person is responsible for both crimes. >> we were able to identify one suspect in the case, he is our prime suspect, matthew muller. >> muller has neither been charged in either case. we wanted to hear from muller, himself. his attorney did not want him

to do an interview, however muller agreed to see a visitor. "dateline" associate producer kayla ward spend 30 minutes speaking with muller in jail, through glass, on the phone. no camera, no recording, no note taking allowed. >> what is your initial impression of him? >> extremely talkative. it was like he was in his element. >> what is his answer to whether or not he was guilty about the crimes he was accused of? >> he would not say, he would not deny anything, but would not say he was guilty of anything. >> she asked him about samantha. >> i said we recently interviewed a woman. and her case matches denise huskins's and aaron quinn's cases. he opened his eyes, really wide, like he could not believe i was bringing this up. >> but, he denied knowing anything about samantha's case, or the one in palo alto. then, kayla asked about denise huskins. >> he looked at me intensely and said, could you imagine

being woken up in the middle of the night, taken from your home, sexually assaulted and then, you are brave, and it is used against you by the police? and, they were tears in his eyes, he was very emotional about it. >> putting on a show? >> he might have been putting on a show. he is very smart, very, very smart. >> and very eager to talk about his own troubles. >> he wanted to be very clear, the last six years of his life have been spent in depression. he has had a few suicide attempts. he said, you know, he is in jail now, happy to be there because it is a safe place for him and the community. >> muller did say in his professional life, he always wanted to do good for others. >> he told me, my hope for my life was that my primary identifier would be helping people, i want to be the guy that helped people. >> so, what went wrong? >> i asked him, how do you feel now, sitting here? you have now done the opposite, you have hurt people. and he kind of just stared at

me for a minute, he was silent. and then he said, i don't even know where to begin with that. and he kind of put his head down, started to cry and said, i am so sorry. >> exactly what he was sorry for, he did not say. but matthew muller did say he thought he was exactly where he belonged. >> he said, the facts are pretty clear. you know, i think i will spend a few decades in jail, and i am fine with that. >> about a year after he spoke with dateline, he pleaded guilty in federal court to kidnapping denise huskins. he was sentenced to 40 years in prison, he also pleaded no contest to the home invasion. in 2018, muller faced new state charges of kidnapping, rape, robbery, burglary and false imprisonment. he now claims he is not guilty. there is plenty we still do not

know. for example, denise huskins and aaron quinn are convinced that it was more than one kidnappers. >> do you have any reason to believe there were other people out there? >> 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 email sent to henry lee claimed the kidnappers were after aaron quinn's ex fiancée, who had previously lived with him. but they grabbed up denise instead. denise huskins and aaron quinn will live forever with the emotional scars of their ordeal, home invasion, kidnapping and then public humiliation their lawyer is jim wagstaff. >> they were innocent of the crimes, but repainted in the world is having a bit involved

in a terrible hoax. >> vallejo police department, so eager to talk in those first few days, has since clammed up. but they did send denise huskins aaron quinn each a letter of apology, but so far, has made no public statement to correct the impression of these two as liars and publicity hounds. denise and aaron sued the city of vallejo, and in march, 2018, they settled that case for two and a half million dollars. it took two years and a new police chief to admit the cities mistake. still, no one from vallejo pd had ever explain why the case he extended his deepest apology to denise and aaron for how they were treated. >> he said to you, by the way, i am sorry about this, this will mess you up >> yes? >> he was right about that, wasn't he? >> yes, yes it definitely

messed me up for quite a while. >> sometimes, the most true story is the one that sounds like a lie. >> why did you want this? >> if i can contribute in any way to making sure that this is taken seriously, and basically say, this is not a hoax. i lived first hand through this, and i know for a fact that it is true. >> that is all for this edition of "dateline". i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching i'm craig melvin, and i'm natalie morales. and 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 gonna tell us that she is not coming home. this is not what was supposed to happen. >> the note was under her blanket. i >> started sticking out and i grabbed it. >> their daughter was a runaway. >> i am