‘Gone Girl’ Kidnapping Case: Matthew Muller, Convicted in Denise Huskins Case, Implicated in New Home Raids in Santa Clara, CA

The man who pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sexually assaulting a Northern California woman in a case that became known nationwide as The kidnapping of “The Missing Girl” He has now been charged with other break-ins and assaults that occurred years earlier, prosecutors announced Monday.

Mateo Müller. who pleaded guilty in 2015 kidnapping and sexual assault of Denise Huskins, was charged in connection with two other home invasions that occurred in 2009, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office said.

In the first attack, on Sept. 29, 2009, Muller allegedly broke into a woman’s home in Mountain View, tied her up, forced her to drink a mixture of medications and told her he was going to rape her, prosecutors said. The woman “persuaded him not to do it,” and Muller allegedly suggested she get a dog and fled the scene, prosecutors said.

Weeks later, on Oct. 18, 2009, Muller allegedly broke into a home in Palo Alto, tied and gagged a woman and forced her to drink NyQuil, prosecutors said. “He then began to assault her, before he was persuaded to stop,” prosecutors said. “Müller gave the victim advice on crime prevention and then fled.”

While “following a new lead,” investigators sent all evidence from both scenes for further testing, and thanks to “advances in forensic DNA testing,” Muller’s DNA was recovered from the straps used to bind a of the victims, prosecutors said Monday.

Muller, who had been serving a 40-year sentence in a federal prison in Arizona related to charges from 2015, appeared in court for his arraignment in San Jose, California, on Monday.

He was indicted on two counts of first-degree robbery with intent to commit rape, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said at a later news conference. Both charges carry the possibility of Muller being sentenced to life in prison, he added.

“If, God forbid, a serious and terrible crime is committed, like these two cases (a man breaks into a woman’s house, ties her up to try to rape her), we want to solve that crime as quickly as possible. “We couldn’t do that in this case,” Rosen said, commenting on the 15 years it took authorities to identify Muller as a suspect in the 2009 crimes. “Were these two investigations handled perfectly? No, they were not handled perfectly. However, we have been able to resolve those cases and obtain justice in this case.”

Rosen also announced that Muller’s plea hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Jan. 17.

“If the defendant pleads guilty to these crimes, I will appreciate it,” the district attorney said. “I’m grateful the victims don’t have to go through any more pain and trauma.”

On March 23, 2015, Muller broke into a home in Vallejo, where he drugged and tied up Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, prosecutors said.

He kidnapped Huskins and took her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said.

Quinn went to the police, who began to consider him suspicious.

After two days held captive, Muller took Huskins to Southern California and freed her.

Once Huskins was freed, the couple was accused of deception and the case sparked a media firestorm fueled by suggestions that the case mirrored the book and movie “Gone Girl.”

Muller was arrested for Huskins’ kidnapping in June 2015 when he was identified as a suspect in a home invasion in Dublin, California.

Muller pleaded guilty in 2016 to Huskins’ kidnapping and in 2022 to her sexual assaults, prosecutors said.

The case became the subject of the Netflix documentary “American Nightmare” released earlier this year.