California man charged in kidnapping police called a hoax

Huskins and Quinn had denied any involvement in a hoax through their attorneys.

In a 15-page, single-spaced email that was sent to Huskins’ attorney back in March, the alleged kidnappers apologized for what they claimed was a mistaken abduction – mentioning that there was maybe some other intended victim – and saying that they returned Huskins to her father’s home in Southern California after just two days, without collecting any ransom, because they felt bad for her and it was a case of “reverse Stockholm Syndrome”.

Matthew Muller, 38, has been arrested in connection with the kidnapping of a woman in a Vallejo home in the middle of the night on March 23, according to a sworn affidavit the FBI released Monday.

Muller allegedly entered the residence while a man, his wife and their adult daughter were sleeping inside, according to police.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Muller was arrested following a Dublin home invasion robbery last month which it said had similarities to the Vallejo kidnapping.

Investigators who arrested Muller in South Lake Tahoe found a laptop that resembled one Quinn had. Her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn, told police at the time that he had been bound and drugged and given an extensive list of instructions to follow.

The Los Angeles Times reported that they received an anonymous email saying that Huskins’ kidnapping was real. The women were not injured, police said, and the man ran out of the home.

The ordeal began, according to Quinn, when he was awakened by a bright light, heard a noise that was similar to the deploying of a TASER and the voice of man who demanded that both victims lie face down on the bed.

The headphones played a message that provided instructions, indicated that the break in was being performed by a professional group to collect financial debts and threatened that both victims would be hurt by electric shock or have their faces cut if they did not comply. He requested a blanket because he was cold and the subject replied that he was unaware of the temperature because he was wearing a “wet suit”. Once Quinn wrote down several of the couple’s financial account numbers and their Wi-Fi password, he was left on a couch where he eventually fell asleep.

When he freed himself, Quinn noticed that Huskins, his laptop, and his vehicle were missing.

On the morning of March 25, 2015, the female victim was released in Huntington Beach, Calif. Anyone with information is urged to contact agents with the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office by calling (800) CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).