
196. Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn: The "Gone Girl Hoax" That Wasn't
From Reverie True Crime by Paige Elmore
February 14, 2026 · 58 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the kidnapping of Denise Huskins and the subsequent police misconduct that labeled her case a hoax, revealing the true perpetrator and the impact on victims' rights.
In March of 2015, Denise Huskins was kidnapped, drugged, sexually assaulted, and held for 48 hours. When she was released, police called it a hoax and demanded that she apologize for wasting resources. The media dubbed it the "Gone Girl" case and death threats started flooding in. Except it wasn't a hoax at all. It was a Harvard-educated serial rapist named Matthew Muller who'd been terrorizing California for years. In this episode, we'll go through the kidnapping, the police misconduct that revictimized the survivors, Detective Misty Carausu's brilliant investigative work that finally caught Muller, and how Denise and Aaron turned trauma into national advocacy. From victims to suspects to survivors...their story changed how law enforcement handles sexual assault cases across America. For Survivors of Sexual Violence: - RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) - RAINN Online Chat:https://hotline.rainn.org/online - Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 - National Sexual Violence Resource Center:https://www.nsvrc.org/ For Victims of Police Misconduct: - ACLU:https://www.aclu.org/ - National Police Accountability Project:https://www.nlg-npap.org/ - Innocence…
People in this episode
Host: Paige Elmore
Topics covered
- kidnapping
- sexual assault
- police misconduct
- victim advocacy
- true crime
- survivor stories
Keywords
- Denise Huskins
- Aaron Quinn
- Matthew Muller
- Gone Girl case
- sexual violence
- police misconduct
- victim advocacy
- true crime
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: RAINN, ACLU, National Police Accountability Project, Innocence Project, SAMHSA, Psychology Today
Places: California
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