We are so grateful to have been able to speak with Denise Huskins.
Far too often victims of assault are not believed. The story of what happened with Denise's kidnapping and assault is harrowing. However, in this chat Denise articulates that what happened next from law enforcement, the media and the public was worse.
In March 2015, in Vallejo, CA, Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn awoke from a sound sleep when armed men bound and drugged them, and then abducted Denise.
Aaron was warned not to call the police, or else Denise would be killed. Aaron trusted law enforcement and called the police to try and find Denise. But instead of searching for Denise, the police accused Aaron of her murder. They said that his story was just unbelievable. When Denise was released alive, the police turned their fire on her, dubbing her the "real-life 'Gone Girl'" who had faked her own kidnapping.
In this chat Denise answers so many of our questions like:
- Why were you and Aaron targeted?
- If law enforcement thought your statements were too inconsistent and unreliable to believe you, then why were you later seen as a reliable witness in court?
- Why have the other kidnappers not been pursued and prosecuted?
- Did the police ever take accountability for their mistakes?
We speak about Denise and Aaron having to decide whether to speak out publicly to clear their names of creating a hoax kidnapping OR be used as witnesses in court to help prosecute Matthew Muller.
We also discuss how Denise and Aaron were able to help each other heal and went on to get married and have two beautiful daughters. Denise is remarkably resilient.
You can watch "American Nightmare' on Netflix or read Denise and Aaron's book here.
Please note that this episode discusses violent and sexual assault. If you are listening from Australia, you can find free help by calling 1800-RESPECT.
If you enjoyed this episode, you might like some others that we recorded with two of the wonderful women from The Tinder Swindler
You might also like the episode that we recorded with Kayla Laws from the Netflix Docu series Is Anybody Up?
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