‘American Nightmare' kidnapper sentenced for South Bay crimes

Yahoo

28-03-2025

(KRON) — A judge sentenced a notorious kidnapper on Friday to serve life-in-prison for committing home invasion sexual assaults in Mountain View and Palo Alto.
Matthew Muller, 48, was the subject of 'American Nightmare,' a Netflix documentary series that chronicles his 2015 kidnapping of Denise Huskins in Vallejo. He recently pleaded guilty to two 2009 South Bay home invasions and sexually assaulting young women.
'I am today so thankful for the bravery of these women,' District Attorney Jeff Rosen said Friday. 'We marvel at the growing power of forensics, the never-say-die determination of investigators and prosecutors. But this case is about victims who never gave up.'
In the early hours of Sept. 29, 2009, Muller broke into a woman's Mountain View home, attacked her, tied her up, made her drink a concoction of medications, and said he was going to rape her. After the victim, in her 30s, persuaded him against it, he suggested the victim get a dog for home security, then fled.
On Oct. 18, 2009, Muller broke into a Palo Alto home, bound and gagged a woman in her 30s and made her drink Nyquil. He then began to assault her, before being persuaded to stop. Muller gave the victim crime prevention advice, then fled.
Both cases went unsolved until 'American Nightmare' aired. The documentary exposed striking similarities between what happened to Huskins, and what happened to victims in the South Bay six years prior.
Denise Huskins helped find more victims of 'American Nightmare' kidnapper Matthew Muller
On March 23, 2015, Muller broke into a Vallejo home. He drugged and tied up Huskins and her boyfriend. He then kidnapped Huskins, brought her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe, and raped her. Two days later, Muller drove his victim to Southern California and released her.
Muller was arrested in June 2015 for both the Vallejo kidnapping and a violent 2015 Dublin home invasion. He has remained in custody ever since.
Muller pleaded guilty in 2016 to the kidnapping and in 2022 to the sexual assaults of Huskins. As part of the renewed investigation, Muller is also facing kidnapping for ransom charges in Contra Costa County.
At a news conference held earlier this year, Huskins told reporters, 'This man had all the markers of a serial predator. It's something he crafted and perfected over a long period of time.'
Matthew Muller's prison letters detail confessions
Muller was a Marine who graduated from Harvard University and worked as a lawyer in California. Investigators described him as 'exceptionally intelligent' and 'exceptionally well educated.'
Muller meticulously planned out his crimes and practiced before 'terrorizing' victims who were woken up in the middle of the night by a home intruder, according to prosecutors.
In a series of 2024 prison letters, 'Muller discussed the Mountain View crime. The idea to raid a home and rape a woman developed in August or September 2009 and he was in a manic state. He began taking late night walks and began watching people in their homes. (Muller) saw a woman undressing in a home and (this) was his first experience with voyeurism,' court documents state.
Before Friday, the notorious kidnapper could have possibly gained freedom from prison years down the road after completing his previous 40-year sentence. The new life sentence, which was handed down by a Santa Clara County judge on Friday, ensures that he will never walk free.
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