GUILTY CA - Matthew Muller for kidnap, rape of 30yo woman, Vallejo, 2015

[pappa rob]

Even if he is mentally ill, that doesn't mean he is legally insane. Seems clear he knew what he was doing was wrong (considering he avoided being charged despite being a suspect or a person of interest in a number of similar cases)

I don't think he's either, just trying to pull a fast one. I think he's playing the system just like any other smart lawyer would do.

 

[LinasK]

I don't think he's either, just trying to pull a fast one. I think he's playing the system just like any other smart lawyer would do.

Absolutely! When they questioned him in the 2009 cases in Palo Alto, he talked his way out of it, explaining that he was a Harvard Law professor in the area to lecture at Stanford. ( The Harvard Law part was true...)

 

[LinasK]

By Dan Lawton dlawton@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 09/16/2015 10:59:36 AM PDT | Updated: 77 min. ago
HAYWARD -- The defense attorney for Harvard-trained lawyer and accused kidnapper Matthew Muller withdrew a motion Wednesday to remove from evidence a cell phone found in June at the scene of a Dublin home invasion.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Joseph Hurley was scheduled to consider attorney Tom Johnson's argument that a Dublin police officer violated Muller's constitutional rights when he bypassed the lock screen and called 911 from the cell phone found in the home where Muller allegedly broke in and attempted to tie up a man and his wife.
Johnson did not explain his reason for withdrawing the motion before leaving court. Another hearing has been scheduled for Friday. more at link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/bre...napping-judge-hear-motion-suppress-phone-left

 

[cvaldez1975]

good, although im sure he has something up his sleeve.

By Dan Lawton dlawton@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 09/16/2015 10:59:36 AM PDT | Updated: 77 min. ago
HAYWARD -- The defense attorney for Harvard-trained lawyer and accused kidnapper Matthew Muller withdrew a motion Wednesday to remove from evidence a cell phone found in June at the scene of a Dublin home invasion.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Joseph Hurley was scheduled to consider attorney Tom Johnson's argument that a Dublin police officer violated Muller's constitutional rights when he bypassed the lock screen and called 911 from the cell phone found in the home where Muller allegedly broke in and attempted to tie up a man and his wife.
Johnson did not explain his reason for withdrawing the motion before leaving court. Another hearing has been scheduled for Friday. more at link: http://www.contracostatimes.com/bre...napping-judge-hear-motion-suppress-phone-left

 

[JerseyGirl]

Vallejo kidnap victim, boyfriend to file legal claim against the city of Vallejo. Their attorneys said they would reveal details of the court filing Thursday. A legal claim is often a precursor to a lawsuit.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Denise-Huskins-boyfriend-to-file-legal-claim-6509936.php

 

[Indy Anna]

Vallejo kidnap victim, boyfriend to file legal claim against the city of Vallejo. Their attorneys said they would reveal details of the court filing Thursday. A legal claim is often a precursor to a lawsuit.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Denise-Huskins-boyfriend-to-file-legal-claim-6509936.php

I realize DH went through a very traumatizing experience, but I don't understand why the Vallejo PD are being vilified. I went back through posts to check my memory regarding at what point VPD labelled the home invasion/kidnapping a hoax. I found post #91:http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...3-March-2015-*ARREST*&p=11623805#post11623805

The quote in the post is from a PC Wednesday morning, 3/25, and states that LE were still treating the case as a kidnap and ransom situation. The article linked in the post is an update in which VPD announced Wednesday night that there was no evidence to suggest it was a kidnapping at all. Investigators from Vallejo went to Huntington Beach Wednesday afternoon to meet with DH and her family (DH supposedly agreed to speak with them), only to find that DH and family were gone.

I am not blaming DH, but I am confused. She was willing to speak with VPD but was whisked away before investigators arrived, and now VPD is at fault? Long before VPD labelled this case a hoax, many WSers were already doing so and complained about DH and AQ wasting so many of LE's resources. It turned out that resources for the search effort were in no way wasted, but resources to send investigators to HB anticipating an interview with DH were wasted. Who can blame LE for thinking the kidnapping was an elaborate hoax after DH surfaced and then went into hiding for months? Can someone please explain? TY

 

[JerseyGirl]

I realize DH went through a very traumatizing experience, but I don't understand why the Vallejo PD are being vilified. I went back through posts to check my memory regarding at what point VPD labelled the home invasion/kidnapping a hoax. I found post #91:http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...3-March-2015-*ARREST*&p=11623805#post11623805

The quote in the post is from a PC Wednesday morning, 3/25, and states that LE were still treating the case as a kidnap and ransom situation. The article linked in the post is an update in which VPD announced Wednesday night that there was no evidence to suggest it was a kidnapping at all. Investigators from Vallejo went to Huntington Beach Wednesday afternoon to meet with DH and her family (DH supposedly agreed to speak with them), only to find that DH and family were gone.

I am not blaming DH, but I am confused. She was willing to speak with VPD but was whisked away before investigators arrived, and now VPD is at fault? Long before VPD labelled this case a hoax, many WSers were already doing so and complained about DH and AQ wasting so many of LE's resources. It turned out that resources for the search effort were in no way wasted, but resources to send investigators to HB anticipating an interview with DH were wasted. Who can blame LE for thinking the kidnapping was an elaborate hoax after DH surfaced and then went into hiding for months? Can someone please explain? TY

hmmm, there's more to the story than what you read on the surface. Snipets from the claim .....

Instead of helping, police accused AQ of killing DH and fabricating the kidnapping as a cover. While the kidnappers tormented her, detectives put him through the wringer with 18 hours of grueling interrogation.

And that was the second round of agony for AQ. Before he met the detective, the kidnappers had tied him up, blindfolded him and knocked him cold with a sedative.

When DH's story first broke, police publicly cast doubts about AQ's account. "The statement Mr. Q provided was such an unbelievable story we initially had a hard time believing it and, upon further investigation, were not able to substantiate any of the things he was saying," Vallejo Police Lt. Kenny Park said at the time. He called the case a "wild goose chase" that had wasted police resources.

The kidnappers had told AQ to watch his cell phone for messages about their ransom demands of $17,000, but police separated him from his phone and did not watch it themselves for the kidnappers' messages, the claim said. "The officers never paid attention to this obvious lead as to the location of DH," according to the document. And the messages came. "As AQ told the officers would occur, the kidnapper reached out both by email and phone. At 7:46 p.m. and 8:13 p.m., while AQ was being detained, the kidnapper sent emails stating that he would call AQ on his mobile device 'at about 9pm.' The kidnapper followed through with phone calls," the document said. But police detectives allegedly put AQ's cell phone on airplane mode.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/18/us/california-denise-huskins-kidnapping-claim-vallejo/


more on the claim ...

"The [Vallejo] police took the all too common approach of blaming the victims," the couple's lawyers said at the press conference. DH and AQ's personal and professional lives have been "turned upside down" since the incident and their reputations "destroyed," according to the team.

The claim lists four respondents including the City of Vallejo, as well as three officers with the Vallejo PD: Detective Matthew Mustard, Lt. Kenny Park and Officer Garcia, whose first name was not known. The claim also asserts that Vallejo police were negligent in their handling of some of the evidence, including losing a sexual assault medical test that could prove that the woman who was kidnapped had been raped. Vallejo PD has always treated DH's claims that she was sexually assaulted as false, which is like rubbing salt in the wound," said her attorneys.

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/den...es-claim-against-city-vallejo-calling-n429491

Also included in the claim were copies of two letters from Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou to DH and AQ dated July 20, which apologized for statements made by the police department following the kidnapping. Echoing terms used from the March 25 press conference, Bidou wrote to the couple that it has become clear that the kidnapping “was not a hoax or orchestrated event and that VPD conclusions were incorrect.”

No monetary amount has yet been declared, with attorneys seeking damages for lost wages, injury to their reputation, emotional and physical stress, attorneys’ fees and punitive damages that will be “determined at trial” the claim stated.

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/ge...huskins-boyfriend-file-claims-against-vallejo

The attorneys say those letters were never released publicly and said that the chief still defended his officers’ actions.

http://www.ktvu.com/news/21137356-story

AQ also is seeking damages for unlawful arrest and false imprisonment by Vallejo police.

http://patch.com/california/benicia/vallejo-kidnap-victim-boyfriend-sue-city-0

A police detective told DH’s mother that DH may have made up the story to gain attention. The contention resembles a plotline of the 2014 film “Gone Girl.”

http://www.dailyrepublic.com/usworld/vallejo-woman-seeks-damages-from-city-for-hoax-claim/

The City of Vallejo will have six months to respond.

 

[jjenny]

I realize DH went through a very traumatizing experience, but I don't understand why the Vallejo PD are being vilified. I went back through posts to check my memory regarding at what point VPD labelled the home invasion/kidnapping a hoax. I found post #91:http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...3-March-2015-*ARREST*&p=11623805#post11623805

The quote in the post is from a PC Wednesday morning, 3/25, and states that LE were still treating the case as a kidnap and ransom situation. The article linked in the post is an update in which VPD announced Wednesday night that there was no evidence to suggest it was a kidnapping at all. Investigators from Vallejo went to Huntington Beach Wednesday afternoon to meet with DH and her family (DH supposedly agreed to speak with them), only to find that DH and family were gone.

I am not blaming DH, but I am confused. She was willing to speak with VPD but was whisked away before investigators arrived, and now VPD is at fault? Long before VPD labelled this case a hoax, many WSers were already doing so and complained about DH and AQ wasting so many of LE's resources. It turned out that resources for the search effort were in no way wasted, but resources to send investigators to HB anticipating an interview with DH were wasted. Who can blame LE for thinking the kidnapping was an elaborate hoax after DH surfaced and then went into hiding for months? Can someone please explain? TY

I am not confused at all. Quotes from police are posted on the thread. Police claiming search for DH was a wild goose chase and resources were wasted for essentially for nothing. It's now clear these statements were false, as DH was actually kidnapped and raped. She didn't know her abductor, and the case wasn't a hoax.

http://www.kare11.com/video/4135839845001/1/Police-Kidnapping-hoax-led-us-on-wild-goose-chase

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Sep 17 2015, 8:01 pm ET

Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn File Claim Against City of Vallejo For Calling Abduction a 'Hoax'

by Kaila Ward

Attorneys for Denise Huskins and her boyfriend, Aaron Quinn filed a claim against the City of Vallejo Thursday for alleged "false and unfair accusations" that Denise and Aaron perpetuated a hoax concerning Huskin's kidnapping earlier this year.

The claim asserts that Vallejo city officials and its police department, "waged a vicious and shocking attack on two victims of a terrifying home invasion, kidnapping and rape."

The claim could lead to a lawsuit if it is rejected by the city...

http://www.nbcnews.com/dateline/den...es-claim-against-city-vallejo-calling-n429491

 

[LinasK]

Posted:Sep 18 2015 10:37AM PDT
Updated:Sep 18 2015 11:05AM PDT

HAYWARD, Calif. (KTVU) - Matthew Muller, the Harvard Law graduate charged in a bizarre Vallejo kidnap-for-ransom case, fainted Friday morning while entering no-contest pleas in a separate Dublin home invasion.Muller, dressed in a red jail jumpsuit, keeled over at the Hayward Hall of Justice, prompting Alameda County sheriff's deputies to summon paramedics.
The medics checked his vital signs and asked Muller if he had any medical problems and then left. Muller should be OK, said his attorney Tom Johnson.
<modsnip>

http://www.ktvu.com/news/21401310-story

 

[LinasK]

By Autumn Johnson (Patch Staff) September 18, 2015
man charged in a bizarre Vallejo kidnapping case in March pleaded no contest today to a June attempted home invasion robbery in Dublin, prosecutors said.

<modsnip>

http://patch.com/california/dublin/kidnapping-suspect-pleads-no-contest-dublin-home-invasion-0

 

[LinasK]

By Michael Cabanatuan
[h=5]Updated 4:06 pm, Monday, September 21, 2015[/h]
SACRAMENTO &#8212; A Harvard graduate and disbarred attorney made his first court appearance Monday to face accusations that he kidnapped a Vallejo woman, held her for ransom and then remained on the loose for weeks while police mistakenly accused the victim of cooking up a hoax.

<modsnip>

more at link: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Ex-lawyer-charged-in-Vallejo-kidnap-for-ransom-6520017.php

 

[perfectingpink]

By Michael Cabanatuan
[h=5]Updated 4:06 pm, Monday, September 21, 2015[/h]
SACRAMENTO &#8212; A Harvard graduate and disbarred attorney made his first court appearance Monday to face accusations that he kidnapped a Vallejo woman, held her for ransom and then remained on the loose for weeks while police mistakenly accused the victim of cooking up a hoax.
<modsnip>
more at link: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Ex-lawyer-charged-in-Vallejo-kidnap-for-ransom-6520017.php

I am happy he is finally facing charges and hopefully this will be another step in DH's healing process. I think about her often. It must have been horrible to not be believed when something so horrific happens to you.

 

[LinasK]

Vallejo police initially said they believed Huskins' and Quinn's account of the kidnapping was a hoax and that the couple had led police on a "wild goose chase."
Police Chief Andrew Bidou sent them a letter of apology in July, the couple's lawyers said last week.
http://www.ktvu.com/news/23030983-story

About time, glad to see it was done. Also, glad to hear from the other KTVU story that they both still have their jobs. Life after this has to be hard.

 

[MsFacetious]

I am so glad the truth came out here.
This was one of those cases that SEEMED too strange to be true.
However I've learned those are often the cases that end up being real.
I am glad to see that this couple's lives haven't been totally ruined by their ordeal.

 

[pappa rob]

I am so glad the truth came out here.
This was one of those cases that SEEMED too strange to be true.
However I've learned those are often the cases that end up being real.
I am glad to see that this couple's lives haven't been totally ruined by their ordeal.

I'm sorry to say but their lives have been "ruined by their ordeal". Maybe abduction and rape are your cup of tea, it's not mine.

 

[MsFacetious]

I mean they still have their jobs... which is surprising since they were accused of making this up.
Other people who have been falsely accused have lost their friends, family, relationship, home, job, everything.
I am relieved that this couple did not lose everything and also appears to still be together.

If I missed it where they came out and said their lives are destroyed by this, then I apologize.
I'm not going to assume that they feel their lives have been ruined.

I have a friend who has been abducted and raped and police accused her of making it up.
In no way is her life ruined. She does not consider herself a victim. She is a survivor.
The way that these two fought to have the truth comes out, tells me they are as well. :twocents:

 

[LinasK]

Posted:Oct 01 2015 04:26PM PDT
Updated:Oct 01 2015 04:28PM PDT

VALLEJO, Calif. (KTVU) - The man allegedly at the center of a bizarre kidnap-for-ransom plot in Vallejo was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Sacramento.
Matthew Muller was indicted on a charge of kidnapping for allegedly abducting Denise Huskins early the morning of March 23, accosting her boyfriend Aaron Quinn and demanding a $15,000 for her return and then released her unharmed hundreds of miles away near her father’s home in Huntington Beach (Orange County). more at link: http://www.ktvu.com/news/27633746-story

 

[LinasK]

By Autumn Johnson (Patch Staff) October 5, 2015
A former Marine and Harvard-educated lawyer pleaded not guilty in federal court in Sacramento today to a charge of kidnapping a physical therapist from Vallejo in March. Defense attorney Thomas Johnson entered the plea on behalf of Matthew Muller, 38, at Muller&#8217;s arraignment on an indictment issued Thursday by a federal grand jury, according to U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office spokeswoman Lauren Horwood. Muller, of Orangevale in Sacramento County, is accused of abducting DH, 30, from her Mare Island home on March 23 and holding her captive for two days before dropping her off near her mother&#8217;s house in Huntington Beach.
Last week&#8217;s indictment replaced a criminal complaint filed by U.S. prosecutors in federal court in Sacramento on June 29. U.S. Magistrate Kendall Newman today ordered Muller to return to court on Nov. 5 for a status conference before U.S. District Judge Troy Nunley, the trial judge assigned to the case, Horwood said. (modsnip)
more at link: http://patch.com/california/dublin/...-not-guilty-charge-kidnapping-vallejo-woman-0

 

[Hoosgirl]

On Dateline now!