'Gone Girl' kidnapper Matthew Muller charged in 2009 home invasions

(KRON) – Matthew Muller, the notorious convicted kidnapper in the Vallejo "Gone Girl" case has been charged in a series of home invasion sexual assaults reported 15 years ago in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The incidents took place in Mountain View and Palo Alto, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

Muller, 47, was one of the central figures in the Netflix documentary series "American Nightmare" about the 2015 kidnapping of Denise Huskins. Authorities initially suspected the kidnapping as being a hoax perpetrated by Huskins and her boyfriend.

On March 23, 2015, Muller broke into Huskins' home where he drugged and tied up the couple. He kidnapped Huskins and drove her to a cabin in South Lake Tahoe where he sexually assaulted her.

Two days later, he drove her to Southern California where he released her. The case drew comparisons to the film, "Gone Girl."

Muller was later identified as a suspect and arrested. The Vallejo Police Department eventually paid Huskins and her boyfriend $2.5 million in a settlement.

According to the Santa Clara County DA, a new lead led to coordinating with the Palo Alto and Mountain View Police Departments. Evidence was sent back to the DA's crime lab for further testing.

Muller's DNA was found on straps used to bind one of the victims. The DA and the police departments conducted a follow up investigation resulting in these new charges.

Muller, according to the DA, now faces two felony counts of committing a sexual assault during a home invasion for the 2009 crimes.

“The details of this person’s violent crime spree seem scripted for Hollywood, but they are tragically real,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “Our goal is to make sure this defendant is held accountable and will never hurt or terrorize anyone ever again. Our hope is that this nightmare is over.”

On Sept. 29, 2009, Muller allegedly broke into a Mountain View woman's home, attacked her, tied her up, made her drunk a "concoction of medications," and said he was going to rape her, the DA said. After the victim, a woman in her 30s, talked him out of it, he suggested she get a dog and fled.

The second incident occurred on Oct. 18 of the same year. Muller allegedly broke into a Palo Alto home, bound and gagged a woman in her 30s and made her drink Nyquil. He began to assault her, the DA said, before being persuaded to stop.

Muller gave the victim crime prevention advise and fled. Both cases were investigated but went unsolved, the DA said.

Muller pleaded guilty to kidnapping in the "Gone Girl" case in 2016 and to the sexual assault of Denise Huskins in 2022.

This week, Muller was transferred from a federal prison in Tucson, Arizona, to a Santa Clara County jail to face the new charges. He is scheduled to be arraigned at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Monday afternoon. If convicted, he will face a life prison sentence, prosecutors said.