Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely nobody can deny, it’s that the 2015 case of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn’s Vallejo, California, home invasion turned kidnapping was as bewildering as it was harrowing. This much has actually even been evidenced in Netflix’s ‘American Nightmare,’ especially considering the way this young couple was initially accused of staging the whole ordeal in a movie-like manner.
Denise and Aaron’s Journey
It was reportedly back in 2014 when Denise first came across Aaron at her workplace thanks to their mutual professions — they were both physical therapists at a local Vallejo, Bay Area, hospital. The truth is they were immediately drawn to one another and thus began dating, coming across as an all-American couple with her blonde hair-blue eyes plus his high school quarterback reputation. Though there was trouble in their association almost from day one considering they not only worked alongside the latter’s ex-fiance Andrea, but he also still had lingering feelings despite her infidelity.
“I was very conflicted because I obviously was attracted to Denise,” Aaron once said before adding, “I also didn’t trust myself anymore.” Nevertheless, Denise stayed since she “could see… the man he was and the good in him. I knew he’d be a great partner, but I could see he was struggling.” In fact, things nearly did come to a head in February 2015 after she discovered he’d been texting Andrea in the hopes of reconciling, driving her to put her foot down and make it clear she wasn’t back up. There was hence admittedly a bit of back and forth between them in the ensuing weeks, yet once they met up on the evening of March 22 to decide their fate for good, he conceded he truly loved her.
Aaron actually went as far as to promise Denise he’d begin going to therapy to deal with his issues while also figuring out a way to make the needed efforts to be the consistent companion she deserves. “I [had] brought pizza [to his Mare Island home] and we sat on the couch most of the night and talked,” she said. “We talked about how it would be difficult; we had to rebuild trust. But as long as he was willing to really give this a full shot, then we could try again.” The couple essentially ended the night on a high owing to their fresh start, blissfully unaware she’d be kidnapped from his bed mere hours later — it was 3 am when they were woken up by laser lights and drugged, not to see one another again for weeks.
According to reports, Denise resurfaced over 400 miles away in Huntington Beach around 48 hours later, yet it wasn’t until they were well into April that she was even allowed to speak with Aaron. That’s because, by this point, following the initial mistaken assumption he’d brutally killed and disposed of her, the police’s theory was that this couple had faked the entire incident for some twisted personal gain. It seemingly didn’t matter if they were visibly shaken up/traumatized, their tales aligned to a tee, or there was additional evidence; both the Vallejo Police Department plus the FBI were focused on them as suspects.
On the other side, Denise was also shattered over the fact she’d been sexually assaulted twice in this short period — this made her a third-time survivor as she was first molested at 12, then at 19, and this was at 29. In fact, when she first saw Aaron again, she instantaneously broke down in worry he wouldn’t see her in the same light while repeating, “I didn’t want to… they made me do it.” As per the aforementioned documentary series, she even told him, “I don’t want something like this to be a reason why you stay with me if you don’t really want to be with me,” but he assured her that his love was true and unwavering.
Denise and Aaron Are Now Happily Married Parents of Two
It took a few months for the truth about Denise and Aaron’s case to come to light with perpetrator Matthew Muller’s arrest in connection with an unrelated attempted abduction, but they were finally cleared by July 2015. Therefore, it was only then that they could genuinely move on with their lives in both a personal as well as a professional sense — they finally weren’t looking over their shoulders anymore in fear of a hoax-related arrest or another abduction. Though it was their respective testimonies during Matthew’s court proceeding to get him convicted and their 2021 book ‘Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors’ that admittedly helped him take back their power.
More importantly, we should mention Denise and Aaron actually tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony surrounded by their loved ones on September 29, 2018, shortly after which they blissfully started a family. Now settled near the coast while still serving as professional physical therapists, they are proud parents of two little girls; their first born Olivia came into this world on March 25, 2020, followed by Naomi Patricia Quinn on October 28, 2022. Honestly, they appear stronger than ever these days, making it clear they won’t ever let anything or anyone come in between their love and their family; they’re utterly devoted, which is all that matters in the long run.
Read More: Where is Matthew Muller Now?
