Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.Photo:Courtesy of Netflix
Courtesy of Netflix
The husband and wife featured inAmerican Nightmare, a new Netflix true crime documentary series about a 2015 home invasion and kidnapping that police in California initially falsely claimed was a hoax, are speaking out after the series’ release earlier this month.
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinnspoke about the harrowing experience — and the police’s botched response to their calls for help — during an interview with PEOPLE, recalling what it felt like to be re-victimized even after the horror of the crime.
“It’s challenging. We go through a home invasion, kidnapping, and you are just trying to do the best you can,” Quinn says. “You’re in a situation you’ve never experienced before and all you’re trying to do is survive the situation. Or in my case, I’m just trying to help the police in any way I know how.”
Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins.Courtesy of Netflix
“There was no right answer because [police] had already had tunnel vision,” Quinn tells PEOPLE. “So they said I was too calm when I was giving my statements, but if I was more hysterical, they would’ve said he’s acting, and vice versa for Denise. So you’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.”
“The magnitude of the victim blaming was… How do you even prepare? It was all very shocking and hard to know what to do with,” Huskins tells PEOPLE. “And really it was just so damaging. I mean, you’re already vulnerable coming out of a situation and feeling really weak and then you just keep getting beaten down and blamed.”
Police dubbed the case the “Gone Girl kidnapping,” referencing the Gillian Flynnnoveland hitBen Affleckmovie about a husband who becomes a prime suspect in his wife’s disappearance and presumed murder, and the nickname for the case stuck — even after the truth of the kidnapping was revealed.
The continued use of the moniker is hurtful to the couple, they say.
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.Mike Jory/The Times-Herald via AP
Mike Jory/The Times-Herald via AP
Writing Book Was ‘Cathartic’
In spite of the moniker, the couple says they’ve received an outpouring of support from friends, family, and watchers from around the world, since the docuseries’ release on Jan. 17 and the 2021 publication of their book,Victim F: From Crime Victims to Suspects to Survivors.
“As the truth has come out, as we’ve spoken out more, as we’ve wrote our book, we’ve had so many people reach out and show us support and sadly share their similar stories,” Huskins says, explaining that she has heard of similar cases to hers where the victims don’t have the same resources to share what happened to them.
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Matthew Muller in ‘American Nightmare’.Courtesy of Netflix
Quinn and Huskinssued the city of Vallejo in September 2015for false imprisonment, defamation, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The couplereportedly settled with the cityin 2018 for $2.5 million.
“This happens because of a lack of accountability,” Quinn says. “There are supposed to be guardrails and accountability from levels above, but [law enforcement] continue to protect themselves over doing the right thing and holding someone [accountable] and making changes.”
In response to having their story highlighted on a huge platform like Netflix, Huskins says she and Quinn have also been feeling overwhelmed.
“It’s a lot putting yourself out there again for people to live with you during it, potentially judge you,” Huskins tells PEOPLE. “It’s hard to not feel a little bit exposed and vulnerable again. And that brings up some of that prior trauma. So our bodies are kind of working through that.”
Writing their book was a significant step in beginning the process of healing, which Huskins and Quinn believe viewers of the docuseries should read in order to learn more about what wasn’t shown on screen.
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty
Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty
Quinn adds, “For us, the narrative of our trauma was stolen from us. It was a time where we actually got to take ownership of the trauma that we had been dealing with for the last, when we started the book in 2018.”
“To actually be able to go, ‘No, this is how I feel about it. This is what happened from my perspective.’ And we also have the facts back it up. It’s empowering,” Quinn says. “So it was cathartic, it was empowering to have our voice be on the page.”
Becoming ‘Part of the Solution’
Quinn and Huskins marriedon Sept. 29, 2018. In March 2020, the couple welcomed their first daughter, Olivia. Their second child, daughter Naomi,was born in November 2022.
When thinking about how this experience shaped their lives, Quinn says he’s taken their trauma and turned into something positive.
Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn.Courtesy of Netflix
“For me, I have recognized that I need people’s help or I need to reach out for help,” Quinn says. “[When] I felt those [hard] emotions, I just would keep them hidden. And as a dad, I want to be able to show my daughters that it’s okay to be vulnerable and reach out.”
In the future, the couple aims to advocate for individuals who have been wrongfully accused and hopefully become “part of the solution,” as Quinn puts it.
“We hope to do more speaking, whether it’s with law enforcement, survivors, nurses, doctors, anyone who might come into this situation and work with victims or deal with these kinds of cases and just share what we went through, the bigger themes that a lot of other survivors go through,” Huskins says. “And hopefully collaborate and try to figure out a better strategy.”
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go torainn.org.
source: people.com
