Matthew Muller

Matthew Daniel Muller (born March 27, 1977) is an American serial rapist and kidnapper, former immigration attorney, and Marine veteran. Muller is a serial sex offender who has committed at least six violent crimes. From at least 2009 until his apprehension in 2015 he invaded homes, held his victims for ransom, kidnapped his victims, and raped or attempted to rape the female victims. In 2015 he kidnapped Denise Huskins while she was with her boyfriend Aaron Quinn, whose account police originally treated as a hoax. The Huskins case was referred to in the media as the "Gone Girl" kidnapping, and was depicted in the Netflix docuseries American Nightmare. In 2024, he confessed to perpetrating several cold cases beginning as early as 1993. Muller is a decorated United States Marine Corps veteran. He was honorably discharged after developing mental health issues in the Middle East. He was a Harvard-educated immigration lawyer who gained prominence after he halted a deportation by using an online petition. He was voted one of the American Bar Association's "Techiest Lawyers." He was disbarred in 2015 after a decline in his mental health; he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features and schizophrenia. Muller developed a delusion that he should kidnap "evil wealthy people" for ransom to give to the poor. He was caught on June 9, 2015, after leaving his cell phone and other evidence at the site of the unsuccessful third home invasion. He is being held in Federal Correctional Institution, Tucson, where he is serving four life sentences.