S. Tahoe man admits guilt in Bay Area kidnapping
By Brittny Mejia and Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times
Matthew Muller
After a kidnapped Denise Huskins turned up in Huntington Beach in March 2015, police in Vallejo cast her disappearance as a hoax, saying it appeared to be part of an “orchestrated event.”
On Thursday, a Harvard-educated attorney from South Lake Tahoe pleaded guilty to the kidnapping, closing a chapter in a bizarre case that turned its harsh glare first on the victim and then on the Northern California police department.
Matthew Muller, 39, previously pleaded not guilty to a kidnapping charge for the March 23, 2015, incident. He abducted Denise Huskins for two days and demanded a $15,000 ransom for her, prosecutors said. Muller faces up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine, according to acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert.
