American Nightmare on Netflix: Terrifying true story of 'Gone Girl' kidnap survivor who sued police for $1.2m
18.01.2024 - 09:05
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Netflix's latest true crime drama explores the 'Gone Girl' kidnapping case which was so far-fetched it was wrongly dismissed by cops. Denise Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn successfully used law enforcement for $1.2 million after being accused of hoaxing.
It was an ordinary spring night in March 2015 and Denise and Aaron, both physiotherapists, were asleep at home in Vallejo, California. The pair were suddenly awoken by a bright light and commotion - and what happened next would change their lives forever.
A man in a wetsuit, wielding a fake gun, forced the couple out of bed and made Denise tie her boyfriend's hands behind his back. The intruder played out a pre-recorded message to make the petrified duo believe they were outnumbered.
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He put his blindfolded victims in a closet where he drugged them before forcing Denise into his boot and driving 500 miles away. Aaron eventually rang 911, as heard in the show's Netflix trailer. He told them: “My girlfriend Denise got kidnapped last night.” Asked why he didn’t contact them sooner, he replied: “I was tied up.”
Cops arrived on scene to find blood on the walls, zip ties, toy guns and bizarrely a blow up doll. Aaron found himself at the centre of the investigation, being interrogated for 48 hours while the real culprit demanded $15,000 (£11,000) for Denise's safe return.
Two days later, Denise wound up being dropped off near her parent's house in Huntington Beach, California. Having only been missing for two days, she was widely accused of being a hoaxer and was nicknamed the real-life Gone Girl because of similarities to the Gillian Flynn novel and subsequent Hollywood film - which had been