The Kidnapped Truth, Netflix’s latest crime documentary series, has raised many questions, including one: what happened to Inspector Mat Mustard?
2024 is off to a strong start in the crime department, with the launch this week of Netflix’s major new documentary series, The Kidnapped Truth. The series focuses on the case of Denise Huskins, who was kidnapped over two days in 2015. Despite strong evidence suggesting she was the victim of kidnapping and sexual assault, authorities treated her and her partner, Aaron Quinn, as suspects.
On Netflix, the series is presented with this summary: “In this documentary series inspired by true crimes, a couple who were victims of a terrifying break-in and kidnapping in 2015 are ultimately accused of having orchestrated it all.”
The Vallejo Police Department officer originally assigned to the Huskins case, Detective Mathew “Mat” Mustard, has found himself in the spotlight on social media since the release of the documentary. Particularly for his role in the unfolding of events. Here’s what’s happened to him since.
The Kidnapped Truth: What happened with Inspector Mat Mustard?
As revealed at the end of The Kidnapped Truth, Mustard was awarded Officer of the Year for 2015 – the same year Denis Huskins was kidnapped. Despite the fact that the Dublin police were able to prove that Mustard’s “Gone Girl hoax” theory was wrong, and despite Denise and Aaron’s lawsuit against the city of Vallejo that resulted in $2.5 million in damages, it should be noted that the lawsuit was settled out of court. Which explains how Matthew Mustard was able, ironically, to escape any sanction.
According to the Vallejo Sun, Mustard was promoted to Vallejo police detective sergeant in 2018, and is believed to still be in the same position at the writing this article. Following the release of The Kidnapped Truth, he faced a lot of criticism for the way he handled the affair. Footage shown in the documentary series shows him questioning Aaron Quinn and Denise Huskins separately, each time treating them as suspects in the case against them.
In another scene, Denise Huskins’ mother remembers being questioned by Mat Mustard to provide any information that was supposed to “help with the case.””That’s when I remembered that when Denise was little, she had been sexually abused,” she explains, before continuing: “Lieutenant Mustard said that women who had been sexually assaulted were often pretending to reproduce them in order to rediscover that thrill. I was devastated.”
Other controversies surrounding Inspector Mat Mustard at the Vallejo police?
In addition to this incident, Mat Mustard has faced many other controversies during his career in law enforcement. The Vallejo Sun reported in March 2023 that, following the Huskins affair, he had been accused of having uttered a racist insult against another black inspector. Whistleblower and former Vallejo Police Captain John Whitney previously testified about Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou, who initially “refused to investigate this incident.”
In a copy of the transcript obtained by the news outlet, Whitney also claimed that Vallejo police promoted rather than punished its most violent officers and failed to further investigate the misconduct of those involved in the case. of the Huskins kidnapping.
Andrew Bidou is also mentioned in The Kidnapped Truth. Defense attorney Doug Rappaport says he received a tip during the couple’s civil lawsuit against the city of Vallejo. “According to this anonymous source, before the press conference held by the Vallejo police, where Denise and Aaron were called liars, Andrew Bidou allegedly told Lieutenant Park to “demolish this bitch.»”
No reports suggest Mustard or Bidou were charged, sanctioned or demoted – but that hasn’t stopped them from facing public scrutiny, as is the Vallejo Police Department. Speaking on X/Twitter, one viewer wrote: “Vallejo Police Detective Sergeant Mat Mustard is a real bastard and deserves to be fired for the way he handled this #AmericanNightmare #Netflix.”
All three episodes of The Kidnapped Truth: From Dream to American Nightmare are available on Netflix on January 17, 2024.
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