COJ #114 - Lt. Misty Carausu, the Inspiring Investigator from Netflix’s ‘American Nightmare’ on Doing the Most

Cup Of Justice

Luna Shark Productions

True Crime, News Commentary, How To, Education, News

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2025

⏱️ 72 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Just over a year ago, investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell from “True Sunlight Podcast,” watched the hit Netflix documentary “American Nightmare” about Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, the California couple who were immediately dubbed “LIARS” by police — and the media — after reporting a home invasion and the subsequent kidnapping and rape of Denise in 2015. Mandy and Liz were blown away by the documentary, and especially by the work of a woman named Misty Carausu. After months of being scolded and vilified in the headlines — which affected their careers and relationships — Denise and Aaron found vindication in the form of Misty, who at the time was a brand new criminal investigator from a police agency 40 miles south of where they lived. Misty wowed audiences of “American Nightmare” with her tenacity and devotion to her job. And she showed what can happen when police come from a place of BELIEVING victims instead of treating victims like suspects. After helping investigate a home invasion in her jurisdiction, Misty discovered a connection between the suspect in her case and Denise and Aaron’s case, proving that Denise and Aaron were telling the truth all along. Today, we're diving deeper to discover more beneath the surface of this harrowing story and how we can inspire more women like Misty to Protect and Serve. 🥽 Let's Dive In... 🦈 Find More From Misty Here: instagram.com/misty_carausu Real Crime Profile: Victim F Part 8 - Sergeant Misty Carausu Episode Resources Lt. Misty Carausu featured in Netflix's documentary American Nightmare “Meet the detective who solved 'American Nightmare' case, victims credit her for 'saving us'” - KCRA 3, Jan 19, 2025 “Detective Who Cracked Vallejo ‘Hoax' Kidnap Case a ‘Bulldog,' Dublin Police Lieutenant Says” - NBC Bay Area, July 14, 2015 “Timeline: Matthew Muller and the ‘American Nightmare’ Vallejo kidnapping case” - KRON 4, Jan 7, 2025 “How the "American Nightmare" victims helped get kidnapper Matthew Muller to confess to more crimes” - CBS News, Jan 8, 2025 “Convicted ‘American Nightmare’ rapist pleads guilty to two more home invasions” - Los Angeles Times, Jan 17, 2025 Reid Technique Article from ScienceDirect “Alameda sergeant improves lactation space and support in county” - Our Milky Way, Nov 28, 2021 What We're Buying... Boll & Branch Sheets - http://bollandbranch.com/mandy Change the way you sleep with Boll & Branch. Get 15% off, plus free shipping on your first set of sheets. Here's a link to some of our favorite things: https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn Find us on social media: bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com | bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com | bsky.app/profile/theericbland.bsky.social Twitter.com/mandymatney | Twitter.com/elizfarrell | Twitter.com/theericbland https://www.facebook.com/cupofjustice/ | https://www.instagram.com/cojpod/ YouTube | TIKTOK SUNscribe to our free email list to get alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBM *** Alert: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email [email protected] and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.9	entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup. Hello and happy Tuesday. Just over a year ago, we watched the Netflix documentary American
0:45.0	Nightmare, and like most people who watched the series, we were blown away by Lieutenant
0:50.9	Misty Caruso in her commitment to the case as well as her compassion for the
0:57.0	victims. In 2015, Matthew Muller, a disbarred attorney who had a military background, was arrested
1:03.0	for a home invasion in Dublin, California. Investigators traced a cell phone left behind
1:09.0	at the scene to a house near Lake Tahoe, two and a half hours away.
1:13.6	On the day police went to arrest the man and serve search warrants on his house and car,
1:19.6	Misty went with them on her very first day as a detective to collect evidence and process the scene.
1:25.6	Her careful attention to detail, her curiosity,
1:30.1	her dedication, and her overall peskiness in the case ended up bringing very much needed and
1:36.5	deserved vindication to a couple in Vallejo, California 40 miles north of Dublin, who
1:43.2	months earlier had been dubbed liars by police and the
1:47.0	media who collectively failed to do their jobs.
1:51.0	Misty was the first person with a badge to believe Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, who were
1:58.0	victims of a home invasion and in Denise's case, subsequent kidnapping and rape.
2:03.6	Misty's amazing work revealed that the man who broke into a home and her jurisdiction
2:10.6	was the same man who kidnapped and raped Denise.
2:14.6	If you haven't seen American Nightmare, we highly recommend that you do.
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