I’m not usually a huge fan of true-crime shows; as a writer, I typically prefer artfully crafted stories.
Yet I can’t remember getting more fired up by a TV show than I did recently while watching a true-crime documentary series on Netflix called American Nightmare.
I guess it’s true that sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction because American Nightmare captivated me from the first episode until the show’s conclusion.
Pieced together from police interviews, media interviews and news footage, with some skillfully shot re-enactments, this three-episode documentary tells the story of Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn, a California couple who were thrust into the national media spotlight after a terrifying home invasion and 48-hour kidnapping (including sexual assault and rape) that the Vallejo, CA police blamed on the couple themselves.
That’s right. As if this young couple’s ordeal wasn’t bad enough, the police literally accused them of doing it for attention instead of trying to track down those responsible. Talk about adding insult to injury!
The media were partially to blame because they created and promoted the narrative that Denise Huskins was a real-life “Gone Girl” since her story was similar to the movie/book by that name. Once the Vallejo police got wind of that, they just assumed it was what happened instead of doing their jobs.
After watching this documentary, I was left with the following takeaways:
- Cops are mostly awful – and have zero accountability – but there ARE good ones
- No one believes women except other women
- The media are the worst
- Sometimes innocent people need a lawyer just to protect themselves from the cops and media
- If an upscale white couple was treated this terribly, I can only imagine the inequities and horrors people of color go through at the hands of cops and reporters
I don’t want to say much more out of fear of spoiling the story, but trust me – American Nightmare is a must-watch.
Not only will you be blown away by the grace and fortitude of Denise and Aaron themselves, but you will also fall in love with their story’s hero: a female police detective (now sergeant) out of Dublin, CA.
The good news is that Denise and Aaron’s horror story had a happy ending thanks to this amazing woman. She personifies girl power!
