American Nightmare: What happened to Detective Mat Mustard?

American Nightmare, Netflix’s latest true crime series, has raised plenty of questions, one of them being: what happened to Detective Mat Mustard? Here’s what you need to know.

2024 is off to a strong start in the true crime arena, with Netflix’s new major docu-series, American Nightmare, dropping this week. The series centers on the case of Denise Huskins, who was abducted from her home for two days in 2015. Despite strong evidence to suggest she had been the victim of kidnapping and assault, authorities treated her and her partner, Aaron Quinn, as suspects. 

As per the official synopsis: “After a home invasion and abduction, a young couple’s recounting of the events is too far-fetched for the police to believe. Why did the victims seem so calm? Was it all a hoax? From the filmmakers behind The Tinder Swindler, this three-part docuseries unravels the consequences of our cultural rush to judgment, and the damage done when law enforcement decides the truth can’t possibly be true.”

The Vallejo Police Department officer who was initially assigned to Huskins’ case, Detective Mathew “Mat” Mustard, is facing scrutiny online for his role in how events unfolded – here’s what you need to know about what happened to him. Warning: Some may find this content distressing. 

American Nightmare: What happened to Detective Mat Mustard?

As is revealed at the end of American Nightmare, Mustard was awarded the title of Officer of the Year for 2015 – the year Huskins was kidnapped. Although Dublin PD were able to prove Mustard’s “Gone Girl hoax” theory wrong, and Huskins and Quinn successfully sued the city of Vallejo for $2.5 million, the civil suit was settled out of court – and so Mustard wasn’t disciplined. 

According to the Vallejo Sun, Mustard was promoted to Detective Sergeant of Vallejo PD in 2018, and this is still evidently his current rank. Following the release of American Nightmare, he’s facing fresh criticism for how he handled Huskins’ case. Footage shown in the docu-series shows Mustard interrogating Quinn and Huskins separately, treating them as suspects. 

In another scene, Huskins’ mother recalls being asked by Mustard to provide any information that might help with the case. “At that moment, I remembered that when Denise was a small child, she was molested,” she explains. “And Detective Mustard says that women that have been sexually assaulted often pretend to have it happen again so they can relive the thrill of it.”

Aside from this incident, Mustard has faced numerous controversies from his time in the force. The Vallejo Sun reported in March 2023 that, following the Huskins case, Mustard was accused of using a racial slur against a fellow detective who is Black. Whistleblower and former Vallejo Police Captain John Whitney previously testified that Andrew Bidou, Chief of Vallejo PD, initially “refused to investigate that incident.”

In a copy of the transcript obtained by the outlet, Whitney also alleged that the Vallejo PD promoted rather than punished its most violent officers and that it didn’t investigate misconduct by officers involved in the Huskins kidnapping case. Whitney also accused Bidou of approving Mustard’s call to change the standards of the sergeant’s exam to get promoted, a position in which his salary climbed to a reported $401,000. “Captain Horton and I both protested this for a good amount of time in the chief’s office, with Mat Mustard saying that this is how it should be done,” Whitney testified. “The chief ultimately went with what Mat Mustard wanted.”

Bidou is also mentioned in American Nightmare. Doug Rappaport, the Defense Attorney, explains that he received a tip-off during the couple’s civil lawsuit against the city of Vallejo. “According to the anonymous source, before the Vallejo Police Department had a national press conference, in which they called Denise and Aaron liars, Andrew Bidou told Officer Park to ‘burn that b*tch.’”

There are no reports to suggest Mustard or Bidou have been charged, disciplined, or demoted – but that hasn’t stopped them from facing public scrutiny. Taking to X, one viewer wrote: “Vallejo police Detective Sgt. Mat Mustard is a huge piece of sh*t and deserves to be fired for how he handled this case #AmericanNightmare #Netflix.”

Others have shared comments under the Vallejo PD’s posts, including this person who said, “Trash detective work – lazy, biased, and proud PD.” A third added: “Detective Mustard should have been fired for what he did to the Quinns. Your department is the reason people don’t trust the police.”

American Nightmare is available to stream on Netflix now, and you can read more about the Vallejo PD’s controversies here.