'Gone Girl' Kidnapper Says Vaccine Side Effects Are to Blame For His Behavior

Matthew Muller, the man charged with the Gone Girl-esque kidnapping of Denise Huskins that was initially thought to be a hoax, says a vaccine made him do it.

In an off-the-record jailhouse interview with a television reporter, according to the AP, Muller said he’d acted alone in the robberies and kidnapping, and felt bad about his actions. His victim, Huskins, deserved an apology, he said.

Jails, however, record inmate conversations—so all Muller said was shared with the FBI.

Muller also stated he was being treated for a mental illness and a side effect of a vaccine made him lose it, which is why he “was going off the grid” in 2009 when his wife reported him missing.

If you need a refresher to this convoluted story: In March, 29-year-old Huskins was abducted from her boyfriend Anthony Quinn’s home in Vallejo, California. Muller allegedly broke in at night, awakened the couple by shining a flashlight in their faces, zip-tied them, drugged them, and placed duct tape-covered goggles over their eyes as well as headphones over their ears. When Quinn awoke, Huskins was gone and there was a ransom demand for $8,500. Huskins was eventually left in Huntington Beach two days later and when she returned home, Vallejo police didn’t believe her story. The police told press that her disappearance was a hoax, and even threatened she and Quinn with criminal charges if they didn’t own up to the sham.

However, in August, Muller was arrested in Lake Tahoe in connection with a different home invasion robbery in Dublin, California, also using duct-taped goggles and headphones. A search warrant turned up evidence Huskins and Quinn mentioned in their police interviews; the FBI found duct-tape-covered goggles with a blonde hair strand stuck to them—Huskins is blonde—cellphones and Quinn’s stolen laptop.

Palo Alto cops say Muller is a suspect in another home invasion robbery in their area, but they lack the evidence to charge him.

Thomas Johnson, Muller’s attorney, won’t comment on his client’s jailhouse confessions, and told ABC News that his client suffers from bipolar disorder. He added that Muller will plead not guilty to kidnapping and has already pled not guilty to the home invasion in Dublin.