Lt. Misty Carausu Turns An American Nightmare Into Hope For The Future + New Girl Talk
Happy Sunday!
This has been one of the weirdest and most inspiring weeks of the last 4 years… and we’ll get into why on this week’s Cup of Justice with Liz, Eric and me. It has a lot to do with frivolous lawsuits in magistrate court, a new source from an unexpected place, and our COJ episode #114 that dropped Monday.
We started off the week by interviewing someone I ‘met’ through a documentary released on Netflix in January of 2024… Lt. Misty Carausu was the hero of that truly tragic circumstance where Denise Huskins was kidnapped and raped as her then-boyfriend Aaron Quinn was assaulted and interrogated by police as a potential suspect. Later, both Aaron and Denise were accused of inventing these horrific details as a hoax by the Vallejo, California police department. Misty dug deeper beneath the surface on her first day as a detective, finding routes within the strict chain of command, and STAYING PESKY in a separate case involving the same (very real) perpetrator Matthew Muller. Ultimately, Misty Carausu is a woman who ‘LOVES being a cop’ — every part of it — and connected the dots to exonerate Denise and Aaron and bring a despicable, violent rapist to justice.
According to Denise and Aaron’s memoir on the harrowing experience, one of the most sickening comments in the sordid handling of their case allegedly came from the lead detective Mat Mustard to Denise’s mother while they frantically searched for her…
“I just want you to know that in our experience, women who have been sexually assaulted before often pretend that it is happening again to get attention and relive the excitement and thrill of that experience,” Detective Sgt. Mat Mustard is accused of saying.
So much of the documentary and this story is infuriating. As you may remember from our last Corruption Watchlist, we are too frequently reminded of how criminal investigations are accidentally botched or intentionally derailed by incompetence or outright corruption, with little consequence for the actual individuals that DO INJUSTICE. Though the city of Vallejo agreed to pay Denise Huskins and Aaron Quinn $2.5 million for defamation, unlawful search and seizure and negligent infliction of emotional distress, many of the Vallejo officers involved have not been held accountable individually.
Brian Krans of the Vallejo Sun wrote an eye-opening exposé on Mat Mustard about a week after the documentary came out on Netflix covering Mustard’s career in the aftermath of this case. Demotion, firing, censure, typed words in a file folder…? Nope. Nada. Nothin. In fact, Mustard was complimented with the department’s Officer of the Year Award for 2015 and was promoted to Detective Sergeant in September 2018.
If you’d like to share your opinion with the Vallejo Police Department on any or all of that, their contact information is below.
(707) 648-4321 – Vallejo Police Department
(707) 917-4114 – Professional Standards
All that aside, we are proud to have welcomed Lt. Misty Carausu to share a Cup of Justice and encourage you to shout your praise of her to the rooftops or send your praise directly with a post and tag Misty on Instagram. In addition to being a supercop hero, Misty is also a champion for safe lactation spaces in the workplace… is there anything she can’t do? Check out this great article on how she is bringing breast-feeding to new levels of comfort at her sheriff’s office.
If you’d like to send some praise of Lt. Misty Carausu with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, their contact info is below for kudos…
510-272-6878 – Alameda County Sheriff’s Office
Cup of Justice #114 Liz and I interview Lt. Misty Carausu who 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. On COJ 114, we dive deeper to discover more beneath the surface of this harrowing story and how we can inspire more women like Misty to Protect and Serve.
Next week Liz, Eric and I dive into the quixotic and free-for-all nature of Magistrate court to examine what on earth, JP Miller might be doing to wreak havoc on first amendment rights in Myrtle that could have wide-reaching consequences.
On True Sunlight #84, Liz and I continue shining sunlight on the Mica Francis case and the SUNLIGHT IS WORKING. We’ll explore how JP is now suing multiple protesters and online critics for harassment and invasion of privacy, claiming they’re causing him emotional and economic harm. But here’s the twist: this is the same man accused of stalking his late wife, Mica, who was denied a restraining order against him…. Also on that episode, we received the official coroner’s report in the death of Chris Skinner, the quadriplegic man who drowned in his neighborhood pool shortly after he reportedly confronted his wife, Suzie, and Pastor JP Miller about their alleged affair. This episode gets deeper into these very twisted stories…
Lastly, Liz and I were proud to present our 20th Girl Talk episode discussing a highlight of our week: a conversation with Misty Carausu from the Netflix documentary, American Nightmare. We delve into Misty’s inspiring work as a police officer who embodies compassion and empathy. We also discuss their own feelings of frustration with bureaucracy and the need to create positive change, which our community — our AMAZING PREMIUM MEMBERS — also believe in. We also discuss the need to be ‘pesky’ to get things done in the world, and how that conflicts with the negative impact of social media on mental health. Despite this, we are still driven by the desire to seek the truth and provide hope for change… so thank you for being there for this journey!
As always, your support is immensely appreciated and keeps us motivated to expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims and get the story straight.
Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky, and Stay In The Sunlight…
– Mandy
Please sign into your Premium account then refresh this page to view this content.