Attorney: Woman In Kidnapping Saga Is 'Emotionally And Physically Broken'
VALLEJO (CBSLA.com) — An attorney for the woman at the center of a kidnap-for-ransom case vehemently denied allegations by police that the ordeal was a hoax.
Attorney Doug Rappaport said he and his client Denise Huskins spent at least six hours at the Vallejo Police Department on Thursday hoping to clear her name after police expressed doubt Wednesday that the incident was a kidnapping.
"Denise and I have spent a good part of the morning and all of the afternoon into the evening at the Vallejo Police Department with the hope of clearing her name because she is absolutely, unequivocally, 100 percent, positively a victim," Rappaport said.
Both Huskins and her boyfriend Aaron Quinn, 30, fought back against police who described her abduction earlier this week as "orchestrated."
Huskins, who is originally from Huntington Beach, moved to Vallejo within the year for a work opportunity. On Monday, she was reported missing by Quinn, who said she was kidnapped overnight from his Mare Island home and a ransom demand in the amount of $8,500 was communicated to him.
After an intense search, Huskins turned up safe Wednesday in Huntington Beach and spoke with officers there.
However, by evening, the Vallejo Police Department that they had found no evidence of an abduction. They further stated that they unable to contact Huskins or her family members and did not know where she was, according to the Associated Press.
"She was a victim of a very serious assault and like a number of women who have been victims of serious physical and emotional assaults, she was initially hesitant and reticent to come forward but she's fully cooperated with law enforcement with the hope to clear her name," Rappaport said.
Rappaport declined to discuss what happened to his client but said that she is once again being victimized.
"She's victimized initially by being kidnapped and then a second time by allegedly being a suspect by the Vallejo Police Department who issued a very nasty press release yesterday evening in which they very quickly threw her under the bus," he said.
Rappaport described Huskins as being "emotionally and physically broken."
"The fact that she's been designated as a suspect only hurts her further but she is a strong individual. She is a caring woman. She is an altruistic woman. She's someone who helps other people with physical disabilities and are suffering from physical problems and she will get through this," he said.
Police have not responded to Rappaport's comments.
