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Daniel Wozniak (murderer)

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For the athlete, see Daniel Wozniak.
Daniel Wozniak
Born
Daniel Patrick Wozniak

(1984-03-23) March 23, 1984 (age 40)
NationalityAmerican
OccupationActor
MotiveMoney "for wedding and honeymoon"
Criminal penaltyDeath
Details
VictimsJuri "Julie" Kibuishi
PFC Samuel E. Herr, Army Veteran, OEF, 1-91 Airborne Cav.
DateMay 21, 2010
CountryUnited States
State(s)California
Weapons.38-caliber semiautomatic pistol[1]
Date apprehended
May 26, 2010
Imprisoned atSan Quentin State Prison

Daniel Patrick Wozniak (born March 23, 1984) is a former Southern California community theater actor and convicted double-murderer on California's Death Row. In May 2010, Wozniak murdered two people as part of a plan to steal money from one of the victims. The money was going to be used to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Wozniak murdered his neighbor and friend, PFC Samuel E. Herr, 26, an OEF Army Veteran of the 1- 91 Airborne Cavalry, and Herr's college friend Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23.

At the time of the murders, Wozniak was in major debt and was also facing eviction from his apartment that he shared with his fiancée Rachel Mae Buffett. Wozniak and Herr lived in the same apartment complex in Costa Mesa, California. After more than five years of court deliberations, Wozniak was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder.[2] He was sentenced to capital punishment (death) in September 2016.[3] He is incarcerated at California's San Quentin State Prison.[4]

Crimes and cover-up

Wozniak pretends to be Herr and sends fake text to victim Juri "Julie" Kibuishi[5]

Wozniak shot and killed his neighbor, Samuel Herr, 26, on May 21, 2010, at a Los Alamitos theater.[6] Wozniak planned to steal Herr's savings in order to finance his upcoming wedding and honeymoon.[7]

Seeking to misdirect police, Wozniak then used Herr's cell phone to contact Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, who had been tutoring Herr in community college. He lured Kibuishi to Herr's apartment, where he shot and killed her. Wozniak staged the scene to make it appear as though she had been sexually assaulted, suggesting that Herr had committed the murder and that Herr then killed himself.[8]

Wozniak came under suspicion after instructing a sixteen-year-old to withdraw money from Herr's accounts. When the police confronted the boy, he told them Wozniak had asked him to do it.[9] He was apprehended at his bachelor party two days before his wedding, in May 2010.[10][11]

Wozniak's then-fiancée, Rachel Mae Buffett, was arrested in November 2012.[12] As of late 2017, she was charged with three felony counts of accessory-after-the-fact, for lying multiple times to police investigators.[13] As of April 6, 2018, Buffett's charges were still pending, with a jury trial scheduled for April 13.[14]

In popular culture

External videos
video icon Dr. Phil: Was She an Accomplice to Murder? (part 1)
video icon Dateline: Plot Twist
video icon 20/20: Mystery in Apartment 410
video icon Crime Watch Daily: Community Actor Kills Veteran, Student For Money To Bankroll Honeymoon (part 1)
video icon The Perfect Murder: Curtain Call
video icon 48 Hours: Killer Performance

CBS' Dr Phil: "Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder?" first aired: February 5, 2013. During the show, Steve Herr didn’t hide his resentment for Rachel Mae Buffett and her claims of not knowing anything about the murders of his son Sam and Julie Kibuishi. Buffett was charged in 2012 of being an accessory-after-the-fact in the murders by Wozniak,[15] her former fiancé in 2010.[16][17]

MSNBC's Series Lockup: "Lockup Orange County: Extended Stay: Unholy Trinity" is filmed in the Orange County Jail and features an interview with Wozniak as he proclaims his innocence in the murders. The episode outraged the relatives of Wozniak's victims, as the killer charmed the camera and proclaimed his devotion to the bible and the two people he killed.[18][19]

NBC's Dateline: "Plot Twist", first aired: January 15, 2016. Rachel Mae Buffett is interviewed by reporter Josh Mankiewicz about her being part of the murder investigation[15] involving both her former fiancé and her neighbor friend, a 26-year-old Army veteran.[20][21]

ABC's 20/20: "Mystery in Apartment 410," first aired: March 4, 2016. Reports on the May 2010 murders of U.S. Army combat veteran Sam Herr and his college friend Julie Kibuishi. They were killed by former theater actor Daniel Wozniak who first killed Herr to steal $60,000 and then murdered Julie Kibuishi in order to throw the police off his trail.[22][23]

Crime Watch Daily also profiled the case on an episode which originally aired on June 8, 2016.[24]

Investigation Discovery's The Perfect Murder: "Curtain Call," first aired: August 24, 2016. California college student Julie Kibushi is found murdered on top of her friend Sam Herr's bed. Herr a decorated war hero, was nowhere to be found, local police begin their hunt for the prime suspect Sam. As the investigation grows, police discoveries lead them into a complicated case.[25][26]

CBS' 48 Hours: "Killer Performance" first aired: October 9, 2016. Correspondent Tracy Smith interviews friends and family members of the victims, along with interviews of the cases prosecutor and other public officials.[5][27]

Investigation Discovery's Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent: "Final Curtain," first aired: November 1, 2017. Costa Mesa, CA is a beautiful place to live, but it comes at a cost. The murder of a young girl, Julie Kibushi, and the disappearance of a former Army soldier, Sam Herr, leads investigators down a dark path into the mind of an unassuming killer.[28]

Oxygen: In Ice Cold Blood "Closing Night" the murder of Julie Kibushi and Sam Herr and the subsequent investigation that led to the arrest, conviction, and sentencing of Daniel Wozniak.

References

  1. ^ FOWLER, TARA (17 December 2015). "Daniel Wozniak: California Theater Actor Convicted of Gruesome Double Murder". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  2. ^ BERG, TOM (7 December 2015). "Justice delayed: Why it took more than 5 years for trial of Daniel Wozniak, accused of killing 2, beheading one victim". Orange County Register. Southern California News Group. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  3. ^ Andrews, Travis M. (26 September 2016). "Community theater actor sentenced to death for killing, dismembering Afghanistan vet to pay for wedding". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  4. ^ DALTON, REX (31 October 2016). "Local Figures Loom Large in Death Penalty Ballot Measure | Voice of OC". voiceofoc.org. Voice of OC. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b "48 Hours | Killer Performance". CBS Interactive Inc. 9 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ Dobruck, Jeremiah (4 January 2016). "Father describes horror of his dismembered son's murder". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  7. ^ Katz, Michele (18 December 2015). "Actor decapitates Army combat vet and kills vet's girlfriend". Military News. Bright Mountain Media, Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  8. ^ Nolan, Caitlin (17 December 2015). "Actor Is Convicted Of Killing An Army Vet And His Friend To Get Money To Afford His Wedding". Inside Edition. Inside Edition Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzO4A-tPdTg
  10. ^ Christine Pelisek (13 March 2015). "Daniel Wozniak Murders: Killer Had a Larger-Than-Life Personality, Friends Say". People.
  11. ^ Hannah Fry (23 September 2016). "Ex-actor Daniel Wozniak sentenced to death in double murder and grisly cover-up". Los Angeles Times.
  12. ^ EMERY, SEAN (22 November 2012). "Actor's ex-fiancée arrested in killings, dismemberment". Staff. The Orange County Register. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  13. ^ Coker, Matt (23 December 2016). "Brother of Death Row Double Murderer Dan Wozniak Held for Domestic Violence". OC Weekly. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  14. ^ "Hearing Schedule, April 2018". orangecountyda.org. Santa Ana, CA: Orange County District Attorney. April 6, 2018. p. 1. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  15. ^ a b Puente, Kelly (17 March 2017). "Trial date set for convicted killer Daniel Wozniak's ex-fiancee Rachel Buffett – Orange County Register". SANTA ANA, CA.: Southern California News Group. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  16. ^ "Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder? | Dr. Phil". drphil.com. CBS Broadcasting. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Dr. Phil | Actress Accused: Was She an Accessory to Murder?". TVGuide.com. 5 February 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Lockup: Orange County---Extended Stay". TVGuide.com. CBS Interactive Inc. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  19. ^ Austin, Paige (2 September 2011). "Controversial Show Starring Accused Los Alamitos Killer to Air". Los Alamitos-Seal Beach, CA Patch. Patch Media. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
  20. ^ "NBC Dateline | FULL EPISODE: Plot Twist". NBC News. 15 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  21. ^ Reyes, Traciy (16 January 2016). "Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffett: 'Dateline' NBC Follows Plot Twists Of Actor In Bizarre Costa Mesa, California Murder Case". The Inquisitr. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  22. ^ "20/20: 'Mystery in Apartment 410' Watch Full Episode". ABC. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  23. ^ "Daniel Wozniak case: Full story of California double murder investigated on '20/20′". The Mercury News. 19 August 2016.
  24. ^ LaLama, Pat (8 June 2016). "Community actor kills veteran, student for money to bankroll honeymoon". Crime Watch Daily. Telepictures Productions Inc. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  25. ^ "The Perfect Murder | Watch Full Episodes & More! - Investigation Discovery". www.investigationdiscovery.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  26. ^ Reyes, Traciy (24 August 2016). "Sam Herr, Juri 'Julie' Kibuishi: 'The Perfect Murder' On Investigation Discovery — Afghanistan War Vet, California Tutor Killed By Actor In Plot To Have Lavish Wedding". The Inquisitr. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  27. ^ "48 Hours-Killer Performance - Video Dailymotion". Dailymotion. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  28. ^ "Unusual Suspects: Deadly Intent | Watch Full Episodes & More! - Investigation Discovery". 1 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.

External links

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