Tonight, ABC News’ 20/20 will investigate the murders of Army Veteran Sam Herr and college student Juri Kibuishi, who were killed in May 2010 by local community theater actor Daniel Wozniak.
At the time, Wozniak was deep in debt. He had no full-time job, was facing eviction, and he was prepping for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Wozniak knew his friend and neighbor, Sam Herr, had saved thousands and wanted that money for his own.
But where does Wozniak’s fiancee, Rachel Buffett, fit into all of this?
Here’s what you need to know.
1. Her Former Fiancee Daniel Wozniak Shot and Killed Two People
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Wozniak shot and killed Herr before staging Kibuishi’s death to look like Herr was responsible for some kind of assault before fleeing. The same night that he killed both Herr and Kibuishi, he performed in a local theater production with Buffett.
At first, police believed Wozniak’s lie and thought that Herr was on the run after killing Kibuishi. After police spoke to a 16-year-old boy who Wozniak had hired to take money from Herr’s account, however, they were led to the real culprit.
Wozniak spent hours lying to police while being interrogated; at one point, he lied and said that he saw the body, but took no part in the actual murder. Wozniak eventually confessed to police, saying, “I’m crazy and I did it.”
2. Buffett Was Arrested in November 2012 for Acting as an “Accessory After the Fact”
In November 2012, Wozniak’s then-fiancee, Buffett, was arrested and charged with three felony counts of accessory-after-the-fact, for lying to multiple police investigators.
Buffett, 25 at the time, was arrested in Costa Mesta on a Tuesday afternoon, according to the police statement.
In the words of the OC Register, “Police say Buffett was the focus of an “ongoing investigation” since the killings and had been “previously contacted and interviewed by detectives.” A statement released by Costa Mesa police Tuesday said detectives compared information from those interviews, as well as interviews with other witnesses, and determined there was “probable cause to arrest Buffett as an accessory after the fact in this murder case.””
3. In 2018 Buffett Was Sentenced to 44 Months in Prison
In court, prosecutors argued that Buffett purposefully lied to police in order to protect Wozniak. Prosecutor Matt Murphy told People of Buffet, “She lies repeatedly. There are little lies and big lies.”
Buffett’s attorney, however, alleged that his client had no knowledge of Wozniak’s murders. “She did not know what Dan’s involvement was,” he told the jury. “She did not know what Dan had done.”
In November 2018, Buffett was convicted on two of the previously mentioned accounts and was sentenced to 44 months in prison.
4. She Went on National Television After Wozniak’s Arrest
According to People, Buffet went on national television after Wozniak’s arrest, and said, “I’m innocent and that’s what hurts me most in this whole situation is they’re trying to say I’m something I’m not.”
Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ed Everett, however, believed otherwise, testifying during trial, “In my opinion, she should be sitting next to Mr. Wozniak right now.”
Acquaintances of the couple also testified in trial that the couple was “acting strangely” around the time of the murders, according to People.
5. She Was an Actress and Disneyland Princess
Woman recounts phone call in which ex-fiancé admits to killing two people: “The person I loved never really existed, and it was somebody pretending to be somebody they weren’t.”
The chilling true-crime case airs tonight on #ABC2020 #TheFinalAct at 9|8c t.co/t7vHVDvhjU
Little is known of Buffett other than the fact that she was a former actress and Disneyland princess.
According to the OC Register, she grew up in Seal Beach and Long Beach.
During her closing statement, Buffett said to the court, “I hope my silence has not been misinterpreted as callous… I wish I could have saved them. … I wish I’d never met Daniel Wozniak. My heart goes out to the Herr and Kibuishi families. They will always be in my thoughts and prayers.”
There is a Help Rachel Buffett Out of Jail!!! Facebook page that you can check out here.