Costa Mesa Police Department Daniel Patrick Wozniak is a convicted murderer accused of killing two people as part of a plan to steal money from one of the victims to pay for his upcoming wedding.
Daniel Patrick Wozniak is a convicted double murderer accused of killing two people as part of a plan to steal money from one of the victims to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon.
Wozniak was a community theater actor in Costa Mesa, California, when he was arrested for the gruesome murders of Sam Herr, a war veteran, and Julie Kibuishi, a college student and dancer, in May 2010. The ABC-TV news magazine “20/20” is airing a story on Wozniak tonight at 9/8c.
Here’s what you need to know about Wozniak:
1. Wozniak is Accused of Murdering & Beheading Herr Before Luring Kibuishi to Herr’s Apartment & Murdering Her in an Attempt to Frame Herr
On May 27, 2010, Daniel Wozniak admitted to killing Julie Kibuishi. He also admitted to killing Sam Herr. He told detectives, “I’m crazy and I did it. I killed Julie and I killed Sam.” (Youtube/ABCNews)
Wozniak is accused of luring his 26-year-old neighbor to the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, where he shot and killed him. He then returned to Herr’s body the following day, cut off Herr’s head, hand and forearm, and tossed the body parts in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park, according to Mercury News.
In an attempt to throw police off his trail, Wozniak used Herr’s cellphone to lure Kibuishi to Herr’s apartment. Prosecutors said Wozniak then shot and killed her. Kibuishi, 23, had been tutoring Herr in community college and the two were friends.
Wozniak then staged the crime scene to make it appear as though Kibuishi had been sexually assaulted, suggesting that Herr had committed the murder and then gone into hiding. A massive manhunt for Herr was launched by authorities, who wrongly believed Herr was responsible for Kibuishi’s murder and was on the run.
2. Wozniak Allegedly Murdered Herr for $62,000 to Pay For His Wedding & Honeymoon
On the evening of May 22, 2010, Julie Kibuishi was found murdered in the bedroom of her friend, and Army war veteran, Samuel Herr. Kibuishi had been tutoring 26-year-old Herr in anthropology– the two attended community college together. When Sam’s dad found Kibuishi dead in his son’s bedroom, police immediately suspected Sam, who was also known to have suffered from PTSD. (Youtube/ABCNews)
Authorities say Wozniak was desperate for money and shot and killed Herr in an attempt to steal the $62,000 Herr told him he had saved from his combat pay, according to ABC News.
At the time, police said Wozniak had no full-time job, no money, and was about to be evicted from his home. He was getting married, so he was in desperate need of money to help pay for his honeymoon, ABC reports.
Wozniak was apprehended by police after he instructed a 16-year-old to withdraw money from Herr’s accounts. When police questioned the teen, he said Wozniak had told him to withdraw the money. He was apprehended at his own bachelor party two days before his wedding.
3. Wozniak Performed in a Theater Production Hours After He Allegedly Murdered Herr & Kibuishi
Tonight, hear Daniel Wozniak’s jailhouse phone calls to his then-fiancé – starting at 9|8c on 20/20 #TheFinalAct. t.co/gvxLGhAwXz
According to ABC, at the time of the murders, Wozniak was engaged to Rachel Buffett, a fellow community theater actress, and both were performing in a production of the musical “Nine.” Authorities say Wozniak took the stage and performed his part as normal, just hours after murdering Herr.
Prosecutor Matt Murphy told jurors that Wozniak had hoped to, “…use his magical acting powers to trick the dumb police. The plan has now crashed into the rocks of reality.’”
During a phone call with Buffet, she mentioned she had spoken to Wozniak’s brother, who claimed to have incriminating evidence against Wozniak (Wozniak had given the murder weapon and evidence to his brother before going to the police station). Wozniak begged his fiancé not to tell police about the evidence, because then, he said, “I’m doomed.” Buffett reminded Wozniak that the conversation was being recorded and that he had essentially just admitted to murder, and that she was calling detectives as soon as she got off the phone with him, ABC reports.
4. He Changed His Story Several Times During an Interrogation Police Claim Was “A Performance Worthy of One of His Plays”
THE FINAL ACT: Watch 20/20’s 2-hour true crime doc tonight and see Daniel Wozniak give “the performance of his life” during a police murder investigation.
While Wozniak was being interrogated, authorities say he changed his story several times, and put on a performance “worthy of one of his plays,” according to ABC.
He first claimed to be running a credit card scam, before claiming that Herr showed up at his apartment and admitted to killing Kibuishi. During the second story, he claimed he helped Herr escape, but that he didn’t have anything to do with the actual murder.
Once authorities asked for a DNA sample, Wozniak once again changed his story, and claimed he had seen the body, shouting “I saw the goddamn body. Is that what you want to hear? … I was right over the body. I didn’t touch her. I didn’t do anything … I saw two gunshots in her head.”
Police were alarmed that Wozniak claimed to have seen two gunshot wounds, since their initial view of the body only showed one. “Because when we were in the apartment, we all looked, and it was only one [gunshot wound] visible to our eyes, and then when he mentioned he saw two gunshot wounds, I said, ‘Well, he was there when she was shot,'” Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ed Everett told ABC. “He was there when she was killed.”
5. He Has Had More Than 130 Court Hearings Since His Arrest & Was Convicted of Two Counts of First-Degree Murder; He is Still on Death Row
(Youtube/ABCNews)
Since Wozniak was arrested and charged with murder, he has undergone over 130 court hearings, according to Mercury News. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. “To the victims’ families… it’s been a half-decade of frustration that victimized them twice: First, when their children died brutal deaths. And second, when they became pawns in a legal chess match that has stalled the march of justice.”
After more than five years of court proceedings, Wozniak went to trial and was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to capital punishment (death) in September 2016, and has been on death row since.
Tune in tonight at 9/8c to catch the full story on Wozniak on ABC’s “20/20.”
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