In May 2010, local theater actor Daniel Wozniak went on a killing spree that resulted in the deaths of two people: army veteran Sam Herr, 26, and college student Julie Kibuishi, 23.
Julie Kibuishi, a dancer at the time, was highly regarded by her peers. Cindy Peca-Dolan, Kibuishi’s jazz instructor at the Orange County School of Arts, tells ABC, “She was beautiful, she was graceful, she was dynamic, she was strong, she was emotional… Julie’s kindness was really immeasurable. … Everybody loved Julie. She was very compassionate and warm and talented as well, very fun to watch on stage.”
In the eyes of her mother, June Kibuishi, Julie was nothing but perfect. “I’m just so proud that she grew up to be very kind and very honest and very caring, loved to take care of other people,” she says, reflecting on her daughter.
At the time of her murder, Kibuishi had been tutoring Sam Herr for an anthropology class. Herr, before his death, had described Kibuishi to his father as his “kid sister”.
According to ABC, Kibuishi’s body was found when Sam Herr’s parents became concerned they hadn’t heard from their son in a while. Steve Herr tells ABC, “Sam was supposed to come to our house for the weekend… And throughout the day, I was calling his phone, but his phone would just — it was off … and Sam never turned his phone off. So, the more I called — I was a little bit more concerned.” When they eventually went to his house, they found Juli Kibuishi’s body lying face down on Sam’s bed.
As for the crime scene, ABC reports that some of Kibuishi’s clothes were ripped off and there was a gunshot wound to her head. She was also wearing a tiara, and the sweater she was wearing read, “All yours **** you”. But little did they know, Wozniak staged the crime scene to make it look like Herr was responsible for her death, as the OC Register points out.
While police, at first, considered Herr to be a suspect, their attention soon turned to Wozniak after a 16-year-old who was taking money out of Herr’s account said he was doing so for Wozniak.
While Wozniak played the innocent card for hours, he eventually admitted to what he did.
According to CBS, Julie was known for her love of music and fashion.
Be sure to see how it all unravels on tonight’s episode of 2020 airing at 9pm ET on ABC.