Daniel Wozniak is a former American community theatre actor who killed two people to fund his wedding. Daniel was sentenced to death in September 2016. He was convicted for the double murder of two people as a part of his plan to steal their money to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon.
Wozniak was a community theatre actor in Costa Mesa City, California. He was arrested in May 2010 for murdering Sam Herr, a war veteran and Julie Kibuishi, who was a dancer and a law student. According to Mercury News, Daniel lured his 26-years-old neighbour to join Forces Training in Los Alamitos. Instead, he shot Sam and killed him. Later he returned to Herr’s body the next day, cut off Herr’s head, forearm and hand. He then tossed the dead body in El Dorado Park in Long beach.
Daniel Wozniak tried to confuse the police by calling Kibuishi from Julie’s cell phone. Then, he tried to showcase that Julie called Kibuishi to her apartment. Kibuishi and Julie were friends, and Kibuishi, 23, was then helping Julie with her studies in community college.
Wozniak wanted to stage the entire crime as if Sam had been trying to assault Julie sexually. He wanted the police to think that Julie had committed the murder and is trying to hide. Surprisingly, the officer fell into the trap, and a massive chase was launched to find Julie, who was herself killed by Daniel.
Source : Wikipedia
Why did Daniel Wozniak Murder Julie and Sam?
According to the police authorities, Daniel was in desperate need of money to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon, which would cost him around $62,000. According to ABC News, Julie had the monetary amount that Daniel needed.
At that time, Daniel Wozniak had no full-time job hence had no money as well. He was also about to be evicted from his home. But he was also getting married during this time and was in desperate need of money to pay for the expense. The police apprehended Daniel after instructing a 16-year-old kid to withdraw cash from Herr’s bank account. When the officer asked the kid about the money withdrawal, he said that Daniel was set to do so. Later, Daniel was apprehended at his own Bachelor party two days before the wedding.
According to ABC News, when Daniel committed double murder, he was engaged with Rachel Buffett. Rachel was a fellow actress in the community theatre, and both of them were performing in a musical named “Nine.” After Daniel murdered Herr, he continued acting at the theatre as if nothing had happened.
The Murder interrogation process
Daniel Patrik Wozniak changed his statement several times; his performance was indeed worthy of being played on the stage. Daniel at first claimed to be running a credit card scam. Later he changed his statement and told the cops that Herr showed up at his apartment and admitted the crime of killing Kibuishi. However, he again changed his statement to helping Herr and added that he has nothing to do with the actual murder.
When Daniel Wozniak was asked for his DNA sample, he again changed his statement and claimed that he had seen the body. He also told the cops, “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.”
Daniel told the police that he had seen two gunshots. However, the officer saw only one gunshot first; however, they were alarmed that Daniel was there when the crime took place.
Daniel Wozniak’s trial for the murder
The police started suspecting Dan Wozniak from his ever-changing statements. Soon he was arrested and was charged with double murder. He has to undergo more than 130 court hearings. It took years for the court and the investigation team to solve the murder mystery. The entire situation became very frustrating for the family members of the victims. First, their children were murdered and second, the court case continued for years.
The police arrested Rachel Buffett in 2012, the fiancée of Daniel Patrik Wozniak. She was charged with three felony counts and was accused of lying to the police multiple times during the investigation process. Later, Rachel was sentenced to 44 months in prison. With probation, good conduct, and time served, Buffett was expected to do around two years in Orange County jail. Later, in an investigation tape, Rachel was seen pleading with the cops. She told the police multiple times that she has no idea about the murder.
When the police initially suspected Daniel Wozniak after asking the 16-year old boy to withdraw the cash, he called Buffett. He begged her not to tell the police regarding incriminating evidence, including the weapon used for the murder. Buffett warned Daniel about the call being recorded and said to him that she would call the detectives as soon as the phone call ends. Shortly after that, Daniel confessed to the crime. Throughout the investigation, Buffett is heard denying any involvement or knowledge regarding the murder.
More than five years of court trials, Wozniak was sent for a trial and was convicted of murdering two individuals. Dan Wozniak was sentenced to death in September 2016. He is incarcerated at California’s San Quentin State Prison.
Conclusion
The entire murder was well-planned by Daniel. However, the police ultimately found the truth, and he was sentenced to death. The primary and sole motive behind the actual crime was to get hold of a lump sum amount of money. Daniel Patrik Wozniak lied to Rachel about everything, starting from his job to the money he owned. He went around borrowing money from people without even telling Rachel. He was a psychopath and a master of lies. His entire life was based around lying to different people on different occasions, but he never wanted to lose Rachel. This is indeed one of the most difficult murder cases of all time!
