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Thread: Daniel Patrick Wozniak - California Death Row

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    Daniel Patrick Wozniak - California Death Row


    Samuel Eliezer Herr


    Juri 'Julie' Kibuishi


    Daniel Patrick Wozniak


    Prosecutors to seek death penalty for actor accused in double slaying

    SANTA ANA – County prosecutors announced Thursday that they will seek the death penalty against a 26-year-old Costa Mesa man accused of slaying and dismembering an Army veteran and then killing the man's friend to throw police off his trail.

    Daniel Wozniak, an actor who starred in the recent production of "Nine" at Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton, is charged in the recent killings of Samuel Eliezer Herr, 26, of Costa Mesa and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, of Irvine.

    Wozniak allegedly shot and killed Herr on May 21 at a theatre on the Los Alamitos Joint Training Base. A day later, Wozniak cut off Herr's head, left arm, and right hand, and dispersed the body parts in the theatre and at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, prosecutors said.

    On May 22, Wozniak lured Kibuishi to Herr's apartment by text messaging her from Herr's phone, killed her by shooting her twice in the head, and then fled, authorities said. Wozniak removed some of Kibushi's clothing to make it look like she had been sexually assaulted, prosecutors said. Police, finding Kibuishi dead and Herr missing, initially suspected Herr had killed her.

    Police found that somebody was using Herr's ATM card to make withdrawals in Long Beach. That led them to a 17-year-old boy, who told police he was making the withdrawals for Wozniak.

    District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Wozniak had no regard whatsoever for human life, calling him callous and heartless. "He's an actor that considers himself to be a star and all other people to be living props in his play," Rackauckas said.

    Rackauckas also called Wozniak a "greedy groom" who was broke and wanted to steal money for his wedding.

    Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor's party at Tsunami restaurant Huntington Beach on May 27 – a day before he was scheduled to get married in Long Beach, prosecutors said.

    On Thursday, Herr is scheduled to be buried during a private military funeral. His father, Steven Herr, said he supported the death penalty for Wozniak.

    "I'm behind it 100 percent,'' he said. "This is what I want."

    Herr served in the Army from 2006 to 2009, including a 15-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, according to Herr's mother, who declined to give her name.

    Herr, who was her only child, was engaged to be married and was a student at Orange Coast College, she said. He wanted to return to the Army one day, she said.

    Herr's colleagues in Afghanistan just had a memorial service for her son, she said.

    "He was a good-hearted man, sometimes too naive,'' she said, her voice faltering. "He was safer in Afghanistan than he was here."

    Authorities Wozniak's motive was money: Wozniak got the 17-year-old boy to use Herr's ATM card to get about $2,000, they said.

    Wozniak had "a spotty employment record," said Sgt. Ed Everett of the Costa Mesa Police Department. He was involved with "some sort of promotions business with his fiancee's brother, but they weren't making any money," Everett said.

    His relationship with his parents had been strained for several months due to his relationship with Rachel Buffett, his fiancee, Everett said.

    After Herr was killed, somebody continued to use his MySpace and Skype accounts. Everett noticed on May 27 that somebody had logged into Herr's MySpace account that day.

    After Kibuishi's boyfriend, Mark Johnson, got the awful news, he saw somebody using Herr's Skype account. At the time, police suspected Herr had murdered her.

    "I do not know for sure who it was," Johnson wrote to a reporter. "I thought it was Sam and just sent him a message saying that he can't run forever, and got a reply stating yes he can, and by the way this isn't Sam, and then the person signed off."

    Johnson is a Marine combat engineer stationed in Okinawa; he met Kibuishi online. They'd talk on Skype "for hours on end," he said.

    He got to know Herr through his girlfriend. Herr even invited Johnson to stay at his place during a visit planned for this summer.

    "I was one of the last ones to talk to Julie before all this happened," Johnson wrote. "She was over at her brothers house and they had dinner and she talked to me through skype afterward, and told me that she had gotten a text message from Sam and that she was gonna stop by his place for a bit before returning home, I had gotten messages from her family her on Facebook the next morning asking if i knew where she was, and that's when i started to get worried."

    Johnson "had no idea" who Wozniak was until the arrest.

    Wozniak is charged with two felony counts of special circumstances murder. The special circumstance sentencing enhancements include multiple murders, murder for financial gain, and the personal discharge of a firearm causing death, prosecutors said.

    His arraignment is scheduled for June 25.

    http://www.ocregister.com/news/herr-252795-wozniak-police.html

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    SANTA ANA -- An actor accused of beheading his neighbor, scattering his limbs in a park and killing the victim's friend was scheduled to appear in court Monday.

    Prosecutors have said they would seek the death penalty against Daniel Wozniak because the crimes involved multiple murders and murder for financial gain.

    Wozniak, 26, allegedly killed Samuel Herr to steal his money and then lured Juri Kibuishi to Herr's apartment via a text message, according to prosecutors.

    Wozniak allegedly murdered the 23-year-old woman to make it look like Herr raped and killed her.

    Herr's head, hand and arm were found in a Long Beach park.

    Authorities say they arrested Wozniak after a 17-year-old boy tried to use Herr's ATM card on Wozniak's instructions.

    Wozniak did not enter a plea during a court appearance last month and his arraignment was continued.

    He is being held without bail.

    Wozniak recently starred in the lead role as Guido Contini in the musical "Nine" at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton.

    Shortly after his arrest, Wozniak was scheduled to get married to Rachel Buffett, an actress he met while working at Hunger Artists.

    According to Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy he was arrested during his bachelor party at a Huntington Beach restaurant.

    Police initially suspected Herr in the killing, because he had disappeared.

    http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-beheading-murder-costa-mesa,0,115470.story?track=rss

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    Wozniak was featured last night on Lockup Orange County: Extended Stay. What a tool! Too bad the murders of his friends has put a damper on his acting career.

    A repeat of the episode Lockup Orange County: Extended Stay: Unholy Trinity will be aired Saturday 04/02/11 on msnbc @ 9:00 pm EDT.

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    Costa Mesa man heading to pretrial in Afghanistan veteran dismemberment case

    A Costa Mesa man accused of murdering his neighbor for financial gain and killing his neighbor's tutor is set to appear in court Friday, according to court documents.

    Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Daniel Wozniak, 27, who is accused of killing Afghanistan veteran Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, last year.

    Wozniak, a community theater actor, has pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecutors allege Wozniak killed Herr and lured Kibuishi to Herr's Costa Mesa apartment, killing her there in an effort to frame Herr, according to a statement released by the district attorney's office.

    Kibuishi's body was found May 22, in Herr's apartment with her clothes partially removed in an effort to stage sexual assault, according to the statement.

    Parts of Herr's dismembered body were found five days later in Long Beach's El Dorado Park Nature Center.

    Authorities believe Wozniak drove Herr to a theater facility at the Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base on May 21 and shot him twice in the head before dismembering him.

    Later in the evening, Wozniak allegedly texted Kibuishi and lured her into Herr's apartment.

    Wozniak was later arrested at his bachelor party in Huntington Beach.

    Wozniak was accused of using a 17-year-old acquaintance to withdraw $2,000 from Herr's account. He is set to appear at the Newport Beach Harbor Justice Center.

    http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dp...,1407137.story

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    Wozniak pre-trial hearing continued to August

    A pre-trial hearing in the case of a Costa Mesa man accused of killing his neighbor for financial gain and trying to derail authorities by killing his neighbor's tutor has been continued to Aug. 26.

    Daniel Wozniak, 27, is accused of killing and dismembering Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, his tutor. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.

    Prosecutors allege Wozniak killed Herr, who served the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan, and lured Kibuishi to Herr's Costa Mesa apartment, killing her there in an effort to frame Herr, according to a statement released by the district attorney's office.
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    Kibuishi's body was found May 22 in Herr's apartment with her clothes partially removed in an effort to stage sexual assault, according to the statement.

    Parts of Herr's dismembered body were found five days later in Long Beach's El Dorado Park Nature Center.

    Authorities believe Wozniak drove Herr to a theater facility at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base on May 21 and shot him twice in the head before dismembering him.

    Later in the evening, Wozniak allegedly texted Kibuishi to get to go into Herr's apartment.

    Wozniak was later arrested at his bachelor party in Huntington Beach.

    He is also accused of using a 17-year-old acquaintance to withdraw $2,000 from Herr's account.

    http://articles.dailypilot.com/2011-...hi-samuel-herr

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    Edited

    Seal Beach and Los Alamitos have had three slayings in the last few years, and the murder defendants from all three cases are scheduled to be in Orange County Superior Court today.

    A man accused of shooting his wife of 69 years, a mother accused of killing her toddler, and an actor accused of a double execution are all scheduled to appear in court today for pretrial hearings, which are essentially status updates in the run-up to the actual trial.

    DEATH IN THE THEATER

    Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 27, could face the death penalty if he is convicted of shooting his neighbor Samuel Herr inside the Liberty Theater at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base last year in order to steal Herr’s savings account. According to the Orange County district attorney’s office, Wozniak shot Herr and then went to Herr’s apartment in Costa Mesa and lured Herr’s friend Juri “Julie” Kibuishi to the apartment by pretending to be Herr via text message. Police allege that once Kibuishi arrived, Wozniak shot her twice and staged a sexual assault.

    At that point, Herr became the prime suspect in Kibuishi’s death.

    According to investigators, Wozniak returned to the Liberty Theater the next day and dismembered Herr, leaving his legs and torso and dumping Herr’s head and arms at the El Dorado Park Nature Center in Long Beach. Investigators also accuse Wozniak of giving Herr’s ATM card to a 17-year-old and asking the boy to withdraw $2,000 for him. The teen was arrested, and Wozniak became the prime suspect in the slaying.

    Costa Mesa police arrested Wozniak five days later during his bachelor party at Tsunami in Huntington Beach.

    Wozniak has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and several enhancements relating to the use of a firearm and murder for financial gain.

    http://losalamitos.patch.com/article...eaded-to-court

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    Defendant in Double Murder, Dismemberment Heads to Court

    The actor accused of murdering and dismembering a man in the Liberty Theater on the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base and then killing the victim’s friend in Costa Mesa to cover up the first murder is headed to court Friday morning.

    Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 27, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Newport Beach to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial.

    Wozniak could face the death penalty if he is convicted of shooting his neighbor Samuel Herr inside the Liberty Theater at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base last year so he could steal Herr’s savings account. According to the Orange County district attorney’s office, Wozniak shot Herr and then went to Herr’s apartment in Costa Mesa and lured Herr’s friend Juri “Julie” Kibuishi to the apartment by pretending to be Herr via text message. Police allege that once Kibuishi arrived, Wozniak shot her twice and staged a sexual assault.

    At that point, Herr became the prime suspect in Kibuishi’s death.

    According to investigators, Wozniak returned to the Liberty Theater the next day and dismembered Herr, leaving his legs and torso and dumping Herr’s head and arms at the El Dorado Park Nature Center in Long Beach. Investigators also accuse Wozniak of giving Herr’s ATM card to a 17-year-old and asking the boy to withdraw $2,000 for him. The teen was arrested, and Wozniak became the prime suspect in the slaying.

    Costa Mesa police arrested Wozniak five days later during his bachelor party at Tsunami in Huntington Beach.

    Wozniak has pleaded not guilty to two charges of murder and several enhancements relating to the use of a firearm and murder for financial gain.

    http://losalamitos.patch.com/article...heads-to-court

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    Hearing set for Costa Mesa man accused in double murder

    A court date has been set for prosecutors to show a judge that they have enough evidence to try a Costa Mesa man on charges that he murdered a neighbor and then, as part of an elaborate cover-up, killed the neighbor's friend.

    A preliminary hearing for Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 27, will take place Feb. 24 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

    Wozniak is charged with two counts of murder and a list of sentencing enhancements, including using a firearm and killing for financial gain because he allegedly paid a boy to use one of the victim's ATM cards to withdraw money from a bank.

    He has pleaded not guilty to both charges. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

    Wozniak was in court last month to schedule the preliminary hearing, but at the time attorneys had not gathered all of the evidence required to move the case forward.

    Outside of the courthouse Friday, Orange County prosecutor Matt Murphy said defense counsel will have all the police reports, recordings and other evidence by next week.

    Police allege that Wozniak killed his neighbor Samuel Herr, a 26-year-old Army veteran in 2010 by luring him to the military reserve base in Los Alamitos and then dismembering his body and hiding the remains at a Long Beach park. He allegedly obtained Herr's PIN number and asked a boy to withdraw money from the account.

    Wozniak then allegedly used Herr's cell phone to lure Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, to Herr's apartment, where he allegedly shot her in an effort to frame Herr for her death.

    Police eventually found Herr's remains and connected both slayings to Wozniak.

    He was arrested at his bachelor party in Huntington Beach the day before he was going to get married.

    http://www.dailypilot.com/news/tn-dp...,4885140.story

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    2 more arrests in decapitation killing of college student, friend

    Prosecutors on Friday announced charges against two people suspected of being accessories after the fact in a complicated double-murder case that rattled a Costa Mesa apartment complex in May 2010.

    The suspects were arrested and charged in connection with the slaying of college student Samuel Herr, 26, of Costa Mesa and Herr's friend, Irvine resident Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23. An actor has been charged in their killings.

    Police, however, have declined to publicly name the new suspects or describe their alleged roles in the case.

    "The release of more information at this stage of the ongoing investigation may compromise witnesses and/or may jeopardize the possible arrest of any additionally involved persons," Costa Mesa police Lt. Tim Schennum wrote in an email.

    Those arrested are not believed to have participated in or planned the murders, said Costa Mesa police Lt. Paul Dondero.

    "Someone had the opportunity to contact the police or knew there was evidence of a crime and failed to do so," Dondero said of the arrested suspects.

    Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 27, who worked as a community playhouse actor, faces the death penalty in the case. Prosecutors allege that Wozniak killed Herr, his neighbor at the Camden Martinique apartment complex on Pinecreek Drive, after luring him to the military base in Los Alamitos.

    Wozniak, prosecutors allege, then killed Kibuishi at Herr's apartment. The scene was made to look like a sexual assault so authorities would suspect Herr of Kibuishi's murder, prosecutors contend.

    Herr's body was dismembered. Body parts -- including Herr's severed head -- were eventually found scattered in a park in Long Beach, according to the Daily Pilot.

    Herr was an Afghanistan war veteran and Orange Coast College student. Kibuishi also attended OCC.

    Wozniak has pleaded not guilty.

    http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lano...nt-friend.html

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    D.A.: Man killed two, dismembered a body

    The O.C. Grand Jury indicted Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 28, of Costa Mesa on two felony counts of special circumstances murder, prosecutors said.

    The Orange County grand jury indicted an actor Thursday in the murder of two Orange Coast College students, including an Army veteran whose body he dismembered, prosecutors said.

    Daniel Patrick Wozniak, 28, of Costa Mesa is charged with two felony counts of special circumstances murder. The special circumstance sentencing enhancements include multiple murders, murder for financial gain and the personal discharge of a firearm causing death.

    Wozniak is being held without bail and is expected to be arraigned Friday in Orange County Superior Court. He pleaded not guilty to the same charges filed by county prosecutors in 2010, who are seeking the death penalty. An indictment eliminates the need for a preliminary hearing to test the evidence and speeds the case along to a court trial.

    Wozniak, an actor who starred in the production of "Nine" at Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton, is charged in the killings of Samuel Herr, 26, of Costa Mesa and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, of Irvine.

    The indictment is "long overdue but glad it is happening," said Herr's father, Steve. "If it can expedite the trial, all the better."

    Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor party at Tsunami restaurant Huntington Beach on May 26, 2010, two days before he was scheduled to get married in Long Beach, according to an Orange County District Attorney's Office news release.

    At a previous news conference, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas called Wozniak a "greedy groom" who was broke and wanted to steal money for his wedding.

    The county's top prosecutor said Wozniak had no regard for human life, calling him callous and heartless.

    "He's an actor that considers himself to be a star and all other people to be living props in his play," Rackauckas said.

    The defendant is accused of plotting the murder of his neighbor and Army veteran Herr with the intention of stealing the victim's substantial savings, prosecutors said.

    On May 21, 2010, Wozniak lured Herr from their Costa Mesa apartment complex and drove him to the theater facility at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, a facility he was familiar with because of previously having acted in plays at that location, the D.A.'s news release said.

    Wozniak shot and killed Herr at a theater, then left the body there and stole Herr's ATM card, wallet and cell phone, prosecutors said.

    Later that evening, Wozniak is accused of using Herr's cell phone to text Herr's friend, Kibuishi, luring her after midnight to Herr's apartment.

    He killed her by shooting her twice in the head and then removed some of her clothing to stage the crime scene to make it look like she had been sexually assaulted, prosecutors said.

    Wozniak returned to the Los Alamitos theater that afternoon and cut off Herr's head, left arm and right hand, and dispersed the body parts in the theater and at El Dorado Park in Long Beach, prosecutors said.

    Costa Mesa police officers discovered Kibuishi's body when they responded to a call regarding a possible murder from Herr's father, who had gone to his son's apartment to check on him.

    Police got a break in the case when they found a 17-year-old youth was using Herr's ATM card to make withdrawals in Long Beach. The teen told police he was making the withdrawals for Wozniak, authorities said.

    http://www.ocregister.com/news/herr-...osecutors.html
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