Julie Kibuishi and Sam Herr Murders – Who Killed Julie Kibuishi and Sam Herr? – Detectives believed a war hero was on the run when a young woman was savagely shot in his apartment. However, a completely different story surfaced when they located him. Police reacted to a father’s panicked 911 call on May 22, 2010. They were informed by Steve Herr that he had discovered a woman’s body in Sam’s flat. Julie Kibuishi was the victim, according to detectives. Sam Herr was initially suspected by police. “The Final Act“, the title of episode 37 of season 41 of ABC’s “20/20,” which details the horrific double homicide of Juri “Julie” Kibuishi and Samuel “Sam” Eliezer Herr in 2010, is no exception.
Must Read: Where is Killer Daniel Wozniak Now?
How Did Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi Pass Away?
At the time, dancer Julie Kibuishi was well-liked by her colleagues. The Orange County School of Arts’ jazz teacher, Cindy Peca-Dolan, describes Kibuishi as being “beautiful, graceful, energetic, forceful, and emotive.” Julie’s generosity was truly unfathomable. Julie was beloved by all. She was really talented, friendly, and sympathetic, and it was enjoyable to watch her perform.
June Kibuishi, Julie’s mother, saw nothing but perfection in her daughter. She remarks on her daughter, saying, “I’m just very glad that she grew up to be extremely nice, very honest, and very compassionate, loved to take care of other people.”
Kibuishi had been teaching Sam Herr for an anthropology class at the time of her murder. Before he passed away, Herr referred to Kibuishi as his “little sister” to his father.
Juri “Julie” Kibuishi, an Irvine resident and 23-year-old student at Orange Coast College, was shot twice in the head in the early hours of May 22, 2010, taking her life. The same evening, her classmate and close friend Samuel “Sam” Herr’s father really found her lifeless remains in his Costa Mesa condominium and called 911.
It appeared as though the 26-year-old Afghanistan War veteran had also sexually assaulted her before fleeing the scene because she was lying face down on his bed with some of her clothes hastily torn off.
Even though there was no visible evidence of a struggle, Sam was first considered the main suspect by the investigators because he was virtually absent, and messages showed that he had invited Julie over. However, the decorated former soldier had actually been murdered as well; Julie’s death was simply an attempt to cover up the crime, which was discovered four days later. Like his friend, he was shot twice in the head on May 21, 2010, in the attic of a theatre in Los Alamitos. He was then dismembered and partially disposed of at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach.
He was shot twice in the head (like his friend) in the attic of the Los Alamitos Theater on May 21, 2010. After that, he was cut into pieces and dumped at the El Dorado Nature Center in Long Beach.
Who killed Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi?
Local community theatre performer Daniel Patrick Wozniak committed the double murder of Sam and Julie, and documents show that his only motivation was money. When he discovered Sam had $62,000 saved from his combat pay, he made the decision to kill him in order to obtain the money because he didn’t have a full-time job, was heavily in debt, and was getting married soon.
In addition, not only was the war veteran Daniel’s neighbour in the apartment building, but he was also his friend, which made it simpler for the latter to entice him into the empty theatre area to start carrying out his plan.
After killing Sam, Daniel admittedly carried on as usual, even appearing in a performance at the Liberty Theater, before using his victim’s phone to text Julie (about 11 p.m.). Unfortunately, she quickly went to his house because she didn’t realise her companion was already dead.
Finally, Daniel attacked Julie and killed her, and then the scene was set up to make it appear as though she had been sexually abused. Undoubtedly, Daniel took extraordinary precautions to ensure he wouldn’t ever be linked to a suspect, but his strategy backfired when funds began to be taken out of Sam’s account.
Following Julie’s murder, the police were closely observing all activity on the vet’s bank accounts in an effort to determine his whereabouts because it was still thought that he was on the run. Therefore, the $2,000 cash withdrawal caught their attention. However, when they discovered a 17-year-old had Sam’s ATM cards, the kid ultimately blamed Daniel. The actor was arrested at that point (from his bachelor party two days before his wedding) and interrogated; throughout this time, his accounts fundamentally changed with the passage of time.
After spending almost 14 hours at the police station, Daniel made a lengthy confession to his crimes, which resulted in the discovery of Sam’s dismembered remains and additional evidence against him. In addition, a bag containing the clothes, phone, and wallet of his former acquaintance was left outside his parent’s house, and he had given the murder weapon to his brother for safekeeping. He had also searched online for “easy methods to kill somebody” and “how to hide a body.”
As if that weren’t enough, Daniel’s phone call to his fiance, Rachel Mae Buffett, after the initial few hours of his interrogation was equally revealing. Thus, he was detained, accused with two charges of first-degree murder, and ultimately found guilty in 2016, receiving the death penalty. In addition, as a result of her deception of the authorities, his fiancée was also found guilty of two felony counts of accessory after the fact.
