January 2015
My understanding is that the Sheriffs only wanted to question Pat about a missing man and his ATM card. And then Pat supposedly confessed immediately…
…to murder.
The Story
Pat and his fiancee lived in an apartment complex two floors below a 26 year old Army combat soldier.
The Vet (as I’ll refer to him) had recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan and had started attending a local college. Word around the complex was that The Vet had about 50,000 dollars savings in the bank and the police say that Pat wanted that money.
They also say Pat was in major debt… that Pat was about to be evicted from his apartment… that Pat was getting married in the middle of a terrible financial situation…
Money was motive for murder.
The Vet and his parents were close. He was their only child. When their son didn’t come over as expected that morning and couldn’t be reached on the phone, the worried dad went to his son’s apartment to check on him.
Inside the bedroom, he found the partially clad body of a young woman.
She was a friend of his son’s. She had been shot.
She had writing scrawled on her. The words indicated she’d been killed because of some kind of romantic relationship that had gone terribly wrong.
With no sign of his missing son, The Vet’s dad called the police.
I want to point out that everything I know about this case so far is from what I’ve read and seen on TV. None of my information is from Pat. We were not yet in that point of our relationship.
I’m not sure what exactly was written on the body of the murdered girl. My understanding is that a black marker was used to write on her body or her clothing. It supposedly said something like “now you can fucking have her…”
I will be very interested in finding out the specifics when Pat goes to trial
(likely this February).
Tutor Girl
The murdered woman was a 23 year old; The Vet’s fellow student and his tutor. Even though she had a boyfriend (A Marine combat engineer stationed in Japan),
the police immediately suspected that the relationship between The Vet and Tutor Girl was actually romantic. A logical conclusion. It appeared she’d been sexually assaulted and The Vet was nowhere to be found.
The dad protested profusely that his son would never have hurt Tutor Girl, but evidence showed otherwise. The previous evening, she was at dinner with her brother when she received texts from The Vet. He was depressed. He really wanted a “girl to talk to.” Tutor Girl was never one to abandon a friend in need, so she agreed to drop by his apartment later that night. Her brother got a text around midnight letting him know she’d arrived safely to The Vet’s apartment.
Now she had been found dead in the apartment of that man who had “lured” her to his home… and he was missing.
The police tracked the missing man’s activity through credit card and bank activity. The Vet’s ATM card led them to a 17 year old kid who had been taking out money. The 17 year old immediately told the police that he’d been given the card and asked to take out the money by… Pat.
Now, obviously, the police wanted to how Pat came into possession of a missing man’s ATM card – especially when that man was wanted in questioning to a murdered girl found in his apartment. This is when they tracked Pat down at that restaurant. It turns out that Pat didn’t realize that the police only wanted to question him about the ATM card. He thought they knew much much more.
You see, The Vet wasn’t on the lam.
He was dead.
The Confession
According to the police, Pat confessed to murdering them both.
He invited her in and shot her in the head.
Wow, right? Hold on… it gets worse.
Pat decapitated The Vet’s body. He also cut off the man’s left arm and right hand.
He left the torso and legs at the theatre and hid the head, arm, and hand in a nearby park.
No one at our theatre had any idea that the man singing on stage had just murdered two people… according to police.
When I use “allegedly” and “supposedly” to discuss Pat’s crime and confession, I do this because his trial hasn’t happened. He is innocent until proven guilty.
I’m pretty sure Pat is guilty. He’s also my friend.
I feel bad for you. From what you have written, it looks as if you didn’t really know Daniel until a few months ago, in which you probably became one of his main contacts… because let’s face it, he will thoroughly enjoys pen pals more than ever now that he’s stuck in there for the rest of his life, which hopefully isn’t long. Speaking as one of the friends of Julie, the girl he murdered, Daniel doesn’t deserve anything from anyone. I do hope that you realize this and you don’t become too consumed by the wonderful acting Daniel is good at. Your blog is awesome telling the story, I just worry that you will start to blame the wrong people. It’s as clear as day what happened, and it’s as clear as day that Daniel did it. Nobody falsified or coerced anything. This isn’t a bad judgment call, this is a sick and desperate man who was very intelligent in coming up with a plan to come up on some cash to selfishly help his life, while taking others. I do wish you the best and I hope you don’t give him too much attention out of your own life
I’m sorry, but the author clearly stated in general that Dan wasn’t a particularly great actor. Thought I would point that out.
On a side note, I really have mixed feelings on giving Dan the time of day after what he did. I do appreciate the author for pointing out, once again, in our society the following..
The really scary part is Dan seemed like a very normal everyday person, not some obvious scary monster. From what I’ve read and seen on t.v, Dan had EVERYONE fooled.
Not ‘intelligent’. In addition to the amoral aspects, DW’s crime was hopeless, unplanned and incoherent.
He was always going to get caught. It’s tragic that such a stupid plan was so deadly.
There were massive holes at every stage.
The cops would have eventually found out that Sam Herr was dead.
How did Wozniak think that he could access Sam Herr’s money by giving his debit card to a teenager?
What did he think would happen when the cops realise that Sam Herr is dead, but someone is trying to drain his account?
Dan Wozniak is a sociopathic dunderhead.
Why not write about the innocent girl that your friend killed in cold blood?
Why shouldn’t people read about the life that ended premature because of your criminal friend?
Instead, like a desperate and sick person, are trying to spin a murderer into something worth glorifying..
Beah!!!
I agree that the stories of Julie and Sam should be told. They had many people who knew and loved them and could write about them. I don’t think I am the person to speak on their behalf. I’ve never tried to glorify Daniel. I tell the story as I know it.
Nicely written; I just now finished watching the Dateline episode.
How F’n bizarre was that?
I do not believe that his (your friend’s) fiancée knew about the murders. But I will say this: he is better off with the death penalty. I’ve spent time in a prison out there, and those boys would tear him too pieces for his charge, plus that life is no life…..not a real one anyhow.
Again: well done.
I completely agree with what was written by “not in my name”. Why waste time writing about someone who ended two people’s lives? Why spend time describing your relationship with a monster? You are making the murders look more like a fascinating story than a horrible tragedy. Writing “wow, right?” in response to “tutor girl” being killed. That’s infuriating!
I too just heard about this case for the first time on “Dateline” recently. The most fascinating part to me was watching him perform in the play between killings, and looking so exuberant and unconflicted in the footage.
I have no doubt that his confession was accurate. What I can’t figure out is how someone capable of doing that to two people (not just ending their lives for his own selfish purposes, but “smiling and laughing” as he dismembered one of them) made it to the age he was without tipping anybody off that he was that unhinged. I’m not blaming his friends here–I see him in the videos, and he transmits nothing out of the norm. In fact, I would almost venture to say he comes across as the “quintessential theater kid” type personality.
I don’t believe that Rachel (his ex fiancé) knew about any of it beforehand. Yes, she has somewhat of a deadpan personality, but this doesn’t mean she has no feelings. I think people go numb sometimes in police stations and in the middle of situations like this. I certainly would. I’d be stunned first, and most likely, my feelings would all come out later, in a (private) flood.
Also, his “plan” was so badly conceived–how did he expect the debit card activity NOT to be traced to him?–it’s hard to believe that if Dan & Rachel were in cahoots, she would have backed up such a harebrained plan as that.
As for your friendship, I can only say that I understand how it could be fascinating, but do remember WHY.
That was one very good comment…
You must have been shocked when you realized you were friendly with a sociopath? Punishing your friend (I’m not mentioning his name either because sociopaths love notoriety and I’d hate for him to think anyone finds him interesting. Its actually you that I find intriguing) with a death sentence, is much too kind for his cruel and selfish crimes. He should be made to suffer daily for the rest of his life. That suffering should be equivalent to the pain that Sam Herr and Julie Kubuishi’s families suffer each and every day. I haven’t read the rest of your blog yet but please tell me the punchline is that you have come to this conclusion on your own and have participated in that punishment by cutting him off and not feeding his enormous ego by continuing to communicate with him???!! when it comes to punishing a sociopath nothing pisses them off more than realizing no one gives a rats ass about them. The last thing he deserves is to think there is someone out there for him when he needs a shoulder to cry his fake dramatic tears on.
I agree with you completely.
Why do you say that he confessed immediately?
That is a big error – it makes it sound as though he has some sort of remorse, when in actuality he spun lie after lie until he realised he had spun himself a web he just could not get out of.
Do you think he is a sociopath? I find it hard to remember a double murder so calculated and callous. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they’re are many. Just at the moment I have only just learned of this and am a bit stunned that he did this to two such random people for the sake of just over $50,000.
He would have been right back where he started six months later! I wonder if he’d gotten away with it would he have done it again.
I’m just re-reading now I’ve had a little break and I’m all caught up – you are a really great writer by the way.
But I just have a vision of Sam lying on a baby sheep midway through this post haha. I think the police thought he was ‘on the lam’. Not trialing a new and unusually cruel method of transport.
It’s a terrible tragedy. Two young people murdered, two families in sorrows and also the murderer’s family and his former fiancee. These murders destroyed the happiness of many people. And just for a ridiculous amount of money and for a hypertrophic ego. Not being in favour of the death penalty, I think that this man, if his guilt is proved beyond any doubt, should spend the rest of his life in prison to think of the wrong and evil he has done to so many people, physically and mentally destroying their lives. And also think about what he has done to himself : destroying a potentially fine career as an actor. Yes, it’s a tragedy. One of the worst kind one would never think of having on stage. And the worst part an actor could play. Respect to the victims and their families.