Daniel has been on San Quentin’s death row for a couple of months now and he’s settling in quite nicely. It will probably be at least a year or so before there is any action regarding his appeal, which means he won’t be going anywhere for a while.
San Quentin’s condemned unit is a well-run machine. Daniel’s life is much more scheduled now. He’s taking classes regularly, he attends various religious services, and he goes to dental appointments.
Daniel was recently assigned to yard group six, and can go outside every day. He assured me that it is a very safe group, and that’s why he requested it specifically. The inmates in this group aren’t in gangs (or have dropped out of gang life). Yard group six hasn’t had a violent incident in eight years. Also, Daniel already had a buddy in that group he met when they were both locked up in Orange County.
The condemned unit of San Quentin has a fair and organized yard use system. There are six large outdoor areas on one side of the prison and one smaller outdoor area on another. The inmate groups rotate from day to day, meaning each group will be in the smaller yard once a week. On Daniel’s first day out with the group, they were assigned to the small yard, and even then, he was still impressed with the size.
I was looking forward to hearing all about Daniel’s first outing with his new group. Did he have fun? Were the other inmates nice? Is there a tetherball court?
I may be a little too used to questioning my kids after their first day of school.
But the first thing Daniel told me was how he had come close to getting his first major write-up since being incarcerated.
Uh oh. My mind immediately went on a tangent; graphic scenes from episodes of Oz were playing in my head. Did another inmate come at him with a shiv? What’s a person supposed to do then? You have to defend yourself if another person attacks you with a sharpened ring pop. Maybe he mouthed off to a guard? That didn’t seem like Daniel at all, but if he’d made a joke that wasn’t taken the right way, he could be heading to solitary confinement for the next five years.
“I had a bird in my pocket.”
A pocket bird. I didn’t see that one coming.
Daniel was an amateur magician in his teens, so maybe he was planning to practice tricks in his cell?
Bird-man of San Quentin?
Daniel had noticed a small bird, possibly a sparrow, walking around amongst the thirty or so inmates who had come out for yard. Daniel thought the bird looked injured, and the little guy wasn’t flying at all. He suspected this was a baby that had fallen out of a nearby nest.
Inmates get a sack lunch each day they can bring out to the yard, so Daniel tried to offer the bird a small piece of bread from his sandwich. The little fellow didn’t immediately trust Daniel’s offering. For the next thirty minutes, Daniel calmly followed the bird around the yard’s running track, repeatedly putting out his hand to offer bread.
I asked him if he tried throwing some bread to the bird to gain its trust. He laughed and admitted that was probably a good idea and wished he’d thought of it.
Nonetheless, “Birdie” finally came around (or was just tired of all that walking), and took some bread from Daniel’s hand. By the end of yard time, this little bird was standing on Daniel’s index finger and eating out of the palm of his hand.
At that point, Daniel decided “Birdie” needed a warm safe place to recuperate for a while. He figured he could make a comfy little bed on the empty shelf in his cell. When yard time ended, he gingerly placed his fine feathered friend in the pocket of his jacket.
They would have made it too if that bird had just laid low in the pocket for a couple of minutes.
When inmates return to their cells after yard time, they go into a small gated area to be handcuffed before entering the prison building again. It’s sort of like a chamber lock system. The inmate stands facing the yard, with his back to the guard. The inmate’s hands are behind his back, where the guard can see them, waiting to be cuffed.
The guard who was preparing to cuff Daniel was, rightfully, taken aback when Daniel’s jacket pocket starting jumping around. Daniel is lucky the guy remained calm and didn’t shoot him immediately. Instead he asked Daniel what the deal was and learned about the bird in the pocket. Despite Daniel’s urge to give the bird a good home, the guard told him he couldn’t bring a bird into the prison.
Oh well. It was a nice thought. Daniel took the bird out of his pocket and put it on the ground, and “Birdie” walked back toward the yard. Daniel plans to keep an eye out for him, so he can share his lunch.
Of course I know trying to rescue a baby bird does not make up for committing murder. I don’t think there is anything Daniel could do that would redeem him in that regard. But I wanted to share this story because it shows the side of Daniel Wozniak most don’t get to see, or don’t believe exists. This is the Daniel I know. This is my friend.
We are smack dab in the middle of the holiday season. You can’t turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or go into any store without being reminded of this fact.
Occasionally, when I’m talking to Daniel Wozniak I will mention something fun I’m doing with my family, like going Christmas tree shopping, and then I immediately feel a little bad. I assume it must be so depressing to be reminded of the holidays when you are incarcerated.
Last year at this time, Daniel was being found guilty by a jury of his peers, and the topic of Christmas wasn’t in the forefront.
But this year is his first Christmas on death row, and he is living pretty far away from his family and friends. It’s also the first holiday season since Daniel’s father passed away.
This situation would get anyone down, and I was worried about my friend. I asked Daniel if it was OK for me to even broach the topic of how he is feeling around this time of the year, and he said he was fine with that. I told him I would come up with some questions so I could “interview” him during our next phone call.
The first thing I asked about was Daniel’s first Christmas incarcerated. I’ll be honest with you guys, I was expecting a tale of woe about the difficulties of that first year locked up at the Orange County Jail.
Nope.
Daniel’s First Christmas At The Orange County Jail
Daniel cheerfully told me about how he, “Raphly, and Doug” preceded to make a “little spread” for the other 28 inmates on their tier during their dayroom time. They made bowls of soup (ramen), with beans and Cheetos and crumbled up Sun Chips for the topping. The guards let them pass the food out to everyone in their cells. Daniel got to have a Christmas show on the television during food prep (the Jim Carey Grinch movie), and Ralphy led the tier in a song and then said a prayer.
I could tell by his voice that Daniel is still moved by the memory of making sure everyone on his tier got a good meal on Christmas.
That first Christmas wasn’t sad. Why, that first Christmas sounded glad.
Making food for his fellow inmates became a tradition he continued each Christmas at the Orange County Jail. Leave it to Daniel (Mr. Glass Half Full) to manage to have fond memories of Christmas at County.
Daniel’s First Christmas On San Quentin’s Death Row
I asked Daniel about the general atmosphere behind bars during these weeks leading up to Christmas. For the most part, the inmates just ignore the holidays. As opposed to the OC Jail, at least San Quentin has special visiting days on holidays (even when the holiday doesn’t land on a regular visiting day). Other than that, it’s just like any other time of the year.
I can’t imagine trying to block out the holidays when every other television commercial shows a new car with a bow on it, or people baking pies, or children on Christmas morning happily playing with their recently unwrapped toys.
I guess when you’re incarcerated, you do your best to block out that sort of thing. For most of the inmates, the best part of the holidays is getting a good meal (traditional holiday fare) and watching football on Thanksgiving and basketball on Christmas.
At the OC Jail, there was one TV for each tier. Located in the day room, it wasn’t visible from all the cells.
When Daniel talked about “watching” football and basketball, that often meant just listening to the games and relying on the person in the dayroom to keep everyone else updated on the score.
This year he’s most pleased to have his own TV inside his cell. See, aside from football and basketball, Daniel really enjoys Christmas movies and specials, whereas most of the OC Jail prisoners had no interest in watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
I have numerous programs I need to watch every year or else it doesn’t feel like Christmas. They are (in no particular order):
A Christmas Story
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
It’s a Wonderful Life
Elf
Miracle of 34th Street
Home Alone (only the first one)
The Year without a Santa Claus
The Grinch (animated – I do not need to watch that Jim Carey movie)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Frosty the Snowman
The Santa Clause (only the first one).
And two that aren’t for the whole family:
An Always Sunny Christmas
The Trailer Park Boys Christmas Special.
This year Daniel has already watched Rudolph, The Grinch, Frosty, and his favorite Christmas movie, It’s a Wonderful Life.
What Daniel Misses
Of course, Daniel misses being with his family.
He spoke fondly of how they would pick up his grandma on Christmas eve and go to “vigil” at five o’clock (a vigil is a Catholic mass held on the evening before the event being celebrated. Mass on Christmas Eve would be the Christmas Vigil mass). Then they’d visit various aunt’s and uncle’s houses to eat and socialize, and end the night with midnight mass. When the family got home, he and his two brothers would each get to open one present.
Daniel’s mom visited him on Thanksgiving Day and will visit again over Christmas.
I just got approved to visit, so I’ll be doing that early in the new year.
Despite Daniel’s ability to put on a happy face, I asked him to tell me a tradition he misses about Christmas on the outside.
He told me about setting up little “villages” all around his house every year. The family custom started at his aunt’s and grandma’s houses. That is where Daniel apprenticed in the art of setting up these elaborate displays of moving parts, twinkling lights and snowy landscapes. He told me he got a kick out of people enjoying the moving ice skaters and miniature scenes of children waiting in line to see Santa.
Daniel seems to be doing fine, though. He’s been behind bars for seven Christmases now, and he’s used to it.
Perspective
The Herr and Kibuishi families have had seven Christmases without Sam and Julie. I’m sure they are not used to it, and never will be.
Every year I unpack ornaments my kids made when they were little; photos of them in Santa hats (and missing front teeth) that are glued into snowman picture frames. I smile when I pull the ornaments out of the box and reminisce about those Christmases years ago. Sometimes I even tear up a little. My kids are safe and sound. I have them.
When you get right down to it, Daniel’s family still has him, even if he is in San Quentin. Daniel can still celebrate the holidays with friends (even if they are also murderers). Sam’s and Julie’s families don’t get that luxury. They only have memories of Christmases past.
Recently I was watching an episode of The Perfect Murder about a man from Orange County named Kevin Green. He spent 16 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Green was found guilty of the rape of his pregnant wife (she survived) and the murder of his unborn daughter.
I’d seen this story before on other true crime shows, so I was only half watching it while I was writing. The man was finally exonerated when DNA proved that his wife and unborn child were actually victims of another man, Gerald Parker. Before his capture, Parker was known only as “The Bedroom Basher.”
Gerald Parker received that dubious nickname exactly how you would imagine. Along with the rape of Green’s wife and the murder of her unborn baby, The Bedroom Basher raped and murdered five other women in Orange County in the 1970s.
The episode ended by announcing that Gerald Parker is currently on death row in San Quentin. He was sentenced to lethal injection in January of 1999. He’s 60 now. He’s also two cells down from my friend Daniel Wozniak.
A couple of days before I watched the show, Daniel and I had a phone conversation, and he told me about an older guy he’d met in one of his classes. They got into a conversation about how they were both from Orange County. Parker was impressed that Daniel had spent six years in the OC Jail without getting one major write up. Daniel didn’t ask about Gerald Parker’s crime, but when I mentioned watching the show, Daniel made the connection.
When you’re on death row, you can probably assume everyone around you is there for doing something pretty bad. I had already wondered if Daniel would eventually come in contact with some of the more infamous killers I’d seen profiled on so many ID Network programs.
People Magazine dubbed Daniel Wozniak “The Grizzly Groom,” but I’m happy that moniker didn’t catch on. Daniel’s crimes are heinous, but I don’t think he warrants a nickname.
There are currently 745 condemned killers on San Quentin’s death row. The majority haven’t been given a lot of press. But there are quite a few inmates who’ve acquired enough notoriety to show up repeatedly on the ID Channel and have their own Wikipedia page. There’s the Yosemite Park Killer, the Freeway Killer, the Trailside Killer, the Toolbox Killer, and even Scott Peterson.
As of this writing, Daniel does not have a Wikipedia page. I checked. There is a Daniel Wozniak who does have a Wiki page, but he’s “a Paralympic athlete from Poland.”
Daniel’s case has been profiled quite a lot, though. Perhaps certain crimes grab the public’s attention because the circumstances are particularly bizarre. A higher number of murders committed probably draws more interest, as well. In the case of serial killers like the Bedroom Basher, the nickname often comes from the press during the investigation of the crimes.
For me personally, I find the cases that include torture or sexual assault or the murder of a child to be the most terrifying and incomprehensible. In those situations, I’m not sure if even I could look beyond the crimes to try to see the human being inside the killer.
I’m sure many of you feel the same exact way about Daniel Wozniak. Fair enough.
I’m sure if Daniel ends up meeting more of his notorious new neighbors, he will have no trouble seeing the human being behind the killer. It’s likely he won’t even know what that person did to end up on death row.
Ironically, the episode of 48 Hours and the re-airing of the Dateline episode about Daniel’s case were both shown soon after Daniel’s arrival at San Quentin. He didn’t have a TV yet, but many of his fellow inmates watched the programs.
So, who is on death row with my friend Daniel Wozniak?
The Toolbox Killer
There were actually two Toolbox Killers: Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker and Roy Norris. However, after the men were arrested, Norris made a deal and testified against Bittaker, who ended up on death row.
Together, Bittaker and Norris kidnapped, raped, tortured and murdered five teenage girls in 1979. They earned the name Tool Box Killers because their instruments of torture were items that could generally be found in the average tool box.
Richard Allen Davis
Maybe Daniel will meet Richard Allen Davis. He doesn’t have a nickname.
Davis was found guilty of molesting and murdering twelve-year-old Polly Klaas. He abducted her from her own bedroom during a slumber party with two of her friends.
Davis’ case was the impetus for the three strikes law in California. Adding to the Klaas family’s pain, just before his sentencing, Davis made a claim in court that Polly told him she’d been molested by her father, Marc Klass.
*Writer’s note – I apologize for not pointing out that Davis was lying about Polly’s father. This was just an attempt to hurt the family even more.*
The Yosemite Park Killer
Then there is Cary Anthony Stayner, who is also known as the Yosemite Park Killer. Stayner was sent to death row for the murders of 4 people.
Stayner was a handyman who worked at a motel just outside of Yosemite Park. A woman and two teenage girls were staying at the motel (mother and daughter and a family friend whose family was visiting from Argentina). Stayner used a ruse to gain access to their room by claiming he needed to repair something in the bathroom.
He bound and gagged each of them. After murdering the mother and one of the teens, Stayner loaded their bodies into the trunk of a rental car which was later found burned.
He drove the other girl away for about an hour. Then he took her out of the car and slashed her throat.
Stayner’s fourth victim was a twenty-six-year-old Naturalist who was working at Yosemite Park. Stayner attacked her when they crossed paths. When she tried to escape from him, Stayner cut her throat so deeply that he decapitated her.
Scott Peterson
Daniel actually has met Scott Peterson. It was a brief interaction in the San Quentin law library. Daniel recognized Peterson by sight, because the guy’s face was everywhere in 2002 when his wife Laci Peterson went missing in Modesto, California.
Laci was eight months pregnant at the time. She had already named the baby Connor. Authorities presumed foul play and it was believed that Laci had probably been murdered.
Suspicion fell on her husband pretty quickly, especially when a woman named Amber Frey came forward and admitted to having an affair with Scott Peterson. According to Frey, Peterson claimed to be single and a widower.
In April 2003, the bodies of Laci and her unborn baby Connor washed up on the shore of San Francisco Bay, and in March of 2005, Scott Peterson received a death sentence for their murders.
Daniel’s thought Scott Peterson seemed like a nice guy.
Charles Ng
From the first time I saw Ng’s crimes profiled on a true crime show, he and his partner, Leonard Lake, have stuck in my brain as being the most terrifying of killers.
These two men were responsible for up to twenty-five murders. They kidnapped entire families, including infant children.
The men and children were murdered first. Then Ng and Lake would rape and torture the women to death. Most of this horror took place in a makeshift torture dungeon that Lake had built outside of his remote cabin out in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
The men were captured after Ng was caught shoplifting a vice (it was to be used as a torture device since he’d broken the one they had). He was using the identification of a missing man, and this led the police investigate Ng.
Eventually the police would find copious amounts of physical evidence to link Lake and Ng to multiple murders. This included video recordings of the two men torturing their victims.
Leonard Lake never stood trial because he committed suicide soon after being apprehended. He’d sewn two cyanide pills into his clothes.
Charles Ng was eventually sentenced to death in 1999, after being extradited from Canada where he’d been apprehended for a separate crime.
And All the Rest…
San Quentin’s death row also houses Randy Kraft (the Freeway Killer), Rodney Alcala (the Dating Game Killer) and David Carpenter (the Trailside Killer). Carpenter has been on death row so long (since 1988) that he was sentenced to be executed in the gas chamber.
They say “good fences make good neighbors.” In the case of Daniel’s neighbors, maybe the expression should include “strong bars.”
The idea of interacting with these men would terrify most of us. I’m not worried about my friend’s safety though. He doesn’t seem to have any concerns. He has no gang ties. Also, he’s well known as the guy whose case is attached to the Orange County informant scandal.
Daniel has explained to me that on death row, no one goes into details about their cases. He prefers that. He can enjoy a person’s company and get to know him for who he is today. The guy in the next cell could have committed the most monstrous acts imaginable, but that won’t change Daniel’s opinion of him. He’ll just see a guy who gave him a shot of coffee when he first moved in.
Daniel Wozniak has been at San Quentin State Prison for over a month now and I know many of my readers have questions about how he’s settling in on death row.
For the first couple of weeks, Daniel was in the SHU. That’s the Special Handling Unit, where prisoners are sent when they have gotten into some type of behavior trouble in their regular housing unit. Apparently, San Quentin also uses the SHU as a holding unit for incoming prisoners.
When I read about that in Daniel’s first letter from DR (death row), I was concerned for his welfare. San Quentin seemed intimidating enough without being placed in the most dangerous “time-out” area in California.
It turned out this only meant Daniel would be unable to make phone calls or have visits until he’d been processed into one of the regular DR housing units.
I can imagine that taking away a prisoner’s phone and visiting privileges would be a genuine punishment, but I had imagined something scarier. Think Daryl on The Walking Dead being held prisoner by Negan and the Saviors.
The truth is, the living conditions at the Orange County Jail are a lot worse than even the SHU at San Quentin. I think that is the case with most prisons in California. They are all better living environments than county jails because they are designed for long term stays.
Daniel was in the OC Jail for six and a half years. That place was designed for people to stay months, not years. So for him, SQ is a big improvement. He’s been institutionalized for so long that within a week he was making a makeshift clothes drying line for his cell (using melted and re-shaped bar soap to stick homemade thread to a flat cement wall).
Jail MacGyver?
Living Conditions On Death Row
Daniel wrote me that the food in SQ is miles above and beyond the cuisine available at the Orange County Jail. It is higher quality and the portions are plentiful. The expression “three hots and a cot” is fairly accurate. He’s brought a hot breakfast and the fixings for his lunch in the morning. Then there is another hot meal served at dinner. So two “hots,” and a cold.
As far as the “cot” goes, Daniel is a lot happier with his bed now, too. It’s no Posturepedic, but compared to the “yoga mat” thin mattresses at the county jail, it’s an improvement.
For the first time in years, now that he’s in prison Daniel gets to enjoy the “great outdoors.” He got sunburned during the first week because he hadn’t been in the sun for so long. He also told me about still choosing to take his yard time one day, even though it was pouring rain. He thought he’d be the only prisoner willing to stand in the rain for hours (once they go out, they have to stay out the entire duration of yard time), but many inmates still chose getting soaked to being a cell.
I can’t say I blame them.
Daniel was moved to his assigned cell early in November and he was able to use the telephone again. He sounded the same as always. Chatty, funny, and filled with interesting stories. He’s pleased because he has access to both the extensive law library and the well-stocked regular library.
Today we talked about a “Critical Thinking” class he attended. The topic of discussion was the Dunning-Kruger Effect , which is basically when people think they are a lot smarter than they actually are.
He told me about working out in the yard while “Highway to the Danger Zone” and other 80s classics were played over a loud speaker. He played Chinese checkers with another inmate and a psychiatrist. Since arriving at San Quentin, he got a physical and visited the dentist. He’s also been to therapy.
Does all this mean that it’s a treat to be sentenced to death row in California? No. Of course not. But Daniel Wozniak was already institutionalized long before he arrived on DR.
There is no way I would trade my life for Daniel’s. Sure, I don’t like traffic on the freeway. I’m not a fan of waiting in line at the grocery store. Paying bills is no treat, and my email box is always filled with junk.
But if facing the day to day minutiae is what makes it possible to be with my family and have control over my own life, I’ll choose that over being kept in a cage any day.
The meditation and focused breathing class he attended this afternoon sounded kind of cool, though.
Daniel wishes he could go back in time and undo the horrible things he did. However, it isn’t because he feels sorry for himself in any way. So many people’s lives have been destroyed because of his selfishness and stupidity, and he does live with that guilt every day.
Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi don’t get to eat three meals a day. They don’t get a good night’s sleep. They don’t get to read books or listen to music. They can’t take classes or work out or play Chinese checkers. They’ll never feel the sun or rain again. Sam and Julie can’t send letters to their family and friends. They won’t get any phone calls or visits.
Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi had their lives stolen from them, and the two of them were stolen from their loved ones.
California 2016 Death Penalty Propositions
On November 9, California voted on two death penalty related propositions:
Proposition 62 was to repeal the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without possibility of parole. It lost with 54% of the vote.
Proposition 66 was to change procedures governing state court challenges to death sentences.
It won by 51% of the vote.
Daniel Wozniak’s life won’t be changed much with these election results…at least not for now. It does show that California isn’t quite ready to give up the option of capital punishment.
I don’t agree with the death penalty, but I understand why someone might feel that Daniel’s current living environment isn’t quite enough of a punishment for what he did.
Another news show aired an episode about Daniel Wozniak’s case. This time, it was 48 Hours.
I seem to get a bunch of new readers whenever a show airs. People learn about Daniel’s case for the first time, Google him, and then find my blog.
Hi new people. I’m happy to have you here. Welcome.
I hope you’ll read the entire blog from the beginning before you go comment crazy. Try to remember, I wrote the posts before and during the trial. I learned as I wrote. And I’ve probably already answered a lot of questions you might have.
I know the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi are horrible. Daniel Wozniak’s confession of how and why Sam and Julie were killed is disturbing and gruesome. The man shown on that police interview video seems like a monster, but that’s not the guy I visit. In part, I write to make sense of my friendship with him.
Now let’s talk about 48 Hours.
Daniel Wozniak and the True Crime TV Shows
Arguably, Dateline, 20/20, and 48 Hours are the “big three” of hour-long news shows. On January 15, 2016, Dateline’s episode started the trend of covering Daniel’s crime. It was two hours long, it had an interview with Daniel’s ex-fiancée Rachel Buffett (shot years earlier), and most importantly, it was first.
When 20/20 aired their program about Daniel Wozniak on March 4, 2016, I followed along on social media. Many of the commenters complained this was the exact same show seen on Dateline.
The 20/20 episode did have a brief interview with the jurors (I wish there had been more of them). They also had court updates, but overall, I have to agree with the detractors: the story was told the exact same way.
48 Hours On Daniel Wozniak
On October 8, 2016, a month after Daniel was sentenced to death row, 48 Hours aired “Killer Performance,” their version of the Daniel Wozniak crime.
48 Hours had an interview that no one else had. It was an interview with me. They asked me not to make that information public until after the episode aired.
If you’re wondering how you missed the woman with My Little Pony-colored hair, that’s because I wasn’t on the show. The producer sent me a text the day before to let me know my interview didn’t make the edit.
This did not surprise me at all.
I’d seen a promo for the episode a few days before and, quite frankly, it looked like 48 Hours wasn’t doing anything different from the shows that had come before it. I figured if 48 Hours was going to use my interview, there would have been some mention in the promo about hearing from a “friend of the killer.”
Behind the Scenes
From the beginning, I suspected 48 Hours interviewed me as a way to butter me up. I had arranged for the producer of 20/20 to briefly meet Daniel during one of our visits, and the 48 Hours producer was hoping for the same opportunity. Or more.
If you remember from my post, I considered interviewing Daniel myself, as I was the only person he’d allow. Finances and logistics got in the way, but part of me really wanted the world to hear from the person I know. All anyone saw was his expressionless face (except for those poorly timed smiles at me) during his murder trial.
Yes, I know some of you don’t give a flying pig what he’s like. But lots of other people are damn curious about Daniel, and that’s why I wasn’t surprised TV producers were trying to use me to get to him, and 48 Hours worked the hardest.
On the day they shot the interview with me (at CBS Studios in Los Angles), I mentioned how Daniel actually had agreed to let me interview him on camera, and how I couldn’t swing it.
A month or so later, the producer approached me with an intriguing offer. She wanted me to interview Daniel on 48 Hours’ dime.
Wow.
When I brought the idea to Daniel, he had a lot of questions. Mostly, he didn’t particularly like the answers he got back.
He wouldn’t be able to know the questions in advance.
I wouldn’t be able to know the questions in advance.
I wouldn’t be seen on camera at all (I was fine with that).
I wouldn’t get to see the final edit before it aired (I wasn’t fine with that.)
When you get down to it, this wasn’t going to be his friend interviewing him. This was going to be 48 Hours interviewing him. He didn’t like that.
He also didn’t say no.
There were some financial and promotional benefits for me if he did the interview. Even though Daniel Wozniak is quite skeptical there is a positive side to showing himself to the public, he stayed open to discussing the possibility.
Then he let me decide.
I didn’t tell that to the 48 Hours producer (until now, I guess). I was a chicken. It was easier to have her think I didn’t have much say in the decision.
Don’t get me wrong, Daniel did not want to do the interview. He wouldn’t agree to meet with the 48 Hours producer at all, and she really wanted the opportunity to plead her case to him. It would not have made any difference though.
I never found out exactly why Daniel agreed to meet the producer from 20/20, but not the one from 48 Hours.
Eventually, after a lot of thought, there was no interview. I’m sure Daniel was relieved I made that choice.
It makes you wonder how different the entire episode would have been if they’d had that jailhouse interview with Daniel.
Even though 48 Hours did pretty much the same show as 20/20 and Dateline, I felt it was slightly more one-sided than the other programs. I didn’t like how the show made it seem like Daniel had no one supporting him. Daniel did not want his mother or any of his loved ones to suffer even more than they’ve already had to because of him.
The show did include a much too brief interview with the stage manager of the production Daniel and Rachel starred in at the time of the murders. Overall though, I didn’t think 48 Hours added much to the mix of media coverage for this story. Sure, they were able to show clips from Dr. Phil and Lockup, but those shows have been on YouTube for years. As is, I wonder if some true crime fans even bothered to watch 48 Hours (my mom didn’t).
I’m sure there are lots of people who don’t watch every news crime show on TV, so they learned about these murders for the first time from 48 Hours. Some of those viewers have made their way to me. I hope they stick around and read up on this case, because I do not believe the full truth about the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi has been told yet.
Judge Conley made quick work of striking down defense attorney Scott Sanders’ motion for the removal of the death penalty in Daniel Wozniak’s sentence.
Conley explained why he planned to go along with the jury’s decision to choose death:
Daniel had no previous crimes or signs of violence in his past. The jury had seen Daniel’s performances in Nine on the weekend of the murders and Daniel appeared fine. The jury rejected any argument that Daniel had been manipulated by Rachel Buffett. Judge Conley also stated there was no evidence from Daniel’s family to support him. His strongest reason for following the recommendation of the jury was that Daniel murdered two of his own friends so he could “get married and honeymoon in style.”
At this point in the sentencing hearing, Jude Conley hadn’t actually said the words “death sentence,” but there was no doubt in anyone’s mind Daniel was about to be sent to San Quentin.
Victim Impact Statements Prior To Sentencing
When court resumed after lunch (I ate crackers, cheese, an apple and a chocolate protein bar), it was time for the victim impact statements.
Now was the opportunity for those who loved Sam and Julie to speak, unhindered, on how the murders directly affected them. Considering the number of people who came to court that day, I was expecting a lot more people to speak, but only four family members ended up giving statements.
Sam Herr’s Family Victim Impact Statements
Sam’s cousin Leah was up first.
She talked of how she and “Sammy” were more like siblings than cousins. She described Sam as kind, loving and generous. She acknowledged Sam’s “difficult” time as a young adult, but her cousin had redefined himself in the Army and was trying to “pay society back” for his mistakes.
Leah imagined her own nine-year-old daughter speaking directly to Daniel Wozniak, and how the child would tell him that her uncle was only trying to help him and would have loaned Daniel the money.
Sam’s aunt Miriam spoke next. She said she should be able to speak for seven hours, one hour for each year the Herr family waited for justice.
Miriam’s anger toward defense attorney Scott Sanders was palpable. She accused Sanders of trying to gain his own glory from Daniel’s trial. Sam’s aunt finished her statement with a hope that Sam and Julie would be guarding the gates of heaven to keep Daniel from entering when he dies.
Steve Herr’s Statements
The final member of Sam’s family to speak was his father, Steve Herr. His wife Raquel stood next to him.
Steve made a request of all of Sam’s fellow veterans who’d come to court that day. He wanted them to join him and Sam’s mom at the podium. I think there were eight of Sam’s Army friends flanking the Herrs and supporting them during Steve’s statement.
He began by thanking Judge Conley, Matt Murphy, and the Costa Mesa Police for all their hard work. He expressed sympathy for the Kibuishi family.
Steve Herr said he could speak for hours about his son Sam, who he and Raquel loved with all their hearts.
A letter was read from Army Capt. Benjamin Kilgore, Sam’s troop leader in Afghanistan. Capt. Kilgore praised Sam’s character and bravery as a U.S. soldier.
Steve Herr looked at Daniel and reminded him about the man he’d murdered, stating that Daniel Wozniak is the “poster boy” for the need of a death penalty in California.
At the end of his victim impact statement, Steve Herr voiced that his “only regret” was that the state of California wouldn’t let him “kill this coward” himself.
Do you think it would make Steve Herr feel a little better if he could punch Daniel in the face really hard just one time? Daniel is my friend, but I certainly wouldn’t begrudge any of Sam’s or Julie’s people the opportunity to punch him in the face. I don’t think Daniel would even complain about that. I really don’t.
You know what though? I think some of them would trade the chance to punch Daniel if there was an opportunity to punch Scott Sanders in the face. I’m not saying it’s deserved, but there is a lot of anger aimed at Scott.
Julie Kibuishi’s Family Victim Impact Statements
The final victim impact statement was made by June Kibuishi, Julie’s mother, while her husband Masa stood next to her at the podium. She looked directly at Daniel and began, “On May 22, 2010, you took my beautiful precious daughter’s life,” by murdering Julie and then disgracing her to use her as a decoy.
June Kibuishi talked about how her family came from Japan more than thirty years ago so they could give their children a better life. The Kibuishis taught their kids to be good people with loving hearts, but June’s own heart was, “ripped apart when (she) found out what happened to (her) baby.”
Julie’s mother sobbed as she asked Daniel Wozniak how he could “take away (her) baby.” She berated Daniel for showing no remorse or guilt in the courtroom, instead smiling and enjoying being the center of attention, and “if anyone deserves the death penalty, it’s him.”
June may have been the only Kibuishi family member to speak, but she packed enough of an emotional wallop for her entire family.
I’ve wondered how the families made the decision of who would talk at Daniel’s sentencing hearing. Were there some family members who knew they wouldn’t be able to even get words out, or others who though they might explode with anger if they looked at, and spoke directly to, Daniel Wozniak?
It makes me think of footage from the Jeffrey Dahmer trial. A woman who was the sister of one of his victims had to be restrained by deputies when she came at Dahmer screaming, “Jeffery, I hate you!” No, I am not comparing Daniel to Jeffrey Dahmer in any way. I’m just contemplating the level of anger a person must feel in that situation, and how challenging it would be to keep your calm.
Daniel did look directly at the speakers during their statements. Well, actually I couldn’t see him during Steve Herr’s statement because of all the Army guys (Not that I’m complaining about the view at that point).
Daniel Wozniak’s Response To The Victim Impact Statements
I know many people probably saw Daniel as expressionless because of what appeared to be a lack of emotion on his face. One journalist asked me if I think Daniel is a psychopath. I said no. I don’t.
I think he was just really listening, and probably trying not to have any expression on his face. If he cried, people would think he felt sorry for himself or, worse yet, he was “acting.” I saw a man who is genuinely contrite, but that’s probably because I know he is.
Judge Conley Sentences Daniel Wozniak
It was 2:15 PM on September 25, 2016, when Judge Conley read the official sentencing.
Daniel Wozniak was given two sentences of twenty-five years to life (the extra sentences were unexpected), and the death penalty.
He was to be sent to San Quentin State Prison and placed in California’s only death row facility within ten days of the sentencing.
Prosecutor Matt Murphy was so enthusiastic about getting Daniel on his way to San Quentin, he suggested Daniel be driven the over four hundred miles right away and then be driven back to appear in court the next week. Judge Conley turned down that plan, but I suspect Matt Murphy would have offered to drive Daniel to San Quentin himself.
Let’s just take a moment to imagine Matt Murphy behind the wheel of what I’d imagine would be a black Mercedes M-class, a shackled Daniel Wozniak riding shotgun. What station would be on Matt’s radio? I’d like to imagine him picking an old standards station. I can just see the two of them on the open highway, both singing along to Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night.”
Daniel Wozniak Leaves The Orange County Jail For San Quentin’s Death Row
Today I received my last letter from Daniel at the OC Jail. He’d written it just after I left on Sunday night. He said that as soon as our visit ended, the deputies told him to prepare to leave or “roll up,” if you’re using the vernacular of the incarcerated. That probably means they drove to San Quentin in the dark. I wonder if Daniel slept at all. I think he was planning to stay awake and see as much as he could see.
Some of you won’t be happy to learn this, but Daniel isn’t scared or worried to be going to death row. He has a pretty good sense of what it will be like in there and already has friends “on the row” who he met when he was in the OC Jail.
Also, once a person is actually in prison, there is access to a lot more creature comforts. So, he’s not really worse off. He did say he’d miss seeing me every Monday, but he’s pleased to have access to the San Quentin law library where he can find information for his own case, but more so, to help other inmates with their legal issues.
Daniel Wozniak will never be able to make up for what he took from the Herr family and the Kibuishi family, but all he can do now is try to move forward, and be his best self from here on out. I think that’s the most anyone can do.
It’s official. Daniel Wozniak is on his way to death row.
Literally. As I’m writing this on Monday, October 3rd, he’s being moved to San Quentin.
Normally, I visit him on Mondays.
Daniel didn’t know precisely what time he’d be leaving today because inmates aren’t given an exact time of departure. It’s a security risk.
However, if he was still at the OC Jail, Daniel was scheduled to have an early morning day room time today. He told me he would call me during day room (which he’s done pretty much every day for the past two years). If there was no phone call, then he was already gone.
No phone call.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Daniel this past week, so I’m behind in getting a post out. I’ve been visiting him officially as a member of the media. That meant I was able to visit him during off hours, and for much longer visits.
I left the Orange County Jail at 10 PM last night. The visiting room can be a little spooky when the place is empty. More about all that in another post.
Anyhoo – Let’s get to Daniel Wozniak’s sentencing hearing.
The Sentencing Hearing of Daniel Wozniak
On Friday, September 23, 2016, Judge Conley did the expected. He followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Daniel Wozniak to San Quentin’s death row.
The courtroom was packed that day. Many of the seats were filled with Sam’s and Julie’s family and friends. Relatives had even flown in to witness Daniel Wozniak’s sentencing. The Herr family brought an Army battalion (I’ll explain that when we get to the victim impact statements in the next post).
The rest of the place was filled with reporters, producers, news cameras, photographers, lookie-loos, and at least four jury members (three sat next to me and the forewoman sat between Sam’s mom and his aunt). There were also three extra Sherrif’s deputies.
Then there was me.
I felt really small and out of place. It was an odd experience knowing that everyone else in the crowd wanted my friend to die. The atmosphere in the courtroom was almost jovial. Before the hearing started, and during the breaks, people seemed cheery, energized and excited. It was as though this was an audience about to see a sold out performance of Hamilton. (I wish.)
I can understand why people hate Daniel so much. My own Facebook feed was riddled with posts from theatre friends with comments like ”it’s about time” and ”if anyone deserves to die it’s this guy,” interspersed with links to newspaper stories about the sentencing.
I had similar views when I first heard all about Daniel Wozniak’s crime. I wasn’t wishing death upon the man, but geez, he murdered a vet. He dismembered the guy. He murdered an innocent girl to put the blame on the vet. He did all this to pay for his wedding and honeymoon. Yikes!
That is the prosecution’s story, and a lot of people believe it completely. Daniel Wozniak has never spoken out in his defense. The video footage of Daniel’s confession is all most people have ever heard. It’s not a far leap to assume that Daniel Wozniak is an evil and unredeemable sub-human.
I don’t believe the entirety of the prosecution’s story though, and I do speak with Daniel all the time. I know a different person from the monster described in court.
Does that mean I don’t want him to go to San Quentin’s Death Row?
Actually, I’m okay with it.
If the Herr family and the Kibuishi family got some closure, relief, vengeance even, from Daniel receiving the death sentence, then I am not going to argue with that.
As Daniel’s friend, though, I’m glad we are in California. The last time someone was put to death in this state was 2006, and there are over 700 death row inmates ahead of Daniel. Also, California just might abolish the death penalty in November’s election.
I don’t want Daniel to be put to death. I believe that he still has something to offer to the world (or at least his fellow inmates). Daniel knows he will never make up for what he took from the Herr and Kibuishi families. But I’m going to use that old death penalty opponent’s argument and point out that taking Daniel’s life won’t bring back Sam and Julie.
Daniel Wozniak will likely never see the inside of San Quentin’s execution chamber. His death sentence is really more of a life-behind-bars sentence. It is also only the beginning of what will be years and years of appeals.
And yes, I will be taking some road trips up North to visit death row.
Sanders’ Last Motion
Defense attorney Scott Sanders fought the death penalty sentence until the last second. He even filed another one of his famous (or infamous, if you ask the Orange County DA’s office) motions that same day, requesting the death penalty be dropped or Daniel be given a new penalty trial.
Sanders argued that Matt Murphy and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office have shown obvious inconsistencies in what has been said about Daniel’s ex-fiancée, Rachel Buffett, and her possible role in the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi.
It turns out, in his indictment against Rachel, Murphy claimed that he knew she was involved, or at least had complete knowledge of the murders, and that she definitely tried to help Daniel cover them up.
During Daniel’s trial, Rachel came off as an innocent victim, the deceived fiancée. Upon learning the horrible truth, Rachel Buffett behaved like a dutiful citizen, and was instrumental when it came to helping the police obtain the evidence needed to prosecute Daniel.
If investigators believe Rachel was a conspirator, shouldn’t Daniel’s jury have been told? If you remember from Daniel’s trial, in closing arguments Matt Murphy said the jury could go ahead and assume Rachel is guilty of something, but don’t let that change anyone’s opinions about Daniel.
I think Scott Sanders’ point is that Daniel received the death penalty because of the special circumstances surrounding his case, specifically the motive of financial gain. But what if the motive wasn’t money?
Scott Sanders wanted an opportunity to re-question Detective Jose Morales regarding the credibility of his testimony about Rachel’s possible involvement in the murders. Sanders didn’t believe Morales had been entirely credible. Perhaps the detective actually did learn some pertinent information from the jail house snitch who was put in place to manipulate Daniel into talking.
Sanders reiterated that the defense has fought tooth and nail to have access to the informant information. He even predicted that more information would conveniently be discovered after Daniel has been sentenced.
Scott Sanders hasn’t earned many friends in the courtroom. His statements often elicited eye-rolling and groans of disgust from the majority of the onlookers (including those jurors next to me). Matt Murphy even enjoyed getting in a few barbs by making fun of Scott Sanders verbosity and claiming that if Sanders wasn’t “accusing people of misconduct,” he’d only speak for five minutes. The crowd guffawed at that one.
Umm Matt, you talked way more than Scott did during the trial. Just sayin’.
Scott Sanders also wanted the opportunity to question the informants themselves to see if they had any favorable statements about their observations of Daniel Wozniak.
I’m sure the jury wouldn’t have cared either way.
Judge Conley called this a “sleepwalker scenario,” claiming it wasn’t important if Daniel “did good deeds, but didn’t know it.”
You completely confused me with that argument, Your Honor. Just because Daniel doesn’t testify about how he often helps out other inmates, doesn’t mean he’s unaware that he does it. The only way the jury could learn about Daniel’s “good deeds” would be from the observations of others.
Judge Conley also accused Scott Sanders of trying to get in the “back door” by filing this last minute brief. He then struck down the entirety of Sanders’ brief, calling it “untimely.”
Since his client was about to be sentenced, though, I’d say Sanders’ continued attempts to save Daniel from death row seemed pretty timely.
The death penalty was not dismissed and a new trial will not be granted.
In fact, Judge Conley acknowledged that there was misconduct in Daniel Wozniak’s case, but he still believed that Daniel got a fair trial.
Wait. What?? Someone got that statement on the record, right?
Clearly nothing was gong to derail Daniel’s train to execution town.
Coming Next…
I’ll tell you about the victim impact statements in part two of this post. It won’t take long, I promise.
You guys know I’m a fervent viewer of true crime television. I TiVo “season pass” about 80% of the shows on the Investigation Discover Channel. I am an ID Addict.
There are two main types of TV true-crime shows. There are the “news” shows and the “reenactment” shows.
Dateline, 20/20, and 48 Hours are examples of “news” shows. They are more serious and faithful to the facts. By the time an episode of one of these shows is aired on the ID Channel, though, it was likely shown on its major TV network a year earlier. A slightly edited and repackaged version will air as “Dateline on ID,” for example.
Then there are the reenactment shows. I’m not sure how many of them are produced directly for the ID Network, but they obviously have a lower production budget, and often seem to be filmed outside of California.
I’m noticing more and more are coming from Canada. You can tell as soon as someone says the word “about,” or if they show lush green grass. Our drought and watering restrictions have made California pretty brown these days.
Both the news and the reenactment shows tell stories using interviews and news footage spliced together in a montage of information. Often, a law or psychology expert is consulted as well.
It’s the reenactment programs, however, that bring to life previously unexplored possibilities. If a 20/20 correspondent interviews a police officer involved in the case, the officer might discuss theories that arose from the investigation. A reenactment program will take those theories and make them a reality. They act out the scenes right in front of the viewer’s eyes.
The Perfect Murder Reenactment
The first reenactment show to cover Daniel’s case was The Perfect Murder. The title of the episode was “Curtain Call.”
Thank you Twitter follower Anthony P. for letting me (and Daniel) know about the airing.
The Perfect Murder is only in its first season, and I honestly thought it would be one of the old-timers like Nightmare Next Door that would first tap into the plethora of drama circling around this case.
I have to assume that the title of the series is meant to be ironic, because the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi were far from perfect in their planning or deed.
Overall, I thought The Perfect Murder made a decent attempt at telling the story, but there were certain aspects of the show, either done for dramatic effect or from lack of knowledge, that could have been confusing for someone who was learning of this crime for the first time.
The show took Daniel’s confession as absolute fact, and then had lookalikes act it out. This included the stories Daniel made up when he was first questioned.
The Costa Mesa Police originally suspected Sam Herr of murdering Julie Kibuishi, whose body was found in his apartment. That is how it was set up to look, and it was one of the early lies Daniel told to the police. Viewers of The Perfect Murder got to see all of those investigation theories actually brought to life, and I found it disconcerting to watch a drunken lookalike Sam being abusive and violent to a lookalike Julie.
Who am I to worry about this? No one, I guess. It was pointed out to me that I watch these types of shows all the time, and normally I view those reenactments as merely engaging television.
Steve Herr and June Kibuishi were both interviewed for the program, so they most likely signed off on what the show was going to put out to the public.
This crime already has so many twists and turns to it, and I don’t necessarily trust people to pay complete attention to what they are watching (or reading, for that matter). I bet if you questioned a hundred people who saw that episode, you’d find at least a one or two of them think everything they saw acted out was fact.
The episode “Curtain Call” gave the impression that the murder and decapitation of Sam Herr took place in the same theatre where Daniel and Rachel were performing in the musical Nine. It showed a blood-covered Daniel washing up at a theatre and then changing immediately into his costume (while looking in a mirror and laughing evilly, of course).
I know that it adds an extra layer of horror knowing the murders of Sam and Julie took place on the same weekend that Daniel and Rachel were performing in Nine, but these events did not happen in the same location.
Maybe nobody else cares about this, but Sam was not murdered at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company where Nine was being performed. That’s the theatre where I first met Daniel. Our little theatre didn’t even have an upstairs. The reenactment Hunger Artists looked similar to the real place, albeit nicer, but I don’t really like people thinking that those of us who ran Hunger Artists were a bunch of unaware idiots who allowed a murder to take place right above our stage.
In reality, Sam Herr was murdered at the Liberty Theater at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base, where, later, the majority of his remains were found.
Did it make for exciting television? Sure. Scenes of Daniel and Rachel singing lovingly to each other interspersed with images of Daniel cleaning off a bloody saw… that makes for high drama. But if that didn’t happen, what else didn’t happen?
You readers know I don’t entirely believe Daniel’s confession, especially when it comes to the motivation behind the murders. Even officers who worked on the case think Daniel is still not being completely truthful about everything that happened to Sam and Julie, or who was involved.
The actor playing Daniel did do his homework. He must have put in some real time (no pun intended) watching clips of Daniel’s police interview and videos of Daniel performing in Nine. The clothes, the way he adjusted his tie on stage, and that crazy laugh all seemed pretty accurate. He’s a better singer than real Daniel, though.
I wonder if The Perfect Murder had a costumer working on the show or if the actors were asked to just bring in their own clothes. It all depends on their budget I guess. Lookalike Daniel was wearing a pretty accurate rendition of the ugly shirt real Daniel wore in his confession video. Well done.
I was most impressed with the Rachel lookalike. I took some screen shots of my TV and sent the pictures of the reenactment actors to Daniel in jail. He thought the actress playing Rachel was spot on visually. She also had a lovely singing voice and, if my memory serves me correctly, real Rachel is a talented singer (she’s better than Daniel, too).
The romantic proposal scene between Daniel and Rachel also didn’t actually happen in real life. It makes for good TV, though, and really emphasizes how psychotic Daniel is meant to seem as he goes from slipping a diamond ring on the finger of an excited and blindfolded Rachel (a glass of champagne in her other hand) to committing double murder.
The show seemed to run out of steam near the end when they showed a snippet of Daniel’s trial. They definitely ran out of visually accurate actors. Prosecutor Matt Murphy isn’t bald in real life. Public defender Scott Sanders is in his 40s, not his late 60s. Oh, and Judge Conley isn’t African American.
So, for those readers who have just joined us after seeing The Perfect Murder, and then Googled Daniel’s name, I hope you’ll read this blog from the beginning, keep an open mind, and remember that in the case of a reenactment crime show, seeing shouldn’t always mean believing.
I’ve received comments and emails from quite a few people who actually knew one or more of the participants in the story of Daniel Wozniak. Some people who knew Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi have expressed anger toward me or my blog, perhaps interpreting my friendship with Daniel as taking the side of a convicted murderer over the side of the victims.
I get that. I have lost loved ones: family and friends who have died of old age, disease, and tragic accidents. But I am lucky to say that I have not lost anyone to murder (knock wood). THAT must be the most difficult and incomprehensible way to have your loved one taken from you. It sickens my heart to even imagine what that pain must be like – especially for a parent losing a child.
I never met Sam Herr or Julie Kibuishi. Those who had the pleasure use adjectives like kind, generous, funny, and friendly to describe them. Both have been called “people who would do anything for anyone.” And there were plenty of examples mentioned during the trial.
I’ve also heard from family members and friends of Daniel’s. Those people knew him as kind, generous and funny as well. Occasionally someone from Daniel’s childhood will write to me and mention that Daniel seemed like he was insecure and he really wanted people to like him. But no one has come forward to say they “always knew Daniel Wozniak would do something horrible like this one day.” Nothing even close to that.
I really didn’t know the Daniel Wozniak who existed before the murders took place in 2010. And that means I don’t have to look back at my time with my friend and think, “Did I miss something?”
During the short time I spent around Daniel, my goal was to size him up as a possible actor for my next play. I talked to his director about his reliability to show up and learn his lines. I contemplated his general personality. Is this guy fun, but still dedicated? Is he creative, but will also do as he’s told? The male lead in my production was supposed to be in his 40s, and Daniel’s character in Nine was that age range. My thoughts were aimed toward “Do I want to work with this guy?”
Hindsight certainly has made that all insignificant.
Since I’ve only gotten to really know Daniel during his incarceration, I am not sure if the friend I know now is anything like Daniel before he did the unthinkable. People can change significantly when institutionalized.
I want to learn as much as I can about Sam, Julie, Daniel and Rachel. I’m writing about them, and I want to do my best to be fair and accurate. They are the principle characters in this tragic drama.
I know much less about Rachel than I do about Daniel. There are commenters who speak up for her regularly, and they maintain she is also one of Daniel’s victims. However, thus far her defenders have not actually acknowledged personally knowing Rachel Buffett. Perhaps an oversight?
I mention all this because my director side is coming out.
I feel compelled to create a character analysis for each of “the leads” (for lack of a better term). A director does this so the character on the page can become a real-life flesh-and-blood person for the audience. I’m not trying to sound like I’m sucking up to people who knew Sam and Julie, but it does sound like they were both pretty amazing people. Julie and Sam were flesh-and-blood people, but I didn’t get to meet them, and most of the people who read this didn’t get to either.
When directors and actors are trying to learn about a character in a script, the best way to do that is to study what others say about the character, and to look at the character’s own words and deeds.
Before I begin this undertaking, I want to point out that I’m not trying to diminish these actual real human beings by “characterizing” them. Really, my goal is quite the opposite. I want to put out what I’ve learned so far from court witnesses, newspaper articles, TV interviews, people I’ve talked to, people who’ve written to me on the blog, and my own knowledge of human beings. Then, I’m hoping if any of my descriptions are inaccurate, the people who knew Sam, Julie, Rachel or Daniel before 2010 will contact me, and let me pick their brain.
Okay. Character analysis time.
I’m going to begin with the one I actually know-ish.
Daniel
He is the youngest of three boys, and there is a ten-year time gap between him and his next older brother. Daniel grew up in church-going Catholic family. Both of his parents worked, so Daniel spent a lot of time with his grandparents after school. Although Daniel’s mother had an important career with the city, her work didn’t keep her from being a hands-on mother. The Wozniak family never wanted for money. They traveled. They owned nice things. They had a big house. Neither of Daniel’s older brothers created illustrious lives for themselves, and I think Daniel’s mother had envisioned that he would be the son to go to college and have a successful career. Maybe something in accounting.
Daniel wasn’t a problem at all. He was a good kid. He was on the honors roll and good grades came pretty easily to him. He wasn’t a “cool kid,” but he was a natural performer and well liked by teachers and students. Something inside him wanted everyone around “to have a good time,” and he used jokes, singing, dancing and magic tricks to make that happen. I think his mother was proud of her son’s talents, but thought of being an entertainer as a fun yet trivial side project. Daniel never envisioned himself being a future star of stage and screen. He just really enjoyed performing. It made him happy. The world of the theatre was a place where roles came frequently and easily. And the accolades were many. It was the perfect place for this goofy, dorky, show-off who was a combination of insecure and cocky (like most actors).
In his early 20s, Daniel was pretty casual about his plans for the future. He had a good job. He was acting and singing in musicals, and he was having fun. But he wasn’t really planning his life out the way his mom had hoped.
The Daniel I know plans everything to a T. He is always thinking twelve steps ahead. It’s a dichotomy to me that my friend didn’t have his whole life already totally mapped out.
He took a couple of community college classes, but didn’t have any degree goals. He saw himself as a salesman. He was a successful one too, and believed that real-life experience would be much more useful to him than sitting in a classroom.
Daniel and his mom often locked horns over his life choices. He and his father had similar “more casual” personalities. Partying until the wee hours, dating non-Catholic girls, and having a lackadaisical attitude toward college didn’t go over well with MaryAnne Wozniak.
By the time 2010 rolled around, Daniel was living in an apartment with Rachel, and he was estranged from his parents. Even his easy-going father was against Daniel and Rachel’s fast-moving relationship. Choosing Rachel wasn’t the only reason Daniel moved out of his parents’ house, but it was the one that would become the most life changing . I can’t imagine there was anything more important to him after that than proving to his parents he was right by having a happy marriage and successful life.
I can’t write nearly as much about Rachel, Julie or Sam. I just don’t know as much… yet.
Rachel
Rachel Buffett is definitely the most difficult person for me to figure out. I know very little about her. Sometimes I think Daniel didn’t ever completely understood her, either. There are times he tells me stories about arguments they had, and I think that she was completely right in the situation and I probably would have sided with her if I’d been there. He sounds like he was a bit of a know-it-all with her.
On TV, and in the police interviews I’ve seen, Rachel often comes off as blank and emotionless. It’s a criticism I’ve read about her often. She just doesn’t act the way we think someone should act when her fiancé has just told her he murdered two people. But what if Rachel has always been shy and introverted? These aren’t qualities people normally associate with musical theatre performers, but it really isn’t that unusual for an actor to only feel comfortable on stage and playing another person.
Rachel is the third of five children. She also comes from a very religious family. She and her siblings were all home schooled by their mother. (I just recently learned that Daniel’s mom and Rachel’s mom have the same name.)
Daniel quickly became close with the entire Buffett family. He thought of them as a combination of The Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver. He couldn’t believe that families still went door to door Christmas caroling. He loved them. He felt like a member of Rachel’s family.
Rachel’s mom and dad were completely supportive of Daniel and Rachel getting married.
When I “met” Rachel at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company during the rehearsals of Nine, she came off as snobby and unfriendly, but I know this often happens with people who are shy. Also, I was directing the next musical, and actors sometimes just know how to act around directors. I wanted her to audition for my show as well, but I kind of just assumed that if I got Daniel there, she’d come along too.
I’m not proud of that lame attitude, but directors in Orange County usually had to focus first on getting their male roles cast, because there are so many less good male actors and there are always tons of great roles available for them. Truth be told, I thought she was a much more talented singer than Daniel.
When it comes to Rachel, there are so many things I can’t figure out. I can’t decide if she’s a silly little airhead or a complete genius. Is she a sweet and demure little princess who has been horribly duped by the man she loved? Or is she the super-stubborn “my way or the highway” hellcat who once physically attacked Daniel at a party?
Maybe she’s all of that. Maybe I will learn a lot more about her when she’s on trial.
For the descriptions of Sam and Julie, I need to rely on what was said about them in court and through the media. Right now, I know the least about them and I want to be very careful and respectful. I hope through research and interviews that I will learn so much more about them.
I had the opportunity to talk with Sam’s dad Steve on a couple of occasions during the trial, but that wasn’t really the time or place to interview him. I hope to talk with him again in the future. Any chance to speak with anyone in Julie’s family would be so appreciated.
Until Daniel is finally sentenced and leaves Orange County, I can’t bring myself to approach any of Sam’s or Julie’s loved ones. I don’t know if Daniel going to prison will give them closure, but maybe it will help heal the wound a bit. They might never want to talk to me, though. Could they trust a person who identifies herself as a friend of Daniel Wozniak?
I think they can.
Sam
When Sam’s dad called him a “big galoot” during an interview, the smile on his face showed how much Steve Herr liked his son. Of course Sam’s parents loved their son, but Steve really liked Sam, too. He was an only child. His parents didn’t think they could have children, and when Sam came along, he became the most important thing in both his parents’ lives. He was their “prince.”
It sounds like Sam was popular and outgoing. He probably always made friends easily. I’m guessing Sam wasn’t always the best student. I don’t think the academic part of school was his favorite.
We know he got into some major trouble in his late teens. I don’t know what happened there. Did Sam lure his friend to be murdered? Did Sam get off on a technicality? Should he have gone to prison? I don’t know.
But, he didn’t go to prison. He went to war. He defended our country. He was brave and honorable, and became like a brother to many of his fellow soldiers. Sam came back a better man and a richer one. He was going to college and working toward a bright future. Sam Her had his life stolen from him in a stupid theatre, but there was so much more to him than just the way he died.
Julie
I actually start to tear up when I even think about Julie. I know so many kids who went to OCSA (the Orange County School of the Arts). I can just imagine Julie dancing and singing around the courtyard at the school during lunch. OCSA is a special place filled with extremely talented kids. And Julie was talented. She was a gifted singer and dancer, but also had a flair for fashion design, and she had recently decided to look toward a career in that industry.
Julie was smart and sweet and kind. I’m not just throwing these words around because they sound good – I could see it in the faces of her family members when they testified in court. Julie Kibuishi was part of a very close family. She and her younger sister lived with their parents. There are two older brothers as well. There’s a tribute video to her on YouTube and the photos show a loving, happy family, so it’s sickening to watch the video and know this beautiful girl with the brilliant smile has been ripped away from them.
I suspect that Julie was innocent and perhaps a bit naïve. Not such a strange thing for a young woman of 23. Julie trusted people. On the night she was murdered, her last text to her brother said that Sam was crying. She must have been told that, because Sam wasn’t there, Julie entered that apartment because she would do anything for her friends, and she thought Sam needed her.
That’s all I’ve got for now. I hope my descriptions were pretty accurate, but there’s a lot more to learn about these four people and finger-crossed that some of you can help me out. If anyone reading this is willing to talk to me (if you don’t want your name used, that is not a problem), please fill out this super short form and I will contact you. Thanks in advance for your help.
There probably won’t be much to blog about Daniel and his case for the next eight weeks, because he’s not scheduled to be sentenced until September 23rd. This doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon the blog or anything, but the posts might be fewer and farther in between (as you possibly have already noticed – so sorry).
I want you guys to know that I truly value the blog readers. It doesn’t matter if you like what I write about or not, I just think it’s great that people take time to read anything I’ve written at all. I’m especially appreciative when comments are left. I know it takes me FOREVER to reply to comments. I will be honest with you, I need to be in a certain state of mind to tackle comment reading and replying. I have to be feeling “thick skinned,” I guess.
I have mentioned writing a book about this topic more than once in the blog. Some of you think it’s a great idea and some of you think I’m fame seeking and money grubbing. That’s cool. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. My dad used to say “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.”
I’m not calling you folks assholes. So please re-read the quote before you get all “typey typey” on the comments page.
I think I do need to shift my focus into figuring out what kind of book I want to write. Because I’m not exactly sure yet. I do know it won’t be your regular “true crime” book. Which is funny, because that’s what I’d set out to write in the first place.
As for this current post, I’m letting Daniel help me “write” it.
I always send him copies of my posts after they are made public. I want to get his take on what I wrote, and find out if he agrees or disagrees with any points I’ve made. I also send him your comments.
He started writing a few replies to the comments for me because:
He felt compelled to reply to some of you.
He wanted me to know his thoughts and feelings about some of the readers’ opinions.
He didn’t want me to have to assume his answers to readers’ questions.
Admittedly, Daniel was really only writing his comments for me. He didn’t mean for me to put his words all over the blog. I talked to him about it, though.
I explained that a lot of what he says is thought provoking, and conveys the Daniel I see and have befriended. I asked for permission to share a bit of what he wrote to me. He agreed and was fine with me paraphrasing or editing him (for clarity of understanding and fluidity of language).
Unfortunately, Daniel didn’t start at the very beginning.
Which is a very good place to start.
I have been reading this from start to finish since watching Dateline, which I saw by chance.
“I believe the entire amount taken was $1500 (from three days of ATM withdrawals). But the amount is of money is only worth bringing up if you choose to believe the prosecution’s theory of a financial motive. Either way, no amount of money is worth a person’s life.”
Is there an official transcript of the police report in which Rachel said she saw the “phantom” hooded friend? Since the whole case against her is circumstantial, her wording is crucial. In interviews (like Dr. Phil) she says it’s doubtful that she used the words “I saw…”, and that she thinks she put it more like “there was…” (presumably because Dan had told her of a third party and at that point she had no reason to disbelieve him). Everyone’s arguing, but so far, nobody that I know of has come forth and just shown what it is she EXACTLY said.
Also, where is she now? Does she have to go to trial too? I heard she was arrested with $1M bail. Has she been in jail all this time? If not, how much time has she spent behind bars? ~ Scott, January 31st, 2016, commenting on the post “Guilty – Part 5”
First Daniel made a joke about how he hopes this wasn’t his defense attorney, Scott Sanders.
“You can find a copy of Rachel’s statement by reviewing her interrogation interview.”
Ummm, and how might we obtain that, Daniel?
Daniel continued, “The first time Rachel talked to the Costa Mesa Police Department was at the apartment of Rachel’s brother, Noah. During that initial contact, Rachel said she ‘saw’ the third unknown guy who was with Sam on the day of his murder. At her first official interrogation, Rachel again stated that she ‘saw’ the guy.
“After that,” Daniel continued, “Rachel’s story changed. Then she claimed what she meant to say to the police is that she had just ‘heard’ there was a third man from Daniel. She believed it to be fact and she was trying to give detectives all the information without having any omissions.
“It’s tricky to determine what she said and what she meant, but why would she choose to say that she actually ‘saw”’ this man originally? Rachel has been very careful when making statements, so what reason / benefit would there be for her to tell the police that a third man was present?
“Likewise, remember that Rachel failed to say that Chris Williams was with Rachel at her and my apartment when Sam was murdered. Why make one person vanish (especially someone who can be your alibi), and yet make up the existence of a third unknown mystery man? You will have to ask her that yourself, but if she had nothing to hide, why lie?
“Also, Rachel is out on bail currently. It wasn’t a million dollars. Maybe closer to $3,500. She spent four days in jail during Thanksgiving of 2012.
“Rachel was offered a plea bargain a while back for testifying against me. She refused.”
I am fascinated as to Daniel’s thinking process by planning these two murders and the disposal of the one body. I feel that he is much like all the rest of us but he faltered that one time. Had he not he would be free today. I am curious as to what his specific plans were in committing the murders and what he imagined the outcome would be????? ~ R. Harris, February 1st, 2016
(You and me both, R).
Daniel’s response:
“Well Mr. Harris, let me just say there wasn’t much planning in this tragedy. Things happened and it became a ’what to do’ situation as a result. I’m human, like the rest of you. We all fuck up sometimes. I never had any criminal background, and I lived a very typical life. I know it may be difficult to believe, but there was no specific plan in Sam’s murder. Everything fell apart in trying to ‘clean up’ a horrible mistake. If anyone deserves to be in jail, it’s me.”
Seems unlikely that he faltered once, and then went on to kill two innocent people, laughing while dismembering one. At the very least, he “faltered” twice. ~ Bill, April 2, 2016
Daniel’s response:
“Hi Bill. I have faltered way more than twice. But this was my worst. This situation is so emotionally painful. Life is irreplaceable. Death is so final. And so many people are affected by it. I never felt my actions would cause so much damage. It is difficult to think of the future when you’re so caught up in the moment. I let emotion get the better of me and now so many people are suffering the consequences as a result. I would gladly give up my life if it meant I could bring back Sam and Julie.”
That’s it for this post. I hope you found Daniel’s responses interesting. If you’re anything like me, you probably have a slew of new questions now as a result. If so, I hope you share them in the comments. And if you have any thoughts on the direction you like to see the book take, I’d welcome those as well.
I’ve spent a lot of time with Daniel this past week, so I’m behind in getting a post out. I’ve been visiting him officially as a member of the media. That meant I was able to visit him during off hours, and for much longer visits.
The courtroom was packed that day. Many of the seats were filled with Sam’s and Julie’s family and friends. Relatives had even flown in to witness Daniel Wozniak’s sentencing. The Herr family brought an Army battalion (I’ll explain that when we get to the victim impact statements in the next post).
Did it make for exciting television? Sure. Scenes of Daniel and Rachel singing lovingly to each other interspersed with images of Daniel cleaning off a bloody saw… that makes for high drama. But if that didn’t happen, what else didn’t happen?
The actor playing Daniel did do his homework. He must have put in some real time (no pun intended) watching clips of Daniel’s police interview and videos of Daniel performing in Nine. The clothes, the way he adjusted his tie on stage, and that crazy laugh all seemed pretty accurate. He’s a better singer than real Daniel, though.
The romantic proposal scene between Daniel and Rachel also didn’t actually happen in real life. It makes for good TV, though, and really emphasizes how psychotic Daniel is meant to seem as he goes from slipping a diamond ring on the finger of an excited and blindfolded Rachel (a glass of champagne in her other hand) to committing double murder.
