court date – Daniel Wozniak Is My Friend?

Daniel Wozniak’s Fiancée Appears In Court

On Friday, January 27^th, Rachel Buffett appeared at the Orange County Superior Courthouse for a pre-trial motion. I decided to go to court that day to see if there is anything new or interesting happening with her case.

If you’re just joining the blog, let me give you a little back-story.

Rachel Buffett’s Involvement

Rachel Mae Buffett is the former fiancée of convicted killer Daniel Wozniak. Daniel is sitting on death row in San Quentin for the murders of two college students, Samuel Herr and Julie “Juri” Kibuishi, which took place in May 2010.

Daniel Wozniak confessed to both murders. He admitted to murdering Sam Herr in order to clean out Herr’s bank account. In his confession, Daniel Wozniak also stated that he used Sam Herr’s cell phone and pretended to be Sam Herr while texting with Herr’s friend, Julie Kibuishi. The purpose was to lure Julie Kibuishi to Sam Herr’s apartment to murder her as well. Daniel Wozniak claimed he killed Kibuishi with the purpose of framing Sam Herr for her murder.

It was a complicated and horrifying scheme, made even more disturbing by Daniel Wozniak’s decapitation of Sam Herr’s body, and later setting a scene to make it look as though Sam Herr had sexually assaulted Julie Kibuishi before murdering her.

Daniel Wozniak confessed to doing all these terrible things alone, and he never officially implicated anyone else in the crimes.

Stories Changing

Rachel Buffett and Daniel Wozniak were scheduled to get married the following week, and the two of them were almost always together. Yet Rachel went along with Daniel’s assertion that she had no previous knowledge or involvement with either murder.

In fact, it was Rachel who handed important evidence over to the police. She appeared to be another victim of this crime: a woman whose life had just been overturned because the man she loved had confessed to being a murderer.

However, the police had a lot of questions for Rachel Buffett, and they weren’t necessarily satisfied with her answers.

Early in the investigation, Rachel echoed Daniel Wozniak’s story by telling the police there was an unknown third man with Sam Herr and Daniel Wozniak on the day Sam was murdered.

After Daniel admitted to making up the third man in order to throw the police off his trail, Rachel claimed she had never actually seen a third man. She was only reiterating what Daniel had told her because she took it for granted what he’d told her was true.

But it seemed to the police Rachel was helping Daniel lie to them. There were also suspicions that Rachel knew Daniel was texting Julie Kibuishi with Sam Herr’s phone. Rachel and Daniel both told the authorities Rachel was asleep in their apartment when he slipped out to murder Julie. Yet there was a record of Rachel on Facebook at that time… actually sending a casual message to Julie Kibuishi.

And there were witnesses from the theatre who said Rachel was heard mentioning a missing or possibly murdered “friend” before Julie’s body was even found.

Rachel Buffett Charged

In November 2012, the Orange County District Attorney charged Rachel Buffett with three felony counts of being an accessory to double homicide. She spent three weeks in jail (including Thanksgiving), and was eventually released on a $100,000.00 bail.

The maximum time she could face is three years and eight months. It is my understanding that Rachel Buffett turned down an opportunity to arrange a plea bargain with the Orange County District Attorney, or to testify against Daniel Wozniak. Rachel has stated that she is completely innocent of anything related to the murders of Sam or Julie.

Rachel Back in Court

Daniel Wozniak’s trial was held on the eighth floor of the Superior courthouse, but Rachel appeared in a much smaller courtroom on the second floor. I knew I had found the right place when I saw Sam Herr’s parents, Steve and Raquel Herr, standing outside in the hallway.

This wasn’t a surprise at all. I expected to see them. Sam’s parents attended every one of Daniel Wozniak’s hearings and never missed a day of his trial. When Steve Herr and Rachel Buffett both appeared on Dr. Phil in 2013, Steve Herr didn’t hide his disdain for Rachel and her claims of ignorance about the murders of his son Sam and Julie Kibuishi.

Courtroom C49 was semi-crowded because there were several different cases being seen there that morning. A large, caged holding area was on the left side of the courtroom, and occasionally prisoners were brought inside it for hearings.

Rachel’s trial was scheduled to begin at nine, but her case wasn’t called until around ten thirty. I ended up sitting in the front row next to a reporter I’d seen many times during Daniel’s trial, and we chatted casually when court wasn’t in session.

Rachel Buffett and a suited man, who I figured was her lawyer, entered the busy courtroom and had a brief whispered conversation. I couldn’t hear any of it over the din of the voices in the courtroom. Then, Rachel sat down on the other side of the reporter in the front row, and the two of us instinctively stopped chatting.

Rachel wore a black blazer with matching slacks and cream colored character shoes (wide-heeled shoes that actresses often wear onstage). Her long blond hair was in a neat braid that fell over her right shoulder. She didn’t seem to notice me or the reporter.

It was hard to get a read on Rachel. She didn’t necessarily look worried, but I felt like she was nervous. It’s possible I just assumed she was nervous, because who wouldn’t be in her situation? I glanced around to see if she had any family with her. I don’t know what they look like, but I knew to look for blonde. It was a blonde free zone at that moment. A surprise in California.

Rachel sat there, using her phone for a couple of minutes, and then got up and hurriedly left the courtroom. A moment later, the reporter left as well, and I was worried I’d missed something. Maybe the reporter overheard the conversation and learned that Rachel Buffett’s trial would be postponed again? That ended up being the case.

Before I could decide to leave, Rachel walked back into the courtroom. This time she was accompanied by a young blonde man. I was guessing this was her brother, Noah. So, she wasn’t there alone.

Now there were two empty seats next to me in the front row. Rachel directed “possible Noah” toward the seats. He was about to sit in the aisle seat (which meant Rachel would have to scooch by him to sit down… next to me), when Rachel gestured for him to move to the second seat in. He sat next to me and Rachel sat on the aisle again.

I honestly don’t know if Rachel has any idea who I am. I’m not positive I ever even spoke to her at the Hunger Artists theatre company, and I don’t know if she reads this blog.

I didn’t try to talk to her at all, which later surprised Daniel. If Rachel reads the blog, then she figured out who I am. The hair color and tattoos are a dead give-away. But I’d had no plans to go all “reporter” on her at that time.

Of course, I would love to interview Rachel, but I wasn’t about to lean over “possible Noah” and ask her if she’s telling the truth about her involvement in the murders of Sam or Julie. If Rachel reads my blog, she knows I don’t believe her story. I don’t think she is an innocent victim.

Obviously, I’m not the only one, or she wouldn’t have been in court that day.

Within ten minutes, Rachel Buffett’s case was called and she stepped up to a nearby podium to hear that her trial was postponed until March 17^th. Ironically, Daniel considers St. Patrick’s Day to be the anniversary of the beginning of his and Rachel’s romantic relationship. I plan to be there again, unless there’s some kind of plea arrangement before that. But I don’t see that happening.

Next Up On the Blog

My first trip to visit San Quentin.

Court Considerations

Daniel’s murder trial is scheduled to begin in a couple of weeks. There has been so much hullabaloo about accused prosecutorial misconduct and the changing of judges, it seemed like this case would never go in front of a jury. But the court date is happening… and soon.

I wonder about the emotions being felt by the Herr and Kibuishi families. I’m guessing they are pleased that everything is finally getting underway, but are they are a bit nervous as well? I would be.

The trial is expected to go on for weeks, and scheduling around the holidays will likely make it last longer. I would be very surprised if it finishes before the end of the year.

I’m planning to go when I can because I prefer to hear information first hand, as opposed to getting a summary from the media or Daniel himself.

Listening to the podcast Undisclosed has been very helpful in understanding the terminology. Truth be told though, every time I hear about “Brady evidence,” I can’t stop thinking Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

Court Questions For Daniel

After I go to court, I often have odd questions for Daniel.

For example, how does he says his own last name? The judges and lawyers don’t seem to have made a unanimous decision about that one. I wanted to know if it’s “woz as in oz” or “woz as in whoa?” He said it was the first one, but he isn’t bothered when someone says wOHzniak, especially Scott, because “he’s from Chicago.”

During the hearings, Daniel always wears the jail issued orange jumpsuit, or “oranges.” Also, he is in chains. I asked if it was awkward to be wearing the jumpsuit in a room filled with people in business attire. He said he’s used to it, and that when the actual trial starts, he will wear regular street clothes so the jury won’t get a preconceived idea about him. The jury also isn’t technically supposed to know he’s currently incarcerated, so his chains are removed before the jury is let in. We all see the irony here, right?

I found out he changes in the holding cell. The guards give him a bag with his clothes that were provided by his defense team. The orange jumpsuit is then put into the bag and returned to the guard. He told me he rolls up his clothes instead of folding so they won’t get wrinkled. I do the same thing when I pack my suitcase. I believe he has two “outfits” available.

Sometimes, if he’s lucky, he’ll be in the cell the prisoners call “the suite.” It is larger than a phone booth and has a stone bench to stretch out on during lunch. Occasionally he’ll have a towel he can roll up as a pillow. He also brings his own lunch from the the jail.

Will the jury really not be able to figure out he’s incarcerated when they never see Daniel outside of the courtroom? Will they wonder why he only has two changes of clothing, after weeks and weeks of trial?

Jury Selection

I am very curious to find out who will end up on this jury. It must be difficult to even find people who are available for such an extended amount of time. Are there employers who give jury duty pay for more than a week or two?

There were over 400 potential jurors questioned last week. I think it’s interesting that so many people were eliminated because they’d seen Daniel perform on stage. Hmmm? How many shows was he in? I’m not saying this was the case here, but that is a pretty clever way of getting out of jury duty.

Do the lawyers think if a person really enjoyed that night at the theatre, it would sway their opinions about Daniel? “The guy who starred in that popular commercial musical was so entertaining that I could never find him guilty of murder.”

Or if it was a bad production, “I couldn’t get my money back, but seeing him fry should make up for those two hours I lost sitting in the audience.” (Shakes fist angrily.)

Of course there were also plenty of jurors who were released because they had just seen too much information about the case in the media. How difficult will it be to find twelve people in Orange County who don’t know anything about the Daniel Wozniak case? It has been closely linked with the extremely high profile case of Scott Dekraii. I don’t know anyone in the OC who isn’t aware of the Seal Beach massacre.

I was on a jury once. It was a civil suit. The other jurors voted me in as their chairperson. We didn’t give the plaintiff any money. We were tough, but we were fair. I think we were a pretty reasonable group of people.

Reasonable and fair seem like good qualities to have in a jury. Will it be a tall order to find people like that among those who don’t follow the news or local musical theatre, and have the time available to be on a lengthy trial? And will they be a jury of Daniel Wozniak’s “peers?”

This is How Daniel Bought Me Lunch

On Friday September 25th, Daniel Wozniak went to court.

I went, too. I wanted to get my own take on what’s going on with this 754-page motion Daniel’s lawyer, public defender Scott Sanders, filed at the end of August.

The overall goal of this motion as it pertains specifically to Daniel’s case?

Here is what I’m understanding:

Daniel and his lawyer want a different judge.
They want the Orange County District Attorney’s Office removed from the case and have it given over to the Attorney General’s Office (as happened in the Scott Dekraai case).
They want the death penalty removed.

Does 754 pages seems excessive to make just those three points?

It isn’t hard to see that there is a lot more to this motion than just the parts that effect Daniel’s case, but, according to Sanders, it is all connected.

There was a front page story in The Orange County Register this past Sunday all about Scott Sanders and how he is “shaking the Orange County legal system to its bedrock.” That is no exaggeration! I sometimes imagine DA Matt Murphy taking out his frustrations on a Scott Sanders voodoo doll that he might keep in his briefcase.

Inside the Orange County jail, Daniel is receiving much more favorable reactions to all that has been happening in the OC legal system. At least from his fellow inmates. He gets thanked often; there are no dividing lines of race or gang membership when it comes to a dislike for the District Attorney’s Office.

This motion is as important to Daniel as it is to Scott Sanders. Daniel and Scott are a team, working together to help people whose rights are being violated. You could say that this has become a life’s mission for both men.

Daniel can turn a little preachy when he gets going on the topic:

corruption quote

Inside the Courtroom

On the 25th, Daniel appeared first before Superior Court Judge Gregg L. Prickett. The courtroom was unusually full. There were quite a few of the victims’ family members and friends. Sam’s and Julie’s parents seemed to have a solid support group. They all waited so patiently while listening to hours and hours of legal jargon.

The morning was spent on the Defense’s request that the currently assigned judge, John D. Conley, be taken off of Daniel’s case.

Judge Prickett listened to arguments from all sides (including a third party I believe was a representative of Judge Conley) and, in the end, called everyone back on October 2nd to presumably make a decision. If Judge Conley is removed, that will mean a new judge will basically be starting from scratch, which will take even more time.

There was a much shorter hearing in Judge Conley’s courtroom immediately following. The Judge made the obvious ruling that in spite of the previous scheduling, there would be no jury trial beginning on October 2nd.

I don’t think that anyone was surprised by this, but there had to be some extreme disappointment from Sam’s and Julie’s families. In spite of this, they remained calm.

After The Proceedings

As we were all leaving the courtroom, Steve Herr held door open for me. I thanked him and could swear he smelled like Old Spice, a scent that reminds me of my father, and of loss. Maybe it was just my imagination.

Beyond learning more about the legal aspects of the case, and morally supporting my friend, I experienced a myriad of emotions that day.

I find these court proceedings truly interesting. I’m fascinated to see in person what I normally watch on TV.

I was also worried. Daniel was excited about the motion and happy that he had a friend in the crowd, and this caused him to repeatedly look back at me and smile during the hearing. I didn’t want my friend to smile at me, or to smile period. I want him to look serious or contrite or something that doesn’t resemble happy. I feel like that’s the way to go when you’re being accused of murder.

I overheard the reporters from The OC Register discussing Daniel’s mood, and I was afraid that my presence would cause him to be described as “smirking.” I found out later that he was given warnings from the Deputies for looking at the audience. I don’t think Scott Sanders was pleased either. Daniel didn’t mean anything by it, but that doesn’t matter, does it?

It was his smiling that drew the attention of a producer from the show 20/20 to me. After seeing him mouth “thank you” in my direction, she approached me in the second courtroom to ask if I was Daniel’s friend. I said yes, and she asked me if she could take me to lunch. I agreed. On the telephone later, Daniel joked that this was the only way he could “buy me lunch.”

I won’t lie. This was exciting. I love 20/20!

She and I talked a lot about my friendship with Daniel, our thoughts on the case, and all the legal wranglings that had happened that day. We discussed Sam’s and Julie’s families and how painful this whole experience must be for them.

We also talked about my blog. I said that my topics go from jail mail to court proceedings.

She told me that any program they might do on Daniel’s story will try to give a complete picture of him. I would hope so. I guess that includes talking to his friends and maybe even reading their blogs.

I Went to Court!

Daniel Wozniak has had many court appearances in the past 5 years, and the way things are going, there will be many more.

Today, for the first time, I was in the court room to watch it happen.

Here’s a simplified version of the legal mumbo-jumbo covered today:

Daniel’s lawyer, Public Defender Scott Sanders, had previously filed a motion to remove the Orange County District Attorney’s office from prosecuting Daniel’s case.
Sanders is also the Public Defender for Scott Dekraai, a man facing trial for the deadliest mass killing in Orange County history: The Seal Beach salon killings.
In both cases, which are constantly being linked together by the press, Scott Sanders is claiming prosecutorial misconduct specifically linked to the Orange County Sherriff’s office and the secret misuse of jailhouse informants.
In Daniel’s case, there is also the issue about the TV show LockUp Orange County, which featured Daniel and other inmates in an episode called “Extended Stay – Unholy Trinity.” Sanders claims that the O.C. Sheriffs and the D.A.’s office aimed the show’s producers in Daniel Wozniak’s direction (this has been denied by the producers of LockUp, who say they were just randomly drawn to Daniel and his “actor’s smile.”)
It is my understanding that a similar motion was approved by a different judge in the Scott Dekraai case when the Orange County D.A. was removed from his murder trial this past March.
Today’s hearing was so D.A. Matt Murphy could argue against the motion to dismiss the D.A.’s office (and Murphy) from prosecuting in Daniel’s case. It was a motion to stop Sander’s motion.

Okay, that’s the legal stuff. Let’s talk about me.

A Personal Account

I arrived late. The hearing was set for nine in the morning, and because I got a little turned around in the courthouse (my friends will tell you that this is no surprise; my sense of direction is awful), I didn’t get to Judge Conley’s courtroom until 9:20.

There was a big CLOSED sign in the window, so I was worried I’d messed it all up and wouldn’t be able to watch. But then, three people who looked like “law people” got off the elevator. They had suits and briefcases and one of them was pushing a dolly that was stacked with cardboard file boxes. I decided they looked like they knew more than I do, so I just asked them about the “closed” sign. Together, we came to the conclusion that since I wasn’t a witness or juror… what the hell, go for it!

I quietly sneaked in the first set of doors and peeked through a window. I still couldn’t see if Daniel was even the defendant, so I opened the second set of doors and slipped into the closest seat, in the back row. A deputy looked up at me, but seemed unconcerned by my presence, so I figured it was OK.

I saw Daniel sitting next to his lawyer at the defendant’s table. His back was to me and he wore his usual orange jumpsuit with “Orange County Jail” written across the shoulders. The tag was sticking up from his collar, and I wanted so much to walk right up to him and tuck it in. It’s just a thing I’d do for any of my friends.

I restrained myself.

Although we had talked briefly on the phone over the weekend about me possibly coming to the hearing, Daniel had no idea I’d come in. I’d wondered if he was hopeful that I would show. He probably figured I’d changed my mind or just couldn’t bring myself to wake up that early. Now I was sitting about ten rows behind him. I hoped my friend would somehow realize I had come to support him.

The Families

Just two rows behind Daniel sat the parents of murder victim Samuel Herr. I had seen their pictures many times in print, and I’d watched Steve Herr when he appeared with Rachel Buffett on the Dr. Phil Show, so I recognized him and his wife immediately. There were two other people sitting with them—a couple about the same age as Steve Herr’s parents—who I suspect were also relatives.

The four of them were the only people wearing headsets during the entire proceeding. Why? No idea. If you know, leave a comment!

Directly behind Mr. Herr sat a man who may have been the father of Julie Kibuishi.

Seeing these people in person made my stomach hurt.

As the D.A. mentioned during the proceedings, Sam Herr’s parents have attended every court hearing related to this case over the past five years.

I think I heard: one hundred and four times.

Other Observers

Aside from the family, it looked like the twenty or so other people sitting around the courtroom were likely a mix of law students (young people in business suits) and reporters.

Then there was me. Most of my tattoos were hidden by clothing, but my hair color is always noticeable. Also (and I know it was just in my head) I felt like you could read it on my face: I’m here because I’m friends with “the killer.”

District Attorney Matt Murphy Off Camera

The next hour consisted of the two attorneys arguing for and against the motion to remove the O.C.D.A. from the case.

A side note: Since I’m such a fan of Dateline and other true crime shows, it was pretty cool to see D.A. Matt Murphy in person after seeing him so many times on television.

Truth is, I was a little disappointed. It seems like he tries harder to be interesting when TV cameras are on him. Today? He presented a thirty minute PowerPoint presentation to illustrate his argument against the motion.

To me, he came off like he was cranky. He seemed personally bothered by the accusations against the D.A.’s Office. It was like he really wanted to make sure his own name and reputation would not be smeared. He complained about the many articles written about him and his office and their possible misconduct, claiming that the coverage has been “bitingly negative” against the prosecution.

Even he must have realized how he sounded, because he repeatedly pointed out that he wasn’t concerned about himself or his career. This was “all about the case.”

Eye Contact

When the Judge called for a fifteen minute break, I decided to move to a different seat, where I could see better. Steve Herr stood up at the same time, and he happened to look at me.

I’m sure it was just a “you’re a random human in my eye line” look, but inside it felt like a “how could you possibly be friends with the man who murdered my son” look.

When Daniel was brought back into the court after the break ended, he finally saw me. His eyes lit up and a huge smile appeared on his face.

I almost felt a bit guilty. I would hate for Daniel’s reaction to my presence to cause an observer to think he was flip about the gravity of this situation. It’s like I could read the headline: “Brutal Killer Smiles During Court Proceedings.” It’s no wonder he doesn’t want his parents there.

It was great that he was happy to see me, but I was hoping he’d have a bit more of a poker face. Did the victims’ family members notice? Did they now connect me with Daniel, and see me as someone “on his side?” From then on, I made sure to avoid looking at them for fear of eye contact.

There was another hour of back and forth with the lawyers. During that time, I’m pretty sure Daniel made sure to get a couple more glimpses in my direction. I’m guessing it gave him moral support, and that was good, because he is my friend.

My friend who possibly murdered two people (or at the very least, was involved).

Obviously, there is much more to learn about this case. I hope information will come out showing that Daniel isn’t responsible for the deaths of these people, because the idea that he could be a murderer is painful for me. The man I know is much more than just this heinous act, and I believe that I can hate the sin, but still love the sinner.

Wrapping Up

In the end, Judge Conley denied D.A. Murphy’s motion. So, I guess Daniel’s side “won” this little battle.

When Daniel stood up, he made sure to look at me again before he was taken out of the courtroom. He smiled and winked. I think he mouthed something about trying to call me later. Then, hands cuffed and feet shackled, he was shuffled out by two deputies.

Keeping my head down, I hurried out the courtroom and went directly to the elevators.

Then, I did some nice normal grocery shopping.