samuel e. herr – Daniel Wozniak Is My Friend?

Seven Years

It has been seven years since the brutal murders of Samuel Herr and Julie Kibuishi. Seven years since my friend, Daniel Wozniak, destroyed many lives – including his own. I think about all the things I’ve done in the past seven years, all the life experiences I’ve had, and I can’t help feeling sickened when I contemplate all that was stolen from Sam and Julie, and from the people who loved them.

Julie Kibuishi should have celebrated her thirtieth birthday on February fourteenth, and Sam should be blowing out thirty-four candles next week (May twenty-ninth). Neither of them got a chance to graduate from college, get married, have kids… Would Julie be working in the fashion industry? Would Sam have returned to the Army as an officer? These questions haunt me, and I can’t even fathom the pain and anger that their families are forced to revisit every May. Hell, every day.

I’ve been writing this blog for two years now, and I can honestly say not a day goes by when I don’t think about Sam and Julie. I didn’t know either of them personally, but my friendship with Daniel is laced with an inherent guilt I feel over him having a life (even a limited one), when his actions stole the lives of two other people; two people who were so young, so loved, and are so missed.

Samuel E. Herr was twenty-six when Daniel killed him. Sam was an only child, and he was the center of his parents’ world. He was an Army veteran who had been a combat solider in Afghanistan. He was going to Orange Coast College on the Army GI Bill and had plans to one day become an officer.

Juri (Julie) Kibuishi was only twenty-three. She still lived at home with her parents. She was a graduate of the prestigious Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA). She was a student at Orange Coast College studying fashion design. She was also tutoring her friend Sam in anthropology. Julie was one of four children and is always described as the kind of person who would do anything for a friend.

My friend caused their deaths. This fact haunts me. I’ll talk about myself more in the next post (and my family members and some close friends have chimed in). But for now, I just want to acknowledge that May twenty first is the depressing anniversary of the murders of Sam and Julie. I send out my sincere condolences to their loved ones.

Was A Victim Also A Killer?

During one of my earliest visits with Daniel Wozniak, I asked him about something he’d mentioned in a recent letter.

While listing off people who had come to visit him at the Orange County Jail, Daniel had told me that Steve Herr (father of murder victim Samuel Herr) had actually been there more than once.

This surprised the hell out of me.

Why would Steve Herr want to sit across from the man he believes murdered and mutilated his only son?

“He really wants to know the truth,” Daniel told me, “and I don’t think he trusts the justice system because of what happened in Sam’s own murder case.”

“Sorry… what was that again?” He’d lost me. I was pretty sure that Daniel was currently in jail for “Sam’s murder case.”

Then Daniel gave me a brief and completely surprising explanation: In 2002, long before Daniel ever met Samuel Herr, there had been a different murder associated with that name. However, in that case, Herr was the accused.

Daniel went on to surmise that possibly Steve Herr was worried that Daniel would “walk free,” just as his own son did years earlier. He didn’t know many of the details, but the main point was not lost on me.

Sam Herr was once a defendant.

Of course I started Internet searching as soon as I got home. I kept thinking, “as if this case wasn’t crazy enough…” The thing is, I couldn’t find anything about a murder case involving Sam Herr… well, aside from his own murder.

I didn’t believe that Daniel was lying to me, but I thought of myself as pretty sleuth-y, and it was weird that there was nothing to find. Maybe Daniel was confused about this… maybe he misunderstood…

When I eventually questioned him about the story, he didn’t know why I couldn’t find any information. He thought it was odd, but when you get right down to it, Daniel has a lot occupying his mind, so worrying about my inabilities to do a Google search wasn’t his top priority.

It turns out that some of you readers are better Internet detectives than I am.

This morning I got an interesting surprise on this blog’s Facebook page. One of you discovered there actually are a few news articles out there about Herr’s other murder case. These are stories that tell of a very different side to Army vet Sam Herr. Given those leads, I was able to find two articles from The L.A. Times and one from The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Here’s the rundown: When Samuel Herr was 19 years old, he was tried for murder because of his alleged role in the stabbing death of another 19-year-old named Byron Benito.

According to Benito’s mother, Benito and Herr had been close friends. In fact, prosecutors stated that it was Samuel Herr who picked up Benito at his house and then, on the night of January 15, 2002, led his unsuspecting friend to an area behind a mobile home park, where he was attacked and killed by a group of suspected gang members… one of which was Herr.

The police believed that Benito was killed as gang retaliation for another murder, even though he was not associated with a gang himself.

There were some accused who just plead guilty right away, accepting fifteen years to life prison sentences.

That left 11 defendants to face charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The DA decided to hold two separate trials, seemingly because there were so many being charged, and each defendant had a separate lawyer. Samuel Herr would be part of the second trial.

So… what happened?

All five defendants from the first trial were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

The remaining 6, the ones from the second trial, were all acquitted. They walked out the courtroom as free men.

From what I’ve read, an eyewitness who had testified in the first trial didn’t do so in the second.

Was that the big turning point? Is one witness the reason that some people are behind bars and others got off Scott-free?

Who knows what leads a jury to finding someone guilty or innocent? Maybe someone looked at Sam and saw a handsome and charming young man who they refused to believe was a violent gang member and a murderer.

Maybe Sam was innocent.

The articles I read made Sam seem like a cold and calculating murderer. Perhaps you can’t believe everything you read.

I wasn’t in the courtroom. I didn’t hear the evidence. I’m assuming that Sam’s parents were there, though. I’d be surprised if they hadn’t been there supporting their son during his murder trial.

They must have been elated when he was found “not guilty.”

Does that mean now they fear that the judicial system will work to Daniel’s benefit in the same way?

Was justice served in Byron Benito’s case?

I have to wonder if there were some people that were not elated when Sam was acquitted.

The Victims

Since I am no longer using a pseudonym for Daniel, I feel that it’s only appropriate to stop using pseudonyms for the victims.

Daniel Wozniak is accused of the cold and calculated murders of two college students.

In my early posts, I used pseudonyms for Daniel and for his alleged victims. I called them “The Vet” and “Tutor Girl.”

“The Vet”

Daniel and “The Vet” were neighbors. They lived in the same apartment complex in Costa Mesa, California. The police believe that Daniel murdered “The Vet” in order to clean out his bank account. Daniel is also accused of murdering a young woman who was a friend and tutor of “The Vet” in order to throw off the police.

“The Vet” was Samuel E. Herr. He was 26. He was an only child. He was an Army veteran who had been a combat solider in Afghanistan. He was going to Orange Coast College on the Army GI Bill and had plans to one day become an officer.

“Tutor Girl”

“Tutor Girl” was Juri (Julie) Kibuishi. She was 23. She was a graduate of OSCA (the Orange County School of the Arts). She was a student at Orange Coast College studying fashion design. She was also tutoring her friend Sam in anthropology. Julie was one of four children and is always described as a the kind of person who would do anything for a friend.

Close To Home

My child is a student at OSCA. I went to Orange Coast College. I once lived in an apartment complex in Costa Mesa. It’s all so familiar.

I don’t know if my blog will ever be read by friends or family members of Sam and Julie. The idea of it makes me nervous. I think about them a lot. My heart breaks for their families.

I try to “put myself in their shoes.” It’s impossible. Truthfully, I don’t want to think about losing a loved one… especially a child.

I see photographs of Sam’s and Julie’s parents, and the agony on their faces is plain to see.

I’ve read that Julie’s father, Masa Kibuishi, has cancer. His daughter was murdered five years ago and he wants to live long enough to see justice done.

Steve Herr, Sam’s father, has actually visited Daniel in jail a couple of times. He says he wants to know what happened to his son. He wants to understand.

Both families have said that they want Daniel Wozniak to get the death penalty.

I’m guessing they wouldn’t like me very much. Not that I would blame them. I am his friend. I try to show a human side to Daniel. I question if he’s even a murderer.

Does that make me crazy? Naïve?

No matter what Daniel Wozniak may have done, I don’t believe he should die for it.

I understand why the families of the victims do, though.

What Do You Guys Think?

Let me know by leaving a comment… and keep reading the blog to see me question myself regularly…