The Sword and Scale Podcast recently profiled the murders of Sam Herr and Julie Kibuishi. I was interviewed for the episode (via telephone) in May, and it’s now available here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
I think the story is covered decently, especially considering all the bizarre twists and turns in the case. They spend the first fifteen minutes or so examining how one of the victims, Sam Herr, was originally considered the prime suspect in the murder of Julie Kibuishi.
The story of Sam’s previous brush with the law has been touched on by the majority of media covering the murders. I wrote about it myself in the early days of this blog.
However, out of respect for Steve and Raquel Herr, Sam Herr’s parents, I wanted to go into a little more detail than provided in the excerpts of my interview used for the podcast. If you’ve come here as a Sword and Scale listener, this might be enlightening and interesting.
More to the Story
Julie Kibuishi’s body was found in Sam’s apartment. Authorities thought the Army veteran had possibly snapped, murdering his friend.
It was a logical interpretation of a crime scene in which Julie’s clothing was torn and the words “all yours fuck you” were scrawled on the back of her sweater.
In fact, this was Daniel Wozniak’s intention in staging the scene Steve Herr discovered.
Dan had been aware of a dark time in Sam Herr’s life. He knew that when Sam Herr had spent some time in the Los Angeles jail.
When Sam was a teenager, he and a group of other young men had been arrested on a murder charge. So Dan figured the Costa Mesa Police would suspect Sam even more than they already did once they looked into his past.
Sam Herr had been completely acquitted of that original crime. After that, he got away from a bad crowd, joined the Army, and became a highly decorated veteran.
He did everything right. The future stolen from him would likely have been filled with success, family, and happiness.
I hope that extra context adds to your experience of the episode.
Thanks again to The Sword and Scale Podcast for having me on.