Actor kills, dismembers Army vet and friend in plot to pay for his honeymoon

In this episode of Crime Watch Daily Updates: One Southern California man’s attempt to avoid paying for his nuptials left two people dead and dozens emotionally crushed.

Daniel Wozniak was a community theater actor who needed money to bankroll his wedding and honeymoon to his acting partner, Rachel Buffett, as well as pay off several debts. And he needed that money fast.

Daniel lived in the same building as Samuel Herr, a 26-year-old Army vet who saved up over $60,000 in combat pay. Daniel saw him as the perfect target.

On May 21, 2010, Daniel shot Sam at the same theater, where hours later, he would be back on stage in a leading role. Daniel beheaded Sam, dismembered his body, and scattered his remains in a park. Daniel planned on stealing $50,000 from Sam to pay off his debts and still have some money left over for his upcoming vows.

Then, the same night, Daniel used Sam’s phone to text Sam’s friend Julie Kibuishi in a ploy to lure her to Sam’s apartment. He shot Julie and framed the scene to look like she had been raped and killed.

It all came tumbling down for Daniel when cops arrested him at his bachelor party days later. He got caught because he hired a teen to take money out of Sam’s account, and investigators linked it back to Daniel.

He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in December 2015. The jury also voted to invoke the death penalty.

Rachel, Daniel’s now-ex-fiancée, didn’t get away scott-free, either. In September 2018, a jury found her guilty on two counts of being an accessory after the fact because she supposedly misled detectives during the investigation. She was sentenced to 32 months in jail.

In July 2021, Daniel was moved out of San Quentin, which is California’s death row prison for males, to a lower-security prison as part of a rehabilitation and work program.

Now, let’s look back at the case that left two innocent people dead all because one man was behind on his dues.

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