Arts & Entertainment

Wozniak's Final Act Unveiled On '20/20,' Friday May 31

You may want to set that DVR for this one. For the first time, ABC puts together the pieces of the events leading to double murder in OC.

The Final Act, the story of Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffett, and the double murder of Julie Kibuishi and Sam Herr.
The Final Act, the story of Daniel Wozniak, Rachel Buffett, and the double murder of Julie Kibuishi and Sam Herr. (ABC 20/20)

ROSMOOR, CA — An actor on death row after his 2010 arrest and ultimate confession of murdering two Orange County residents is the subject of this week's "20/20" 2-hour documentary. Including never before seen interviews, recorded phone conversations and footage, ABC delves into the trial that rocked Rossmoor, and Orange County, for years.

In May 2010 authorities found a 23-year-old college student and dancer, Juri "Julie" Kibuishi dead inside the home of her close friend Sam Herr. Police initially suspected that Sam pulled the trigger, but as they continued to investigate, they quickly unraveled the mystery that Sam’s friend and neighbor, Daniel Wozniak, was the actual killer.

Wozniak confessed to killing Sam so he could steal his money and to murdering Julie in an attempt to frame Sam for her death and throw police off his tracks.

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With reporting by ABC News’ Senior National Correspondent Jim Avila, the two-hour "20/20" documentary outlines the new details of the case, including Wozniak’s confession, motive, and fate as he currently sits on death row, and features new interviews with law enforcement and others closely involved in the investigation and case. "20/20" airs on Friday, May 31 (9:00 – 11:00 p.m. ET) on ABC.

The two-hour documentary includes new interviews with Glen Way, who is still in touch with Wozniak, they said.

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Other interviews include former homicide detective Mike Cohen, who interrogated Wozniak, Matt Murphy, Senior Deputy District Attorney for Orange County, who prosecuted the case, Lieutenant Ed Everett and Sergeant Jose Morales, who worked on the case.

David Medina, defense attorney for Wozniak’s fiancée, Rachel Buffett, will also appear, as will ABC's Eileen Frere, station KABC reporter who covered the case.

The "20/20" special will also reveal a previously-un-aired television interview with Buffett following her arrest, along with discussions with Carol and Anthony Celeste, who knew Wozniak from their days in the theater.

"20/20" also features interviews with June Kibuishi, Julie’s mother, Steven, and Raquel Herr, Sam Herr’s parents, and Wesley Freilich, who was caught up in Wozniak’s web of deception.

The documentary also has footage from Buffett’s police interrogation and stress tests and the riveting and revealing Wozniak interrogation tapes.

When police could not locate Sam after Julie’s death, they tried to track him down through his ATM card activity, but instead found 17-year-old Freilich had been withdrawing money from Sam Herr’s bank account.

Freilich told police that he received the card from Wozniak, whom he knew through the local theater program, and was withdrawing the money for him.

Wozniak frequently changed his story during police interrogations but eventually confessed to killing Sam so he could steal his money and finance his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. Wozniak detailed how he shot Sam, cut off his body parts and disposed of them in a nearby park. He also confessed that he had tricked Julie into meeting him at Sam’s apartment, where he shot her twice. Wozniak pleaded not guilty during trial, but a jury convicted him of two counts of first-degree murder, and the judge sentenced him to death in 2016. He is currently in prison in California. A jury found Rachel Buffett guilty of being an accessory after the fact, and she is serving time in jail.

"20/20" is anchored by David Muir and Amy Robach. David Sloan is senior executive producer.

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