20/20 5/31 on ABC

Two-Hour ‘20/20’ Documentary Reports on Man Who Murdered Friend to Steal His Money and Then Killed Young Woman in Attempted Cover-Up, Friday, May 31

TWO-HOUR ’20/20′ DOCUMENTARY REPORTS ON MAN WHO MURDERED FRIEND TO STEAL HIS MONEY AND THEN KILLED YOUNG WOMAN IN ATTEMPTED COVER-UP

Documentary Features New Interviews With Law Enforcement and
Others Closely Involved in Case

’20/20′ Airs Friday, May 31 (9:00 – 11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC

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 true 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. 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 Friday, May 31 (9:00–11:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC.

The two-hour documentary includes new interviews with Glen Way, who is still in touch with Wozniak; 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; Eileen Frere, ABC station KABC reporter who covered the case; a previously unaired television interview with Buffett, following her arrest; and 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’s parents; and Wesley Freilich, who was caught up in Wozniak’s web. 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’s 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.