Video of Daniel Wozniak confessing to murder of 2 people released

Saturday, January 16, 2016
Video of Daniel Wozniak confessing to murder of 2 people released
Video obtained by ABC7 shows convicted murderer Daniel Wozniak confessing to killing two people.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- Eyewitness News obtained the videotaped confession of convicted Orange County actor Daniel Wozniak, who faces the death penalty for murdering two people.

The video was shown during Wozniak's trial. On May 27, 2010, Wozniak said how several days earlier he lured his 26-year-old neighbor and U.S. Army veteran Sam Herr to a theater attic at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base.

"I shot him once and then he was still alive," he said.

Wozniak continued by saying he again shot and killed Herr, then stole his wallet and cellphone so that he could send text messages to Herr's 23-year-old friend Julie Kibuishi pretending to be Herr. Wozniak convinced her to stop by Herr's apartment later that night.

The community theater actor then took the stage. Afterward, he told detectives he killed Kibuishi by shooting her twice in the head, staging the scene to make it look like Herr raped and murdered her.

The next day, Wozniak said he took a saw and ax up to the attic. He described cutting off Herr's head, a hand and an arm so that it would be harder to identify him.

Authorities found Herr's head and other body parts at a Long Beach park, which Wozniak described in the video. He even admits to the motive for his actions.

"It was all just about the money. That was it," he said.

During his trial, prosecutors said Wozniak faced eviction, had no paying job and was about to get married so he hatched a plan to murder Herr knowing he had earned more than $60,000 serving in Afghanistan.

A jury found Wozniak guilty of murder in December 2015. On Monday, jurors recommended the death penalty.

A judge is expected to sentence Wozniak on March 11.