The neighbor in Costa Mesa who knew too much | Forensic Files

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more [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website it was around dinner time on friday may
21 2010 when julie kibuwishi received a text message can you come over tonight at midnight
alone very upset need to talk julie typed a reply asking what was the matter after making her promise that she
wouldn't tell anyone the sender explained that they were hurting due to some bad family crap
a short while later julie's cell phone lit up again where are you can you come by i don't
want to be up late it was approaching midnight when julie pulled up to the camden martinique
apartments in the californian city of costa mesa the sprawling residential complex
consisted of multiple low-rise buildings interspersed with winding walkways and palm trees
after parking her car julie headed towards one of the buildings while texting hey buddy i am here i am walking to your
place then as she reached the right floor she messaged her brother taka to let him
know she'd arrived safely at her destination as julie typed she heard a strange sound
from the other side of an apartment door it sounded like a person sobbing signing off her message to taka julie
wrote sam is crying it's not good [Music] [Music] hours earlier 23 year old julie kibuishi
had been out with her brother taka and his fiancee in long beach not far from where she lived in irvine orange county
the trio were dining at a thai restaurant near taka's home it was a special occasion
taka and his fiancee had a very important request to make of julie julie was born on valentine's day in
1987 and others jokingly said that this was the reason she was a hopeless romantic
so when julie was asked to be a bridesmaid at her brother's upcoming wedding she was overcome with the joy
after she happily accepted the offer tucker handed his sister a tiara it was both a gift and the finishing
touch for her bridesmaid outfit julie put it on at once after dinner the trio headed back to
taka's home to continue chatting julie wasn't planning on staying long though during dinner her red samsung cell phone
had lit up with text messages from a close friend named sam hare the two had met at orange coast
community college where they both took anthropology julie had tutored sam in the subject
helping him achieve an a in that class according to sam's texts he was having a rough night
after some back and forth julie told sam she would leave her brother's house to visit him right away
she respected sam's request to come alone and after a short drive julie arrived at the camden martinique
apartments in costa mesa where sam lived the following morning junko kibuishi stood at the door to her daughter
julie's bedroom the bed inside had not been slept in and there was no sign of julie anywhere else
in their house it wasn't like a julie to disappear without telling her parents where she
would be family had always been of the utmost importance to her born into a close-knit japanese-american
household julie was the third of four children and had two older brothers when julie's mother junco was pregnant
with her she was told that her third child would be a boy as well julie was therefore an unexpected though
happy surprise to her parents they named her jury but as their first daughter grew older she was more
commonly known to her friends by the americanized version of her name julie now unable to find a julie anywhere
junko followed up with her friends but none could shed any light on where she might be
when texts and calls to julie's cell phone continued to go unanswered junko was certain something was wrong
and contacted the police [Laughter] at the same time that julie's family were worrying about her a couple who
lived in the orange county neighborhood of anaheim hills were wondering where their son might be
steve and raquel herr had been expecting a visit from their only child samuel better known as sam
he spent many weekends with his parents who were only a 30 minute drive away from his costa mesa apartment
raquel had spoken with sam over the phone around to lunchtime the previous day and he hadn't given any indication
that he intended to change his plans the couple tried calling sam periodically throughout the day but his
cell phone was switched off this seemed odd they had never known sam to turn off his
phone by late evening steve hare was standing at the front door to his son's apartment
using a spare key sam had given him steve let himself in to check that everything was alright
the lights were on but all was quiet nothing looked out of place sam's apartment was a typical sparsely
furnished bachelor pad his acoustic guitar was perched in its stand in a lounge some blankets were
folded up at the end of the sofa and textbooks sat on a bookcase everything was neat and tidy
in the kitchen some washed dishes had been left on a drying rack and males sat stacked on a countertop
empty beer bottles were scattered by the barbecue out on the patio despite the seemingly normal scene in
front of him steve felt strange as though someone else were in the apartment with him
he called out his son's name sammy then as steve looked into sam's bedroom he was met with a horrifying sight
alongside sam's messy and unmade bed was a young woman she was kneeling her torso sprawled over
the mattress and her lower legs resting on the floor her jeans had been cut at the waistband
and down through the seat before being ripped down around her knees a message had been scribbled in black
marker across the back of the grey top she was still wearing it quote all yours [ __ ] you
the back of her head was bloody as were the sheets beneath her steve saw what he recognized as a
gunshot wound in her scalp sitting on top of her head in her long matted black hair was a tiara
steve knew without a doubt that the woman was dead he pulled out his cell phone and dialed
9-1-1 when the operator answered he cried out in a distraught voice there's a body in my son's apartment
steve recognized the deceased woman as his son's close friend and anthropology tutor julie kibuishi
he had met julie before and thought she was a lovely young woman noting how well she got on with sam
steve later asked his son if there was a romantic connection between them sam had dismissed the notion telling his
father that julie was more like a sister to him but it looked as though some sort of
sexual activity had taken place in sam's room when police arrived on the scene they
made the same observation way julie's body was posed turned the aggressive removal of her pants
indicated that she had been sexually assaulted then brutally executed an autopsy later revealed julie had been
shot twice in the head the message that had been scrawled on her back or yours [ __ ] you
seemed pointed as though directed at a particular person investigators suspected a love triangle
most likely sam had been competing for julie's affections with another individual
upon searching sam's room they found what appeared to be a sex manual as well as a soldier's handbook
the latter made sense prior to enrolling at college when he was 26 years old sam hare had served in
the united states army's 173rd airborne brigade combat team he had been sent to afghanistan and
spent much of his time there fighting on the border with pakistan in a particularly dangerous region that was
constantly under fire when he returned to the u.s sam exhibited symptoms of post-traumatic
stress disorder suffering from regular nightmares where he was trapped in a foxhole while insurgents bore down on
him eager to move on with his life he enrolled in college so he could obtain a degree
in addition to the books investigators recovered a clean knife with a wide partially serrated blade
julie's handbag was found in the kitchen with her driver's license and cell phone
inside an examination of julie's phone revealed how sam had repeatedly reached out to
her the previous night in a series of text messages he'd begged her to come over to his place while also
insisting that she come alone and tell no one investigators noted how sam had reassured julie that his desire to see
her wasn't sexual writing in one message please no sex sam's cell phone wallet and passport
were nowhere to be found his car a white pontiac was also missing investigators ran a background a check
on sam hare to find out who exactly they were dealing with as well as learning that sam was an army
veteran with extensive combat experience they made another more disturbing discovery
eight years earlier in 2002 sam hare had been charged with murder at the time sam was 18 years old
he had been friends with another young man named byron benito who had gang affiliations
authorities said that after some gang members suspected byron of shooting one of their friends sam hare helped them by
luring byron to a secluded industrial estate according to police after sam and byron
arrived there a group of assailants attacked byron stabbing and beating him to death
for his role in the plot sam hare was charged with murder and spent almost a year in custody before going to trial in
2004. the prosecution argued that while sam hadn't physically hurt byron he had taken him to the side of his death with
full knowledge of what would unfold unconvinced that these actions proved sam guilty of murder a jury ultimately
acquitted him relieved and determined to start a new life sam enlisted in the army and went
on to become a decorated veteran despite his full exoneration sam's history was notable to the detectives
investigating him for the murder of julie kibuishi almost a decade later similarities between the two crimes were
clear byron and julie were close friends of sam and both had met a violent end after
sam lured them to a predetermined destination at this point locating sam became a
matter of public safety physically fit and strongly built sam was more than capable of defending
himself if necessary then there was his military combat experience as well as the likelihood
that he was armed with a gun investigators had to move quickly they interviewed everyone who knew sam
including a number of neighbours who lived in the camden martinique apartments due to most of the residents being
college students around the same age the apartments had a thriving social scene and many of the people who lived there
were friendly with one another one man who lived a couple of floors below sam said he'd seen him the
afternoon before julie was murdered sam had helped him move some heavy items then he'd left camden martinique with a
man sam's neighbor had never seen before the man was white and wore a black baseball cap
the neighbor's fiancee confirmed this sighting adding that the man didn't live at the apartments and she had never seen
him before meanwhile samhaire's father steve was struggling with the sudden disappearance
of his son determined to track him down he began carrying out his own private investigation
sam had previously provided his father with all of his online banking details and passwords in case of an emergency
on monday may 24 when sam had been missing for two days steve logged into his son's bank account
almost right away steve noticed that there had been lots of activity over the past few days sam had
repeatedly withdrawn funds from an atm in long beach each time he opted to take out 400
the maximum amount his bank permitted him to withdraw in a day overall these increments had added up to
almost two thousand dollars steve then drove to long beach in the hopes of catching sam in the act
he staked out the city's atms but didn't see his son then he drove around the area's streets
and roads keeping a lookout for sam's white pontiac there was no sign of it suddenly a notification came through on
steve's phone from sam's bank sam's bank card had just been used to order some pizzas from a long beach
pizza parlor named eckos steve rushed to the restaurant it sat along a busy six-lane
thoroughfare with tables and umbrellas set out along the pavement for outdoor dining steve parked in front of echoes
and alternated between watching its glass door entrance and keeping an eye out for sam's car
he waited for an hour although other patrons came and went his son never appeared
the case detectives had also gained access to sam's banking records and were also keeping a watch on account activity
like steve they had noted the repeated withdrawals being made from long beach there had been four separate withdrawals
from two different chase bank atms the machines had cameras fitted inside and investigators were able to obtain
the surveillance footage from both upon examining the footage recorded at the exact times sam's card had been used
detectives were perplexed standing before the machine was a teenage boy he was white and looked very young
dressed in a hoodie and a black baseball cap [Music] was this the individual in the black hat
that sam's neighbors had seen him with on the day of julie's murder the detectives didn't recognize him and
nor did sam's parents when they were shown a photo investigators contacted ekko's pizza
parlor where sam's card had been used to make a purchase and asked for the delivery address provided for that
particular order once they had it a full swat team descended on the property and a
helicopter was dispatched for an aerial view if sam hare was hiding inside the investigators didn't want to take
any chances the last thing they needed was a hostage situation on their hands judging from the noises emanating from
the house a party was in full swing when the occupants were ordered to open up the teenage boy who had been called
on the atm's camera opened the front door his name was wesley and he was 17 years old
he lived there with his mother who was a drama teacher [Music] wesley was ordered out of the house
along with his friends whom he'd invited over to play video games and instructed
to get down on the ground as he lay on the front lawn officers filed inside to conduct a thorough
search determined that they would flush out sam hare from wherever he was hiding
after examining each room it was clear sam hare wasn't in the house but his debit card was
when confronted with sam's debit card wesley denied having used it or even knowing anything about it
are you sure about that one of the officers asked this card's tied to a homicide
wesley's demeanor immediately changed he looked visibly scared as he repeated the words
a homicide it didn't take long for him to spill what he knew wesley didn't know sam hare
he had been withdrawing the money on behalf of someone else 26 year old daniel wozniak lived at the
camden martinique apartments a couple of floors below sam hare's residence he had held a few different jobs here
and there but his true passion was acting daniel's performances in community theater productions had been positively
received and he was currently starring in the lead role in a several month long run of the musical nine at an
alternative theater company in orange county he and sam hare became friendly after
daniel and his fiancee rachel buffett her fellow aspiring actor had moved into the complex several months earlier in
february they shared a circle of friends at camden martinique and socialized regularly
daniel was the downstairs neighbor who had mentioned seeing sam leave with the man in a black baseball cap on the day
of julie kiba issues murder initially this had appeared to be a helpful clue in the search for sam
now investigators viewed daniel's story far more critically seventeen-year-old wesley had since
accused the daniel of supplying him with sam's bank card under the order to drain
the account was daniel helping sam evade authorities if so was he aware of what exactly his friend
was running from detectives called daniel wozniack's cell phone seeking an explanation
he answered that said that he couldn't speak with them that night because he was at his bachelor party
in two days time on friday may 28 daniel was getting married and he had gone out
to a japanese restaurant with a few friends to celebrate investigators didn't care
with sam hare still a threat to the public they needed to speak with daniel right away
detective jose morales approached the beige single-story building that housed tsunami sushi
located on the pacific coast highway in huntington beach the restaurant often hosted parties with its teppanyaki grill
a popular attraction detective morales entered the establishment alone in his plain clothes he wouldn't attract
much attention the detective walked through the front door and strolled around at the bar area
scanning the room for daniel wozniack he couldn't see him then towards the back of the
restaurant in a private banquet room he spotted him daniel was dressed in khaki pants and a
hawaiian shirt laughing as he drank sake with his friends detective morales radioed for backup and
more officers soon arrived at the scene they waited until daniel had paid for the meal
then entered through the restaurant's rear door and filed into the banquet room when daniel looked up and saw them all
of the blood drained from his face the detectives flashed their badges and padded daniel down before snapping a
pair of handcuffs around his wrists then he was escorted out of his own bachelor party and into a waiting police
car once daniel was seated in an interrogation room at costa mesa police station he seemed more relaxed than he'd
looked at the restaurant before questioning began daniel assured the interviewing
detectives i'm going to tell you everything i'm sick of covering for sam he said he knew nothing about julie
kibushi's murder but had been duped into helping supply funds for sam hare's escape
he also admitted that the man in the black baseball cap had never existed he had invented him to cover up for
himself daniel explained that sam had called him the previous friday morning hours before
he later attacked and killed julie kibuishi sam had offered to pay daniel if he helped him out with the scheme
he was planning to drain his own bank account using a third party and then intended to file a claim that his debit
card had been stolen his bank would have to refund what had been taken and he'd get double the
payout the author was tempting daniel and his fiancee rachel had little money the community theatre shows they loved
performing paid nothing and they both worked odd jobs to get by somehow they'd wound up severely in debt
and months behind on their rant what sam was suggesting was illegal but daniel desperately wanted some cash
he agreed to participate and sam said he would stay clear of the atms being used
to make withdrawals that way no one could say they had seen him there and his face wouldn't be
captured by the machine's cameras daniel lost his teenage friend wesley whom he'd met through their shared
interest in theatre to make the withdrawals daniel told wesley he was working for a
bail bonds agent and that the card belonged to one of the agent's clients who had gone on the run after posting
bail he wanted wesley's help to drain the client's account and had shown the teenager how to use the card and
withdraw funds in 400 increments he'd said it was vital that wesley always wear a hat and sunglasses when he
was at the atm because wesley was underage daniel believed he was less likely to get in
trouble if he was caught daniel insisted that he had no idea where sam hare was now
setting the credit fraud story aside the interrogators changed the subject back to julie kibuishi
did daniel know anything about her murder after initially saying he didn't daniel admitted that he did
sam had told him all about it on the evening of friday may 21 daniel and his fiancee rachel had
performed on stage in the community theatre musical they were both in before returning home for a quiet night
watching tv on the couch the next morning daniel was woken by a steady knocking at his front door
he opened it and saw sam hare standing outside looking nervous when daniel asked if everything was
alright sam replied not good we're in trouble sam begged daniel to get him out of
costa mesa and handed over his laptop for safe keeping daniel told detectives where they could
find the device in his apartment the two got into sam's white pontiac with daniel behind the wheel
as they headed southbound down the interstate 405 freeway sam suddenly made an admission
there's a body in my apartment i shot somebody i was not happy about it it was a fit of rage and honestly
she had it coming she daniel last sam told him the victim was his good friend julie kibuishi
he had gotten drunk and high on ecstasy the night before and started scrolling through photos of julie on social media
becoming upset as he looked at the images he started texting julie asking her to come over
when she arrived at his apartment he propositioned her and she refused so he shot and killed her
daniel was shocked he knew julie from their social circle at camden martinique she often joined the gatherings there as
a friend of sam's and now sam had made him a partial accessory to her murder by asking for
his help daniel pulled off the highway and began to shout what the [ __ ] what have you gotten me
into what are you doing sam ordered daniel not to tell anyone and threatened i know where you live
you rap me out i'm going to [ __ ] kill you and better yet i'm going to start with your wife
the two struck a deal sam would give daniel the entire contents of one of his bank accounts a
sum that totaled sixteen thousand dollars if daniel would help him conceal his crime and escape
daniel adamantly denied that he helped sam in any other way aside from getting him cash and driving him out of town
when asked where exactly he had taken sam daniel said he had dropped him off at the los altos shopping center in long
beach sam took off somewhere unknown while daniel drove sam's car to a quiet street
nearby and abandoned it investigators informed daniel wozniack that they needed one more thing from him
a dna test just so they could eliminate him as a suspect although daniel was happy to oblige and
allowed a detective to swab his mouth he suddenly added another new detail to his
story he had been in sam's apartment on the afternoon of friday may 21 he'd only gone in there briefly to use
the bathroom and he might have also quickly ducked out to the patio if the detectives found his dna in those
locations that was the reason why with daniel now admitting to visiting sam's apartment on the day of julie
kibuwish's murder the detectives began to push harder had he assisted sam in cleaning up the
crime scene was there a chance he had seen julie's body did sam tell him what he'd done with the
murder weapon daniel answered no to every question his tone growing louder and increasingly
belligerent each time having cooperated with investigators every step of the way
daniel seemed confident that he would be allowed to go home he stood up as did the detectives
but his latest admission meant he was now being charged with accessory to murder after the fact
when the detectives informed daniel that he wouldn't be going anywhere shock washed over his face
suddenly growing panicked he blurted out i will talk to you about anything if it
gets me to my wedding on friday that's what i will promise he repeated his earlier claims but
continued to deny having seen julie's body in sam's apartment the detectives kept pushing
eventually daniel yelled in a dramatic and booming voice i don't know what else you want me to
say i don't know i don't know he hovered his hand briefly in front of his face as though shaken then anxiously
began running it through his hair one of the detectives calmly replied tell us the truth
you're not that good of an actor after shaking his head for several moments daniel finally declared
yes i saw the god damn body is that what you want to hear he explained that sam hadn't actually
confessed to him in the car instead he had told daniel about the murder while they were still at camden
martinique sam had asked him for help cleaning up the crime scene so daniel followed sam
to his apartment upon entering the bedroom he saw julie's body lying by the bed moving in for a closer look he leaned
over julie and examined her when asked what did you see daniel replied saw two gunshots in her head
daniel wozniak was taken to a holding cell although he had hoped police would release him in time to attend his
wedding there was no way they were allowing an accessory to murder to walk free by now it was thursday may 27 and he'd
been in custody since late the previous night he was supposed to be getting married
the following day inside his cell daniel had access to a telephone he placed a call to his fiancee 22 year
old rachel buffett rachel hadn't had much sleep the night before a detective had visited her at home to
let her know daniel was being interviewed and asked her to answer some questions as well
rachel agreed to accompany him to the station and was released within a couple of hours
realising how serious the situation was she had driven to her parents house to let them know that the wedding wouldn't
be going ahead then she paid her future in-laws a visit informing them that daniel had been
arrested when her cell phone rang a little while later she had pulled in at a gas station
hi baby daniel greeted her in a flat voice when rachel demanded to know what he had
done daniel explained how he had helped sam cover some stuff up he said he had also helped sam acquire
some quote hardcore ecstasy which sam had been high on when he murdered julie daniel knew his actions were wrong that
said they needed the money rachel reprimanded daniel telling him we never need money we need to be good
people and to just have each other then she added something else rachel mentioned how she had spoken to
daniel's older brother tim wozniack that morning she bumped into him when she was leaving
daniel's parents house and told him how daniel had been arrested upon hearing this tim seemed agitated
and started fiddling with his cell phone he blurted out something about having evidence
realizing the significance of this statement rachel told daniel that she was planning to report it to the
detectives investigating the case as soon as possible daniel was silent for a moment before
stating then i'm doomed at midday one of the detectives who had spent the previous night grilling daniel
wozniak received a phone call it was from the jailer who was currently watching over daniel in custody
apparently daniel wanted to speak with investigators again the detective made his way to the
holding cell where daniel wozniak was being held daniel looked distraught and nervous
he had draped a blanket over his head and shoulders which added to his bereft appearance
without hesitation he told the detective i need to talk to you about something once again
daniel was escorted to an interrogation room where he was read his rights but this time he waved them
staring directly at the detective daniel said i'm crazy and i did it case file will be back shortly thank you
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you support case file [Music] almost two weeks earlier on saturday may 15 daniel wozniak had been arrested in
costa mesa for driving while under the influence he was booked at orange county jail
where he placed some phone calls to friends trying to source funds so he could be released on bail
money was an issue for daniel he had two bank accounts both of which were overdrawn and owed a couple of
months rent to his and rachel's landlord now he was only going to be in more trouble with bail required and a
criminal charge to defend one of daniel's friends tried to help him find the cash by phoning other
acquaintances who might be willing to contribute some bail money he got in touch with daniel's neighbor
sam hare and asked if he'd be willing to assist sam refused although he had about 62 000
thanks to his meticulous saving of his combat pay he wasn't that close to daniel and didn't want to get mixed up
in his criminal charges daniel had to spend a night in custody but managed to scrape together enough to
pay his bail and was released the next day that one night behind bars had been enough he subsequently told his friends
he never wanted to go back there again [Music] when he bumped into sam hare at one of
camden martinique's jacuzzis he shared his experience with him complaining about how awful jail had been
sam was incredulous he had spent more than a year in la county men's jail while awaiting trial
for murder when he was 18 years old one night was nothing i know all about being in jail he told
daniel before explaining how he had been charged in relation to a friend's homicide
it was the first that daniel had heard about sam's past before he became a soldier and college student
around the same time sam learned that daniel and rachel were behind on their rent and facing eviction
he offered to help pay what they owed although he didn't want to be responsible for daniel's bail money rent
was a different matter he took daniel to a nearby atm to withdraw some cash as he punched in his pin number and his
account's total balance flashed on the screen daniel watched closely the southern california city of los
alamitos is home to the joint forces training base a military facility that is featured in hollywood films over the
years its proximity to the center of american filmmaking has made a convenient backdrop for military-themed
movies in 1942 the base opened the liberty theatre where shows were staged and films were screened for service men and
women daniel wozniak was well acquainted with the liberty theatre it was close to his family's home in
long beach and he had performed on its stage multiple times he struck the theater owners as a
charismatic and cheerful person who loved to tell jokes and be the center of attention
it was at the liberty where daniel struck up a rapport with the younger cast member wesley and became something
of a mentor to the teenager on the morning of friday may 21 2010 daniel asked his neighbour sam hare to
help him with something he needed a hand moving some items that were stored at the liberty theater
sam was all too happy to assist when his mother called him at 12 25 pm that day he mentioned how he was in the
middle of helping someone out and would call her back soon he never did daniel and sam drove to the theater in
sam's car once there they headed backstage and towards a ladder that led upstairs to a small attic where the
theatre's lights were the two men climbed the ladder and daniel directed sam towards a piece of
furniture stating i need you to help me move this sam began to lift the item as sam knelt with his back to him
daniel pulled out a 38-caliber semi-automatic pistol that he had previously stolen from his parents house
daniel aimed at the gun at sam and pulled the trigger shooting sam in the back of the head
sam fell to the floor shocked and confused looking up at daniel he said i need help something hit me
it felt like an electric shock daniel pulled the trigger again but the pistol jammed
he ejected the stuck round reloaded the weapon and with sam still staring at him
he shot him once more in the temple after killing sam daniel grabbed his victim's belongings including his keys
bank cards and cell phone then he went back home leaving sam's body in the attic of the liberty theatre
that evening he headed to a different theater where he was the lead in a production of the musical nine
his fiancee rachel co-starred alongside him one reviewer had previously described
daniel's performance as the best thing about the show but that night he seemed slightly less
polished than usual sometimes he paused before delivering lines causing other cast and crew
members to worry that he might have forgotten them while backstage daniel used sam's cell
phone to text the julie kibuishi pretending to be sam he wrote can you come over tonight at midnight
alone very upset need to talk seemingly wanting to reassure julie that sam's motivations were pure he twice
clarified that he wasn't asking her over to have sex julie who was replying in between having
a meal with her brother and his fiance seemed to find this suggestion absurd writing
lol sam we are like brother and sis no sex she agreed to come over to sam's apartment at midnight by herself
after the performance concluded daniel headed home and waited sitting on the couch with his fiancee
rachel he watched a film and then some light-hearted television at close to midnight he tucked a blanket
over rachel who was dozing snuck out of their apartment and headed upstairs to sam's he claims he was standing outside
the front door when julie kiba wishy arrived concerned about her seemingly distraught friend
daniel explained that he was worried too sam had just called him upset and said he was going through some stuff
me too said julie daniel told her he had a spare key and suggested they go into sam's apartment
together to check he was alright the two walked inside daniel directed julie to sam's bedroom
asking oh by the way did you see this in sam's bed as julie leaned over to see what daniel
was talking about he pulled out the pistol and shot her in the back of the head just as he had done with sam
after firing twice daniel posed to julie's lifeless body by ripping her jeans and scribbling a crude message on
her back he wanted it to look as though there had been a sexual assault the following morning daniel headed back
to the liberty theatre where sam's body still lay in the attic he cut sam's clothes off with a pair of
scissors then using a saw and hatchet that he had borrowed from his fiancee's brother
daniel removed sam's head one of his hands and one of his forearms which was tattooed
daniel hoped that removing these body parts would prevent the remains from being identified
as he dismembered his former friend daniel began to laugh aloud to himself he couldn't quite believe what he was
doing interviewing detectives were unsurprised by daniel wozniak's chilling confession
they had long suspected his involvement in julie's murder went far beyond what he'd originally claimed
and they weren't the only ones [Music] steve hare sam's father had started to wonder about daniel when he began
looking into his son's disappearance on his own another friend of sam's had given steve
daniel's contact details so he could ask whether he had seen his son steve noticed that daniel's phone number
had a long beach area code the same neighborhood where withdrawals were being made from sam's bank account
when steve checked the numbers of sam's other friends he realized that daniel was the only one with the connection to
long beach daniel had further provoked steve's suspicions during a conversation they
had over the phone when steve asked if daniel knew of anything that had been troubling sam
daniel replied that he'd mentioned having some girl problems as well as some family issues
the latter raised a huge red flag for steve he and his wife raquel were extremely
close to their only child and sam had no family problems to speak of steve shared his suspicions with
investigators who'd also noticed some strange details surrounding julie's murder and sam's disappearance
although the crime scene suggested julie had been raped and her killing was sexually motivated her autopsy revealed
no evidence of a sexual assault moreover there was nothing to suggest that sam had ever harboured romantic
feelings for julie or that the two were anything other than close friends once the withdrawals from sam's bank
account were definitively linked to daniel wozniack it looked as though steve hare's instincts had been correct
throughout their lengthy questioning of daniel in the early stages of their investigation detectives were struck by
the way his story kept changing their growing suspicions were cemented during a pivotal moment in the
interrogation when daniel described seeing julie's murdered body in sam's apartment
in an attempt to coax information from him the detectives had lied telling him that the results of his dna swab were
back already his genetic material was found on julie's body trying to explain this away
daniel detailed how he had leaned over julie while in sam's apartment perhaps his dna had fallen onto her
when asked to describe what he saw when he looked at julie daniel said there were two gunshot wounds in her head
but only one wound was visible steve hare and even the seasoned investigators who had attended the crime
scene all thought that julie was shot once until her autopsy result came through
it was only possible for daniel to know she had been shot twice if he was somehow involved in her murder
daniel had only killed julie to cover up his true target sam his hope was that sam would be blamed
for julie's murder to daniel's thinking sam's previous criminal charge would make him a
plausible suspect in another violent attack hopefully investigators would assume he
raped and killed julie then escaped to live on the run daniel had known his fate was sealed
when his fiancee rachel told him she intended to tell the police about evidence his brother had
after killing julie and sam daniel had given his brother tim a box telling him firmly not to open it
inside was a backpack containing money daniel had stolen from sam's apartment the pistol used to kill both victims
shell casings sam's passport and bloody clothing and the tools daniel had used to cut up his body
supposedly tim had looked inside the box despite daniel's strict instructions and
subsequently called daniel to ask about the items daniel knew that if the police learned
about that evidence then he was doomed when investigators asked to daniel what his motivation for the grizzly double
homicide had been he replied money and insanity then he gave a strange high pitch to
laugh daniel knew that sam had a significant amount of money and he wanted to get his
hands on it he explained that he was a pathological liar who couldn't bear to tell his
fiancee rachel that he was broke and they were about to be evicted he had also wanted to give her the
honeymoon of her dreams rachel's parents were paying for the wedding but daniel wanted to take her on
a cruise afterwards sure enough when investigators checked daniel's computer they found internet
searches for resorts in mexico he had also googled how to hide a body and quick ways to kill people
detectives found sam hare's body in the attic of the liberty theatre as daniel wozniak had described he was
missing his head and portions of both arms but he was identifiable by a large tattoo on his chest that daniel had
apparently missed it depicted a large love heart surrounded by roses with the words mum
and dad inked across the center after daniel dismembered sam hare's body he had placed his head arm and hand in
plastic bags then he stashed those bags in a backpack belonging to sam daniel told investigators that on
saturday may 22 while sam and julie's families were trying to locate them he had driven to the eldorado nature center
a 105 acre park in long beach he dug shallow holes in several locations then placed the plastic bags
containing sam's body parts in separate holes daniel covered each one with loose dirt
and leaves before leaving to get ready for a social event he was attending that night
the musical he was starring in was wrapping up the next day so the cast were all celebrating with a
party search teams headed out to the el dorado nature center on friday may 28th the park was split up into quadrants
with each team covering a different area by the end of the day police had recovered sam's forearm and hand
the following day saturday may 29 would have been sam hare's 27th birthday on what should have been a day of
celebration his father steve found himself in the position of having to pray that his son's head the final piece
of his body would be found and brought home for burial steve's prayer was answered with
searchers locating sam's head before the day was out steve and his wife raquel had never
believed for a moment that their son had killed julie kibuishi from the beginning they had been certain
that he was the victim of a crime not a perpetrator although steve already suspected his son
was dead having his worst fear confirmed was devastating he later told keith elliot greenberg
author of the book killing for you that he was haunted by daniel wozniack's motivation for killing his son and julie
quote i cannot believe that somebody would do something like this to a young man and a
young woman just for a few thousand dollars my boy is gone and i'm thinking what a
waste what a waste he saved all his money so he could buy a house go to college and get married
and this guy takes it all away julie kibuishi's family found themselves reliving the last night of her life over
and over thinking of how things might have been different julie's brother taka wished he'd poured
her more alcohol during dinner so she would have gotten drunk and had to stay over at his place
her mother junko had given julie advice about avoiding traffic while heading out
to long beach not realising that she was in danger of anything else that night [Music]
friday may 28 2010 was supposed to be the day of daniel wozniak's wedding sam hare had been an intended guest with
detectives finding an invitation typed in elegant font amongst the male in his apartment
instead daniel was charged with two counts of first-degree murder for killing sam and julie
he attempted to take his own life shortly after confessing to the crimes and was taken to hospital where he made
a recovery police recovered the evidence that daniel had given to his brother tim for
safe keeping and tim was charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact
despite daniel wozniak's confession he intended to plead not guilty it was expected that he wouldn't face
trial for at least a couple of years while the prosecution put their case together
but the process ended up taking more than five years the prosecution team had decided the
crimes warranted a death sentence which contributed to further delays as the defense sought to have that option
removed from the table the prosecution ultimately prevailed daniel wozniak's trial would proceed as
a death penalty case the trial finally began on december 9 2015. the prosecution informed the jury how
sam hare and julie kibuishi had been brutally killed due to daniel wozniak's desire for financial gain
they relied heavily on video recordings of daniel's confession and also called upon several witnesses
one of these was sam hare's father steve who had to describe to the court how he had gone to his son's apartment
to check on him only to discover julie kibuishi's murdered body inside prosecutor matt murphy said that the
double homicide was as ruthless as a murder gets it's as cold blooded as a murder gets
it's as unnecessary as a murder gets defense had no opening argument and called no witnesses to the stand
within five days the jury had retired to consider their verdict it didn't take long
for two counts of murder in the first degree they found daniel wozniack guilty [Music]
they also had to carefully consider his sentencing death penalty cases were rare in orange
county only being sought by prosecutors in about four percent of eligible cases the defense insisted that their client
wasn't the worst kind of murderer and deserved a chance for redemption but the prosecution argued that if ever
a killer deserved the death penalty daniel wozniak did because he had treated his victims quote
like trash addressing the jury directly matt murphy asked are they sam and julie's parents also spoke in
favour of a death sentence and shared deeply personal memories of their children with the court
after deliberating on the matter for more than an hour the jury came to a unanimous decision
daniel wozniak would be sentenced to death the hares and the kibuishi's were given
an opportunity to address him directly when it came time for junko keeper ishii to speak she asked her daughter's killer
a question that had haunted her ever since she had learned that julie had been used as a prop in daniel wozniak's
scheme quote you took her precious life and then you disgraced her why what did she do to you
how could you do anything like that to my baby reading his victim impact statement
aloud steve hare said [Music] you dan are a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death
penalty in california my only regret is that this state won't let me kill this coward
myself although daniel wozniak was the only individual convicted of killing sam hare
and julie kibuishi investigators and the victims families were certain he hadn't
acted entirely alone both daniel's brother tim and his fiancee rachel buffett were charged with
being accessories to murder after the fact but some were convinced that their involvement with the crimes went above
and beyond that like daniel rachel buffett was an aspiring actor who performed in
community theatre productions to earn money she'd played the part of ariel from the little mermaid at the
disneyland theme park in anaheim rachel's small frame and wide blue eyes meant she was perfectly suited for the
role of a disney princess but those who were close to the couple hadn't seen it as a fairy tale romance
they claimed that daniel had changed after meeting rachel he dropped out of college and his
relationship with his family became strained after his parents caught him stealing money
nevertheless it was clear that he was crazy about rachel it seemed to outsiders as though she
called the shots and daniel would do anything to make her happy detectives had taken rachel in for
questioning almost immediately after first arresting daniel they were suspicious of the way she'd
initially repeated his story about seeing sam hare leave the apartment building with a man in a black baseball
cap rachel had said that she didn't recognize the man implying she had seen him with her own eyes
despite daniel now admitting he had made the man up when queried about her early acclaim
rachel amended her story to say that daniel had merely told her about the individual he supposedly saw sam with
and trusting him she repeated his version of events verbatim rachel adamantly denied knowing that she
and daniel were in financial trouble insisting that he kept that information from her
but investigators learned that the couple had already been evicted from another apartment building they lived in
previously and had been notified that they faced eviction from camden martinique
it seemed highly unlikely that rachel hadn't realised that they weren't paying their bills
[Music] a witness named chris also shed more light on the matter he was a jazz singer who met daniel and
rachel through mutual friends just a few weeks before the murders daniel had told chris that he was broke
and asked to borrow three thousand dollars chris agreed to lend him 2000 but said
he'd need to be repaid by friday may 21. when that date rolled around chris headed over to the couple's apartment to
collect his money daniel and rachel were both there as was their neighbour sam hare
after about 10 minutes daniel and sam left together with daniel promising he'd pay chris when he returned
chris waited at the apartment for several hours privately wondering what was taking daniel so long
he chatted with rachel while she sat at the computer and looked for jobs on craigslist
finally daniel reappeared by himself he handed chris a wad of cash that he said was 400
and promised to repay the rest soon chris noticed that rachel was glaring at daniel
eager to escape the apparent tension brewing between the couple chris left quickly after pocketing his money
chris's story placed same hair in the couple's apartment mere hours before his murder and indicated daniel had wasted
no time in helping himself to sam's money it also suggested some hostility between
daniel and rachel rachel had told the police about daniel leaving with sam that afternoon too
but in her version he had only been gone for a brief window of time she had never mentioned chris at all
at around midnight that night daniel claimed his next victim julie kibuishi rachel told police she had been asleep
when daniel snuck out to meet julie but records of her online activity revealed something curious
about an hour before the second murder rachel had sent a facebook message to none other than julie
kibuishi the message was a reply to a friendly message julie had sent earlier that day offering congratulations for
rachel's impending nuptials at around 11 10 pm rachel replied promising that the two of them would
catch up after her wedding quote we'll hang out when everything settles in the summer sun
police suspected that the plot against the julie had only been concocted after sam's murder
daniel had been using sam's phone after killing him and sent a message to julie in the afternoon before his later
messages begging her to come over in the earlier text he wrote that he was helping his neighbor dan
perhaps this slip up linking daniel to sam had led to julie becoming the target for daniel's cover-up
police suspected that rachel had been in on the plan perhaps her facebook message to julie
was a kind of alibi to profess her ignorance friends and acquaintances of the couple
had noticed both of them behaving strangely in the immediate aftermath of the two murders
as detailed in the book killing for you one of their co-stars in the production of nine said rachel seemed sad and
distant on the night of friday may 21 in one scene that required her to act upset
rachel actually cried on stage and continued crying afterwards as well she had never wept during that scene
before at the following night's show rachel's co-star asked her how she was rachel allegedly replied
my friend is missing i think she's missing i think she's dead i think my friend did it
this conversation took place almost five hours before julie kibuwish's body was found by steve hare
when daniel wozniak called rachel from custody less than a week later their entire conversation was recorded
rachel made it clear throughout the call that she was aware of this when she informed daniel that she was
notifying a detective that his brother tim was in possession of evidence she made a point of stating
i need to call him and let him know before they catch me on this recording device because it looks like i'm not
trying to tell them right away daniel tried to convince her to stay quiet to which rachel retorted
you realized they're recording this phone conversation anyways you're being an absolute ass to try and lie again
in a dejected voice daniel said now i'm really dead baby you're already dead rachel replied
although detectives believed a rachel could be a co-conspirator and not just an accessory they didn't have enough
evidence to back up their theory they also suspected that tim wozniak knew more than he was letting on
when sam here's father steve saw a photo of tim in the news he suddenly remembered something that had happened
while he was trying to find his son steve had gone to the long beach pizza parlor where sam's card had been used
and waited outside for any sign of sam or his vehicle he never saw either but he did notice an
agitated looking man inside the restaurant pacing back and forth while on his cell phone
upon seeing the photo of tim wozniak steve realized he had been that man prosecutors didn't want to proceed with
tim wozniak or rachel buffett's charges until daniel's trial was done in february 2013 while court proceedings
were still ongoing rachel accepted an invitation to appear on the television talk show dr phil
she said that she was doing so to clear her name but some believed she was trying to
boost her profile with a view to furthering her acting career throughout the interview rachel insisted
she had known nothing about the crimes until her fiance was arrested when confronted with the fact that she
had told the same story as daniel about seeing a suspicious individual in a black hat she insisted she was only
guilty of trusting daniel rachel told host phil mcgraw and the studio audience that daniel had been a
pathological liar with secrets she had known nothing about discussing the impact of the double
homicide rachel stated it's absolutely horrific but i think i know i'm not the main
victim sam and julie were the main victims and then i think even secondary would be
their families i'm after all of that i realized that steve hare was seated amongst the studio
audience and given the opportunity to address rachel directly he was horrified by her decision to
appear on national television and told her as much quote i was aghast when i get a call saying
you're going on tv my son is dead he was cut up into pieces and you come on here and go on the tv stations
poor me that offends me rachel told steve she understood his feelings but denied presenting herself
as a victim pointing out that she hadn't gone to hollywood in an attempt to sell her
story not yet steve replied after daniel wozniak was convicted prosecutors finally proceeded with
taking rachel buffett to court on two felony charges of accessory to murder after the fact
they accused her of lying to and misleading investigators about what daniel had done and what exactly she
knew rachel contested the charges but in november 2018 a jury found her guilty she was sentenced to two years and eight
months in orange county jail with credit for time she had already served while awaiting her trial
the final six months would be served on probation [Music] once again the victims families were given the
chance to address the court steve hare who was convinced rachel's involvement went above what she was
charged with stated rachel knew exactly what she was doing she could have saved us eight years and
six months of grief julie kibuwish's mother junco asked rachel directly all these years
have you shown remorse no none daniel wozniak's brother tim had also been charged as an accessory after the
fact for holding on to the murder weapon and other crucial evidence that daniel had given him
he struck a plea deal with prosecutors pleading guilty in exchange for a sentence of 10 days in jail that had
already been served and probation he was also required to enroll and participate in an anger management
program although prosecutors were determined that daniel wozniak received the death
penalty it is uncertain whether this sentence will ever be carried out in 2006 the state of california placed a
moratorium on capital punishment after a federal court ruled that a three-drug lethal injection may cause inhumane
suffering in the years since the matter has been pursued at both state and federal levels
but the moratorium remains in 2019 california governor gavin newsom signed an executive order granting all
death penalty inmates a reprieve more than 700 individuals technically remain on death row throughout the state
despite the indefinite pause on executions in july 2021 news broke that daniel wozniak had been transferred out of
death row in san quentin state prison and was now serving his sentence at salinas valley a lower security facility
the transfer was made as part of a pilot program by california's department of corrections and rehabilitation
[Music] steve hare wasn't officially notified of the relocation he learned of it from a blogger who
remains in regular contact with daniel speaking to the orange county register steve described the decision as a kick
in the stomach quote it would have been good for them to at least warn me if i could i would kill
him myself but that won't happen so i want the harshest punishment possible due to his service in the united states
army sam hare received a military funeral with full honours and was laid to rest at riverside national cemetery
steve and raquel here visit their son's gravesite every week was known to be the life of the party
someone who was always smiling and laughing he was also quick to stand up for what
he believed was right when friends heard that he had been murdered they knew that whoever had
attacked him must have done so from behind they wouldn't have stood a chance if they tackled sam front on
but those who were close to sam also knew his softer side when julie kibuishi told her mother
about sam she described him as a big teddy bear as well as being an aspiring fashion
designer julie kibuishi was a talented dancer it was a hobby she had picked up at the
age of five and she went on to pursue it as a student at orange county school of
the arts one of her teachers later said that dancing and music were deeply spiritual
for julie her performances were described with the same adjectives that people used to
describe her personality fun bright and vivacious julie's remains were taken to japan by
her grieving family in accordance with the japanese tradition that unmarried children be reunited with their
ancestors upon passing prior to departing her family asked the police if they could have the tiara she
was wearing on the night she was killed her brother taka had given it to her hours beforehand after asking her to be
a bridesmaid at his wedding julie was so excited that she put the tiara on right away and wore it for the
rest of the night the precious memento was cremated with her body a replica of the tiara is displayed in
junko kibu-ishi's bedroom alongside an urn that contains some of her daughter's ashes
[Music] [Music] [Music] you

Case 195: The Costa Mesa Murders

On the evening of May 22 2010, Steve Herr drove over to his son Sam’s apartment in Costa Mesa, California. The 26-year-old college student was supposed to be spending the weekend with his parents but when he never showed up, Steve decided to check on him...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-195-the-costa-mesa-murders

Brief Summary

Julie Kibuishi and Sam Hare were murdered by Daniel Wozniak, who was later arrested and confessed to the crimes.

Key points

Daniel's Arrest and Interrogation. Daniel is arrested at his bachelor party and interrogated about his involvement in a murder.
Sam's Shocking Confession. Sam admits to Daniel that he shot his friend Julie in a fit of rage.
Daniel's Desperate Plea. In a moment of panic, Daniel pleads with detectives to let him go home for his wedding.
Final Confession. Daniel finally admits to his involvement in the crime during a tense interrogation.
Daniel Wozniak's Chilling Confession. Daniel confesses to the murders, revealing his motivations of money and insanity.
The Gruesome Discovery. Search teams recover Sam's body parts, leading to devastating confirmations for the families.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm going to tell you everything I'm sick of covering for Sam.

Daniel's confession during interrogation.

26:53WatchNov 6, 2021

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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