dina shacknai would like to see authorities reinvestigate her son's case. do you think they will reinvestigate max's death? i think it's the right thing to do. do i think it will happen? i really don't know. josh mankiewicz: how does a mother ever truly accept the tragic loss of a child? the ripples keep on spreading to this day, in a place where nothing bad was supposed to happen. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. [music playing] hello, i'm andrea canning, and this is "dateline."ow? if i had to put it into one word, "numb" would be the closest.

andrea canning (voiceover): she was a young actress starring in the role of a lifetime, a mystery. you never heard a gunshot? no. andrea canning (voiceover): one of her friends was dead. there's been a body discovered in sam's apartment. it's so hard. she was 23. andrea canning (voiceover): another friend was missing and wanted. you've got a dead woman in his apartment. this guy is potentially very dangerous. we were pretty confident he was our guy. andrea canning (voiceover): two mysteries to solve, but one evasive witness. rachel didn't tell us any of this the day before. i told the truth to the best of my capability. andrea canning (voiceover): police wondered, had another murder been planned? they said, if you would have gone back that day, they wanted to kill you. andrea canning (voiceover): did rachel have a secret? andrea canning (voiceover): would she keep it? this is as diabolical as any case i've ever seen. andrea canning (voiceover): or was the curtain about to close? rachel is kind of the last piece. correct. they're trying to say i'm somebody that i'm not.

this is my life. this is my entire future. i'm innocent. hello, and welcome to "dateline." rachel buffett and dan wozniak were struggling actors. money was tight, but they were in love and about to tie the knot. but those plans were interrupted when someone was found dead at their apartment complex. at the center of this mystery, police wanted to know, were the actors telling the truth or reading from a script? here's josh mankiewicz with "final curtain." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the woman on the phone was just hours away from walking down the aisle to marry the man on the other end of this call to pledge

her love until death did them part. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): instead, she found herself in the middle of a twisted murder plot that would change her life forever. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she knew, or did she? her name is rachel buffett. you may remember her from a story we first reported in 2016 about her then fiancé, dan wozniak, and about two families in search of the truth. i know a lot of answers now, a lot more than i had the last time we met. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now, the final curtain. i believe with all my heart they were trying to get me back there to kill me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): new information. there's things that people need to know. there's things that need to be said. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and a question,

what would you do for love? we'll get to all of that. first, let's go back to where this story began. orange county, california. not too far from the coast, you'll find the camden martinique apartments, occupied mostly by students from nearby colleges. we had the pools. we had the hot tubs. that's where everyone wanted to be. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): back in 2010, vylet randolph lived there with her then husband. that's where they met a 20 something couple named dan wozniak and rachel buffett. vylet's husband described them to her. there's finally a couple who's a little more mature, the wine drinkers as opposed to the hard liquor, and met them and thought, perfect. how could we go wrong? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel and dan acted in community theater. that's how they met-- on stage. a few years later, they reconnected. rachel buffett: he had already kind of become my best friend, and i was hanging out with him so often.

so he said, you know, i am falling for you. give me a chance. and you thought, what? i don't want to lose my best friend. were you in love? shortly after we moved in together, that's when i realized, oh, yeah, i am in love with this person. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and when he proposed, she said yes. they moved to camden martinique four months before their wedding date. life wasn't easy. throughout our whole relationship, money was always somewhat of an issue. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel picked up work here and there, once, she said, as a princess at disneyland. dan worked sometimes, too, but nothing steady. vylet randolph: they kind of seemed to struggle financially a lot. you know, if anything, you kind of felt sorry for them because they seem like they were so excited to get married and start their life together. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and at the apartments, they settled right in. it got to the point where everybody was hanging out with each other, like, every night.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): part of that circle was 26-year-old sam herr, an army veteran who'd fought in afghanistan and made it home to california. there was a couple of things that set sam apart from the other guys there. he seemed more responsible. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sam was intent on earning his college degree, and that's how he met julie kibuishi. julie helped sam with his schoolwork. she got after him if he wasn't studying because his grade reflected her tutoring, so she took it very seriously. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): julie's mom, june. she told me about sam. he's like a big teddy bear, and, you know, he's always nice to everybody. and that's why we get together at his place, you know, a lot of times. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): julie, who lived at home, got to know everyone at the complex. and rachel connected with julie. they were both dancers. we had, like, done some ballet moves in our bathing

suits at the pool and talked about how we should go take a couple of dance classes together. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that chance never arrived. on friday, may 21, 2010, julie was at home with her mom. i was cooking in the kitchen, and she said, ok, bye, mom. i'm leaving. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sam had been texting julie throughout the day. "can you come over tonight at midnight alone? going out for a bit. very upset. need to talk." then, "please, no sex. i need to talk to someone." julie texted back, "lol, ew, sam, we're like bro and sis. no sex." and then sam texted again. "i'm hurting with some bad fam crap. i can't be alone. no sex. please, i'm begging as a brother." as always, julie was ready to help. she went to sam's place. the next morning, june realized julie had not come home.

i started to feel like, ok, this is something's wrong. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): across town, sam's parents, steve and raquel herr, also worried because they couldn't get a hold of their son. steve herr: i drove down there, knocked on the door-- no answer. and i had the key to his apartment, so i walked in there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and that's when he saw it. what the hell is this? what's going on here? i freaked out. what had happened in sam's apartment? andrea canning (voiceover): coming up. my phone rings, and it's my husband asking me if i'm ok. and i-- yes, why? he said, track down everybody. andrea canning (voiceover): but not everybody could be found. he's missing. he'd been accused of this before, and you think, ok, this guy is potentially very dangerous. andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. [coughing] copd isn't pretty. i'm out of breath, and often out of the picture.

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because breathing shjosh mankiewicz:l, after sam herr's dad, steve, called 911, the news spread quickly at camden martinique. my phone rings, and it's my husband asking me if i'm ok. and i-- "yes, why?" he said, "there's been a body discovered in sam's apartment. track down everybody."

josh mankiewicz: rachel and dan had just returned from the theater where they were co-starring in a play. dan's wondering, was i the last one to see sam? oh, my god. oh, my god. and rachel is sitting on the chair next to me and she's squeezing her head. she's got a terrible headache. all of your new best friends that you hang out with every day, one of them is missing. a body was found in one of their apartments. this is something that was affecting the whole atmosphere. josh mankiewicz: costa mesa police detective ed everett responded to the call. we have a 20-something year old female on the bed and she's in a position that appears that she was sexually assaulted. josh mankiewicz: police soon id'd the victim, sam's tutor and friend julie kibuishi. they had to tell julie's parents. i think, i was screaming, like, no, no, that's not my daughter. it's not my daughter. it's just. josh mankiewicz: julie had been shot twice in the head.

her pants were down and someone had written on her sweatshirt the words, "all yours you." police found julie's phone in the apartment and saw those weird texts sam had sent her. they learned about his combat tour and how sam sometimes had night terrors. and when police searched his name in their database, they found something sam's friends already knew. he had done some jail time. josh mankiewicz: back in 2002, at 18, sam herr was charged in the murder of another teenager. he was acquitted, but sam's dad knew that, in hindsight, it didn't look good. that doesn't buy you a lot of rhythm from law enforcement. no, and i understood that. that's why it was imperative to start looking immediately. josh mankiewicz: steve wanted to find son to prove he was innocent. orange county prosecutor matt murphy also wanted to find sam quickly for entirely different reasons.

you've got a dead woman in his apartment. he's missing. and then he factor in afghanistan and you start thinking, ok, he's a trained killer. he'd been accused of this before. and you think, ok, this guy is potentially very dangerous. josh mankiewicz: the detectives and the dad hunted sam independently, but on parallel tracks. detectives spoke with sam's neighbors. rachel buffet: i saw sam that day and i had a short conversation with sam. josh mankiewicz: rachel and dan said sam was with another man they didn't know. a man in a black hat. it seemed a potential lead. meanwhile, steve found there were recent transactions on the bank account he and sam shared. the trail led to long beach where sam's atm card was used to order a pizza. cops staked out the delivery address. ed everett: guns out. ready to hit it like someone that committed a murders inside. and that someone is sam herr. yes. josh mankiewicz: except, it wasn't.

instead, the cops found this guy-- 17-year-old wesley freilich. sitting in front of officers of the law handcuffed. i'm obviously, literally-- i'm sorry, i can't see this g-rated but, my balls are inside of me, i was [bleep] myself, and i was nervous as all hell. josh mankiewicz: wesley told police he had no idea who sam herr was. he got the atm card, he said, from a guy he knew who told an elaborate story. that he worked for a bail bondsman agency and that he wanted me to withdraw money from an atm for legal reasons. josh mankiewicz: wesley said he believed the guy because it was a fellow actor he looked up to-- rachel buffett's fiancee, dan wozniak. andrea canning: coming up, detectives want to talk to dan. what's going through my head is shock. this is probably a huge mistake.

andrea canning: --and dan has quite a story to tell. andrea canning: --when "dateline" continues. air wick. every year millions of noses are ghosted by their plug-ins. new air wick advanced. our ground-breaking plug-in that pulses scent for staying power, up to 60 days. plus a fragrance boost button. our noses won't be ignored again. ♪♪ from this can't miss moment... ...to this hello new grandpa moment... ...to that whatever this is moment... your moments are worth protecting against rsv. if you're 75 or older, or 60 or older with certain chronic conditions, you're at higher risk of being hospitalized from rsv. and there are no prescription rsv treatments.

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might somehow be wrapped up in the mystery. now they were about to bring dan in for questioning, where he would make a stunning admission and change the course of the entire investigation. once again, here's josh mankiewicz with "final curtain." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives on the hunt for their prime suspect, sam herr, traced his atm card to rachel buffett's fiancé, dan wozniak. they found him at his bachelor party. immediately, when he saw me, he turned pale. you could see the blood just draining from his face. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detective everett hauled dan to the station and charged him with accessory to julie's murder. dan seemed eager to come clean. please have a seat. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he told police sam confessed to him that while drunk and on drugs, sam asked julie for sex.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then, dan said, sam threatened him and his wife-to-be, rachel buffett. so dan agreed to help sam escape. according to dan, sam offered him money and dan took it to help pay for his wedding. but as to the anonymous man in the black hat, dan had a confession to make. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives went to the camden apartments to tell rachel dan was in custody. what's going through my head is shock. this is probably a huge mistake. it is going to be dropped and everything in time for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives didn't fully believe dan's story, so they brought rachel in to see him. she's on the side of the angels when you put her in that room, thinking, she's going to get daniel to tell me everything. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan told rachel the same story he told detectives--

sam killed julie, and then dan helped sam escape. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): then detectives spoke with rachel alone. rachel told them she and dan had received an eviction notice. dan had to borrow money to make the rent. she said dan had told her only recently that he'd borrowed the money from dangerous people. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she said on the day dan was supposed to pay the leg breakers $2,200 or else, sam stopped by. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she said dan and sam left together. then dan came back alone, but with money. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel said she couldn't believe that dan was somehow

mixed up in julie's murder. is that when you start to think to yourself, this guy that i'm about to marry is somebody that i don't even know? i was still thinking that i knew his heart. and those crimes that he was saying that he did, at least that still lined up with someone who would do anything to help somebody in need. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in the early morning hours, detectives drove rachel back to the apartments. i go to my friends and knock on the door. and then at that point, i just start bawling. and she's shaking violently, and she says, dan's been arrested. and she's just a mess. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): with vylet at her side, rachel went to her parents' home to tell them dan was in jail, and the wedding was off. and my mom's just-- she's lost it.

she can't speak. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the day was about to get a lot more traumatic. back at the police station, dan asked to speak with detectives again. and this time, he said something that blew the case wide open. you didn't see that coming. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan wozniak suddenly confessed that he didn't help sam herr, he killed him. dan said they drove to a theater where he'd performed. and dan asked sam to help move something from the attic. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so, wozniak said, he fired again. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan then drove to a different theater later that evening to appear on stage with rachel in the musical "nine."

in this video of the performance, dan showed no signs of stress as he played the starring role. dan told police that during the show, he'd texted julie from sam's phone, pretending to be sam. after the play, dan said he went to sam's apartment and lured julie into sam's bedroom. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan admitted scrawling those nasty words on julie's back and to splitting her pants with a pair of scissors. the next day, he said, he disposed of sam's body and then gave another pitch perfect performance captured on videotape. detectives asked why.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sam had more than $60,000 in the bank, his saved up combat pay. and julie kibuishi? dan said he killed her to cover his tracks and to frame sam. this is as diabolical as any case i've ever seen. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): police delivered the news to sam's parents. their son had been murdered. and for whatever reason, i said at least, he wasn't dismembered, ok? the next morning, i get a call that, steve, before you find out, we just want to let you know sam was dismembered. and that's when i just lost it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan wozniak was charged with two counts of first degree murder. the news hit the wire. and at the police station, the phone rang. the caller had a story to tell, one that cast a whole new light on dan's leading lady, rachel buffett. andrea canning (voiceover): coming up, a witness. something was terrifying in the feel of the room.

i just wanted out of there. andrea canning (voiceover): and a new suspect. we're shocked to learn it. we went back and said, hey, you know, rachel didn't tell us any of this the day before. andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. my name is brayden. i was five years old when i came to st. jude. i'll try and shorten down the story. so i've been having these headaches that wouldn't go away. my mom, she was just crying. what they said, your son has brain cancer. it was your worst fear coming to life. watching your child grow up is the dream of every parent. you can join the battle to save the lives of kids like brayden, by supporting st. jude children's research hospital . families never receive a bill from st. jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food, so they can focus on helping their child live .

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i am christina ruffini with the top stories. roughly $20,000 trump supporters packed madison square garden. they billed the event as his closing message refocused on immigration, the economy, and attacking his opponent. dodgers superstar shohei ohtani has been cleared to play game three of the world series. the team confirming less than 24 hours after he suffered what was described as a partially dislocated shoulder. that he killed sam herr for his money

and later shot julie kibuishi to muddy the investigation and point police towards sam. the actor's admission turned the case on its head. now a witness was about to step forward with information that would push dan's fiancée, rachel, to center stage. once again, here's josh mankiewicz with "final curtain." [band playing] (singing) every morning i'm awake, i'm the sonata in my day. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): california draws people who want to perform. it sure does. everyone's kind of pursuing the same dreams. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris williams moved from canada to california for school. chris williams: i ended up falling in love with jazz music and falling in love with california, so i've been down here 20 years and perform and love it. (singing) you inspire me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in early 2010, chris was undergoing some serious health problems. the working musician didn't have insurance, so his friends organized a benefit concert.

a couple thousand people showed up. it was pretty amazing. raising money to keep you healthy. yeah, yeah. and it worked. here you are. it did. it sure did. and it changed my whole life. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris, who'd been keeping to himself, began to socialize again. and he met two struggling young actors, dan wozniak and rachel buffett. dan was very charming. he was very open and personable. and i felt like we had a lot in common. and rachel's obviously beautiful. and they were just very welcoming to me. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris soon learned his new friends had financial troubles, and he offered to help by lending them money. all of my friends had just done this big benefit for me. time to give back. yeah. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris also wanted to make sure that he got his money back.

so chris told a story that was 100% false. so i said, well, i can't lend you the money personally, but i know people i could get it from. but they're not good people, so we got to get it back. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he lent dan and rachel $2,000 cash. dan promised to pay him back by the end of the week, friday, may 21. on the appointed day, chris drove to dan and rachel's apartment. who's there besides dan and rachel and you? i didn't know his name at the time, but it was sam. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan left with sam and told chris to hang back with rachel. and in my mind, this is going to be like a 10 minute thing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): meanwhile, said chris, rachel seemed stressed. she's on the computer trying to look for other work and ways to get money. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): three hours later, dan wozniak returned without sam.

and he throws this $400 down right in front of me. and he's, like, shaking, and there's this, like, wild look in his eyes. and he's, like, breathing almost, like, this, like, giant panic attack. and i'm sitting there, and i go, hey, like, everything's ok, man. like, everything's ok. and he's like, and he slumps down in the chair. and i said, is this every penny that you have? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris says he handed dan a $20 bill. and he also noticed that rachel was visibly angry. things were tense. so that relationship was like a clenched fist? yeah, i mean something was terrifying in the feel of the room. and i just wanted out of there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he left. and around 20 minutes later, says chris, rachel called. and rachel goes, i think you left a 20 here.

i think you dropped some money. you should come back. and i said, i'm not coming back. i didn't drop a 20. i left a 20 so you guys could get dinner. and she goes, no, no, you should come back. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris did not return. a week later, as he was getting ready to attend dan and rachel's wedding, he heard about the murders of sam and julie and realized they happened on the same day as his weird meeting with dan and rachel. chris immediately called police. we're shocked to learn it. and again, we went back and said, hey, you know, rachel didn't tell us any of this the day before. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so detectives interviewed rachel again, this time, not as a witness, but as a suspect.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): remember, chris had told dan and rachel the money he lent them came from other people, dangerous people. so was it her safety rachel was worried about? detectives didn't think so. she's giving herself more time to think about what she's going to tell us when she has to tell us that. and she's protecting dan. she's protecting herself and dan. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they asked her to take a voice stress analyzer, a kind of lie detector. rachel agreed, and the cops hit her with an aggressive question. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the results came quickly. andrea canning (voiceover): coming up. is the curtain about to close on rachel? i think she may have been present when julie was killed. i don't think julie would have gone into the apartment

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welcome back. chris williams had just told investigators about a bizarre interaction he had with rachel buffett and dan wozniak. chris loaned dan some money. then on the day he came to collect, he said the feeling in the room was terrifying. turns out that was the same day julie kibuishi and sam herr had been killed.

rachel never told police about the meeting with chris, so now they wanted to know why. once again, here's josh mankiewicz with "final curtain." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a reluctant rachel buffett took a voice stress analyzer. the results were less than encouraging josh mankiewicz (voiceover): maybe. now detectives smelled blood. they circled back to that friday when dan left with sam and came back without him.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel insisted she had known nothing about the murders until dan confessed to them. detective ed everett had suspected otherwise from the moment he brought her into the interrogation room to see dan. it was almost like they were looking at each other, feeding off each other, and she was waiting for her next line. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): remember, rachel and julie had been friends. her reaction when she heard what sam supposedly did to julie did not seem to match that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the young actress was not convincing her audience. everett learned dan had called rachel from jail before his confession. the jail, of course, recorded those calls.

she doesn't say, what is it? her response is, no, no, no. i think she realizes that her world has the potential to come crashing around her. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in other words, maybe rachel already knew what dan had done and what he might tell detectives. or was it just that rachel was figuring things out? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan didn't answer that. instead, he asked rachel to come down to the station so she could be present when he spoke with detectives. as she drove, dan continued to call her.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as rachel got closer to the station, she was in tears. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): before rachel arrived, dan sat down with detectives and confessed to the murders. then he called rachel again and told her what he'd done.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel didn't seem to react. instead, she asked about dan's unwitting accomplice, wesley. and when dan described killing julie, rachel continued to focus on details. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives wondered, did rachel know about the murders before they even happened? and more disturbing, did she participate? i think she may have been present when julie was killed. i don't think julie would have gone into the apartment with daniel by himself. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): hard even for a homicide detective to imagine. you don't look at a disney princess as a hardened, cold-blooded, callous murderer. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): of course, thinking it and proving it were two different things. and perhaps rachel was just another victim of dan's murder plot. there was no physical evidence placing her at the scene

of either murder. and she and dan both insisted she didn't know about them in advance. two years into the investigation, we made a determination we didn't have enough to charge her for murder. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): instead, on november 20, 2012, rachel was arrested and charged as an accessory to murder after the fact. the only case against her is that she didn't tell the truth. that's right. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): according to the da, rachel lied about two important figures in the case-- the man in the black hat who wasn't there and the jazz musician, chris williams, who was. you did catch daniel. you did find out about chris. so what effect did rachel's lies really have? so, yes, in the end, we got some heroic police officers who solved the case anyway. but is it ok for her to lie to the police? the law says no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): like police, sam and julie's

parents also thought rachel was more involved than she was letting on. they are, like, literally 24/7 together. how could you not know if your fiancé committed that kind of a crime? how could you not notice? i want them to charge her with murder. but i'm not the one who has to prove it to everybody. that's not my job. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel pleaded not guilty. she posted bail and was released. yeah, i'm still in shock. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): later that day, she held a press conference. reporter: are you saying you're innocent? what do you think? completely innocent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): she was willing to bet that a jury would agree. andrea canning (voiceover): coming up, rachel on trial. are you an honest person? i think so. there is not a doubt in my mind that rachel knew. andrea canning (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

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welcome back to "dateline." dan wozniak confessed to the murders of sam herr and julie kibuishi. he also told police he acted alone. there was no physical evidence tying dan's fiancée, rachel buffett, to either killing, but detectives believed she had lied to them to protect dan. now the couple, once the toast of their community theater circle, faced separate trials.

would two grieving families finally learn the truth? here's josh mankiewicz with the conclusion of "final curtain." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in december 2015, five years after sam and julie's murders, the lives of two young actors were playing out not on stage, but here in court. dan wozniak went on trial first. it didn't take long for a jury to convict him of murder and sentence him to death. he is appealing his conviction. sam and julie's parents confronted their children's killer. you, dan, are a coward and a poster boy for the need of the effective death penalty in california. my only regret that in this state won't let me kill this coward myself. you took advantage of my daughter's kindness and your care-- her care for her friend. you took her precious life. and then you disgrace her for pulling off her pants?

[crying] to you, my daughter was just a decoy, nothing else. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the spotlight then turned to rachel buffett. she faced a felony charge, accessory after the fact. police and prosecutors don't believe you were honest with them. mm-hmm. were you honest with them? i was. i know my heart and god knows my heart. and that's my comfort, is gods in control and god knows i'm innocent. are you an honest person? i think so. to the best of my capabilities, i told the truth to try to help the police get to the bottom of things. my heart was always in the right place. dan kills sam. dan disposes of sam's body. dan lures julie to sam's apartment using sam's phone. dan kills julie.

during all that time, you never suspect a thing? not a thing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): in september 2018, eight years after the murders, the aspiring actress went on trial, accused of lying to protect the man she loved. this is my name. this is my life. this is my entire future. and i have nothing to hide. and i'm innocent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): some of her former friends did not agree. vylet testified against her. knowing all the details that they unraveled and the lies over time and looking at her and going, how dare you. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): vylet told the jury that the night they learned sam had disappeared while dan was wondering if he was the last person to see sam. rachel is telling dan to shut up. shut up. that's not what happened, dan. your messed up memories are screwing up my story. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the jury also heard from chris williams, the jazz musician

who spent hours with rachel the day of the murders. and like detectives, chris thinks rachel was an accessory before the murders, not just after them. there was not a doubt in my mind that rachel knew. ahead of time. not a doubt. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): chris also came to believe that when rachel called him that day and asked him to come back to the apartment, it was not to return his $20. that's what the police told me. they said if you would have gone back that day, they wanted to kill you. because you're a loose end. what i believe is that when dan got back, rachel said, chris saw you with sam. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): of course, that was suspicion and not evidence. the trial focused on false statements rachel made to detectives, statements her attorney david medina argued were easily explained. anyone who's ever experienced planning

a wedding knows the extreme pressure and stress that goes along with that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): add murder to that equation, he said, and then an arrest of rachel's soon-to-be husband. the incredible stress that she was under with all of these things occurring, is it possible she's not entirely accurate about certain things? of course it is. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel's actions could be explained, he said, but dan wozniak's could not. wozniak is a monster. he's a psychopath. he's a pathological liar. what he did to those two is unthinkable. but rachel had nothing to do with that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): yes, she did, said prosecutor matt murphy. she lied, trying to help dan get away with murder. everything that mr. medina just said about daniel wozniak is accurate. he is a pathological liar. he is a monster. but he's her little monster.

she knows him. and all of this stuff goes on right under her nose. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the jury took five hours to reach a verdict. we, the jury, in the above entitled action find the defendant, rachel mae buffett, guilty. then you heard the sounds of the clicks of the cuffs. to me, it was a sweet sound because her arrogance and her lies are now caught up with her. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sam and julie's parents spoke at rachel's sentencing. as part of my son's body lie dead and dismembered in the attic of a los alamitos theater, rachel buffett was spreading lies. as julie kibuishi was lying in my son's apartment, rachel buffett was deliberately deceiving the police, attempting to throw them off the trail of her lover, dan wozniak. to me, you and that monster are two peas in a pod. you're both self-centered and truly heartless. and i hope you'll live every day regretting

your disgusting decisions. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the judge sentenced rachel to 32 months behind bars. and you lied. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was the final scene of this real life drama. chris williams always wondered, should he have seen the warning signs? could he have stopped the murders from happening? i spent all those years wishing i could have done something. and then i walked out and went, i did. i did something. i did something to help. that's what i wanted. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): what two families wanted were some answers and some relief from their pain. those answers finally came. i'm pretty much satisfied with the answers right now. never prove everything 100%, josh, but i'm not going to get much more. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): unfortunately, the criminal justice system has never doubled as a grief therapist.

some wounds are too great to be healed in a courtroom. the day that she left the door and that her voice and what she was wearing and, you know, i'm getting old and you forget a lot of stuff. but those things that just-- not that. i don't want to forget her image and her voice. and it's hard. no matter how many years pass by. that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm andrea canning. thank you for watching. ♪♪ this sunday, closing arguments. it's either donald trump in there stewing over his enemies