>> that will do it for me. thanks for watching. tune in tomorrow to the sunday show when house minority

>> julie is my first daughter. she was my valentine baby. >> for this japanese couple who built their american dream here in orange county, california, their third child came as a pleasant surprise. >> the doctor kept telling me it was another boy but she was born on valentine's day. >> two big brothers had preceded her so naturally it was julie who became an all- star softball player as a young girl. her passion was dance. she grew into a beautiful dancer

and a remarkable young lady with the kindest of hearts. strugglea bit in school. julie would help him out. she told me about sam. that is how she met sam, who like julie, was a student at orange coast college. sam lived across the street from the college at an apartment complex. it's not a dorm, but i would call it a college dorm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sam's good friend reuben often hung out there with sam. the pulsehead always had people and drinking and having fun, having fun in the pool. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but despite his surroundings, sam was focused. he seemed more responsible. he seemed like he had like more of a plan

on where he was going. he wasn't just cruising on his gi bill and just having fun and getting drunk every day or anything. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel buffett and her fiancee lived near sam. he was really nice to everybody and liked to have fun and hang out with everybody. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and everyone liked to be around him too. but there was something about sam that very few people knew. he suffered from night terrors, a sort of psychic souvenir of the battlefield. sam did share that with reuben, who was also a war veteran. he'll tell me that sometimes he feels like he'll be sleeping, and he'll wake up in his sleep, and he'll be in a foxhole. so he'll start screaming or looking for a weapon, and he'll wake up sweating and just very stressed, i guess. yeah. that's tough. it is very tough. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but, said reuben, sam seemed to be coping. and then came may 21, 2010.

it was a friday afternoon. julie was going to hang out with her brother taka that evening. he was getting married, and julie was helping with the wedding plans. and then after i was cooking in the kitchen, and she said, ok, bye, mom. i'm leaving. and then she just went out the door. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): julie made it safely to her brother's home in long beach. they had dinner together. taka asked julie to be a bridesmaid at his wedding and gave her a tiara. but julie couldn't stay long, because, she told her brother, her friend sam herr needed her. he'd been texting her all afternoon, messages that seemed weirdly off kilter. "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." julie, as always, was ready to help. "yeah, that's fine, sam. i'm here for you like family." she left her brother's home that friday evening and headed for sam's apartment. josh mankiewicz: did you normally wait up for her? i normally do. but the thing was that she was with her brother, and then happened to be the saturday was my youngest daughter's senior prom. and then when i woke up and then when i didn't see her, i was like, ok. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): by now, it was saturday morning. june texted julie. no response. then she called julie. still no answer. so june called her son taka. so when i called him, he was like, what? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): taka told his mom about sam's text.

i started to get this little weird feeling, that i started to feel like, ok, something's wrong. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): by now, it had been almost 24 hours since she'd last seen julie. june started to panic. i probably called like 20 times her cell phone. it's just already that it won't go connected or anything. it just went, no, i can't even leave the message. so i called the irvine police. and then-- and what did they say? oh, she's 23? ok, well, she might be drinking at the bar or-- excuse me? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): no, said june. not her daughter. julie was always quick to respond to her texts or phone calls. across town, about 20 miles away from the kibuishi's, sam's parents, steve and raquel herr, also worried, because they couldn't get a hold of sam.

i thought it was a little odd that when i called his phone, it went directly to the answering service on saturday. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): steve decided to check on his son. so i drove down there, knocked on his door. no answer. and i had the key to his apartment. so i walked in there and i looked in to turn on the light, and the living room looked fine. and i said ok, sam? nobody there. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and that's when he saw it. steve herr: i was-- what that hell? what's going on here? i freaked out. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up, a father searching for his son finds something he never expected. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and no one can find sam. you think, ok, this guy is potentially very dangerous. he's out there on the street. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

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it had been a beautiful california day in orange county. now the sun was setting, and in every sense darkness was taking over. steve herr, who had gone to look for his son sam, didn't find him, but he did find something. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): costa mesa police detective ed everett responded to the call. walk into the crime scene and 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 (voiceover): police quickly identified the victim, sam's tutor

and friend julie kibuishi. before long, two detectives paid a visit to julie's mom. this one detective told me, ok, you're mrs. kibuishi. please, can you sit down? and then i know that he said, ok, your daughter was found in this sam herr's apartment. and then i think he said, your daughter's body was found or something like that. and then i just i-- i think i was screaming like, "no, no, that's not my daughter. no, that's not my daughter. it's just--." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): julie had been shot twice in the head. her pants were down to her knees and someone had written on her sweatshirt the words "all yours. f you." she was still wearing the tiara her brother had given her the night before. i was still in disbelief.

it was not my daughter. just can't be my daughter. i wanted to see, and they didn't allow me to see. they said i wasn't allowed to go. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): june could barely absorb what she was hearing. julie was dead, and the only logical suspect was her college friend sam. she told me that he's taking the same class with her, and then she told me that he's like a big brother to me and to everybody in the class, because he's a little older, and he came back from the afghanistan. this guy that she thought of as a big brother. yeah. suddenly, he's the suspect. it was just bizarre. i still couldn't connect everything together. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): what happened in sam's apartment that night was horrific. julie had gone there to help sam, and now she was dead in his bedroom. and sam was somewhere in the wind.

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 (voiceover): detectives soon found out sam was a war veteran, heard the stories of his night terrors. they also found julie's phone in the apartment and saw sam's text messages to her. sam seemed plenty upset that evening. and when they searched his name in the law enforcement databases, they came up with a stunning result. and he was arrested along with a lot of other people. a guy was killed. it was some sort of a gang thing. it was a gang case. he was involved in a gang incident in, i believe it was, ventura county, and ultimately went to trial. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it happened in 2002. sam, just 18 at the time, was accused of luring another young man to a parking lot, where the man was then attacked by more than a dozen others. while some of the attackers were convicted of murder

and received life sentences, sam herr was found not guilty. he was innocent, and it was proven that he's innocent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): four years later, sam joined the army and put all that behind him, or so his father believed. that why when i found julie, i knew sam didn't do this. i knew sam would never do something like that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and steve tried to tell detectives. you said sam couldn't do this, and police said a, he's missing. and b he was a suspect in a murder case once. correct. that didn't buy you a lot of rhythm from law enforcement. no, and i understood that. i'm not that naive. i absolutely understood that. that's why it was imperative to start looking immediately. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): steve called sam's friend reuben to see if he had talked to sam, and reuben told him a curious story. ruben said he'd been trying to get a hold of sam, too, because sam was a no show at a beach party. reuben called him multiple times.

no answer. until finally someone picked up. i said, hello. and they said, hey. hey, bro. and i'm like, who's this? sam never calls me "bro." right off the bat, i was like, who is this? the voice was not the same. the voice was not the same. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the voice on the phone said, i'm busy right now. i'm having a lot of problems with family. i'm like, what are you talking to me? he just hung up on me. so i called again. no answer. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): reuben didn't think that was sam. but if not, who was it? and more importantly, where was sam? news of julie's murder was spreading and soon reached an old army buddy of sam's named miles fultz. when i found out it was julie, i definitely knew sam had nothing to do with it, because of the way sam protects his friends and his family. and julie was one of them. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): miles was stationed in afghanistan with sam. they fought together. miles knew how sam was toward anyone he considered a friend.

he wouldn't hurt her? no, not in a million years. i thought it was something in his past, that they were trying to do something to him and try to get him. and the reason why his body wasn't there is because he was off running away from these people. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): miles feared sam was in danger. maybe sam's mom and dad, too. i wanted to make sure nothing happened to steve and raquel, so i went to their house, and during the night i spent there with my gun by my side, just to make sure. i slept on their couch, by their door. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives needed to find sam, and fast, says orange county homicide prosecutor matt murphy. you've got a dead woman in his apartment. he's missing. and then you factor in afghanistan and you start thinking, ok, it he's a trained killer after he'd been accused of this before. and you think, ok, this guy is potentially very dangerous.

he's out there on the street. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): then came a break. sam's atm card was being used. $400 withdrawn about 17 miles north of the crime scene. and security cameras captured the person who was waiting as the cash came out. it was the start of a whole new mystery. coming up. we were pretty confident he was our guy. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but sam's father was convinced he wasn't. and determined to prove it, he turned amateur detective. so i said, ok, we got movement here. let me see. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

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josh mankiewicz (voiceover): 23 years young, and her life taken from her in the most senseless way. she loved to design things. and so she really wanted to be a stylist. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now that would never happen. police were looking hard for sam herr. detective ed everett. he's on the run, and he's in the wind. and now it's our job to find him and see where he's at and ask him why. not a whole lot of question who the suspect was at this point. no, we were pretty confident he was our guy. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): steve herr was also eager to find sam, but for an entirely different reason, to clear his son's name. so steve began his own investigation. why did you feel the need to do your own police work? i didn't look at as police work. i looked at it as, i wanted to find some answers. i wanted to find sam, first of all. where could sam be? is somebody helping? is he running away? did he come up with some foul play?

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): steve called sam again and again, but sam's cell phone was going straight to voicemail. "i love you. let me know what's going on. what is going on?" josh mankiewicz (voiceover): then a big break and a puzzle. steve and sam had a joint bank account, so steve pulled the bank records and found that sam's bank card was used at an atm in long beach. then again at a nearby pizza parlor. so i said, ok, we got movement here. let me see. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so steve drove down to long beach to check out the bank. so i hung around for about an hour, to see maybe i'd see sam or sam's car, because sam's car is also missing. nothing happened there, so i went to the pizza place. i hung around there for about an hour. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but there were no signs of sam. i took a two mile radius from echo's pizza, and i checked all the hotels, motels around there. i didn't see sam's car. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): meanwhile, detectives did something steve couldn't do.

they got the images from the atm security camera, capturing the person using sam's bank card, expecting to see a picture of sam herr. detectives were in for a shock, because whoever it was taking money out of sam's account, it wasn't sam. so who was it? cops staked out the atm, hoping the mystery man would return. they also went to the pizza parlor, where an employee told them he thought he knew the person who had bought the pizza, and the detectives got a possible address. we're set up at that point on the house. we have surveillance teams behind the house, on each corner of the house. we're geared up. we got our raid vests on. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): while surveillance teams hoped and waited, detectives questioned people in sam's circle. neighbors rachel buffett and her fiancee dan wozniak already knew about the body found in sam's apartment. we had discussed the idea of it maybe being an accident.

but like i said earlier, sam seemed like a pretty intelligent person. if it was an accident, he wouldn't have taken off and left his apartment and tried to run. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): both rachel and dan told detectives the last time they saw sam was friday, the day before the murder. he was with a friend, they said, a man wearing a black hat. but they had no idea what his name was. it seemed to be a dead end. but then, back at the house the cops were staking out, a big break. a pizza delivery. how many of you guys have at that point? probably have 10 officers and a helicopter above. and then we had long beach police department helping us with perimeter positions behind the home in case someone fled the house. guns out, ready to hit it like someone that committed murder's inside. and that someone is sam herr. yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): cops moved in, but sam here wasn't there.

instead, they found him. coming up. i open up my door to go outside and see what's going on, and that's when "freeze, get on the ground. put your hands behind your back." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): what did this teenager have to do with a murder? much more than he knew. i trusted him, so i said, yeah. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. when you live with diabetes, progress is... having your coffee like you like it without an audience. ♪♪ [silence] the freestyle libre 3 plus sensor tracks your glucose in real time so everyone else doesn't have to, and over time it can help lower your a1c confident choices for more control of your life. this is progress. learn more and try for free at freestylelibre.us ♪♪ air wick. every year millions of noses are ghosted by their plug-ins.

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it is inevitable. chloe! hey dad. they will grow up. [cheering]

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for now, back to dateline. beach,ornia were quiet. 17-year-old wesley freilich was hanging out with his friends. they had just finished eating a pizza, ordered from the local pizza parlor, when-- i hear this helicopter circling, and mind you, i'm not really a nosy kid, but i'm like, what's up? what's going on in my neighborhood? so peek outside, don't see anything. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so wesley walked outside. and i legitimately see a dude in the helicopter pointing at me, or pointing towards me. what the hell's going on? all right, go inside. oh, hey. hey, guys there's this helicopter outside, and i think he's pointing towards me or something. something's going on. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): his friend made what seemed like a sensible suggestion.

don't go outside, then, stupid. don't go out. there might be something going on. don't go outside. so i was like, all right. we're all inside. helicopter's still circling. and i looked out the window. two squad cars pull up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the scene was unreal, like something from a movie. wesley did not yet realize he'd been cast as the villain. guys, something's going on. something is happening outside. everyone goes to the window. i open up my door to go outside and see what's going on, and that's when "freeze, get on the ground. put your hands behind your back." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): cops arrested him, but according to wesley, he had absolutely no clue why. then police showed wesley a photo. and immediately when i saw myself at that atm, i literally knew what had happened. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives wanted answers.

what was wesley doing with that atm card? initially, he portrayed to us, don't know what you're talking about. i didn't do anything wrong. once the gravity of the situation was explained to him, he had a change of demeanor. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the cops told wesley his pizza delivery had landed him in the middle of a murder investigation and manhunt. they believed wesley was hiding sam herr, possibly inside the house. once we told him it was involving a homicide, he immediately started crying. sitting in front of officers of the law, handcuffed, i'm obviously literally-- i'm sorry, i can't say this is. it's g rated, but my balls are inside of me. i [bleep] myself, and i was nervous as all hell. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was what the cops were counting on. wesley started talking. but what he said was not what police expected. i don't know a sam.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): wesley not only didn't know where sam herr was, he didn't even know who he was. but wesley did have sam's bank card. all i said was, yeah, i think the name on the card was samuel, but i can't remember. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as to why he had it, that was a very strange story, wesley claimed. he got the card from someone who told him-- that he worked for a bail bondsman agency, and that he wanted me to withdraw money from an atm for legal reasons that the gentleman skipped bail out of town, and that they were required to withdraw the money. and so he was looking for a third party to withdraw the money. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sound phony? like a con game? apparently, not to wesley. he said he knew the man who asked him to withdraw money, that he was a friend. he showed me paperwork. it looked legit, looked like federal police paperwork, so i assumed that he was good, he wasn't lying to me.

and i trusted him, so i said yeah, sure. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so wesley said he took the atm card and agreed to withdraw the maximum allowed amount each day, just as his friend had asked him to. his friend also said it was fine to order a couple of pizzas. your alarm's going off in your head, but you're hearing his voice on the phone telling you it's ok, it's legal. a teenager, i really, really trusted him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): who was this friend? wesley said it was someone he respected, an actor who taught him theater. it was a good bond, an older dude that i looked up to, an older cat, was definitely someone i talked to about certain things in my life. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the actor's name? dan wozniak, sam herr's neighbor. what could he possibly have to do with any of this?

coming up, busy acting and just days away from getting married. definitely excited, but a lot of stress. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan was now also a potential witness in a murder investigation. i said i'm going to call him in the morning, see, just double check. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. if you're living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or active psoriatic arthritis, symptoms can sometimes hold you back. but now there's skyrizi, so you can be all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer ♪ ♪ yeah, i feel free ♪ ♪ to bare my skin yeah, that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ with skyrizi, you can show up with 90% clearer skin. and if you have psoriatic arthritis, skyrizi can help you move with less joint pain, stiffness,swelling, and fatigue. skyrizi is just 4 doses a year after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections

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♪ work well together every time ♪ ♪ burnt-on stains, get outshined ♪ (♪♪) type 2 diabetes? discover the ozempic® tri-zone. ♪ ♪ i got the power of 3. i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. i'm under 7. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. i'm lowering my risk. adults lost up to 14 pounds. i lost some weight. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away

if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. living with type 2 diabetes? ask about the power of 3 with ozempic®. detectives on the hunt for their prime suspect sam herr traced his atm card to a teenager named wesley. wesley said he got the card from someone he respected, actor and director dan wozniak. now police wanted to know, who was dan wozniak, really? i turned to dan on certain occasions for some advice.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): wesley described him as a mentor. so did tessia guajardo. i looked up to him as my director and as a fellow actor. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan directed tessia in her high school play. she says the students all loved him. i've worked with many directors, and he's by far my favorite to work with. he was professional and knew what he was doing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but it seemed that acting was what dan wozniak was built for. he was incredible. and with all the one-on-one teaching he gave us as actors it was right on. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan was prominent and very active in the local community theater world, said his fiancee rachel buffett. it's hard to fill the male roles in non-paid community theater. so he would get a lot of roles, do a lot of theater much, more than i ever did. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that's how dan and rachel met.

they were cast in a play together. good guy? handsome guy? i think the best way to describe him is "jovial." and although he didn't have awesome pitch or anything, he had a booming voice. so that right there is enough to get you cast on a lot of things when you're a guy. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel, an actress herself, would also get the big roles. and side by side, they'd take on the stage. tessia says they worked well together. dan is a very big personality, and she was more "ok, let's get this done." so i felt like they complemented each other in that way. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan and rachel moved in together. josh mankiewicz: were you in love? i would say, shortly after we moved in together, that's when i realized, "oh yeah, i am in love with this person." josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and it wasn't long before dan proposed marriage to his leading lady. the night of julie's murder, dan and rachel

were performing together in another musical called "nine." you can see their chemistry in this video shot by the husband of one of the other cast members. tessia, who went to see the play on closing night, said that dan carried the show. he was on an after show high. we all were. we were excited for him. he did an amazing job. and he came out and greeted us, and we're just laughing and hugging him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and with their wedding in less than a week-- definitely excited, but a lot of stress, 'cause i was doing everything myself. he was that typical guy that wasn't interested in the details of planning the wedding. there was a couple things, like, oh i don't know. like, make sure we don't have only chicken marsala or random stuff like that. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but just two days before dan and rachel's big day, young wesley,

now in handcuffs and facing serious felony charges, was pointing the finger at his one-time mentor. remember, dan and rachel had already told police that the last time they saw sam was on friday, the day before julie was murdered. and they hadn't seen him since. so how and why would dan have sam's atm card? someone had to be lying. and if that were dan, why? sam's dad steve got phone numbers from his son's friends of just about everyone they knew. and on that list was dan wozniak's number. so i said i'm going to call him in the morning, see, just double check. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and when steve got him on the phone, dan told him sam was nervous when they saw each other on friday. so i said, what was he nervous about? he said, i don't know. he was talking about family problems and stuff like that. boom. as soon as he said he was talking about family problems,

i said, excuse my language, this son of a bitch is dirty. i'll never forget that. i said, this guy knows something. i don't know what he knows, but he's lying about sam. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): authorities were developing their own theory about dan. prosecutor matt murphy. wozniak is the guy that's protecting sam. wozniak is the friend that's helping him get money out. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so police figured the best way to find sam was to talk with dan wozniak. coming up. i have nothing to do with this, because my life was in danger with my wife. i'm sorry! josh mankiewicz (voiceover): was someone threatening dan? who? and why? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment

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it's our son, he is always up in our business. alsit's the verizon 5gble home internet i got us. oh... he used to be a competitive gamer but with the higher lag, he can't keep up with his squad. so now we're his “squad”. what are kevin's plans for the fall? he's going to college. out of state, yeah. -yeah in the fall. change of plans, i've decided to stay local. oh excellent! oh that's great! why would i ever leave this? -aw! we will do anything to get him gaming again. you and kevin need to fix this internet situation. heard my name! i swear to god, kevin! -we told you to wait in the car. everyone in my old squad has xfinity. less lag, better gaming! i'm gonna need to charge you for three people. it was a wednesday evening in may 2010.

dan wozniak was celebrating his upcoming marriage at his bachelor party. often described as a man's last night of freedom, suddenly that became truer than ever before, when police crashed the party. dan wozniak was with a group of friends. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives were following the murky trail of sam herr, a suspect in the murder of julie kibuishi. she was a beautiful and talented 23-year-old with dreams of becoming a fashion stylist. did you think you were going to find sam herr in that restaurant? i was hoping we would. i was hoping he'd be with daniel. celebrating dan's upcoming wedding. yes. not that lucky. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but they hauled dan in, anyway. immediately when he saw me, he turned pale. you could see the blood just draining from his face. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the plan was to make dan talk, and fast. so they hit him with a heavy charge, accessory

to julie's murder after the fact. rolled over like a trained seal. ed everett monitored dan's interview with detectives mike delgadillo and mike cohen as dan readily admitted to a crime. he's alleging that he and sam came up with this conspiracy to commit a fraud and used this wesley kid to implement it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said sam gave him his atm card and pin. the plan was to have wesley withdraw money, and then sam would report the card stolen, so the bank would have to reimburse him. but dan said before they had a chance to make any real money, something went wrong.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they rushed out of the apartment, dan said. and as they drove, sam dropped a bombshell. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said sam told him everything. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): according to dan, sam started looking at photos of his friend julie and became upset. then, when julie came over-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said that at first, he couldn't believe it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then, dan said, sam threatened him.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said an angry and frightening sam needed help withdrawing all the money in his bank account to finance his escape. in return, sam said he would slide dan a few thousand dollars to help with his wedding. and dan felt he had no choice. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): then dan told detectives he dropped sam at a shopping center parking lot in long beach. and dan said that was the last time he saw sam. he later ditched sam's car. and dan said he was sorry he had lied to police at first when he told them he last saw sam in the company of a man wearing a black cap. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said he was frightened of sam. and he admitted he did need money for his wedding.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it seemed he had told them everything so far, but police pressed dan on the most important detail of all. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan was cooperative, but he said he didn't know where sam was. he can't tell you the location, or he won't tell you the location? didn't know at that point. thought he wasn't going to tell us. didn't want to. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so they applied a little more pressure.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when the detective explained what he planned to do with the dna sample, dan paid very close attention. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan seemed worried they might find his dna in sam's apartment. detectives wanted to know why.

and the tone of the interview changed. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they circled back to the dna.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but dan did seem scared and angry. he insisted he only helped sam after the murder, and then only under duress. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives were frustrated, but-- we were still hoping to find sam, and thought he was going to lead us to sam. josh mankiewicz: it sounds like you thought dan was telling you the truth about everything

except where sam was. we were taking him at his word, because he was involving himself and incriminating himself as an accessory in this homicide. he wasn't telling you "i don't know anything about it." right. he was just saying, "yeah, i helped him, but i helped him after the fact, and i don't know where he is." right. but the longer he went on, the less believable his story was. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and they now also strongly believed that not only was dan covering for sam, but dan was also perhaps involved somehow in julie's murder. so they tried again. they brought dan back to the interview room for one more crack at him. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but dan didn't waver. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then a reality check.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up, the interrogation act 2. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): an actor confessing what he says was his role that night at sam's apartment. josh mankiewicz: dan says he could see two gunshot wounds. that's when the light bulb went off. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. ♪ rinse it out ♪ ♪ every now and then ♪ ♪ i get a little bit tired of the stinks ♪ ♪ that just will never come out ♪ ♪ pour downy in the rinse, jade ♪ ♪ every now and then i rinse it out! ♪ fights odor in just one wash. when a tough cough finds you on the go,

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but they couldn't give up on dan wozniak. after a break, they brought dan back into the interrogation room and told him he was under arrest for accessory to murder. dan tried negotiating.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but ed everett and the other detectives still thought dan knew more than he was saying. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): they kept pressing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): deadlock. until-- josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives reached into their tool kit. they'd just taken a dna swab from dan.

they didn't have results, but decided to bluff. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then something out of the blue. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): was the seasoned actor suddenly forgetting his lines?

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan was getting tangled up in his story. first he'd said he only helped sam after the fact. then he admitted he'd seen julie's body. he also contradicted himself, first saying sam told him about the bullet wounds, then saying he, dan, had seen them. with every slip, dan seemed to put himself closer to the actual murder. dan says he could see two gunshot wounds. yup. meaning he was there when she got killed. yup. that's when the light bulb went off. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but dan still insisted he had nothing to do with julie's murder, but now he admitted he did help sam clean up the scene.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives wanted details. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): this statement seemed to match the facts. julie's autopsy showed she had not been sexually assaulted. the scene had been staged to make it look that way. detectives felt dan was finally starting to cooperate.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): if he was waiting for a call from sam herr, it never came. but dan, from the police station, did call his bride-to-be rachel, and a strange story now took yet another turn. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up, as news of dan's arrest starts to spread,

some seem more rattled than others. he freaks out and has this look of fear in his eye. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. ♪♪ stay ahead of your child's moderate-to-severe eczema. and they can show off clearer skin and less itch with dupixent, the #1 prescribed biologic by dermatologists and allergists, that helps heal your child's skin from within. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. ask your child's eczema specialist about dupixent. alright, we got your home and auto bundled ask your child's eczema and you saved hundreds. oh, that's nice, with the economy and all. what's the economy? [chuckling] where do we start? what isn't the economy? yes. [ laughter ] uh, it's -- it's so many thing.

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to walk down the aisle. instead, dan was sitting in jail, charged as an accessory in the murder of julie kibuishi. and rachel was left to break the news to family, friends, and invited guests. i go to my friends and knock on the door, and then at that point just start bawling. it was when i finally broke. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): with a friend at her side, rachel went to her parents' home to tell them what was going on. and my mom's-- just, she's lost it. she can't speak. she's bawling. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it was a mess, and not only because of the canceled wedding. rachel's older brother noah was also under suspicion. you think noah knows where sam is? yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): noah was driving dan around in noah's smart car hours before dan's arrest. and so detectives brought in noah for questioning. that's got to be a brutal conversation to have with your parents. and my mom's already breaking down and hyperventilating, just

by me saying we need to cancel the wedding and dan and noah are in jail. what finally happened with your brother? noah says that they questioned him for a while, and then the main detective said, all right, get this guy out of here. he doesn't know anything. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): turns out, he really didn't. noah was released and never charged. meanwhile, rachel notified dan's parents and describes a reaction she did not expect. it was just his dad that was home. his mom was at work. so i explain what's going on to him, and he just has the opposite reaction. he's just completely so mellow and like he didn't even hear me. i remember one of the phrases he used was something like, well, he was a really good son, you know. he was a good kid. it's like, did you just hear what i said?

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): as she and a friend were leaving, rachel says she had another strange encounter. dan's brother and his girlfriend pull up and wave us down. and so i get out, and i walk up to the car window and tell him dan's been arrested, yada, yada, yada. and he freaks out and has this look of fear in his eye. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): a short time later, her phone rang. it was dan calling from his jail cell, the call recorded by police.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel revealed she had new information for detectives. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): with that information, dan wozniak's mood suddenly changed.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it's the voice of a man in a trap. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan sounded desperate. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan begged rachel to come back to the police station. he said he was about to do something that was going to change everything, and he wanted rachel to be there for it.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): coming up, dan alone in the spotlight. he's just beyond himself as we bring them into the interview room. at some point, he sits down and starts pulling at his hair. i had a couple reactions. the immediate reaction was, did i just hear what i think i heard? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

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the plot line was as complex as anything on stage or screen. a young woman brutally murdered, her apparent killer vanished in thin air. and at the center of it all, the actor, the director, dan wozniak in custody in orange county, california. the process of going back and forth with dan is pretty long and laborious. yeah, it was frustrating. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): particularly frustrating because everett and the other detectives were beginning to believe that everything dan wozniak had been telling them was all just a grand, elaborate performance. but they still didn't know what the real story was. and then the actor himself suddenly seemed to drop character. dan wanted to speak with the detectives again. what do you think's coming this time?

i think he's going to give us more bs, and he's going to add or change his story. and-- but he's not going to give you the truth? no, no. what's wozniak's demeanor at this point? he's just beyond himself as we bring him into the interview room. at some point, he sits down and starts pulling at his hair. you didn't see that coming. no. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan wozniak dropped a bombshell on detectives sam herr was not a murderer on the run. he was already dead. and he, daniel wozniak, was the killer of both sam and julie. so when he blurts that out, what's your reaction? the immediate reaction was, did i

just hear what i think i heard? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): even for seasoned detectives, the story dan wozniak told was almost beyond imagining. dan said he went after sam first. they drove together to a theater, a place where dan had once taken the stage. dan had told sam he needed help moving some heavy items down from the attic. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then wozniak said he fired again. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan said he took sam's cell phone and then drove to the theater to face an audience. in this video, shot by a cast member's husband that very night, you can see dan and his fiancee rachel

performing in the musical "nine." this was a different theater from where sam herr's body now lay. and dan, who had just committed murder hours earlier, showed no signs of stress as he played the starring role apparently effortlessly. dan told police that during the show, backstage, he texted julie from sam's phone, pretending to be sam. those were the odd texts that interrupted julie's dinner at her brother's house. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): after his twin performances, one onstage and the other as sam herr, dan drove back to the apartment complex and waited. julie arrived wearing the tiara her brother had given her that evening.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan admitted scrawling those nasty words on her back and to splitting her pants with a pair of scissors. the next morning, he said he returned to the theater with an axe and a saw. dan used those, he said, for the gruesome task of dismembering sam's body to make it harder to identify him. dan said he scattered some of sam's remains at a local park.

but sam's torso, he told them, was still in the attic of the theater. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and that next evening, dan took the stage once again in the musical "nine," yet another pitch perfect performance captured on videotape. you've sat across from a lot more murderers than i have, but that seems astonishingly cold blooded and remorseless. it was shocking.

and these were two of his so-called friends. it's horrific. it's sad. it's horrific. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigators, of course, wanted to know what was all this about. what drove dan to do it? [laughter] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): the centuries' old motive, money. more than $60,000, in fact. sam herr's combat pay. when he was deployed, basically all the money that he was earning in the military just went into a savings account. he didn't spend it when he was deployed. and dan wozniak wanted that money? yes. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and julie kibuishi? dan said he killed her to cover his tracks and to frame sam.

[speaking japanese] josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but none of this was going away, especially for those left behind in the wake of two murders. steve herr, sam's dad, remembers when police showed up at his door. they came in. they said sam's been found. he was murdered. and for whatever reason, i said-- i don't know what made me say this-- "at least he wasn't dismembered." ok. the next morning, i get a call from the costa mesa police, and it says, "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): the very next day, sam herr would have turned 27-years-old. sam's friend reuben. you know, the night that it was his birthday, his father's praying to find his head.

sorry. so it's very upsetting. when police told you they thought that julie had been killed, essentially to cover up a different murder, sam's murder, what did you think? it's probably the pain is more painful than you're ripping your own body parts apart, to hear that your daughter's been killed like that, and you just-- i don't know how to to describe it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan wozniak was charged with two counts of first degree murder. dan's older brother tim, along with tim's girlfriend, was also arrested and charged with accessory to murder. detectives believe they had helped hide some evidence, including the murder weapon. wesley, the teenager who had used sam herr's bank card,

was not charged with any crime. and despite his confession to police, dan pleaded not guilty. he was jailed without bond, and if convicted, could face the death penalty. a year after his arrest, dan wozniak sat down for an interview with msnbc's "lockup." by then it seemed his story had changed again. he now claimed he did not kill sam and julie. they were saying that i shot both of them and decapitated one of them. it's not true. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then dan spoke about his ex-fiancee rachel buffett. he said the hardest part of being in jail was missing her. if i was given the opportunity to talk to my fiancee right now, i'd either say, can i be with you out there? can you be with me in here?

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): here in jail with him? an unusual comment. was there any possibility rachel had something to do with these crimes? you think dan's protecting rachel or is rachel protecting dan? dan would be protecting rachel. rachel's protecting rachel. you think she knows more than she's saying? oh, definitely. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): just what did rachel know? i asked her. 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): coming up-- so that conversation between the two of them felt rehearsed? yeah, and i was expecting a "oh my god. what did you do?" josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel the actress or rachel the accomplice? police and prosecutors don't believe you were honest with them. mm-hm. were you honest with them? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues.

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news update. nbc news reporting the trump transition team is making a list of senior, current and former u.s. military officials who were directly involved in the 2021 afghanistan withdrawal and whether they can be court- martialed. the trump transition team has yet to respond. the u.s. has confirmed its

case of a more aggressive strain of and parks. the u.s. is the sixth country outside of africa to confirm a case of this strain. the individual was in california and had recently traveled from east africa. for now, back to dateline. s, rachel was arrested and charged as an accessory. she posted bail and was released. yeah, i am still in shock, honestly. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): shortly after, rachel publicly announced her innocence. are you saying you're innocent? what are you saying? completely innocent. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and she agreed to sit down with us because she wanted to tell her story. i'm innocent, and that's what hurts me most, i think, in this social situation is, they're trying to say i'm somebody that i'm not.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): so who is rachel buffett? she says just a wannabe actress with some very realistic dreams. there's a gazillion movies made about the blonde that comes from oklahoma to be a famous movie star. it's a dime a dozen in la, you know? but it was still something i liked to do, so i continued doing it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and in the course of doing what she loved, she met dan. he actually fell for me first. and at the time, he had already become my best friend, and i was hanging out with him so often. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he eventually professed his love and asked her to give him a chance. to win your heart. or something like that, yeah. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and he did win her over. he proposed, and she said yes. i wasn't head over heels in love, but i was ok with it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel said money was tight for the young couple. you know, neither of us had career jobs or anything. so yeah, money was always up and down and hard to get.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but rachel says she and dan continued to plan for that may wedding, and that her parents said they'd foot the bill. my parents are traditional, and they were going to pay for it. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): of course, that wedding never happened. one week before their scheduled nuptials, on friday, may 21, 2010, the day dan wozniak told police he murdered sam herr, rachel says her fiancee was acting strangely. he said he had borrowed money to pay the rent, and he had borrowed it from loan sharks and was saying, yeah, i lied to you, and i'm in trouble now, and i owe bad people money, and i'm going to get hurt. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel says she saw sam herr that day leaving the apartment with dan. but remember, she and dan both told police sam had last been seen with a third man,

a guy in a black hat. rachel now says she never claimed to have seen that person with her own eyes. when dan and sam left, there was no third person with them? i was under the impression that there was a third person. i heard about that person. from dan? i believe so. that's how i remember it now. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but at the time, police say, rachel did say she saw the nonexistent third man. it's a major reason she was charged as an accessory. you know, of course, that the issue of the third person is a crux of this case. i know now, yeah. i don't remember saying i saw him. i can believe that i told the police there was somebody. and i probably would have said it with confidence, because i trusted dan. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when dan returned to the house without sam, rachel says dan was almost frantic. it looked like he was having some sort of panic

attack or heart attack. he was pacing around the room, holding his heart, leaning up against the wall. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel says dan told her he needed to go to his parents' house to get his things. he returned in time for them to head to the theater for that night's show. and by all accounts, both dan and rachel's performances in "nine" that evening were on their marks, maybe even too good. during this emotional scene onstage, captured on this video, rachel broke down in tears. some of her fellow cast members later told police that crying on cue was unusual for this amateur actress. and some of them speculated she was crying because she already knew sam herr was dead. people who think i'm guilty and are looking for some sort of justification, i think, are clinging to that. but i just think that's utterly ridiculous.

so the tears you shed on stage, that was acting. that wasn't guilt? that was acting. and i know you sit there and you think of anything that's made you upset throughout the day or week when you're trying to cry for a scene, and that's what i was doing. and it was because i had had a stressful day, i guess. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but that crying episode wasn't the only thing investigators found odd. after the two performed in "nine" that night, dan was back at home, texting from sam's cell phone, ultimately luring julie kibuishi to sam's apartment. sam had a flip phone, which had a very different look from dan's own smartphone. you never noticed that the phone he was texting on was not his regular phone? no, i didn't. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and then there was the couple's shared computer in the apartment, the computer on which police later found searches for "how to hide a body" and "quick ways to kill people." you ever see any indication that he had searched

for anything relating to murder, or violence, or how to cover up a murder? no, i did not. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and using that same computer, rachel posted a comment to julie on facebook the night she was killed. you returned a message to julie almost right at the time that she had to be meeting dan at sam's apartment. mm-hm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): that caused police to question another part of rachel's story, that she didn't see dan leave the apartment that night. she told them she had fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie. rachel says when she was called to the police station interview room a few days later, she was shocked when dan, whose story was still evolving, told her his elaborate tale of helping sam cover up a murder. yeah, i was just speechless at this time.

kind of on overload and in shock and also growing angry. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but if you watch the tape, rachel seems rather calm. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives felt they were watching two performers acting out a script. so that conversation between the two of them felt rehearsed? yeah. and i was expecting a "oh my god. what did you do? how could you help him?" it wasn't that. just, it was very odd. so if police or prosecutors tell us that was all setup between the two of them, they were a couple of actors and they were reading lines?

mm-hm. josh mankiewicz: that's what? that's bull? that's bull, yeah. you had no idea what he was going to say? that's correct. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): rachel says she didn't know that dan murdered sam and julie until he called her from his jail cell to confess. and that was the first time you knew about it? that's correct. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): investigators found more reasons to suspect rachel. for example, the way she echoed dan's claim that sam was having family problems. sam's parents and friends all say that was a lie. your repeating that story is being taken by police and prosecutors as an example of you continuing to advance a narrative that your boyfriend set up to make the murder happen. well, two things. i told them that, yeah, dan said it, but also, i think sam confirmed it. sam also told me that or confirmed it in some way. i don't understand why people think it's odd that i would use

the same language or terminology that dan had used, because obviously i'd heard it, you know? josh mankiewicz (voiceover): detectives also wondered why, when they spoke to rachel after julie's murder, did she ask police whether they had looked into whether sam had killed julie. when you met with detectives, you asked them, did you look at sam? are you examining sam as a suspect? which was at the time exactly the theory that dan wanted the police to pursue. so in that meeting with detectives, were you essentially doing dan's work for him? no, i was not. that was-- the way he set it up made that the obvious conclusion, that everybody should look for sam. the police were doing that, too. and me, as an outsider, would assume that that was a logical thing to do.

did you at any time make any statement or take any specific action to shield dan from scrutiny or suspicion? not in any way. police and prosecutors don't believe you were honest with them. mm-hm. josh mankiewicz: were you honest with them? i was. i know my heart, and god knows my heart. and that's my comfort is, god's in control and god knows i'm innocent. i never tried to help dan wozniak. i told the truth to the best of my capability to try to help the police get to the bottom of things. my heart was always in the right place. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but ed everett believes rachel as innocent bystander is just another actor playing another role. josh mankiewicz: rachel buffett says she had no idea that dan wozniak was a murderer, that he was going to kill sam, that he did kill sam, that he was going to kill julie, that he did kill julie.

she says she didn't have any advance knowledge of any of that. you believe her? no. she wasn't charged with murder. i don't have the evidence to prove it she's a better actor than daniel. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but before rachel would have her day in court to proclaim her innocence, it would be dan wozniak's turn. coming up, rachel gets a starring role in dan's defense. what did she know? she's learning about all this incredible stuff and she has no reaction? you can see it on the interview tape. she has no reaction. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): and two families in mourning finally get an answer. everything is based on me knowing the whole story. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. if you're living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or active psoriatic arthritis, symptoms can sometimes hold you back. but now there's skyrizi, so you can be all in with clearer skin. ♪ things are getting clearer ♪

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the writer stephen king says murder is like potato chips. it's hard to stop at just one. orange county prosecutor matt murphy told a jury dan wozniak had gone on a killing binge. sam herr was a war hero. he was a war hero. he served his country, and turns out he's murdered by some two-bit actor who snuck up behind him and shot him in the back of the head. and then you have this beautiful 23-year-old young woman with a tiara on her head, and he literally shot her in between her right ear and the tiara that she'd been wearing. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): it had been a long time getting into this courtroom. sam and julie's parents attended more than 100

hearings over 5 and 1/2 years. it was brutal on those families. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): from the moment steve herr learned his son was missing, he hasn't rested. when you find out your son, your only child has been murdered, as a father, i can't think of any other way to act. it was the most crushing event that ever happened to me, that could ever happen to anybody. so this is not really about justice in the sense of punishing somebody else. this is about you knowing. everything is based on me knowing the whole story. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): now it was december of 2015, and steve was about to find out. the prosecutor laid it out for the jury. dan wozniak's plan to solve his financial problems in 11 steps. number one, apparently don't get a job.

number two, figure out what sam herr's pin number is, kill him, and take his atm card. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): after withdrawing money and using julie's murder as a decoy. six, stage the scene to make it look like sam is not only a killer but sam is a rapist. seven, if questioned, use charm and acting skills to make sure the police spend all their time looking for sam. eight, make sam disappear, make sure the police cannot find sam. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): then, said murphy, get more money, so dan could pay off his debts. and finally-- and 11, have an awesome wedding. you have this plan, this evil, maniacal, sophisticated, well-thought-out, meticulous plan by an actor who meets real detectives

really doing their job. and wozniak is putting on his-- it was a play. turns out, two cops were tougher than any theater critic. they spotted him a mile away. they gave him all the room he wanted to completely hang himself. and that's what he did. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): dan's older brother tim testified against him. on the stand, he told the jury dan gave him a box to hold onto, but said he had no idea there was a gun inside, let alone that his brother had just murdered two people. tim pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was sentenced to three years of informal probation. his then girlfriend, who was also charged, had her case dismissed. in court, dan's defense attorney did not offer an explanation for dan's actions or call any witnesses. when jurors got the case, it took them less than three hours to reach a verdict. we, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant daniel patrick wozniak guilty of the crime of murder.

josh mankiewicz (voiceover): this was a death penalty case. jurors now had to decide whether dan wozniak should live or die. defense attorney scott sanders made absolutely no excuses for his client. we did nothing in the course of the guilt phase of this case to indicate that we were challenging his responsibility for the crime. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but he did ask the jury to consider whether dan would deserve the death penalty if someone else influenced his decision to kill. that person? in the defense's view, it was dan's fiancee, rachel buffett. i call her a shrewd girlfriend, very shrewd, very sharp. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): sanders reminded the jury of that odd moment when rachel went to the police department to see dan. she's learning about all this incredible stuff and she has no reaction? and you can see it on the interview tape. she has no reaction. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): he said that while dan didn't fool the cops, rachel just might have. these are good officers. if you look at their questioning, it's good.

and she still gets past them. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): but prosecutor murphy saw things differently. they gotta come up with somebody to point the finger at to take your attention off of daniel wozniak and what daniel wozniak did. so rachel's our villain. all right. and that's fine. they can do that. that's their job to do it. ok. and it's your job not to get misled. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): jurors once again had an important decision to make. this time, they deliberated for just more than an hour. we, the jury in the above entitled action, determine that the penalty to be imposed upon defendant daniel patrick wozniak to be death. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): death for daniel wozniak. he is appealing his conviction. as for rachel buffett, in september 2018, she was found guilty of accessory to murder after the fact and sentenced to 32 months, a final scene to this tragedy that started on stage and spilled into real life.

and i'll never forget, a month before this happened, walking around a park, and i'm intending to say, you know, what sam, something happens to me, take care of your mom and this and that. we have this. we have this. he said, well, you know something, dad? if something happens to me, i lived a good life. i loved. i saw so many things i never thought i was able to see. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): was that a premonition? maybe. but either way, it was important for steve to hear his son say those words. "i lived a good life." because it wasn't always that way. as a kid, said steve, sam struggled. he went through some rough times. and he went to the army and he found a purpose. he became a man. he grew up. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): julie's mom june says she doesn't want to show her grief to her own family. so she mourns privately with a gift her daughter gave her. she was a music person. and then so every my birthdays and mother's day,

she used to make me a cd, so that i can play that in my car. so that was my-- that's her gift for me. whenever i go to work and come back, i play that cd and i take this one long way. there's one road that is straight and without a single-- we just, i use that road. i turn on, blast off her music, and i call her name in my car and cry. [theme music] dupixent can help people with asthma breathe better in as little as 2 weeks. so this is better. even this. dupixent is an add-on treatment for specific types of moderate-to-severe asthma that's not for sudden breathing problems. dupixent can cause allergic reactions that can be severe. tell your doctor right away if you have rash, chest pain,

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how much you care has not. that's why instagram is introducing teen accounts. automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see. ♪♪ " and the content they can see. ♪♪ joe espino: you could see where she'd been dragged across the carpet into the garage. bob kenney: we made the assumption that whoever had done this killing knew the victim.