Dateline to Spotlight Mystifying OC Murder Case

Dateline will take on one of Orange County’s most mystifying murder cases Friday with a feature on double murderer Daniel Patrick Wozniak.

Wozniak was sentenced to die Monday by a jury that needed no more than an hour to rule in favor of the death penalty. Wozniak, a community theater actor was convicted of killing and dismembering his neighbor Samuel Herr and then murdering Herr’s friend and staging it to look like Herr raped and killed her.

Wozniak took the stage for a local production of ‘Nine’ in between the killings.

He nearly got away with the murders, but finally admitted to police that he committed them so he could drain Herr’s bank account to pay for his upcoming wedding and honeymoon. He was arrested during his bachelor party in Huntington Beach.

Wozniak’s now ex-fiancee, Rachel Mae Buffet still faces charges of acting as an accessory after the fact for allegedly lying to investigators.

During Wozniak’s trial, detectives said they believe Buffet was in on the murders, but they just couldn’t gather enough evidence to prove it.

Buffet, a former Disneyland princess, is the actress who starred opposite Wozniak on the night of the murders. After initially denying knowledge of the killings, police say she is the one who directed them to the gun Wozniak used in the murders.

During the trial, Wozniak’s attorneys attempted to deflect Wozniak’s guilt to Buffet.

In Friday’s episode, Wozniak’s ex-fiancée Rachel Buffett sits down with Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz and speaks about being at the center of the murder investigation. The episode also features in-depth interviews with Sam Herr’s father and the mother of murder victim Julie Kibuishi.

The episode will air on NBC Friday AT 9 P.M.