Juri Kibuishi is Shot Twice in the Head

(May 21, 2010, Costa Mesa) Juri Kibuishi, who was known as Julie to her friends, was sitting around her apartment.  She’d just finished a date over Skype with her boyfriend, who was gone overseas with the Marine Corps.  The glow of her love was still hovering about her, though it was slightly being invaded by the distance between the two of them.  She smiled and reminded herself to be patient, looking at the screen longingly.  Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a new text from her friend, Sam Herr.  She’d been going over to Sam’s house to tutor him in math every week for about a month now.  The text asked her to come over, so she assumed that he needed some help preparing for his next test.  She sent a response saying that she’d be there soon.  After briefly scanning the room, she realized she had no other responsibilities so she got up, got ready, and left.

When she arrived at Sam’s house in Costa Mesa, she noticed his car wasn’t in the driveway.  Figuring she beat him home or he parked around the corner, she walked up the path to his apartment and knocked on the door.  The door opened in less than a second and Julie jumped back in surprise.  In front of her was a man she didn’t recognize, Daniel Wozniak.  He had a burly figure and a thick goatee to match.  His piercing eyes didn’t look into hers, but rather at her shoulder.  His arm reached out and grabbed it, pulling her into the house.  Julie screamed and struggled as Wozniak wrapped his arms around hers, lifting her body off the ground so her feet could no longer touch the hardwood floors.  Julia kicked her legs in succession, often making contact with her attackers’ shins or knees but having very little effect.

The two continued their violent dance down the hallway toward Sam’s bedroom.  Julia began to suspect what the man wanted, and relaxed some in preparation for the final battle.  Once her attackers’ destination was reached, he threw her onto the bed.  Julia prepared her arms and legs for swings as powerful as they could manage, hoping she could throw him off balance long enough to make an escape.  But instead Wozniak pulled a gun from his pocket and rushed in towards her with it.  She threw up her palms in futile defense, but he pressed her down again and put the gun right up to her forehead.  He pulled the trigger twice.

Once Kibuishi was dead, Wozniak partially removed her clothing in an attempt to disguise the killing as rape.  His true intention was to frame Sam Herr for her murder so that Herr’s disappearance would not seem so unusual.  He’d already murdered Herr and taken his debit card to access the thousands of dollars he’d saved up for his honeymoon.  Wozniak was arrested on drunk driving, but after being tied to the murder of Kibuishi he revealed the location of Herr’s body, spread out across a Long Beach park.  Wozniak faces the death sentence.