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ABC's 20/20: 'Mystery in Apartment 410'

Posted at 5:49 PM, Mar 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-04 17:01:21-05

"Mystery in Apartment 410" airs on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. on ABC10, followed by 10News at 11 p.m.


It is a Southern California mystery ripped straight from a Hollywood script, yet the actors in this drama are real and so are the twists and turns that unfold in solving a double murder. The plot involves a community theater actor who tries to frame a war veteran for the murder of a 23-year-old dancer and college student.

When Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, 23, is found dead in the apartment of her good friend whom she tutored, Sam Herr, a dedicated soldier from Afghanistan, police suspect Sam's PTSD and a lover's quarrel. But Sam is nowhere to be found to question. Yet Sam's father Steve Herr, who made the gruesome discovery, and mutual friends insist Sam and Julie's relationship is platonic and that he could never have committed this crime.

Keeping an eye on any evidence of Sam's whereabouts, police spot fresh activity on his ATM card. Money is being withdrawn, and when the card is used to order a pizza, police are there for the delivery. Expecting to find Sam, police instead find a bunch of hungry teenagers. One teen has a confession to make: he got the card from a local community theatre actor he knows, Daniel Wozniak.

What was Daniel Wozniak doing in possession of Sam Herr's ATM card? As the thespian attempts to act his way out of the interrogation room, he confesses to his additional roles as "thief" and "double-murderer."

But why did he kill Sam and Julie?

Jim Avila's report includes interviews with the jury who recently recommended the death sentence for Wozniak; the lead detective; Sam's father Steve Herr; the duped teenager who was using the ATM card; and many people who knew all of the players, as well as the unbelievable interrogation tapes.

ABC's "20/20" is anchored by Elizabeth Vargas and David Muir. David Sloan is senior executive producer.