Rachel Buffett’s name has resurfaced in the Daniel Wozniak double-murder case after a former friend said Buffett made a chilling remark about drugging her before Juri “Julie” Kibuishi and Samuel Herr were killed. The exchange is now part of the Investigation Discovery true-crime series A Killer Among Friends, which revisits the events surrounding the deaths and the fallout inside their college theater circle.
The former friend, Audrey, said the comment came about a month before the killings, while Buffett was preparing for her bachelorette party. According to Audrey, Buffett encouraged her to take ecstasy and then said, “Well, if I slipped it in your drink, you wouldn’t know about it.” Audrey said the remark ended the friendship. She recalled that when Buffett and her fiancé argued after drinking, the tension would spill over onto others, and she said the drugging comment did not strike her as a joke. After Audrey walked away, she said Buffett later texted her about joining the wedding party and asked her to come over.
Audrey’s memories of that period are tied to a case that stunned the Orange County community. Kibuishi, a dancer, and Herr, a U.S. Army veteran, were described by Audrey as warm and funny people. Buffett and Daniel Wozniak were engaged and had planned to marry on May 28, 2010. One week before that wedding date, Kibuishi was found shot to death in Herr’s apartment, and Herr was missing. Herr’s father, Steve Herr, went to his son’s apartment after his calls went unanswered and he failed to appear for a planned visit. Inside, he discovered Kibuishi’s body.
At first, investigators considered the possibility that Herr had killed Kibuishi and then fled. That theory changed when someone was still withdrawing money from Herr’s bank account. Police traced the transactions to teenager Wesley Freilich, who said Wozniak had given him Herr’s ATM card and told him to take out cash. Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor party and, after changing his account several times during questioning, confessed. He later said he committed the murders for “Money and insanity.” Prosecutors said Wozniak killed and dismembered Herr as part of a plan to steal $62,000 that Herr had saved from his military service, then killed Kibuishi and tried to pin her death on Herr.
