Wozniak pre-trial hearing continued to August

A pre-trial hearing in the case of a Costa Mesa man accused of killing his neighbor for financial gain and trying to derail authorities by killing his neighbor’s tutor has been continued to Aug. 26.

Daniel Wozniak, 27, is accused of killing and dismembering Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri “Julie” Kibuishi, 23, his tutor. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in the case.

Prosecutors allege Wozniak killed Herr, who served the U.S. in the war in Afghanistan, and lured Kibuishi to Herr’s Costa Mesa apartment, killing her there in an effort to frame Herr, according to a statement released by the district attorney’s office.

Kibuishi’s body was found May 22 in Herr’s apartment with her clothes partially removed in an effort to stage sexual assault, according to the statement.

Parts of Herr’s dismembered body were found five days later in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park Nature Center.

Authorities believe Wozniak drove Herr to a theater facility at the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base on May 21 and shot him twice in the head before dismembering him.

Later in the evening, Wozniak allegedly texted Kibuishi to get to go into Herr’s apartment.

Wozniak was later arrested at his bachelor party in Huntington Beach.

He is also accused of using a 17-year-old acquaintance to withdraw $2,000 from Herr’s account.

— Lauren Williams