Man kills two friends after stealing $50,000 to pay for his wedding sentenced to death

A theatre actor who murdered two friends as part of a plot to steal $50,000  to pay for his wedding and honeymoon will be executed.

Daniel Wozniak, 32, was debt-ridden when he shot neighbor Samuel Herr, 26, in order to steal the cash and then killed and dismembered his friend Julie Kibuishi to cover up the crime.

He tried to make it appear as if army veteran Mr Herr had raped and killed Ms Kibuishi in 2010 and then dumped her body in a park in Southern California, prosecutors said.

Samuel Herr

Julie Kibuishi

With his wife Raquel Herr by his side at left, Steve Herr, center, father of Samuel Herr, points his finger toward Daniel Wozniak (Picture: AP)

While holding a photograph of their daughter, Masa Kibuishi, left, stands by his wife, June (Picture: AP)

Jurors had convicted Wozniak of the murders last December and Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley has now decided to follow their recommendation of a death sentence.

‘Suffice it to say that even his defence attorney was constrained to calling it horrible, terrible and horrific,’ the judge said on Friday.

Mr Herr had saved the $50,000 from service in Afghanistan.

‘You Dan are a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death penalty in California,’ Herr’s father, Steve Herr, added.

Wozniak won’t be executed anytime soon because of challenges over the California’s death penalty.