Ex-classmate convicted of killing Blaze Bernstein in hate slaying

A 26-year-old man was convicted today of first-degree murder, along with a hate crime allegation, for killing a gay former classmate in Foothill Ranch six years ago.

Jurors, who began deliberating Tuesday afternoon, convicted Samuel Lincoln Woodward for the Jan. 3, 2018, stabbing death of Blaze Bernstein, 19.

Woodward’s attorneys conceded during the trial that he killed Bernstein, but denied it was a hate crime or a premeditated act, saying at worst he should be convicted of voluntary manslaughter.

The jury, however, found Woodward guilty of first-degree murder, and also found true allegations that the killing was a hate crime, and that he personally used a deadly weapon —a knife.

Cheers were heard in the courtroom audience as the verdict was read, particularly when the hate crime allegation was found to be true.

There was no visible reaction from Woodward, whose sat facing forward, his face obscured by his long, shaggy hair.

Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 25.

The hate-crime enhancement alleged Woodward killed Bernstein because of the victim’s sexual orientation, not because he was Jewish, though jurors were also given evidence of the defendant’s association with a neo-Nazi group known as the Atomwaffen Division to consider a pattern of bigotry.

Woodward and Bernstein attended the Orange County School of the Arts together for four years. Bernstein graduated after six years at the school and went on to become a pre-med student at the University of Pennsylvania.

Woodward, meanwhile, transferred to Corona Del Mar High School, from which he graduated. He then attended Cal State Channel Islands before dropping out in his second semester.

Following the verdict, Bernstein’s mother, Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, thanked everyone who has supported the family since Blaze’s death. She also asked the media to give the family time to “process this outcome and to live our lives knowing that this murderer will no longer be able to hurt any other people.

“This is a great relief that justice was served and this despicable human who murdered our son will no longer be a threat to the public,” she said.

Woodward spent five days testifying during the trial, often taking up to 30 seconds to respond to yes or no questions.

Woodward said he reached out to Bernstein hours after a long text-exchange conversation with his big brother’s best friend, Dylan Gronendyke, on New Year’s Day in 2018. As Woodward complained that he could not establish any meaningful relationships and would even leave the house and go to a parking lot alone just to give his parents the impression he went out with friends, Gronendyke encouraged him to return to college and to not give up trying to make friends.

Nearly a day passed before Bernstein responded to Woodward, and the two agreed to meet up the night of Jan. 2, 2018. Woodward stuffed snacks and drinks and marijuana into a sleeping bag and picked up Bernstein, who directed the two to Borrego Park, where the victim’s mother said he had many lifelong memories, such as playing soccer as a youth.

Woodward testified he took two hits off a heady strain of marijuana and felt he was nodding off until he felt a strange sensation on his legs and immediately thought he had gotten too relaxed and urinated on himself as he had done previously.

When he snapped to, Woodward testified, he realized his pants were undone and the victim had his hand on his groin. Bernstein also appeared to be photographing or video recording the encounter, he testified.

This triggered panic in Woodward, who said he was in “mortal terror” his family, who objected to homosexuality on religious grounds, would find out. He said the “look” on his father’s face alone could be so upsetting he struggled to get the phone away from Bernstein, who, the defendant claimed, was saying words to the effect that he would “out’” Woodward, who had a reputation in high school for homophobia.

When he could not get the phone, Woodward said he snapped and repeatedly stabbed Bernstein and then smashed the phone. Woodward said he dug a shallow grave with his hands and left the body in the park.

When Bernstein failed to show for a dental appointment, which was unusual, and could not be contacted, his worried parents began searching for clues and contacted authorities. The victim’s body was found Jan. 9, 2018, in an area of the park that had been scoured previously, but a recent rain made it easier to see him, Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Jennifer Walker said.

Attorney Ken Morrison of the Orange County Public Defender’s Office presented evidence during the trial about Woodward’s diagnosis of autism, saying it was not an effort to excuse the crime, but to help jurors understand his state of mind — and for them to reject the hate-crime allegations and accept a lesser-degree of homicide.

“Samuel Lincoln Woodward should be held accountable for what he did,” Morrison said during his closing argument. “He should not be held accountable for what he did not do. This case was over-charged.”

Morrison characterized his client as someone struggling through life, not understanding until he was 18 that he had autism when it was too late for the usually prescribed interventions. The disorder made it difficult for him to communicate and led to social awkwardness and loneliness, and the late diagnosis made him especially vulnerable to being wooed by a fringe, extremist group like Atomwaffen Division, the defense attorney argued.

The group’s attraction was a sense of belonging, a “brotherhood” of “strong men,” Morrison argued.

Woodward told a defense-hired psychiatric expert, Martha Rogers, that he didn’t pay much attention to the group’s hateful rhetoric and was buoyed by their positive reinforcement, Morrison argued.

Woodward grew disillusioned with the group, he told Rogers, after a two-month excursion in the summer of 2017 to Texas with the man who lured him into the group, when he ran out of money for food and a motel, Morrison said.

Morrison argued that though Woodward and Bernstein did not interact much when they were classmates, there were projects they worked on together and that Woodward considered him a “chill guy.” Morrison said the defendant was surprised to find out Bernstein was gay when they reconnected on a dating app in June 2017, and Woodward grew to admire how the victim was comfortable with his sexual orientation while the defendant struggled with his own.

“Blaze Bernstein was in a lot of ways intimidating because he had qualities [Woodward] thought he lacked,” Morrison said. “Sam was questioning all these things, looking for strong men, something he aspired to be.’”

Walker argued to jurors that the evidence pointed to Woodward planning to attack Bernstein in a “ceremonial” killing to win the prestige of the neo-Nazi group. She said he wore a sweater with a skull image on it to “strike fear” into the victim, and that it had Bernstein’s blood spattered on it after the attack.

When Bernstein’s panicked parents went through their missing son’s social media looking for clues, they called Woodward, who lied to them about what had happened to their son, according to the prosecutor. Walker said Woodward also began searching for information on DNA and even got a haircut to change his appearance while the search for Bernstein made headlines.

“The abundance of evidence here is overwhelming,” Walker said.

She brushed aside Morrison’s arguments that Bernstein had betrayed Woodward’s requests to keep it quiet that the two matched on a dating app.

Walker said Bernstein was rightly “shocked” to see Woodward seeking males on the dating app and sent a link to his public profile to a few fellow classmates from the school of the arts.

Walker said Bernstein kept his promise not to share the details of their conversations with others.

“Blaze Bernstein is not here to defend himself against these allegations,” Walker said.