OC Man Found Guilty of Hate Murder in Blaze Bernstein Killing – NBC Los Angeles

An Orange County man was found guilty Wednesday of first-degree murder in the 2018 stabbing death of a former gay high school classmate.

Jurors also found that Samuel Woodward committed a hate crime in killing Blaze Bernstein, 19, whose body was left in a shallow grave in Borrego Park in Lake Forest. The victim had been stabbed multiple times in the face and neck.

Cheers rang out in the courtroom as the hate crime decision was announced. The judge called for silence before the clerk continued reading the jury's verdict.

“It's a great relief that justice has been served, and that this despicable person who murdered our son is no longer a threat to the public,” Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, Blaze Bernstein's mother, said at a news conference after the verdict was read.

There was no indication of any visible reaction from Woodward. He was sitting facing forward, his face hidden by his long hair.

The verdict was delivered after a day of deliberations.

The prosecution alleged at trial that Woodward, who had joined an anti-gay and anti-Semitic group, targeted gay men online and contacted them before abruptly cutting off communication.

The murder charge against Woodward included sentencing enhancements for hate crime and personal use of a deadly weapon. He faces life in prison without parole upon sentencing.

A sentencing date was not immediately set.

“The defendant killed Blaze Bernstein on January 2 or the early morning hours of January 3 because he was gay,” Senior Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Walker told jurors.

But Woodward's defense attorney said Woodward did not hate Bernstein and did not plan to kill him when the two met, instead claiming that Woodward was conflicted about his own sexuality and acted in a fit of rage.

The defense also argued that Woodward's undiagnosed autism made him vulnerable to recruitment by white supremacist groups that target individuals like the defendant, who seek “acceptance and validation.” Woodward also had an “obsession” with gay men and gay porn sites, his attorney said.

Woodward had admitted at trial that he met Bernstein on a dating app, and the two met when Bernstein was home on winter break from attending the University of Pennsylvania.

Woodward testified that while he and Bernstein were lying together in the park, Bernstein began touching him in a sexual manner.

He said he was “deathly terrified” after seeing the light on Bernstein's cellphone. He was afraid Bernstein would record and send photos to others.

Woodward later testified that he stabbed Bernstein and felt an anger like he had never felt in his life.

The trial involved numerous witnesses, including relatives, friends and authorities. Woodward's testimony proceeded slowly, with the defendant taking long pauses before answering his lawyer's questions.