Crime & Safety
UPenn Student's Alleged Killer To Face Murder, Hate Crime Trial
University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein, 19, of California, was stabbed more than 20 times back in January in a California park.
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The accused killer of 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student and California native Blaze Bernstein is set to stand trial on a murder charge stemming in connection with the January murder in California. Prosecutors have deemed that the brutal killing of Blaze Bernstein a hate crime because he was gay.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 21, of Newport Beach, California, is due back in court Sept. 17 for arraignment, according to court officials.
He is accused in the killing of Bernstein, a UPenn pre-med student whose body was found in a shallow grave in Borrego Park in Lake Forest early in 2018.
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Bernstein was reportedly stabbed 20 times.
Woodward was arrested on Jan. 12 in California, just days after Bernstein's found was found on Jan. 9.
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He was subsequently charged with murder and hate crimes in connection with the death, as authorities said Woodward "killed Blaze, because Blaze was gay."
Wooodward and Bernstein were classmates in High School at the Orange County School of the Arts in Santa Ana and reconnected over social media.
"We will prove that Woodward Killed Blaze because Blaze was gay," District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said at a press conference in August."
"The evidence was developed by examining Woodward's cell phone, laptop, social media and other digital evidence revealing the dark side of Woodward's thoughts and intentions."
Woodward's attorney, Ed Munoz, previously said he and his client's family were "deeply disappointed" that the complaint was amended to allege the defendant carried out the killing due to Bernstein's sexual orientation.
"This is a complex case and the motivations each of the principals brought with them to that fateful meeting are multi-layered and they're really complicated, so I guess from the narrow or selective view of the evidence this amended filing is not completely shocking," Munoz said on Aug. 2.
Woodward has been diagnosed with autism, Munoz said.
Story by Ashley Ludwig
Images via Orange County District Attorney's Office, Bernstein Family
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