OC man gets life in prison without possibility of parole for 2018 hate-crime killing of gay student
Samuel Lincoln Woodward was convicted in July of the Jan. 3, 2018, fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CNS) -- A 27-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Friday for the hate-crime killing of a gay former classmate in Foothill Ranch six years ago.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward was convicted in July of the Jan. 3, 2018, fatal stabbing of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein.
The victim's mother, Jeanne Pepper, read an emotional impact statement in court at Friday's sentencing hearing:
"This calm and earnest-sounding young man lied to us, the emphatic parents of the young man he had less than 24 hours before stabbed 28 times with a 6-inch blade and buried in a park by our home, he misled us to believe that Blaze had wandered off into a dark and vast park by our home that leads into the wilderness behind our house."
"As the search began the next day tremendous law enforcement and resources came to our aid to search the forest, the park and the internet for clues. His killer also showed up that day at the park and then went home to clean his car of any evidence...I'm so scared thinking that my child is injured, lost in the woods or being held by an extremist neonazi group. Then we got the phone call on January 10, my father's birthday, they found my son's body in the mud in the park," she continued.
"How could this be happening? No mother should have to bury her child... my heart was so broken and yet unable to accept the reality that he was no longer part of our world. I was not told the details of how he was killed because I was having trouble coping with the reality of his death. I will never forget hearing for the first time that Blaze had been stabbed 28 times while I was listening to the news while I was in the park where his body was found. I collapsed on the ground screaming. That was one of the many panic attacks I would have that first year."
"It's the single worst, most painful thing that has ever happened to me, to know that he died in such a horrific, horrible way, stabbed to death by someone claiming to be a classmate from high school," she said.
"When I think of his final moments, it horrifies me so much I used to have panic attacks just thinking about it. Sleepless nights."
"I never thought I would smile again or be happy again, but I stand here today relieved, and happy, that this sociopath will never leave in Orange County again or murder anyone else's children... while Sam rots in prison we will be here on the outside celebrating the life of Blaze, and continuing to do good with others who work every day to make this world more caring, kind and safe for the Jewish and LGBTQ communities," Pepper said.
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.
Friday's sentencing hearing was delayed because Woodward did not come out of jail cell. His attorney said later his client was sick. The hearing, which had been set to begin at 10 a.m., did not begin until 2 p.m., and it was held without Woodward in court.
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 where he graduated and went on to Cal State Channel Islands before dropping out in his second semester.
Woodward spent five days testifying during the trial, often taking up to 30 seconds to respond to yes or no questions. Woodward's attorney, Ken Morrison of the Orange County Public Defender's Office, presented evidence of his client's issues with autism that made him hunger for companionship so much he was easily drawn in by a neo-Nazi group.
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" of his family, who objected to homosexuality on religious grounds, would find out. He said 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 District Attorney Jennifer Walker said.
Morrison told jurors evidence of his client's autism was not presented as 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.
Woodward grew disillusioned with the group 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.
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.
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.
Copyright 2024, City News Service, Inc.
ABC7.com staff contributed to this report.
