More than six years after the murder of University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein, a Southern California man accused of stabbing him to death in an act of hate is scheduled to go on trial.
Opening statements in the murder case against Samuel Woodward, now 26, of Newport Beach, California, are scheduled for Tuesday. He pleaded not guilty.
Woodward is accused of stabbing Bernstein, a 19-year-old gay Jewish college sophomore, to death while he was home from visiting family over winter break. The two young men previously attended the same high school in Orange County.
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Bernstein went missing in January 2018 after going to a park in Lake Forest, California, with Woodward. The next day, Bernstein’s girlfriend’s parents discovered Bernstein’s glasses, wallet and credit cards in her bedroom after she had missed a dentist appointment. Regarding the text messages and phone calls, prosecutors wrote in court documents:
A few days later, Bernstein’s body was found buried in a shallow grave in a park.
Authorities said Woodward communicated with Bernstein on Snapchat, then picked her up from her parents’ home and stabbed her nearly 20 times in the face and neck.
Samuel Woodward defendant after a court hearing at the Harbor Justice Center on August 22, 2018 in Newport Beach, California. Opening statements are scheduled for April 9, 2024 in the trial of Woodward, who is accused of stabbing a University of Pennsylvania student who killed Bernstein in an act of hate in 2018. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register/SCNG via AP, Pool, File)
Authorities said DNA evidence implicated Woodward in the killing and that his cellphone contained a large amount of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and hate group material.
A year earlier, Woodward had attempted to become a member of the Atomwaffen Division, a neo-Nazi group that advocates white supremacy, according to prosecutors’ briefs. The suspect has kept diary entries, including a “diary of hatred,” in which he records threats he has made against homosexuals online, according to the preliminary documents.
Authorities said a folding knife with a bloody blade was found in Woodward’s room at his parents’ home in the upscale Newport Beach neighborhood. Woodward was arrested two days later.
Woodward has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder with a hate crime enhancement.
The case took several years to reach trial, as questions arose over Woodward’s mental state and his repeated changes in defense attorneys. Mr. Woodward was deemed competent to stand trial in late 2022.
One of Mr. Woodward’s previous lawyers said his client had Asperger’s syndrome, a developmental disorder that commonly causes difficulty in social interactions, and had struggled with his sexuality.
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Mr Woodward’s lawyer, Ken Morrison, urged the public not to jump to conclusions about the case.
“For the past six years, the public has read and heard the prosecution’s version of events, and it is fundamentally wrong,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in an email. “I caution everyone to respect our country’s judicial process and wait until a jury can see, hear, and evaluate all the evidence.”
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the case ahead of trial.
