Tuesday’s testimony from a California man accused of killing a gay University of Pennsylvania student six years ago during an alleged hate crime described how the two men met on social internet and traveled to a park. That was the victim’s final sighting.
The 26-year-old Samuel Woodward partially covered his face with long hair when he took the stand during his trial in an Orange County courtroom. He was frequently requested to move it aside by his attorney so that the jury could see him.
During interrogation, Woodward admitted to the court that there were moments in his life when he felt alone and that he interacted with people almost exclusively online.
He admitted that he had matched on a dating app with Blaze Bernstein, a former classmate. When the two reunited six months later, he informed Bernstein that it was strange for them to be conversing because Bernstein was from a “conservative, Catholic family.”
On the third day of his months-long trial, Woodward testified, “I had been looking for people to spend time with or talk to for a long time.”
In the death of 19-year-old gay Jewish college sophomore Bernstein, who vanished in 2018 while on winter break and visiting family in Southern California, Woodward is charged with murder with an enhancement for a hate crime. Days later, Bernstein’s body was discovered in a neighboring park, buried in a shallow grave.
Screenshots of the two men’s interactions throughout the trial revealed that they had gotten in touch online in the months prior to the attack.
According to the prosecution, Woodward joined the violent, antisemitic, anti-gay Atomwaffen Division and frequently targeted gay individuals on the internet by contacting them and then abruptly cutting off communication while recording his acts in a vile, profanity-filled journal.
Additionally, the prosecution claimed that among Woodward’s possessions were hate group publications and that he had a desire to turn his words into violent deeds.
While acknowledging that his client carried out the deadly attack, defense lawyer Ken Morrison maintained that Woodward had no intention of killing anyone and had no animosity for Bernstein.
He claimed that because Woodward was raised in a devout Catholic family with a politically conservative father who publicly condemned homosexuality, he struggled in his relationships and was uncertain about his own sexual orientation. Woodward also suffered from a long-undiagnosed autistic spectrum disease.
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In his evidence, Woodward admitted that he had interacted with and met members of the group as well as read passages from the book “Siege,” which was endorsed by the Atomwaffen Division.
Trial proceedings in the case were delayed for years due to concerns raised regarding Woodward’s mental health and several attorney changes on the defense team. In late 2022, Woodward was found to be competent to stand trial.
Several witnesses, including friends, family, and law enforcement, have testified during the trial. Woodward has been giving a slow-moving witness, pausing for extended periods of time before responding to inquiries from his lawyer.
After going out late one night with Woodward to a park in Lake Forest, around 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, Bernstein vanished in January 2018. Bernstein’s parents discovered his glasses, wallet, and credit cards in his bedroom when he skipped his dental appointment the following day. They attempted to contact him via messages and phone calls, but he didn’t answer.
Authorities added that after doing a thorough search, Bernstein’s family had gone through his social media and discovered that he had spoken with Woodward on Snapchat. According to authorities, Woodward informed the family that Bernstein had left to go meet a friend in the park that evening and had not come back.
Bernstein’s body was discovered buried in the park a few days later. He’d been stabbed in the neck and face several times.
When investigators examined Woodward’s family’s home in the neighboring beach town of Newport Beach, they allegedly discovered a folding knife in his room that had a bloody blade. Prosecutors claimed that they also discovered a black Atomwaffen mask containing bloodstains and a variety of anti-gay, anti-Semitic, and hate group propaganda.
