Samuel Woodward was convicted of first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement in the 2018 homicide of his former high school classmate and former Penn undergraduate Blaze Bernstein.
Credit: Mona LeeSamuel Woodward has been convicted of first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement for the 2018 homicide of his former high school classmate and former Penn undergraduate student Blaze Bernstein.
The three-month trial in an Orange County, Calif. court did not focus on whether Woodward killed Bernstein, who was openly gay and Jewish. Instead, the trial aimed to determine whether the murder was a hate crime or voluntary manslaughter. Woodward is eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 25.
“I am eternally grateful for the unwavering commitment and perseverance of Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker in her pursuit of justice not only for 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, but for every victim of hate,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement. “This was not a crime committed in the heat of passion; it was planned, it was carried out, and it was attempted to be covered up and Walker painstaking [sic] walked the jury through every piece of evidence that proved it.”
“Hate will never be tolerated here in Orange County – and instead of a symbol to be revered by other haters, [Woodward] is a symbol of how society will never tolerate those who terrorize the most vulnerable members of our society through hatred and fear,” Spitzer added.
During the trial, Woodward’s attorney, assistant public defender Ken Morrison, attempted to argue that Woodward acted spontaneously and “under intense emotion,” while Walker told jurors that Woodward was guilty of a hate crime based off of his “own testimony and DNA evidence.”
Woodward and Bernstein, who had matched on Tinder six months earlier, agreed to meet up over winter break during Bernstein's sophomore year at Penn. That night, Bernstein went missing, and suspicions quickly focused on Woodward, the last person known to have seen him.
On Jan. 9, 2018, authorities found a body in Orange County’s Borrego Park that investigators identified as Bernstein's. Evidence, including a knife found in Woodward's room with Bernstein’s blood on it and bloodstains matching both men in his car, resulted in Woodward being charged with Bernstein’s murder on Jan. 17, 2018. In August 2018, the Orange County Sheriff's Department added a hate crime charge to the allegations against Woodward.
Woodward was a known member of an armed neo-Nazi group called the Atomwaffen Division, according to a ProPublica report that emerged after he was charged. He also kept a “hate diary” of emails to himself in which he detailed his plans for repeated, hostile interactions on social media with gay individuals. Walker argued that Woodward's prejudices and affiliation with the neo-Nazi group led him to plan the murder.
After the verdict, Morrison indicated that he plans to appeal.
Criminal proceedings for Woodward were originally scheduled to start in 2021 but were stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an outburst from Woodward in court during jury selection.
At Penn, Bernstein was on the pre-med track, and during his first year, he was involved in the Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences. He also had been elected managing editor of the University’s food magazine, Penn Appetit, and worked as a copy associate for literary magazine The Penn Review.
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