314: Blaze Bernstein

Blaze Bernstein was home for winter break, reconnecting with old friends and preparing for a new semester at the University of Pennsylvania. But on a cool January night in 2018, he vanished. What began as a missing person’s case soon spiralled into something far darker - uncovering secrets, ideology, and violence that would haunt a community and captivate a nation.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:35):
My father, though he there's no way, not a chance
people like him, just even thinking about the look on
his face if he saw something like that.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Foothill Ranch is a quiet, master planned community nestled in
the hills of South Orange County in California. Developed in
the mid ninety nineties on what was once sprawling ranch land,
it quickly became a sought after neighborhood, a place where
families found comfort and culled the sacks while ranked schools
and the manicured promise of suburban living. Though now part

(01:17):
of Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch remains its own identity, with
tidy streets, chain restaurants, and a backdrop of gently rising
hills that hinted the wild tern beyond. Before the homes
and shopping centers, this land was open country, cattle grazing fields,
and rugged canyons stretching towards the Santa Anna Mountains. For
over a century, the area was just ranchland, dotted with

(01:39):
oak trees and visited mostly by horseback riders and hikers.
When developers moved in during the ninety nineties, they tried
to preserve a small slither of that untouched history, that
piece of green space became Barrego Park. Tucked just off
a quiet residential road, Barrego Park is where neighborhood kids
learned to ride their bikes and families gather for barbecue.

(02:01):
It's shaded by eucalyptus and pine, with neatly trimmed grass,
a basketball court, and walking trails that wind into the
surrounding hills. So when a teenager went missing there in
early January of twenty and eighteen, it sent ripples of
panic through the community. Blais Nathaniel Bernstein was born on

(02:33):
the twenty seventh of April nineteen ninety eight in Orange County, California,
the firstborn child of Gideon and Jean Bernstein. He would
grow up to be a devoted older brother to Jembo.
From the very beginning, Blaze stood out not because he
demanded attention, but because of the way he paid attention.
His parents described him as a thoughtful, intensely curious child.

(02:56):
Blaize wasn't just intelligent, he was deeply engaged with the
world around him. He asked big questions, philosophical questions. He
wanted to know how things worked, why people were the
way they were, what made life meaningful. Blaze grew up
in a Jewish household that placed a high value on education, creativity,
and compassion. His father served as the chairman of the

(03:18):
board of the Jewish Community Foundation of Orange County, and
his parents nurtured his hunger to learn. It didn't take
long before Blaze began to write stories, poems, observations. He
saw beauty in small things, he saw humor in everything,
and he always saw the good in people. He first
attended Tarbot Vettora Community Day School, a private Jewish day

(03:42):
school in Irvine. It was there that Blaize's intelligence began
to truly shine. But it wasn't just the grays or
the test scores that stood out. Blaze was the kind
of churan who helped others without being asked. Later, Blaze
moved on to the Orange County School of Arts, competitive
prestigious charter school that allowed students to pursue their creative

(04:03):
talents alongside academic excellence. Blaze was part of the creative
writing Conservatory and it was the perfect fit. He was
a natural storyteller, weaving meaning and metaphor into everything that
he wrote. His teachers described him as a quiet, force, sharp, expressive,
and incredibly insightful. He was also a National Merit scholar,

(04:26):
a classroom aid at his local synagogue, and an active
member of his Jewish community. Rabbi Arnie Rackless one set
of Blaze. He was one of these kids that absorbed
every experience and did something with it. Blaze was also
great with children, patient, kind, playful. He could speak to
them at their level without ever talking down. He really

(04:47):
had the rare ability to connect, really connect with people
of all ages. It'side of the classroom. Blaze was just
as dynamic. He loved to cook with his mother, trying
out bold new recipes and laughing over their field experi germents.
He enjoyed traveling, and even when he was far from home,
he never stopped seeking inspiration. In twenty sixteen, Blaize's talent

(05:09):
earned him a spot at the University of Pennsylvania, an
Ivy League institution, where he pursued a degree in psychology. There,
he was a member of the vague loose Molecular Life
Sciences program, which was an intensive academic track for highly
motivated students, but Blas never boxed himself in. He also
became managing editor of penn Appetite, the university's Food magazine,

(05:33):
where he combined his love of writing and cooking. He
also contributed to penn Review, the school's literary journal, and uniquely,
he was published there even before he set foot on campus.
Nobody had ever done that before. Blaise was also openly gay,
having come out to his parents when he was just thirteen.
His parents told him that they already knew. It was

(05:55):
a decision that took courage, but blaz never heard who
he was. He carried himself with quiet confidence, supported Philly
Bia his family. They loved him exactly who he was,
and they were proud, so proud of the young man
that Blaze was becoming. In a world that often moves
too fast, Blaise Bernstein moved with purpose, He lived with intention,

(06:18):
and he left an impression on everyone he met. By
January twenty eighteen, Blaise Bernstein was nineteen years old, a
sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania. He was deepened to
his studies, thriving in his classes and pouring his energy

(06:40):
into writing, research, and creativity. But for a very few
weeks he was back in California, home for winter break.
Christmas and New Years had come and gone. The family
celebrated quietly at their Quainth home and Foothill Ranch, a
suburban neighborhood tucked into the hills of Orange County. Blaz
was soaking up the final moments with his parents and

(07:02):
younger siblings before heading back to school for the spring semester.
He just had a couple of days left before returning
to Philadelphia, just days left at home, but Blaiz Bernstein
would never make it back to school. The date was
January two, twenty eighteen, a Tuesday, just another day for
a teenage boy on break, no plans beyond family time

(07:25):
and rest. That evening, Blaize offered to cook dinner for everyone.
It wasn't unusual. He was a great cook, creative in
the kitchen, thoughtful with the ingredients. He roasted a turkey
and made a warm butter not squashed soup from scratch.
The family ate together, laughed, watched some television. It was

(07:45):
the kind of ordinary evening that never feels significant until
it becomes the last of its kind. They then went
to bed. Nothing seened out of the ordinary, but the
next morning something was off. Blaize had a dentist appointment
scheduled for that morning. When he didn't show up. The
office called his parents, Jeane and Gideon assumed at first

(08:08):
that maybe he had overslept. When they checked his bedroom,
it was empty. More than empty, it was undisturbed. His
bed was neatly made. His wallet, glasses, and credit cards
were sitting untouched on the bedside table. Things he never
left home without. His phone wasn't there. Getting grabbed his

(08:29):
own phone and called his son, but it was switched off.
Worried now, the Bernsteins reached out to friends, anybody who
might have seen Blaze or heard from him in the
last twenty four hours. Nobody had. He hadn't messaged anyone.
He hadn't posted on social media. Even the group chat
for pen Appetite, the magazine he had poured so much

(08:50):
energy into, had gone silent on his end. His father
later said he was very excited about the magazine he
was working on that over the winter break and showed
us the magazine they'd just published, which he significantly contributed to.
Blaze had shared the issue proudly with this family. He
was energized, focused. There was no reason why he would

(09:12):
disappear without a word. But just like that, Blaze was gone.
His family filed the missing person's report immediately. Soon, search
teams began combing the area around Foothill Ranch. Volunteers handed
out flowers, but there was no sign of Blaze, no
evidence of fall play, no immediate answers. As the rs

(09:43):
ticked by with no sign of Blaze, Bernstein, his parents
turned to the only thing they might not offer answers,
his digital footprint. His phone had singing to the family computer,
and he'd saved his password on his mother's device. They
went up Blaze as Snapchat, a platform where messages vanish
into the ether unless they're purposefully saved. Maybe something, anything,

(10:06):
had been left behind, and there was the night that
Blaze had vanished. He'd been messaging someone familiar, Samuel Woodward.
Blaze and Samuel had once been classmates at the Orange
County School of the Arts in Santa Anna. Their conversations
revealed the plan. At ten thirty seven pm that night,
Blaze sent Samuel has addressed about or Later, he sent

(10:30):
a text to a friend, I did something really horrible
for the story, but nobody can ever know. The friend
replied quickly, what story? Blaze never responded. Sometime later, Samuel
messaged Blaze again. He asked him where he had gone.
The exchange hinted at a meeting that night, rendezvous that

(10:52):
nobody else had known about. Before turning this crucial information
over to detectives, Gideon and Jane picked up the phone
and called Samuel Woodward themselves, and we just cracked.

Speaker 3 (11:04):
It, as snapped the count inside that you had been
trying to find him, So you're the first real clue
of it to the puzzle here.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
Samuel didn't hesitate. Yes, he said, they've been chatting on Snapchat. Yes,
he'd picked Blaze up at his home that night. They
had decided to hang out to catch up. It had
been years since they'd seen one another, Samuel claimed. They
drove over to the parking lot of a hobby lobby
in Lake Forest, a quiet, tucked away place to talk,

(11:34):
but then Blaze had mentioned wanting to meet up with
another high school friend, somebody that Samuel didn't know. Blaise
asked to go to Origo Park, a secluded area nestled
at the edge of Wedding Ranch Wilderness. Samuel said it
was around midnight when they pulled into the parking lot.
According to Samuel, Blaze got out of the car and

(11:55):
walked alone into the darkness to meet his mysterious friend.
He never came back.

Speaker 3 (12:00):
I shout it out of Las Blazes, but I didn't hear.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
Anything, Samuel said to Blaze his parents. I just waited
and waited. I got really cold. I got fucking piste off.
You may have seen the snapchat I got mardre at
him halfway through the night because I thought he'd just
bailed on me, and I just laughed after a while
because I was so mad at him. Then I guess
I realized, you know, did something happened to him. Samuel

(12:28):
said that he returned to the park at around three
forty am to look for Blaze, but there was no
sign of him. He said he messaged him repeatedly with
growing panic, but there was only silence. He out of
the Blaze had seemed done that night, frustrated about grades,
maybe a little disheartened, but he hadn't expressed and he
desire to hurt himself.

Speaker 3 (12:49):
I don't mean to put any pressure on you on it,
a nice young man, but I'm asking you for, you know,
help on this if you can, if you've got the
ability to do that, absolutely, you know, I want to
find one as much as you now Once.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
This information was passed the detectives, they spoke with Samuel
and he told them the same thing he had told
Blaise's parents. They were cautious not to jump to conclusions.
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this stage, Samuel was in a suspect or even a

(14:34):
person of interest. He co operated, he seemed genuinely worried.
He even helped the search, and so with Samuel's account
in hand, detective shifted their focus to Barrego Park and
the surrounding wedding ranch Milderness. Searchers trudged through the underbrush,
calling out Blaze's name. Every leaf, every patch of disturbed

(14:56):
soil was scanned for signs of a struggle, a dropped item,
any indication that Blaze had been there, But the land
gave up no secrets. In the absence of answers, theories
began to swirl. A Blaze gone to the park to
party with the friend, had he consumed too much, wandered
off and gotten lost, or had something even more sinister

(15:17):
happened under the cloak of darkness. His parents pushed back
against the speculation. Jean said firmly he had zero tolerance
policy for this, referring to drugs. Other questioned whether Blaze
may have vanished by choice, left to clear his head,
or escaped some internal turmoil, but again his family insisted

(15:40):
Blaze was happy. He had been planning for the future,
shopping online for college essentials in the days before he vanished.
Family friend Ella Donna said it all points to a
kid who was not depressed. He was happy and wanted
to go back to school. Blaize's father, Gideon, echoed this disbelief, stating,

(16:01):
what's unusual about his disappearance is that everything was normal.
That night. We had a great family dinner. We ended
the dinner, everyone went up to their rooms. He decides
to leave later in the evening. It just did not up.
Amy Marcus, one of Blaize's friends from school, spoke for
the wider circle who were NOI gripped by confusion and fear,

(16:22):
She stated, we share a circle of friends. For the
most part, we've all been frenzied trying to speculate what
might have happened. There's no way to know, but We're
just trying to calm our nerves. Brigo Park was less
than ten minutes away from Blaze's home. If he had
intended to be out for long, surely he would have
said something. But there'd been no warnings, no goodbyes, just

(16:45):
a quiet boy stepping into the night, and vanishing days
crawled forward, blurred by graeve, exhaustion, an annoying sense of dread.

(17:05):
For Blaize's family, time had become surreal, an endless stretch
of waiting without answers. As the fifth day since the
disappearance dawned, his loved ones could no longer sit idle.
They organized their own search. Dozens of volunteers descended on
Barrego Park and the surrounding Winding Ranch wilderness with drones,

(17:27):
boots and hope. It was a grassroots operation driven by
the desperation. Gideon remained determined, standing among the brush and
tangled branches, holding tightly to any slither of possibility. He stated,
we feel like even if we just help out with
one percent of the effort to try and find Blaze
and we uncover something as civilians, that's good enough for us.

(17:50):
We have to do everything in our power to try
and get this young brilliant man. Bactheus that very day
Blaze should have been boarding a plane. He was due
back in Philadelphia for the start of the new semester
at the University of Pennsylvania, but instead of settling into
lectures and routine, Blaze was still missing. Gideon commented, he

(18:11):
missed out on a lot of stuff I knew he
wouldn't want to miss. Jeane Blaze's mother struggled to make
sense of the nightmare unfolding around them. Theory swirled in
her mind, but none of them landed anywhere solid. She said.
The only thing I can think of is that maybe
he was abducted. I can't figure out why anybody would
want to hurt my son. The family launched a Facebook

(18:34):
page to coordinate updates and gather support. By January eighth,
just over a week after Blaze had vanished, more than
eight thousand people had joined. The case was now a
national headline. Even NBA legend Kobe Bryant shared the missing
person poster. But the storm was coming, literally and figuratively.

(19:05):
Every rains batted the area in the days that followed,
turning the dry southern California terrain into slick, muddy ground. Still,
the search teams pressed on. They comed to the park,
meticulously judging through brush and down steep embankments. The rain,
which was once a hinderance, would soon prove to be
a brutal blessing. On the tenth of January, as detectives

(19:28):
methodically searched Barrego Park once more, Captain de of Ackerman
noticed something unusual along a steep hillside near the fence
line of an elementary school. It was a patch of
slightly raised earth covered partially by a fallen tree branch.
He stepped closer, nudging the branch aside. He later recalled,

(19:50):
at that point I saw left hip in the left
leg area of a human body. It was Blaze, partially buried,
concealed by both modern foliage. His body had been hidden
until the rains began to wash the soil away. His
clothing was soaked in blood. Blaze had been stabbed twenty
eight times. Most of the wounds concentrated around his face

(20:13):
and neck. Defensive wounds on his hands told the tragic
story Blaize had fought. He had tried to survive. Lieutenant
Brad Valentine addressed the public soon after the heartbreaking discovery
and said, based on what we know, I believe Blaze
was probably killed that night. That night, a quiet grief

(20:33):
fell over the community. Over three hundred people gathered at
Barego Park, not far from where Blaze had been found,
for a candlelight vigil in the darkness. Flickers of candlelight
shimmered in the cold air, illuminating tear streaked faces and
bowed heads. On a picnic bench near by, mourners built
the makeshift memorial. Photographs of Blaze throughout his life were

(20:56):
surrounded by floors and handwritten notes. His family invited anybody
who wished to come forward and speak. His grandfather Richard,
stepped up, holding back tears that eventually won out. We
thanked God for this hard rain, but exposed his grave,
he said. With the discovery of Bla as his body,
the case shifted dramatically. Would have begun is a missing

(21:19):
person's investigation had now become a murder investigation, and detective
has already had somebody on their radar. Samuel Woodward. He
was the last person known they have seen Blaze alive,
and while police had initially downplayed his involvement, saying that
he was in a suspect that wasn't quite the truth.
Behind the scenes, Woodward had been interviewed very early in

(21:40):
the investigation. Detectives noted that he was extremely nervous, vegety, evasive,
and anxious. That wasn't enough to hold him. Two days
after that first conversation, they spoke with him again, this
time out in the field. Woodward was at Brigo Park
participating in the search for Blaze. Something about him seemed off.

(22:02):
He dyed his hair recently, and despite the warmth of
the California sun, he kept both hands buried deep in
his pockets. Eventually he pulled them out. Detectives immediately noticed
that his hands were covered in scratches and abrasions fresh ones.
When asked about the injuries, Woodward offered a strange explanation.
He said that they were from a fight club that

(22:23):
he was involved in. There was also visible dirt underneath
his fingernails. He claimed that it had come from falling
into a dirt puddle during a sporing session. It sounded
rehearsed too specific, but what stood out even more was
his demeanor. Woodward was talking fast, jumping between thoughts, and

(22:44):
visibly unsettled. He was placed under surveillance. Then one afternoon,
detectives caught sight of him cleaning out his rental car.
This raised a red flag and they approached him. When
they asked to search his vehicle, Woodward agreed. They found
hiking gear stood in the back, a large empty plastic
storage bin sitting on the back, sape, and a black

(23:06):
belt lying on the floorboard of the passenger side. Woodward
agreed to another voluntary interview at the police station. His story,
for the most part, remained the same. They said that
after dropping Blaze off at Barrego Park, he had driven
over to his girlfriend's home, but when he was pressed
for more details, the cracks began to show. He didn't

(23:27):
know her last name, he couldn't remember her dress, he
couldn't even say what city she lived in. The answers
made no sense, but what truly disturbed detectives was what
they observed behind the scenes. Every door that Woodward touched
in the station, every handle, every surface, he did so
using his jacket sleeve. He was intentionally avoiding leaving fingerprints.

(23:53):
It was a subtle act, but it was a clear one.
Samuel Woodward was hiding something, and it wouldn't be long
before detectives uncovered exactly what that was. When it was

(24:15):
revealed to the public that Blaze had spent the night
with Samuel Woodward, shock rippled through their community. The two
weren't close. In fact, they'd never really been friends. Most
people said they didn't make any sense together. They were
polar opposites in almost every way. Blaze was openly gay, Jewish, liberal,
and artistic. Woodward was none of those things. He was

(24:39):
known for his far right political views. He'd defended the
Confederate flag, he posted photos of guns on his social
media accounts. In one post, he said that if hewhere
ever stranded on a deserted island, all he'd want would
be a Bible and a cult forty five. His online
activity grew darker the deeper the detect active stock. Woodward

(25:02):
regularly posted white supremacist, neo Nazi, anti Semitic, and homophobic content.
He wasn't just dabbling in far right rhetoric, he was
entrenched in it.

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Speaker 2 (25:41):
Mile Woodward was an active member of Adam Waffe the Vision,
a violent neo Nazi group that emerged in twenty and
fifteen and had grown to roughly one hundred members across
the United States. Organized in decentralized cells, the group's name
translates to a toom mcweapons division in German, and they

(26:02):
had positioned themselves as part of a new dangerous wave
of militant white supremacists. Photograph surfaced of Woodward giving the
Nazi salute at an Adam Waffen made up. He had
even traveled to Texas for a three day training camp
where members were taught hand to hand combat, firearms handling,
survival skills, and extremist ideology. After Blaze's murder, members of

(26:26):
Adam Waffen celebrated his death online. One user wrote that
Blaze deserved to die although his life quote wasn't worth
going to prison for end quote. Another described Samuel Woodward
as a one man gay jew wrecking crew. They glorified
the murder, They treated it like a trophy. Despite all

(26:48):
of this, despite the chasm between their identities, there had
been a connection between Blaze and Woodward. In June of
twenty and seventeen, they had matched on Tinder. Had recognized
Woodward from high school and super liked his profile. Within
thirty minutes, they matched and started shouting. Blaz sent a

(27:09):
screenshot of their match to her friend with the caption,
oh my god, we all knew it. There had long
been rumors that Samuel Woodward was secretly gay. One former
classmate even claimed that he had made a pass at him.
Blaize's friend, Lily Williams, said that it was hot gossip.
After matching on Tinder, Blaze kept sharing his conversations with

(27:30):
Woodward with his friends. They were bizarre and at times uncomfortable.
In one message, Woodward had written, I'm on this app
mainly because in terms of women, I've got jungle fever
and fucked like five black chicks since I got on
here a month ago. In terms of men, I'm looking
for an outdoorsy person to be a spotter and assist

(27:50):
me in deer hunting. It was a strange mix of racism, misogyny,
and deflection. He claimed that he wasn't looking for anything
romantic with men, just a hunting partner, but as their
conversations continued, the tone shifted. Liz texted one of his friends,
Oh shit, he's about to hit on me. He had

(28:11):
me promise not to tell anyone, but I've texted everyone.

Speaker 1 (28:15):
Uh oh.

Speaker 2 (28:16):
Eventually, Blaiz told Woodward that he thought he was cute.
Woodward responded, the thing is, you're not too shabby looking yourself, Blaze.
They planned to meet up, but it didn't happen that night. Afterwards,
Woodward backed off, claiming that he was lying and just
curious that he'd never been hit on by a gay
guy before. Months later, in January, when Blaize was home

(28:39):
for the holidays, they matched again. This time, Woodward said,
I think I owe you an explanation about why I
unmatched with you. I was going through a weird time
in my life, and I think I figured things out now.
Blaise replied, I literally don't care. But the conversation didn't end.
Woodward insisted that he was straight, but added I might

(29:01):
make an exception for you, Blaze. Didn't buy it. We
already did this prank, remember, he responded. But still they
kept talking. Woodward asked for Blaize's snapchat. Eventually Blaise sent
him his home address. That night, the night the Blaze disappeared,
Samuel Woodwards had picked him up. When detectives confronted Woodward

(29:25):
in the interrogation room, he didn't mention something. He told
them that when he was out with Blaze that night,
Blaze had tried to kiss him in the car. He
said he had pushed Blaze away, and that he wanted
to call him a gay slur. But as he said
the words, the detectives noticed something chilling. His jaw tightened,

(29:46):
his body tensed, and his eyes flickered with something more
than discomfort. They saw. Anger. Obtained a search warrant for
Woodward's vehicle and removed several items for analysis. Among them

(30:06):
was a sleeping bag that tested positive for blood blood
that matched blaze bernstain. With this confirmation, Samuel Woodward was arrested.
A second search warrant was issued for his bedroom. There,
detectives discovered a knife with what appeared to be bloodstains.
Lab results confirmed that it was also Blaze's blood. Additional

(30:27):
traces of blood were also found under Woodward's watch and
on the visor of his car as he was behind bars.
On the fifteenth of January, over eight hundred people gathered
a university synagogue to say their final goodbyes to Blaze.
He was remembered as a gifted writer and a young
man with a deep passion for food and cooking. Excerpts
from his writings were read aloud, and copies of his

(30:49):
final recipe, which was a rum and pineapple upside dawn
cake he had made for his family on New Year's Eve,
were handed out to the mourners. His siblings Gembo read
a heartfelt letter addressed to their brother. Both spoke of
Blaize's joy in the kitchen, describing it as his happy
place and how he always encouraged her to stand up
for what she believed in. Lily Williams, one of Blaize's

(31:12):
closest friends, said he was a one in a lifetime friend.
To me, he was an advocate for me. To me,
he made me realize my value. In a statement to
his family, said Blaze was on a path to repair
our world, and it's a moral imperative that we all
take steps now to make sure that his dream is realized.
In the aftermath of the funeral, Blaze's parents publicly stated

(31:35):
their belief that their son had been the victim of
a hate crime. They pointed at Woodward's use of a
homophobic slur when claiming that Blaze had tried to kiss him.
If the case were classified as a hate crime, Woodward
would face life in prison without parole or even the
death penalty. Jane and Gideon commented, our son was a beautiful,
gentle soul who we loved more than anything. We were

(31:58):
proud of everything he did and who he was. He
had nothing to hide. We are in solidarity with our
son and the LGBTQ community. There's still much discovery to
be done, and if it's determined that this was a
hate crime, we will cry not only for our son,
but for LGBTQ people everywhere that live in fear or
who have been victims. Shortly thereafter Samuel Woodward was formerly

(32:20):
charged with murder, prosecutors announced that they were actively investigating
the case as a possible hate crime. Meanwhile, Woodward pleaded
not guilty and was held on five million dollar bond.
During the hearing, prosecutors revealed that he had changed his
appearance by dyeing his hair, suggesting that he might have
been preparing to flee. In response to the case, Orange

(32:41):
County District Attorney Tony Mracaccus announced allegedice Live push to
strengthen protections for LGBTQ victims. He stated, over the last
several weeks, we've discovered a glaring omission in our laws
to protect all members of our community, especially LGBTQ members.
Community is often targeted for persecution and prejudice. It's time

(33:04):
the California place as members of the LGBTQ community as
a protected class of victims of special circumstances murder. Then,
towards the end of February, more than thirteen hundred people
gathered at a community tribute for Blaze. His mother, Jane,
read a letter she had written to him when he
graduated from the Orange County School of the Arts. Nothing

(33:25):
you ever did was just average. It was always profoundly
good and unique, just like you. The event, which was
titled Blaze at Forward, was designed to launch a movement
that focused on acts of kindness and respect. Blas's family
established a memorial fund in his honor supporting college scholarships
and charities that assisted those in need. The next week,

(33:48):
wood was Stefan's attorney, Edward Munoz, appeared in court to
request a delay in the preliminary hearing. He told the
judge that Woodward was struggling with depression in jail and
expressed remorse not for Blaze, but for the impact on
his own family. He said that Woodward was keeping himself
occupied by reading the Bible. Then, in August of twenty eighteen,

(34:11):
a new undisturbing detail came to light. Prosecutors announced that
Blaze Bernstein had been killed because he was gay. Hate
crime sentencing A handsman was formally added to the murder
charge against Woodward. When detectives took a deeper look into
Woodward's digital life, what they found was alarming. His cell

(34:31):
phone was filled with anti gay, anti Semitic, and racist content.
Be into a picture of somebody who wasn't just casually bigoted,
but deeply entrenched in hate. Among the most disturbing pieces
of evidence were emails that Woodward had written to himself
under the herring Sam's diary. In one entry, he wrote,
I tell Sodomites that I'm by curious which makes them

(34:54):
want to convert me. Get them hooked by acting coy.
Maybe send them a peg or two, beat around the
b and pretend to tell them that I like them,
and then cabam I either unfriended them or tell them
that they have been pranked haha. He went on to
use a homophobic slur and added that's what they deserve.
In another diary entry, Woodward revealed that he had signed

(35:16):
up to the dating app Grinder. He admitted to chatting
with men only to send them graphic images of other
gay men being killed. He wrote that one recipient had
threatened to call the FBI. Woodward wrote, they think they're
going to get hite crammed and it scarce the shit
out of them. Woodward's defense attorney responded by stating that

(35:36):
his client suffered from a serious mental disorder. He told
the court that Woodward had been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome
and was struggling with issues related to his own sexual identity.
He stated, there's going to be some evidence that comes
out that shows he's very confused. As the case crawled
through the court's new delays began to emerge in July

(35:59):
to the twenty two more than four years after Blaize's murder,
the criminal proceedings were temporarily suspended. Woodward had retained a
new defense attorney who expressed concerns over his client's competency
to stand trial. The judge appointed two mental health experts,
one selected by the defense and one selected by the prosecution,

(36:20):
to evaluate Woodward's mental state. In October of that year,
both experts concluded that Woodward was competent. The path to
trial resumed. Finally, on the ninth of April twenty and
twenty four, more than six years after Blaze had been
brutally stabbed to death, the murder trial if Samuel Woodward began. Woodward,

(36:41):
who was now twenty six years old, was escorted into
court looking nearly unrecognizable. His hair was long and unkempt,
hanging over most of his face. A scraggly beard covered
his jaw. During opening statements, prosecutor Jennifer Walker laid out
the case in unflinching detail. She told the jury that

(37:01):
Woodward had been a member of the violin anti gay
antisemitic group known as Automwaffen Division. Walker suggested that Woodward
a specifically targeted gay man online. He would reach out
to them, string them along, and then abruptly cut ties,
all while documenting his actions in private journal entries. She

(37:21):
told the jury he was doing his research, he was
investigating his prey. She said that in the weeks leading
up to Blize's murderer, Woodward had begne expressing a desire
to turn his violent fantasies into action, and then she said,
he contacted Blize.

Speaker 5 (37:38):
He snapped this photo of what appears to be a
hand drawing on an appkin that says text is boring
but murder isn't, and it has the knife dripping with
blood and the skull. The defendant brought a folding knife,
his atom waffen mask, a device to bury, a shovel,

(37:58):
and a sleeping bag, and picked up Blaize Bernstein.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
She told the jury how Blaize had been stobbed twenty
eight times. She said that he had fought desperately for
his life, but the attack was swift, vicious, and overwhelming.
When it came time for the defense to speak, Attorney
Ken Morrison admitted that Samuel Woodward had killed Blaise Bernstein,
but he argued it hadn't been premeditated and it wasn't

(38:26):
motivated by hat Instead, Morrison said that Woodward had struggled
for years with an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and confusion
over his sexual identity. He claimed that Woodward had once
messaged an openly gazed student in high school, where he
openly wrestled with his sexuality. He had even sent nude photos.

Speaker 6 (38:48):
The why is the single most important issue. You will
need to decide the true reason we are here today,
not the hyperbolic, sensationalized narrative of Nazi kills. Gage you
Blaize Bernstein's sexual orientation had absolutely nothing to do with

(39:15):
the reason he was killed.

Speaker 2 (39:17):
Morrison stopped short of explaining what exactly had happened the
night that Blaz was killed, but told the court that
Woodward would take the stand during the trial. The prosecution
then began calling witnesses. The jury was shown messages between
Blas and Woodward exchanged in the six months leading up
to the murder. They also heard the phone call between

(39:37):
Woodward and Blaze's parents where he described pegging Bleaz up
and then dropping him off at the park. Bleaz's father, Gideon,
then spoke.

Speaker 5 (39:46):
To the court, you remember where you were when you
got the phone call.

Speaker 3 (39:49):
I do you remember that?

Speaker 1 (39:50):
Yes?

Speaker 5 (39:51):
And why does that stand out in your mind?

Speaker 3 (39:56):
Because it was the beginning of.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
How He said that he had been suspicious of Woodward
from the very start. Jean Blaize's mother also took to
the stant She testified, I was concerned because he sounded
like he was lying very anxious and nervous on the phone,
and some of the things he said didn't make sense
to me. In a move that angered Manny, the defense

(40:22):
attempted to question whether Woodward even knew the Blaze was Jewish.
They asked Giddy and whether his son were Yamocha. Gideon's
response was sharp and powerful. He said his last name
was Bernstein. Next, a former member of the Adam Wolfin
Division took to the stand. He identified himself as Brian Murphy,

(40:44):
and he described the group as far right radical neo fascists.
He said the group openly hated again Jewish people, and
their goal, he said, was simple, to do everything humanly
possible to bring chaos into society. Gabriel Garcia, classmate of
both Woodward and Blaze, also testified. Gabriel had been openly

(41:04):
gay since he was a teenager and said that he
often had confused students reach out to him in private.
He said that Woodward had been openly hopophobic and anti
Semitic in public, yet in private he had flirted with
him and even sent sexually explicit text messages. The defense

(41:33):
then began their case by calling Woodward's mother, Michelle, to
the stant. Throughout the proceedings, the defense had hinted that
they would portray Woodward as a vulnerable young man who
had grown up in a toxic home, one that left
him susceptible to the twisted ideology of Adam Waffin's division.
Michelle had previously spoken to detectives in videotaped interviews, but

(41:55):
in court under oath, she appeared hesitant, struggling to recall
details she had once freely shared. It seemed as though
she wasn't quite ready to condemn her family to try
and save her youngest son. Eventually, however, she did offer
glimpses into Woodward's early life. She described behaviors that suggested
neuro divergence. As early as preschool, Woodward had hated the

(42:19):
way t shirts felt against his neck, as surely as
his had to be tied just right or else he
would spiral. Teachers noted he had trouble regulating his emotions,
quick to anger and easily frustrated. Still, Michelle said she
didn't suspect autism until he reached the late adolescence. Even then,
she was reluctant to seek a diagnosis. She said she

(42:42):
was worried about the stigma inside the Woodward home. The
environment was described as homophobic and repressive. They were strict Catholics,
so strict that they banned books like Harry Potter because
it portrayed witchcraft and dark forces as fun. Woodward's father, Blake,
openly told old detectives that he believed homosexuality was a sin.

(43:04):
Michelle had previously admitted that both Blake and Woodward's older
brother Clay, had used homophobic slurgs towards him. She also
acknowledged that Blake had been verbally abusive. Then the courtroom
fell silent as Samuel Woodward took to the stant. He
spoke quietly, often halting. He told the jury that he

(43:25):
struggled to communicate with people, that he didn't make friends easily.
When the questioning turned to his own sexuality, Woodward appeared uncomfortable.
He said the growing up he had been attracted to women,
but had never dated or never had sexual experiences with them.
He then denied ever sending sexually explicit photographs to men,

(43:47):
but his father had told detectives otherwise. He said that
Woodward once confessed to engaging in sexual touching with male
friends during high school. Woodward responded, I'm sorry, I don't
recall that. He did confirm his involvement in Adam Waffin's vision,
telling the jury, I hoped I might have people who
could make me a part of something, men who just

(44:09):
set examples for each other and can show each other
how to elevate each other to the greatest heights they
can possibly be. Then the focus turned to the night
that Blades Bernstein was killed. Woodward said he had reached
out to Blaze on Tinder, claiming that he was simply
looking for somebody to hang out with. He described picking
Blaze up and driving to a parking lot. From there,

(44:32):
they walked into Barrigo Park together. Woodward brought snacks, a
sleeping bag, and some marijuana. They smoked, talked about high school,
and according to Woodward, he eventually closed his eyes and
began drifting off to sleep. That's when He claimed he
felt Blaze move beside him. He assumed that Blaze was
reaching into the bag for something, but then he said

(44:56):
he felt something on his leg. When he opened his eyes,
he claimed that his pants were unpuckled. Bleaz, he said,
had one hand on his crotch and the other holding
a cell phone. Woodward testified that he panicked. He said
he feared the Blaze was taking a photograph. He said
he lunged trying to grab the phone, and the Blaze

(45:16):
said something like I got you, fucking hypocrite. He claimed
that Blaze had used the word outed, and in that moment,
Woodward said he was consumed by fear. His defense attorney
asked exactly what he was afraid of.

Speaker 1 (45:31):
I grew up in a home with my mother and
my father, and I love them more than I can imagine.
My father, though he there's no way, not a chance,
people like him, just even thinking about the look on
his face, if he saw something like that, if he'd
heard about something like that that got out somehow, I

(45:54):
couldn't fathom that.

Speaker 2 (45:57):
Woodward said that was when he reached into his pocket
and pulled like the knife he had brought with him.
He told the jury I just kept driving and driving
and driving the knife down.

Speaker 6 (46:07):
Any idea how long it took too stop stabbing Blaze?

Speaker 3 (46:13):
No idea.

Speaker 1 (46:15):
No.

Speaker 2 (46:16):
He said he felt the rage unlike anything he had
ever felt before. He said that Blaze had fought back,
clawing and biting, but that he didn't stop. Afterwards he
dug a grave with his bare hands. No photograph was
ever found on Blaze's phone. When Woodward stepped on, the
defense called psychiatric expert Martha Rogers. She testified that she

(46:39):
had diagnosed Woodward as being on the autism spectrum. She
also claimed he had grown disillusioned with Adam Waffen overtime.
She told the jury it was wearing thin and didn't
match up to the thoughts he had of what it
would be. But during cross examination, the prosecution pushed back,
pointing out that Woodward had continued to draw Adam Waffen

(47:00):
imagery in jail. Shortly thereafter, the trial began to wind down.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Jennifer Walker displayed a chilling photograph
of Samuel Woodward. In it, he wore skull mask and
held his father's revolver. She told the jury, this is
what Blaze was up against. This is a person focused

(47:21):
on hate. She said that a mask just like the
one in the photograph was later found in Woodward's bedroom
and Blaze's blood was on it. This wasn't a panic,
she argued, This was a ceremonial killing, carefully executed to
earn Woodward prestige and recognition within the ranks of Adam Woffen.
Defense attorney Ken Morrison countered that Woodward wasn't driven by hate,

(47:45):
but by confusion. He said his client had been tormented
by his own sexuality, a victim of repression and fear.
He argued that the killing wasn't a hate crime, it
was an act of inner chaos. More pointed to emils
Woodward had sent to himself, claiming that they were meant
to offer plausible deniability in cases. Adam Waffin Peers, ever

(48:08):
found that out. Then the case went to jury. After
eight hours of deliberation, the verdict came in. Samuel Woodward
was found guilty of first degree murder and of committing
a hate crime. Cheers erupted in the court room outside.
Blaize's mother, Jeane, spoke to the press and said Blaize's

(48:28):
death was a horrific tragedy for our family and friends.
This verdict brings a measure of closure, but cannot erase
the pain of losing our son and the agony of
waiting all these years without resolution. Now, with this verdict
in hand, we believe that justice has been served and
that Blaze's memory will be honored through this outcome. In November,
the sentencing phase began. Woodward didn't appear in court, reportedly

(48:53):
due to illness. Jane didn't mince words when she said
too cowardly. She said to the courtroom, I had to
go to a cemetery with a broken heart and choose
a grave for my nineteen year old son. I couldn't
believe this was real. To lose my firstborn child, my
dream for the future, my partner in fun is the

(49:13):
single worst, most painful thing that has ever happened to me.
Blaise's father, Gideon, told the court that his son's death
had plunged their world into the most dark and tragic days.
He looked towards the empty defense chair and stated, the
person at fault for this should have been in this
room today. He's guilty of disrupting the path of a
brilliant future for Blaze, and yet I don't think that

(49:35):
he realizes how many others he devastated along the way.
Then softly he added, living a good life will be
the best revenge. When Judge Kimberly Messenger addressed the courtroom,
her voice was steady but heavy with sorrow as she said,
you have one young man who was smart, funny, successful

(49:55):
and on track for a bright future, and another intelligent
but isolated. He was struggling with his sexual identity, his
mental health, and his loneliness, and he never received the
psychological support he so clearly needed. In the end, she
handed down the maximum sentence, life imprisoned without the possibility
of parole. Two lives forever altered, one loss to hate,

(50:20):
the other consumed by it. And in the middle, a
community left more on what could have been a life
brimming with promise that silenced by fear. Well, Bestie's that

(51:02):
is it for this episode of Morbidology. As always, thank
you so much for listening. I'd like to say a
massive thank you to my new supporters up on Patreon,
Rose and Alison. As you all know, Morbidology is just
a one woman podcast, so the support upon Patreon seriously
seriously goes such a long way, and I really am
eternally grateful. If you'd like to support the show in
another way, please consider leaving me a rating and review

(51:24):
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out morbiology dot com for more information about this episode
and to read some true crime articles. Until next time,
take care of yourselves, stay safe, and have an amazing week.