Samuel Woodward talks to his attorney Edward Munoz before being led out of a court hearing at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Woodward is charged with the murder of a University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein. (Paul Bersebach/The Orange County Register via AP, Pool)
A California man is convicted of murder with a hate crime enhancement for the 2018 stabbing death of a gay University of Pennsylvania student.
Samuel Woodward, 26, was found guilty of first-degree murder plus the enhancement in the killing of Blaze Bernstein, a gay, Jewish college sophomore who was home visiting his family in Southern California on winter break when he went missing. Authorities scoured the area for him and found his body a week later in a shallow grave at a nearby park.
The question during the monthslong trial was not whether Woodward killed Bernstein but why, and the circumstances under which it happened. During closing arguments, prosecutor Jennifer Walker emphasized Woodward’s affiliation with a violent, anti-gay, neo-Nazi extremist group known as Atomwaffen Division.
“This is a person focused on hate,” Walker said. “Not following, not being led by, influenced by, victimized by Atomwaffen — seeking it out.”
With the hate crime enhancement, Woodward could face a sentence of life without parole.
This undated file photo provided by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department shows 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student Blaze Bernstein. (Orange County Sheriff’s Department via AP, file)
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