California Man to be Sentenced for Hate Crime in 2018 Murder of Blaze Bernstein

Samuel Lincoln Woodward, a 27-year-old California man, is set to be sentenced on Friday for the hate-crime murder of 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein, a gay University of Pennsylvania student. The sentencing follows Woodward’s conviction in July for the fatal stabbing of Bernstein on January 3, 2018, in a park in Lake Forest, California.

Woodward and Bernstein had attended the Orange County School of the Arts together for four years before reconnecting on a dating app in June 2017. Despite their past acquaintance, the circumstances of their reunion and the subsequent murder were marked by Woodward’s affiliation with the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen Division and his own struggles with sexuality and social relationships.

The trial revealed that Woodward had targeted gay men online and kept a journal filled with hateful and profanity-laced entries. Prosecutors argued that the murder was a premeditated, “ceremonial” killing intended to gain prestige within the neo-Nazi group. Evidence included a sweater with a skull image worn by Woodward during the attack, which had Bernstein’s blood on it, as well as a black Atomwaffen mask and a folding knife found in Woodward’s home.

Woodward’s defense, presented by attorney Ken Morrison, highlighted the defendant’s undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder and his difficult personal relationships, particularly within his conservative and devout Catholic family. However, prosecutors maintained that the evidence pointed to a deliberate hate crime motivated by Bernstein’s sexual orientation.

The sentencing is expected to result in life in prison without the possibility of parole, a mandatory sentence given the jury’s verdict. Woodward’s attorney has indicated plans to appeal the verdict.

The case has drawn significant public attention and outrage, particularly in Southern California, where community members actively participated in the search for Bernstein after his disappearance in January 2018.