On January 10, 2018, 19-year-old
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
sophomore Blaze Bernstein was found dead in a park in
Orange County, California
Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...
, eight days after having been reported missing. He was visiting his family in
Lake Forest, California
Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 census.
Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had been known as El Toro. Following a vote in 20 ...
, when he was killed.
He had been stabbed nineteen times. Two days later, Samuel Woodward, one of Bernstein's former high school classmates and a member of
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
terrorist group
Atomwaffen Division
The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...
, was arrested and charged with murdering Bernstein. As Bernstein was both openly
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, authorities declared that Bernstein was a victim of a
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
. Five deaths had links to the Atomwaffen Division over eight months from 2017 to early 2018.
Blaze Bernstein
Bernstein was born on April 27, 1998, in South Orange County, California, to Gideon Bernstein, an equity partner at Leisure Capital Management, and Jeanne Pepper, a former lawyer who retired from law in 2000 to raise their three children. After completing high school at
Orange County School of the Arts
Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...
, Blaze enrolled as an undergraduate at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
.
Legal proceedings
The presiding judge initially charged Woodward with murder and personal use of a deadly weapon.
In August 2018, two charges of committing a
hate crime
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
were added because of Bernstein's
sexual orientation
Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
.
Woodward, who has been linked to the murder by DNA evidence, pled not guilty.
A
pretrial hearing was held in January 2019.
Woodward's attorney stated that Woodward has
Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...
and issues regarding his own sexual identity.
Woodward, who was 20 at the time of the crime, faces a sentence of life without parole if found guilty.
He had initially faced a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison the murder and weapons charges, prior to the addition of the hate crime enhancements. Woodward's bail was initially set at $5 million but at hearing in November 2018, the judge decided to deny Woodward bail altogether, remanding him to custody pending trial.
Due to the
COVID crisis, Woodward has remained in confinement since his last court appearance in 2018. His trial was tentatively scheduled to begin sometime in 2021, though a series of postponements pushed it back until July 15, 2022.
On July 15, 2022, an Orange County judge temporarily suspended criminal proceedings after Woodward's defense attorney said she had concerns about his competence to stand trial. In late October 2022, mental health experts deemed Woodward competent, and a pre-trial hearing was scheduled for January 2023.
See also
*
List of right-wing terrorist attacks
This is a list of right-wing terrorist attacks. Right-wing terrorism is terrorism that is motivated by a variety of different right-wing and far-right ideologies, most prominently by neo-Nazism, neo-fascism, ecofascism, white nationalism, white ...
*
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998. He was taken by rescuers to Pou ...
, murdered in a hate crime in 1998
*
Antisemitism in the United States in the 21st century
In 2018 and 2019, reports of antisemitism in the United States was reported to have increased compared to previous years according to statistics collected by both the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Anti-Defamation League. These statistics ...
References
External links
Memorial site for Bernstein
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Blaze
Antisemitic attacks and incidents in the United States
Antisemitism in Pennsylvania
Violence against LGBT people in the United States
Neo-fascist terrorist incidents in the United States
2018 murders in the United States
Attacks in the United States in 2018
Stabbing attacks in 2018
January 2018 crimes in the United States
2018 crimes in California
Lake Forest, California
American victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes
Violence against gay men in the United States
Violence against men in North America
Murdered American Jews
2018 in LGBT history
Deaths by stabbing in California
Antisemitism in California
LGBT history in California
LGBT and Judaism