The parents of Blaze Bernstein, the college student (above) found dead with 20 stab wounds while visiting home for the holidays in Southern California, say they believe their son’s murder may have been an antigay hate crime.
Samuel Woodward, 20, Bernstein’s former high school classmate, was arrested Friday on suspicion of the killing after DNA evidence at the crime scene –a local park–and in his car connected him to the crime.
CBS News adds:
According to a 16-page search warrant affidavit obtained by The Orange County Register, text messages sent by Bernstein suggested he may have been planning to sexually pursue Woodward.
Bernstein texted two female friends about a June interaction with Woodward, according to the affidavit. Bernstein wrote that Woodward was about to “hit on me” and “he made me promise not to tell anyone … but I have texted every one, uh oh.”
The affidavit also notes that Woodward told police Bernstein kissed him on the mouth the night of his disappearance and that Woodward pushed Bernstein away.
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“We are saddened to hear, on the day we laid our son to rest, that gruesome details of the cause of his death were published,” Blaze’s parents, Gideon and Jeanne Pepper Bernstein, wrote. “Our son was a beautiful gentle soul who we loved more than anything. We were 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.”
“If it is 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 of [a] hate crime,” they continued.
Bernstein was reported missing on January 3 by family–they were worried after he didn’t show up for a dentist appointment and his wallet and glasses were still in his bedroom. The 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania student was visiting home in Lake Forest when he went missing.
Using Snapchat, police tracked down Woodward (below), who had picked Bernstein up in his car the night before.
Bernstein’s body was finally discovered on January 10.
According to a search warrant affidavit, Woodward had scrapes and scratches on his hands and dirt under his fingernails when questioned by police. At the time, he “could not recall” his girlfriend’s last name or address he said he visited after dropping Bernstein off.
When detectives asked about the cuts and scrapes, Woodward said he got them from a fight club he was in and that a fall into a “dirt puddle” resulted in the dirt under his nails.
Bernstein and Woodward both attended the Orange County School of the Arts.
ChrisK
The worst and most dangerous homophobe’s are gay themselves. 20 stab wounds speaks for itself.
Jaxton
Not necessarily. They might be curious and have no desire to identify as gay. Don’t impose gay identity on others.
calvinsmelliott
Agree. There are a lot of feelings and passion behind 20 stab wounds.
DarkZephyr
@Jaxton, wow, that’s the thing that’s important to you here? I would say that one shouldn’t impose ones knife into somebody else’s body, personally.
marvinquinn
The overt show of masculinity shows emotional distress and homophobia. I agree with you, Chrisk. In prison he will have ample opportunity to explore his curiosity.
happiness17
Twenty stab wounds shows that this guy is loaded with hatred and anger.
iron
l would seriously check Mr. Woodward’s current affiliation for motive Of course who has this info?
just a guess
GayEGO
My husband and I knew a gay homphobe who had a lover, but believed gays were worse than murderers. He harassed us by calling us on the phone, remaining silent, all night long. A friend of ours took the phone to aggravate him so we could find out who was calling us. Our friend caused him to explode and say a phrase that we knew he was the one. He was an AT&T supervisor and we had a lot of trouble getting them to catch him calling us.
Later on, we heard that he put his mother out of his house and burned himself up in it in East Boston.
Paco
I can’t believe the motive for killing was because he got kissed. The gay panic defense won’t work.
Ummmm Yeah
It was revenge for being outed before.
Bernstein texted two female friends about a June interaction with Woodward, according to the affidavit. Bernstein wrote that Woodward was about to “hit on me” and “he made me promise not to tell anyone … but I have texted every one, uh oh.”
Paco
Still no excuse to stab someone 20 times. If it was revenge, then that means it was premeditated and the victim was lured to his death.
ChrisK
In CA they made a law last year against using the gay panic defense.
maaattcaaast
Ummmm yeah.. Go re-read more about the case. I litterally live in this very town where this happened. Nowhere does it say police believe it to be a revenge killing. Had the victim told some of his girl friends who he was talking to before? yes. Women talk with their girlfriends all the time about whats going on in their romantic lives and straight men do the exact same thing with their guy friends (only the tone with straight men is usually more braggadocious, with guys bragging about their conquests, often doing so after the female asked them to not tell their friends). The only difference is that when straight guys or girls do it they don’t get stabbed more than 20 times. This is how kids act, to say otherwise is to of never of been in high school or college.
As far as everything i’ve read, there’s been no public indication that the victim telling some of his girl friends had ever even gotten back to the suspect. This snapchat exchange that is referenced happend more than 6 months ago back in June. Now what is referenced in the affidavit? That the suspect had a widely known reputation in high school for holding deeply and strongly socially conservative views, that these views were on display in some of his social media profiles. Among the posts on social media were posts offering support for and a defense of the confederate flag, a very odd thing for a kid raised in California to do.. unless they’re a bigot. In another post the suspect declares the only two things he needs on a deserted island would be a bible and a gun. There are frequent posts depicting a fascination with guns. On one site a commenter tells the suspect that he’s “so violent. it scares me.” And yet we also know the victim seemed to think the suspect was sexually interested in him and didn’t want anyone to know about it, going back to at least june. In a police interview the suspect reveals details of the night in question when Blaze went missing, of course we now know that most of the story appeared to be completely fabricated (and had massive holes in it from the start). The police reveal in the affidavit that the suspect had told them that the victim had indeed made a romantic advance on the suspect the night he went missing. He kissed the suspect “on the lips” while they “hung out and caught up” at a Hobby Lobby parking lot. The suspect relays to the police that he “wanted to push Bernstein off him” as this occured. Most interestingly to the police however was the way the suspect acted as he relayed this part of the story, visably clenching his jaw and fists.
Given all that I think its pretty clear that homophobia and anti-lgbt annimus and shame played a part in this killing. Even if you believe that this was some sort of “revenge” attack for Blaze having told some of his friends that the suspect was sexually interested in him months earlier, theres no way to deny that the reason the suspect would be so upset by this was because of his intense displeasure with being thought of as gay. Straight guys who brag to their guy friends about the girls who they’ve slept with after having been told not to tell anyone, don’t end up stabbed 20+ times. Girls who gossip with their girl friends about the guys they’re interested in or the guys who are pursuing them don’t end up stabbed 20+ times. In my mind (and it would seem the police’s as well) the more likely scenario is one where the suspect is sexually attracted to men but due to his religious and conservative upbringing and beliefs is unable to come to terms with those attractions/feelings/preferences. Yet in moments of weakness he flirts with the idea of acting on these feelings as seen through his contacts with Blaze (and perhaps with others who remain unknown). On January 2nd he finally went as far as he ever had to act on these feelings by actually going all the way to Blaze’s house and picking him up with the expectation of a sexual encounter occuring, through cell phone tracking we know from police that they went to “a number” of locations before they ended up at the park. What led up to the killing in the moments prior is still not known, but its easy to see the defendent reacting in rage when Blaze made a sexual advance on him as suddenly his flirtations with engaging in same-sex sexual conduct became all too real and he couldn’t handle it and snapped. Perhaps his snapping didn’t occur until after the two actually engaged in sexual activity, suddenly feeling immense guilt and shame over what they had just done (and having completed the act no longer feeling the sexual urges which had brought him to pick up Blaze in the 1st place.. of course we all know those sexual desires and urges would come back eventually). I’m sure some of us here who grew up in a religious and conservative family and scan recall feelings of guilt and shame after first engaging in same-sex intimacy in our youth, obviously nothing like feelings of rage leading to killing though. A less likely possiblity is the suspect targeted Blaze for his sexuality and spoke with him for months all to get him to come out with him with the intention always being to kill him, that theory is problematic for a variety of reasons. But regardless, it seems clear at this point that anti-gay annimus and anti-gay shame played a role in the motive here, looking at all the possible scenarios given what we know.
tnguy222
I hate the gays like Bernstein, who broadcast every exciting or titilating piece of information that they have on someone else, especially those they are hooking up with.
Why not keep your f$cking mouth shut, hook up with Woodard and take pride in your discretion. Maybe, if you had, you would still be alive.
The wages of sin are death, and bernstiens inability to conceive and appreciate any person other than his own drama manufacturing self is what killed him.
In my younger years, something similar happened to me. Some flaming f$g blabbed about us hooking up. I had the cheerleader girlfriend and everything. It wasn’t a pretty outcome.
I wanted to beat the snitch-rat to a pulp, but I didn’t. I understand, but don’t totally condone what Woodard did.
jjose712
tnguy222: The fact that “you understand it” says a lot about you, and believe me it’s not good.
The fact that the guy hate himself so much that things that being outed justified a killing speaks very loud about that kind of scum he is
startenout
Tnguy: just like the murderer, YOU take no blame for the fact that YOU cheated on your girlfriend and YOU were living the lie in the closet. The only disgusting f@g here is YOU. Ew that you would even try to justify a murderers action using your own sickening closet case story.
tnguy222
I’d bet the two of you are part of the blabby little f@gs who drink bottles of wine in a single sitting and talk trash about everyone else to mask your own glaring inadequacies and meaningless existences.
Get off your high horse. Being a loudmouthed, disloyal, lying cretin who can’t respect another’s desire for privacy is not an admirable trait.
Me2
@Paco… I can definitely believe that a kiss might be the motive. I also believe that the many recent strides in “gay rights” across America has given our younger generation a false sense of security and provides no real guidance. The kids today are more direct and less cautious of the many dangers that still exist all around them. No matter how progressive things may seem, there still is an extremely homophobic segment of our population that can and will react with violence to any perceived advance from someone of the same sex. This population isn’t just limited to heterosexuals either. I wish that Blaze had an experienced mentor to confide in as opposed to his girlfriends; maybe he’d still be alive.
Bob LaBlah
I think he deserved getting his ass beat for texting about the sexual encounter they had but it did not warrant killing him.
Ummmm Yeah
The victim being a mean girl pretty much ended by sympathy for him. This was a revenge killing, not a hate crime.
ChrisK
Oh crap. I reread that. Sure doesn’t make Bernstein look good. Yeah, looks like revenge to me too.
Paco
Straight guys brag about their sexual conquests all the time. No one deserves to be beat up or murdered just because it was a gay sexual encounter. Just more evidence of how terribly toxic the closet is.
irbaboon
THAT IS A TERRIBLE THING TO SAY
Brian
Really, no sympathy for a guy who was stabbed to death just because he texted his friends about this guy?
Let me guess, you’ve decided to take his “everyone” literally, as if he sent a mass text to every person on his contact list.
tnguy222
Agreed. Know Bernstein killing will be made a drama for the whole world. Isn’t that what he wanted?
jjose712
Ummmm Yeah: You are disgusting.
Revenge? what kind of ridiculous revenge thinks a guy deserved to be brutally killed just because he said the other was into him.
This was a hate crime, but the killer probably hates himself even more than he hated the victim
chris33133
Gods; whatever happened to “no thanks?”
Donston
No one deserved to get their ass beat, yet alone killed. But as I’ve said to friends before, if you’re gonna hook up with closeted guys or “straight guys” or even out guys who seem to be contending with internalized homophobia and/or self-resentment and/or is obsession with retaining some sense of hetero-normalcy: keep your mouth shut and your expectations extremely low. You never know what’s going on in someone’s head and what they’re capable of.
And no, technically, it’s not a “hate crime”.
roth99
I think the legal authorities will have to make a determination. It matters not to both these young men. One is dead and the other is going to jail for years and years. He will also face tough times in any one of our CA prisons. A slight framed and good looking fellow, if convicted, will face a lot of harassment in the pen from hardened men wanting to assert their domination over others, especially gays in the closet. Attacks on gay men for wanting sexual encounters with others or outing others should not result in death. If the straight world treated an unwanted kiss as theis accused man stated, we would have dozens of killings a day, not just a loss of reputation or position.
Ksb1978
Wow! Can’t believe I’m seeing victim blaming. None of what the victim went through is warranted. That’s it, that’s all. Rest in peace to him. Poor baby.
Donston
I completely agree. I feel bad for the young man and his family. But you can’t be casually outing people in these streets, even if you feel you’ve been done wrong. There are too many crazies out here and too many ways it can come back on you. That’s unfortunately the world we continue to live in.
Paco
@Donston – I disagree. The closeted cowards need to stick with their chosen heterosexual facades if they feel violent impulses about people finding out they like gay sex. If they are too scared of someone talking, then too bad, get some balls and own it or live the lie they have chosen without forcing or threatening others to cover for them too.
Change takes some sacrifice.
They eventually get sloppy and get caught anyway.
Donston
In an idea world, you’re right. But my point remains that outing someone often has consequences. They’re usually not this dire. But honestly, I don’t see why some out of the closet people are looking to hook up with and then out people. I guess I’d feel slightly different if someone has a legit relationship with someone. But this doesn’t seem to be the situation here.
The killer gets no sympathy from me. The victim and the victim’s family gets plenty. It’s not about being “brave”. Some people are just too full of craziness and/or self-resentment for all of that. I’m speaking on the realities of society and the human mind.
Paco
@Donston – For me, I don’t look for closeted guys to sleep with. If a guy tells me before hand it has to be discrete, then I will decline. I paid my dues to come out and that doesn’t cover keeping someone else’s secret in the closet.
I think in the victim’s instance, it was more of a “what’s the big deal if people know about it” type of thing. Completely different mindset than what my generation had. Closeted guys, no matter how they identify, need to make sure they are having their gay sex with other frightened closeted guys or just do without until they are ready for it to not be a big deal. People talk. That is a fact of life.
Donston
Well, considering the dude told him not to tell before they hooked up he at least knew it was a big deal for the other guy. So, an agreement was made before the hook up. Yet, apparently, the victim texted his friends and outed the crazy guy directly after the “agreement”. It was a rather slimy thing to do. No way around that. But of course, he did not deserve to be harmed in any way.
Internalized homophobia, internalized trans-phohia, gay shame, misandry (because some gay/gay-leaning/queer men hate other men), obsession with hetero-normalcy, etc – these aren’t things have gone away. And even with more progress they are still as prominent as ever. Every out of the closet, sane person needs to always been aware of these things. Like I said, I’m not making excuses for the killer. I’m just speaking on the reality of things, how the world works and how many people’s minds work. It’s not just gonna change because you want it to.
geb1966
Donston, where does it say the “agreement” was made before the hookup? I see nothing about when the accused said not to talk, nor anything where the victim “agreed” not to talk. Being “made to promise” not to tell doesn’t sound like a mutual agreement. Whether or not you are trying to make excuses for the accused, you ARE blaming the victim.
jd.cali
My thoughts go to his friends and family. It’s a tragedy.
Jaxton
Welcome to southern California, land of homophobia.
Kangol
So sorry to hear about Blaze Bernstein’s death. My thoughts are with his family.
Homophobia and self-hate can kill, in this case literally.
tr6886
Where did he get his homophobia from , parents or churches ? I always think that as long as we allow churches to hide under first amendment, you will see this tragedy happen again.
Heywood Jablowme
Commenters here don’t seem to have read much of the news on this.
Yes, the murderer seems to be closeted, but he is also quite a WACKO. He left notes like “CANNIBALS have the right idea!” and weird stuff like that.
So the victim didn’t realize that his high school buddy’s mental state had deteriorated a lot since high school.
Donston
Yes, this is part of what I meant. If you don’t know someone like that just resist putting their business out there. You never know what’s going on in someone’s head and what they’re capable of. I say this for everyone concerning everything. And I say it not from the perspective of victim blaming but as a general way to navigate society and people, especially as far as orientation and sexual behaviors are concerned where sociology, ego and lack of sanity can push people to do some crazy stuff.
Heywood Jablowme
@Donston: But in this case the victim knew the murderer pretty well, two years prior.
dezstpete
I’ve been reading and watching this from afar since practically it all began. I have a close friend who actually walks his pets in the very Park where Blaze’s body was found.
He’s been keeping me updated all along.
I actually haven’t seen or read where the Victim ‘outed’ the Suspect. Yes, he texted a couple of girlfriends SIX months ago, at the beginning of the Summer. I’d suspect that if anyone were outed, it would’ve occurred Summer 2017, not January 2018.
Of course, all of this is speculation on my part. The truly sad part about this is that a life was taken, and another will be forever changed.
As being one of those ‘straight’ men who was closeted, all because of Church and society, I really don’t ever believe I could’ve stabbed another person TWENTY times for outing me. Yes, I am a complete and total hot-head, and can lose my temper quite easily, at least at that age, but to murder someone?
I’m certain that this Suspect has or will be given a thorough mental examination. If suspect is determined to be mentally inept, I feel certain that he’ll serve time, possibly for the rest of his life, or at some point, depending on Trial, even be released. Look at John Hinckley, he shot Ronald Reagan while he was President, and he’s been released under supervision some 30 years later.
But, at this point, who know what will happen next. I’m certain that the Orange County Sheriff’s Department are hard at work building a case against the Suspect. Time will tell what becomes of Woodward. I just hope he’s able to live with what he’s done to Blaze Bernstein. Truly make me sad that any individual, straight, gay or trans, would lose their life at such a young age.
Knight
Back in my home country, this sh*t happens ALL the time. Straight (see: bi) guys mess around with queeny guys when they can’t get any and make them promise not to say anything. But they start talking and it get around, then they either get beat or killed. Difference here is in the US this guy will be prosecuted for his crime.
A lot of people don’t know, but the Andrew Shepperd case was actually NOT what the media played it out to be either. There was much more to that story….but the narrative served its purpose at the time.
Bob LaBlah
“There was much more to that story….but the narrative served its purpose at the time.”
Thats an understatement. I had no idea such details about that kids murder even existed.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/26/the-truth-behind-americas-most-famous-gay-hate-murder-matthew-shepard
SiamSam
@BobLaBLah The Guardian? Nice one. Pwogwessives can’t just handwave it away an alt reich Alex Jones conspiracy theory.
Brody
Matthew Shepard, not Andrew. And yep, there’s evidence the murder was drug-related and that Shepard and his killer had in fact been occasional lovers, but the narrative of an innocent gay man being brutally murdered for his sexuality was much more appealing to the mainstream media than was a drug deal gone bad.
Heywood Jablowme
“Back in my home country, this sh*t happens ALL the time.”
Oh Knight, you’re not from one of those shithole countries are you? – lol
Knight
Bob and Brody – exactly. Also, what’s interesting but sad is one of Matthew’s (sorry, Brody, and thanks for the correction) killers, McKinney used to “work” as an escort for drug money with Matthew Shepard. This was common knowledge in that very small town, since one of the dealers/pimps was a limousine driver who had a pretty steady clientele. Also, McKinney’s mom was beaten and left out to die on the road 3 months after the Shepard murder…but it got little to no coverage. Point being, that town/community was simply BAD and had a problem with drugs and violence, as opposed to being some hot-bed of homophobia. But hey…how many careers wouldn’t have been made had the truth been told instead of the Hollywood narrative? http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/06/us/mother-of-suspect-in-killing-of-gay-student-freezes-to-death.html
Heywood I don’t doubt people have called my country a sh*thole out of ignorance. There are some very shady places there. I would never call it that. Then again, I wouldn’t call the US a sh*thole even after visiting rural mississippi and the Makka indian reservation in Washington…both places just as poor (if not moreso) than anywhere found in my country.
Bopper1
…just read all of this…what alternate reality are you guys living in that it’s even plausible that stabbing someone to death is the logical outcome for anything?…and what will the perp have accomplished when his actions send him to prison for life?…this is an absolute tragedy…for all concerned…
Apolodorus
I wonder if this site has any type of moderation. This seems to be a bit like lord or the flies.
Daniel-Reader
No one knows what happened in the car. Maybe suspect gave victim some mouth love and then snapped when he realized he liked it. Wouldn’t be the first unstable guy to hook up with someone – male or female. Never date closet cases or downlow types. Never ends well.
Heywood Jablowme
Maybe, but maybe they also had been sexual (in some way) with each other back in high school, just two years earlier.
Valueadded
His parents appear to be pretty amazing people!
Heywood Jablowme
There does seem to be a lot of victim-blaming here.
These two had known each for years. They’d been classmates at a “High School for the ARTS”! – probably a fairly gay-friendly place.
The murderer’s mental state had deteriorated recently, but there was no reason the victim would know that.
tricky ricky
it turns out to be the complete reverse. the victim said the killer was hitting on him.
queerbec
Bernstein, like any other human being, should have been allowed to brag about his conquests, just as any straight man would do. To assume that it should have been kept secret implies that there is something wrong with being gay–something to be ashamed of. To expect Bernstein to act in this matter would have forced him to lower his self-esteem and take several steps backward in his development as a person–and why should he have to endure that, when we don’t ask our heterosexual stud sons to deny their very selves after they have fulfilled their manhood?
Rakkaus
Why should any man (or woman) “brag about his conquests”? Why brag about having sex with a human being as a “conquest” dehumanizing that person into a piece of meat to be “conquered” sexually? Yes, we should teach heterosexual “stud sons” not to talk about women as “conquests”, that enduring mentality is why we’re living in #MeToo era. Women for the most part are generally weaker, less violent/aggressive, and a man bragging about sex with her may be embarrassing but not psyche-shattering- though it’s still degrading.
When we’re talking about a mentally unstable violent closeted man who relishes his ultra-masculine tough alpha-male image (i.e. a wannabe “stud” who finds himself unfortunately attracted to men), having an out-and-proud little queeny gay boi brag to his girlfriends in degrading terms about “conquering” him- like a straight stud conquers a woman- that is wrapped up in so many more different psychological layers & going to trigger a far far stronger emotional outburst of anger for the “conquered” closet-case potentially (in this case clearly) leading to violent reaction.
You have very toxic view of “manhood”… one need not “conquer” human beings as sex objects & brag about their “conquests” to all their friends- even after promising the “conquered” he wouldn’t tell anyone- in order to be a real man & “fulfill their manhood”. If we lived in a better society than yours where human beings respected one another and males were allowed to feel & express their emotions instead of being brainwashed to conform to hyper-(hetero)sexualized toxic norms of “manhood”, then Samuel Woodward would have felt able to respond to Blaze Bernstein by giving the latter what he deserved: verbally confronting Blaze about feeling betrayed after trusting him with their private intimacy. Instead Woodward responded the way a culture of toxic masculinity has trained him to: with aggressive (in this case extreme & deadly) violence to prove he is the “alpha-male” ‘conquering’ the little queer in revenge for outing him.
Blaze Bernstein did not do anything outside the societal norms of ‘manhood’, certainly nothing deserving of violence or killing, however those norms are still rotten & should be discouraged & boys/men (and girls/women) educated not to view anyone as a sex object and brag about another human being as a sexual “conquest”.
draven
To the family of this young man I’m so sorry for your lost and you are in my thoughts and prayers. God watch and keep you during this period and time. I’m so sad….beyond words.
Bob LaBlah
The comments from several of you queens make me wonder if you have ever been in a schoolyard fight let alone a fight in a bar. You see, men, whether gay or strait, have a thing called a breaking point and once a smart mouthed ass queen breaks it, watch out honey because the fists are going to start flying. Sadly in this case it was a knife. I don’t blame the kid at all for wanting to smack the shit out of little Miss Texty but to kill him went overboard.