SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A California man convicted of stabbing a homosexual College of Pennsylvania scholar to dying in an act of hate was sentenced Friday to life in jail with out parole in jail.
Samuel Woodward, 27, was sentenced in a Southern California court docket on the finish of a daylong listening to for the homicide of Blaze Bernstein almost seven years in the past. Woodward, who didn’t seem in court docket Friday as a consequence of sickness, was convicted this 12 months of first diploma homicide with a hate crime enhancement for killing Bernstein, a homosexual, Jewish faculty sophomore.
Dozens of Bernstein's household and associates sat within the courtroom. Many wore T-shirts that mentioned “Blaze it Ahead,” a slogan for a marketing campaign to commit acts of kindness in his title after his dying.
“Let's be clear: This was a hate crime,” Bernstein's mom, Jeanne Pepper, advised the court docket. “Samuel Woodward ended my son's life as a result of he was Jewish and homosexual.”
He mentioned he takes consolation in the truth that Woodward won’t ever be launched from custody and that whereas he “rots in jail, we might be out right here celebrating Blaze's life.”
“Blaze's reminiscence and spirit will stay on in each act held in his honor,” he mentioned.
There was no query in regards to the sentence Woodward would obtain as a result of the jury verdict included life in jail with out parole, mentioned Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County district legal professional's workplace.
Woodward's legal professional, Ken Morrison, requested the court docket to condemn his consumer to 28 years to life in jail, saying the choose had some discretion on this regard and that jurors weren’t allowed to see all of the proof within the case in full. the trial. Morrison beforehand mentioned he would attraction the decision.
Bernstein, who was 19, disappeared in January 2018 after an evening out with Woodward at a park in Lake Forest, about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. After Bernstein missed a dentist appointment the following day, his dad and mom discovered his glasses, pockets and bank cards in his room and tried to contact him, however he didn’t reply.
Authorities launched an in depth search and mentioned Bernstein's household checked his social media and noticed that he had communicated with Woodward on Snapchat. Authorities mentioned Woodward advised the household that Bernstein had gone to fulfill a good friend within the park that night time and didn’t return.
Days later, Bernstein's physique was present in a shallow grave within the park. He had been stabbed repeatedly within the face and neck.
The query throughout Woodward's months-long trial was not whether or not he killed Bernstein however why and the circumstances below which it occurred. Prosecutors mentioned Woodward was affiliated with the violent neo-Nazi and anti-gay extremist group Atomwaffen Division, whereas Morrison mentioned his consumer didn’t plan to kill anybody or hate Bernstein and confronted difficult private relationships as a consequence of a long-undiagnosed autism spectrum dysfunction. time.
The case took years to come back to trial amid a sequence of delays and stoked public outcry in Southern California, the place residents fanned out in 2018 to attempt to assist authorities discover Bernstein after his sudden disappearance.
Woodward testified throughout his trial and gave gradual, delayed solutions to attorneys' questions along with his lengthy hair partially protecting his face.
Bernstein and Woodward attended the identical highschool, Orange County College of the Arts, and linked by way of a relationship app within the months earlier than the homicide. Woodward mentioned he picked up Bernstein, went to a close-by park and repeatedly stabbed Bernstein after attempting to seize a cellphone that he feared had been used to him.
Morrison, the protection legal professional, mentioned Woodward was confused about his sexuality after rising up in a politically conservative and religious Catholic household the place his father was brazenly essential of homosexuality.
However prosecutors advised a unique story. They mentioned Woodward had repeatedly attacked homosexual males on-line, approaching them and abruptly breaking contact, whereas retaining a hateful, profanity-filled diary of his actions.
Authorities mentioned additionally they discovered a black Atomwaffen masks with traces of blood on it, a folding knife with a bloody blade and a considerable amount of anti-gay, anti-Semitic and hate group supplies in a search of his household house in Newport. Seaside, California.