The Blaze Bernstein murder case

A look at the disappearance of Blaze Amber and the evidence that led to it Sam Woodward‘s arrest and conviction for hate crime murder.

January 2, 2018

Blaze, a 19-year-old Ivy League student, was spending the holidays visiting his family in Orange County, California when he went missing on the night of January 2, 2018.

January 3, 2018

After Blaze didn’t show up for a dentist appointment and didn’t respond to texts and calls, his parents, Jeanne Pepper and Gideon Bernstein, checked his room. They didn’t find Blaze, but found his wallet, keys and glasses still in the house.

They searched Blaze’s computer and social media accounts for clues. On Blaze’s Snapchat, they found messages from Sam Woodward, who had been Blaze’s high school classmate. The message revealed that Blaze had sent his address to Woodward the night he went missing. Gideon Bernstein contacted Woodward, who claimed he picked up Blaze and drove him to the local Borrego Park. Woodward said Blaze then walked off in the dark to meet another friend.

“I didn’t see where he went,” Woodward told Gideon Bernstein. “I looked everywhere for him…I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

After that call, the concerned Bernsteins filed a missing person report with the police.

January 6, 2018

Police repeatedly searched Borrego Park. By this time, news of Blaze’s disappearance had already spread throughout Orange County.

Still hoping for good news, the Bernstein family held a press conference urging the public to continue searching for their son.

January 9, 2018

After days of searching, investigators found Blaze buried in a shallow grave in Borrego Park after heavy rains helped uncover his body. It was him stabbed more than 20 times. Blaze’s damaged phone (pictured) was also found in this grave.

Investigators believed Woodward was the last person to see Blaze before he disappeared. Woodward had told them what he had told the Bernsteins – that he had met with Blaze, who then left in the park. Investigators executed a search warrant at Woodward’s home.

January 12, 2018

Sam Woodward was arrested on January 12, 2018.

January 17, 2018

Woodward was charged with murderr with a criminal enhancement of the personal use of a knife.

Later in 2018, then-Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas told “48 Hours” that investigators found a knife in Woodward’s home.

“There was blood on the knife,” Rackauckas said. “Blaze Bernstein’s blood on the knife.”

He also said they found blood in Woodward’s car.

“The blood on the headliner belonged to both Sam Woodward and Blaze Bernstein,” Rackauckas told “48 Hours” correspondent Tracy Smith.

February 2, 2018

Woodward was charged and pleaded not guilty.

August 2, 2018

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office added a hate crime addition to Sam Woodward’s original charges.

The prosecution claimed that Woodward intentionally killed Blaze because Blaze was gay. If convicted, Woodward now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. Authorities said they found evidence of Woodward’s involvement with Atom Waffen, a neo-Nazi terrorist group, while examining Woodward’s phone, laptop and social media accounts.

April 9, 2024

In the opening speeches his processThe prosecution told jurors that Woodward killed Blaze because he was gay. Defense attorney Ken Morrison acknowledged that Woodward killed Blaze, but argued that the killing was not premeditated and was rather a case of voluntary manslaughter. He argued that Blaze did something that caused Woodward to kill him and told the jury that Woodward would testify about what happened the night Blaze was killed.

April 10, 2024

“I know there are a lot of things being said that are probably untrue,” Jeanne Pepper told “48 Hours.” “Because that’s what happens in a criminal trial… I have the opportunity to defend Blaze and that’s what I’m going to do.”

Blaze Bernstein’s parents were among 23 witnesses who testified for the prosecution.

June 20, 2024

When it was the defense’s turn, Woodward told the jury that Woodward had smoked a joint the night he killed Blaze. He said Blaze taunted him and threatened to reveal his sexuality. Woodward accused Blaze of sexual assault. There is no evidence of this.

Woodward testified that he then stabbed Blaze. He said he regularly carried a knife since his Boy Scout days.

July 3, 2024

The jury found Sam Woodward guilty of first-degree murder with the enhancement of a hate crime.

“He faces life without the possibility of parole,” Orange County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Walker said after the guilty verdict. “And that’s what we’re going to demand.”

Oct 22, 2024

Sam Woodward must return to court for sentencing.

Blaze’s legacy

After their son was murdered, Blaze’s parents were determined not to let hate win. To honor their son, they started a movement called BlazeItForward that encourages acts of kindness.

There is now a tribute to Blaze in Borrego Park, where Blaze was tragically killed. To this day, people from all over the world leave stones in his memory.

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