Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, was charged on Wednesday with murder in California
A former high school classmate of the University of Pennsylvania student found stabbed and buried in a Southern California park has been charged with his murder, according to a criminal complaint.
Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20, was charged on Wednesday with murdering 19-year-old Blaze Bernstein with a knife while Bernstein was visiting his parents in Orange County on winter break.
Orange County prosecutors also filed a sentencing enhancement for use of a knife, which would allow them to seek more jail time for Woodward if he is convicted.
Prosecutors also revealed that Woodward returned to the scene of the crime while under police surveillance.
Authorities have said Bernstein went to Borrego Ranch Park with Woodward on January 2. His body was found in a shallow grave at the park a week later.
Woodward was arrested and told investigators he became angry after Bernstein kissed him the night they went to the park.
Bernstein’s parents say the killing may have been a hate crime against their gay son.
Blaze Bernstein, 19, disappeared on January 2 and was found dead with over 20 stab wounds a week later, in a shallow grave in Borrego Ranch Park
Gideon and Jeanne Bernstein speak on January 10 during a news conference. They say the killing may have been a hate crime against their gay son
Woodward, in a previous interview with police, said he had sustained scratches while participating in a fight club
Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckus told reporters on Wednesday that investigators are looking for evidence that would support making the legal case a hate crime.
Asked specifically about hate crime evidence, Rackauckus said, ‘We’re looking for that evidence and if and when we find it we will amend the charges and file that.’
Rackauckus says both young men had attended the Orange County School of the Arts.
The district attorney says Woodward communicated with Bernstein by Snapchat on January 2 and then picked him up at his parents’ house.
Bernstein was visiting his family in Foothill Ranch during winter break from the Ivy League school when Woodward picked him up and drove with him to several places before winding up at Borrego Park in Lake Forest, police say.
Bernstein’s body was found in brush at the park on January 9 after recent rains partially exposed it.
Investigators say the college sophomore was stabbed more than 20 times.
Authorities say Woodward told them he had left Bernstein at the park alive, claiming he left the park to go see his girlfriend, the San Jose Mercury News reported.
The body of Bernstein (pictured), a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, was found dead on January 9. Bernstein was home for winter break when he went missing
The park where Bernstein was found dead is seen. His father had said his son had a passion for cooking and was a creative writer
Woodward could remember neither the name nor address of his ‘girlfriend’, police said.
He also had scratches on his hands, which police say he told them he had sustained while participating in a fight club.
Woodward also had dirt under his fingernails, which he told authorities was due to falling into a ‘dirty puddle’ while sparring.
Woodward was arrested on Friday after crime lab technicians determined that blood found on a sleeping bag in his possession belonged to Bernstein.
Woodward and Bernstein had attended the Orange County School of the Arts together.
Tension between the two friends may have dated back at least to June, when Bernstein texted with two female friends about their friendship, according to a warrant affidavit reported by the OC Register.
Orange County Undersheriff Don Barnes, left, takes a questions as District Attorney Tony Rackauckas looks on during a news conference about the death
Bernstein claimed in the messages that Woodward ‘hit on me’, adding ‘he made me promise not to tell anyone … but I have texted every one, uh oh.’
On January 2, cops believe the two young men parked outside a Hobby Lobby.
Woodward told investigators that Bernstein kissed him on the lips, and that he pushed Bernstein away.
Police told a judge that Woodward clenched his fists while recounting this part of the story, saying ‘he wanted to tell Blaze to get off of him’.
Woodward was known for his conservative religious and political beliefs in high school, police said.
He had posted online defending the Confederate flag and expressing interest in guns, the Bible and ‘waterboarding’, according to published reports.
Bernstein was planning to major in psychology and later study medicine, his father Gideon Bernstein told the local press last week.
His dad said that he had a passion for cooking and was a creative writer. He had recently been named to the staff of Penn Appetit magazine at school.
Woodward, who is from Newport Beach, was due to appear in court later Wednesday.
Prosecutors said they don’t want him released but he may be eligible for bail. No attorney was listed for him on the court’s website.
Jeanne Bernstein tweeted about the news that an individual had been arrested in connection with her son’s murder